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Mixtape Single: June 17th, 2009

The Safes - Bad Blood

Chicago’s own constantly morphing powerpop trio (presently) came at us with this smashing release that is the quintessential blend of sophistication, quality control, and great production. The album, unlike most released in the post digital world, is not a case of singles, but a great album through and through. ‘Deception’ begins a transition roll that lasts until the end of ‘Cool Sounds Are Here Again.’

Nestled at number two in the four track roll is ‘Bad Blood,’ which is percussively the most badass number on the album, and fits perfectly right out of Deception. Get yourself a copy of this one, and if nothing else, check out music videos at the bottom of the post.

The Jam - Non Stop Dancing

In The City is another unspoken anthem of the London late 70’s underground. Their look would’ve convinced anyone that The Jam were edging on mod revival. With a resurgence of both Power Pop and Garage in the mainstream and nostalgic eye, it’s hard to discount the Jam as at least influential.

This is a heavy dancing rock n roll number, which is the best kind, if you can make it work. Between ‘In The City’ and the best cover of ‘Slow Down’ you’ll here, this album should be at the top of any punk, garage, or new wave DJ’s list.
   

The Safes - Deception, The Safes - Since Trust Went Bust

Mixtape Single: June 5th, 2009

Luke Kelly - Hand Me Down Me Bible

Luke Kelly and the Dubliners always walked a thin line between a swilling, swaggering bunch of roughnecks and a down-home group of folksmen you’d gladly have for mother’s Sunday tea. If the Clancy Brothers were the Beatles of Irish folk revival (let’s just say… ) the Dubliners would get the title of Rolling Stones.

Sometimes, though, they dropped their edge altogether and the group would simply churn out some exultant gospel number or other, particularly when Kelly sang lead. This track is most easily found on THE PERFORMER, a DVD and CD collection of Kelly’s best live cuts. It’s one of the best things Kelly ever sang and certainly the best Phil Coulter ever wrote. A rousing acoustic instrumentation carries it all the way to the back of the house.

The Pogues - The Ghost Of A Smile

By the time Shane MacGowan reached the end of his first go-round with the Pogues, his song styles had meandered from punk-tinged London-Irish bastardry to a kind of experimental folk revival. The results were softer-edged, more diverse in their instrumentation, and often more than a little bit maudlin.

1990’s HELL’S DITCH is a hit-or-miss affair, like most Pogues records, and from the slurring and slipping MacGowan is clearly at the end of his tether. But this song positively soars over the rest of the mess. It holds hope in one hand and heartbreak in the other, and the bright wistful instrumentation hearkens back to the traditional Irish lineup that made the Pogues the definitive force in that whole revival sound. It’s also clear that producer Joe Strummer understood what made this band sound good, and it’s not surprising the Pogues picked him for their next front man.
   

Mixtape Single: May 19th, 2009

Slade - Rock And Roll Preacher (Hallelujah I’m On Fire)

Any rock and roll entry starting with a sermon is off on a good foot. Add to that the unique intensity of Slade and you have a real winner. From the same group that gave you Cum On Feel The Noize and, possibly rock and roll’s most perfect song, Gudbuy T’Jane. This track opens the 1981 record TILL DEAF DO US PART, when the band was long established but still going strong.

As for bearing and presence, Noddy Holder is something like the hobbit answer Sam Kinison. To look at him one would hardly suspect him of fronting one of the emperor groups of glam rock. These guys know how to send it loud and powerful, peppered with a mixture of rebellious rage and mischievous good humor.

Sweet - Peppermint Twist

At the outset of their career, glam mavens Sweet spent their time cranking out raucous singles, then collecting them into albums as an afterthought. Either way you get ‘em, favorites like Fox On The Run and Ballroom Blitz continue to rock ass in major ways.

Peppermint Twist, as y’know, is a much-loved Joey Dee bopper. Covered by many but never so well as by Sweet, as a 1974 single and also on their record SWEET FANNY ADAMS. They make extensive use of their better-than-average knack for vocal harmony. One of the most danceable you’ll hear all year.
   

Mixtape Single: May 14th, 2009

The Birthday Party - Junkyard (Live 1981)

This is a fantastic song by a band that can, as often as not, be hard to love. Officially, this article concerns the version from the LIVE 1981-1982 record, performed somewhere between London and the depths of hell. Though not much different from the version on the JUNKYARD album, it has a natural edge because, well, the Birthday Party was just that kind of band.

