Exploring unheralded rock songs from many genres including classic rock, hard rock, psych, garage, metal, proto-punk, punk, post-punk, and the occasional blues tune...
Today, I'm featuring a trippy little number from the early days of psych. Released about a month before Sgt. Peppers, it was just another hallmark of the musical changes that were seeping in and on the verge of blowing up in the Summer of Love.
The Woggles are a garage band's garage band. They have been banging it out in clubs since the early 90's. Here they are with the first track on their first album.
Definitely going with one of the heavy hitters of all time, today. Albert King is probably my favorite bluesman and nearly 30 years after I first purchased this CD, it still grabs me every time. I absolutely love Albert's guitar tone. No, this isn't a deep cut from Albert's discography, but it is under appreciated all the same. So, listen to him slay the audience of the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco one night in 1968.
It sure took a long time for me to get around to the godfathers of psychobilly, The Cramps. Well, without further ado, here are Lux Interior and band with a nice song about pets.
Well, I know almost nothing of today's band, Group Axis, except that they showed up in a 2007 compilation called Get Ready to Fly, which was various tunes from former Buddy Holly and the Crickets producer, Norman Petty. In any case, here is a great little garage/psych tune from the height of the era.
Now this tune definitely has a 60's vibe. And while it may sound dated, there is some good song structure and quality musicianship. This band was formed when Pete Townshend introduced Speedy Keen to Andy "Thunderclap" Newman. Townshend would go on to produce their debut album. Andy Newman just passed away a couple of months ago. RIP!
Ginger Baker did work in the rock music industry after the falls of Cream and Blind Faith! By 1974, Baker had formed a new group with Adrian Gurvitz of The Gun fame to form Baker Gurvitz Army. The band went on to record three albums over a three year period. This is some quality stuff. Here they are from their self-titled debut album.
For a longer live version on video from 1975 in Germany, check out this link.
The Muldoons