One thing Cave, Harvey, Pew and company picked up on, even back then, was that you can be a lot more disturbing and melancholy when you TAKE IT SLOW. It may be at top volume, Nick Cave may be screaming all the way through, the rhythm section may sound like a chorus of shotguns, but the band is not in any hurry to get through this one. The song really savors itself in as much perverse grandeur as can be found. And that’s saying a lot for these guys.

Jack Off Jill - Horrible

Once again, not the definitive version, if such can be named. Horrible appears on JOJ’s album SEXLESS DEMONS AND SCARS, but the version in question is from their post-breakup release of early recordings titled HUMID TEENAGE MEDIOCRITY. With Marilyn Manson as mentor and sponsor, they were naturally tuned into a certain insolent and frightening wavelength. But during their brief lifespan the band managed to put together a compellingly nasty little catalog that left the goths and riot grrls in the dust.

What we’ve got is a song about being horrible, and singer Jessicka’s baby-faced delivery, punctuated with her unbelievably grating little screams, does indeed raise questions of whether you want to kiss her or slap her. Clever lyrics, nice tight aggressive arrangement, a little better for being sleeker than the overfuzzed album version.
   

Mixtape Single: May 13th, 2009

Marty Robbins - Running Gun

From the master of the the mournful West Texas ballad, here’s one with some extra south of the border scenery. Marty Robbins gave us a lot more than El Paso and Big Iron, and the best of it is collected on his hit collection GUNFIGHTER BALLADS AND TRAIL SONGS. Between this and the works of Ennio Morricone, you’ll have all the music you could ever want about shooting a man down.

The guy’s musical ensemble is one of the tightest. The vocal harmony alone would make the Carter Family or the Sons of the Pioneers blush. Marty Robbins has the gift of unique delivery, mainly because he has one of those voices you just can’t duplicate, though for those in the know, Merle Haggard does a tol’able impression. Look it up.

Tom T. Hall - Turn It On, Turn It On, Turn It On

Tom T. Hall is easily among the most undercelebrated storytellers of his age. What he seems to understand is that to capture the human soul you need both a genuine affection for people and an extremely dark sense of humor. His records are not easy to come by, and you’re most likely to find this on a compilation, but for the record it’s from 1972’s WE ALL GOT TOGETHER AND…

This was the first song of his I ever heard, and it remains one of the best. Foot-stomping tempo, hardass bluegrass picking, and the funniest murder ballad ever put to paper. The title of the song is also the punchline, as you will see. Behind all the downbeat humor are a lot of interesting observations about how life can be sometimes.
   

Mixtape Single: May 12th, 2009

The Misfits - Attitude

Two unreal tracks today. Favorites from the glory days of both these bands. This one proves that the Misfits knew how to keep a steady garage beat, and perform the necessary short Greg Ginn style solos in the process.

Beware, featuring We Are 138 as well as Bullet, massively awesome songs. This may be the best and most shocking (read the lyrics to Bullet) A-Side released by any punk band. The Danzig overdubbed backups on the tail end of this number probably constitute some of the best and likely most thought out production endeavors that the Misfits ever sought out.

Motorhead - Leaving Here

Leaving Here, a glorious tune from the glorious days when Motorhead knew a bit more about playing the blues. This one comes straight from the confusing Stooges >> Mountain >> Black Sabbath transitional period when metal bands knew how to play the blues.

There’s never been a truer representation of that fact than Motorhead’s early career, and in particular, On Parole (the unnofficial release containing this single), Bomber, Overkill, and Ace of Spades. It was an insane period for these rising bluesmen (although they may have never guessed it at the time). Real rock n roll drums, it’s hard to imagine this band ever released Snake Bite Love.
   

Mixtape Single: May 11th, 2009

Elvis Costello And The Attractions - Radio, Radio

Once in a while it’s good to tell the radio god to take their high and mighty way of life and shove it. Maybe it’s just the frustrated rock star within talking, but for what it’s worth the song’s not just a searing jab at the radio establishment. It’s a great piece of music as well.

Elvis the Latter gleefully straddles sounds and styles so as to avoid easy classification, and this 1978 single is no exception. Let’s call it pub new wave and be done. It’s flat out fun, is what it is. Costello is cheeky as usual, backed by exuberant riffs that make you wonder if the musicians might be jumping up and down as they play. Freewheeling organ riffs light the way. What more to say on the subject?

Joe Jackson - Pretty Girls

If you aren’t too sugared up already, it gets even more laid-back and good-natured with Joe Jackson’s Pretty Girls, from 1979’s LOOK SHARP! Can you say catchy? You’ll be singing along, mark my words, whether or not you want to. I didn’t.

This track is a great example of British New Wave’s fascination with ultra-light ska stylings, which tends to make for feel-good listening in any weather. Bounce along to it, damn ya.
(Some of you may be longing for some more dark and awful songs, and be sure more are on the way. Just remember that if we weren’t manic now and then, we’d all just be depressed. ‘Night all.)
   

Mixtape Single: May 10th, 2009

Dave Edmunds with the Stray Cats - The Race Is On

Everyone talks big when proclaiming their loyalty to country music, but ninety percent of it is all talk. Few - very few - have both the interest and the chops to pay tribute to a real master. Dave Edmunds is one such hero. This is a single from 1981, and yes, those are THE Stray Cats backing him up.

The Race Is On is an old standard by George Jones, who, as my old man would put it, was country before country was cool. Dave Edmunds brings to the table everything he knows about hard-hitting pub and blues rock. The Stray Cats bring their insolent twang, and the end result is a flat-out killer rendition. Every jukebox in every country needs this one. Countries without jukeboxes should buy them. Enough said.

The Flamin’ Groovies - She Said Yeah

The Flamin’ Groovies are on the short list of bands that could constitute America’s answer to the Rolling Stones. In their early days they churned out the same sordid mix of blues and rock and roll before branching out into louder and larger sounds. They stayed largely faithful to their British Invasion roots while carving out a small but important spot in the history of rock and roll.

She Said Yeah is part Bo Diddley, part Doobie Brothers, and all Groovies. Loud, fast, and dammit you can dance to it. As for what it’s all about, the title says it all. Everything screams and wails in the right places. Coincidentally, the album housing this track, SHAKE SOME ACTION from 1976, was produced by Dave Edmunds (see above).

   

Mixtape Single: May 9th, 2009

Anna Fermin’s Trigger Gospel - The Box It Came In

In a time when country and folk revival groups all tend to run together, this soulful offering is a welcome reminder that there are fresh and distinct talents out there who know how to do it right.

HARD HEADED WOMAN is a tribute album from Chicago’s Bloodshot Records, featuring the music of Wanda Jackson. Anna Fermin and her Trigger Gospel scale back the heat on Miz Jackson’s strident delivery and make this bitterly humorous ballad almost tender. Subtle electric undertones punch the stringed and vocal harmony in just the right places. A very pretty song about a very ugly marriage.

Jay Bennett - Angel Of The Lord

Some gospel praises and some gospel pleads. And this song is down on both knees. Jay Bennett, late of Wilco, pays tribute to modern Canadian folk hero Fred J. Eaglesmith in this cut from the compilation appropriately titled SONGS OF FRED EAGLESMITH.

The song is simple enough, entreating an angel or God’s judgment or some kind of holy break to come down before the world is lost for good. To complete the effect, Bennett restyles the original solo-acoustic ballad into a full-on roadhouse waltz. Honky-tonk piano and drunken growling delivery are the order of the day. A beautiful and pathetic picture it makes, too.
   

Mixtape Single: May 5th, 2009

Jay Reatard - Puppet Man

You gotta see them play this one live. From the explosive Blood Visions record, this track comes out of left field with a bit less of a garage pop (not a substitute, nightmares) focus and more on the heavier side of this dirty punk rock style.

It’s the perfect combination of subdued beat and rhythm followed by chaos that is so danceable you just have to keep rockin’ as fast as these boys do on stage. It’s on a track like this that you begin to appreciate that fuzzy flying V sound.

Doo Rag - White Lightning

Here is a band that goes to shoe what a right time/right place phenomenon rock n roll tends to be. In many ways they received a share of the fanship and acclaim that less have seen; but given the right circumstances, they could have been bigger than the Black Keys.

That being a good starting point: cut down blues duos; in this case, with noisy slide heavy tendencies and many invented instruments. Cut down sound, and arguably more inventive percussion than the keys. Bob Log and Thermos Malling kept it heavy with the covers in this project; check out the mad fingerstyle and the whip percussion in this number.
   

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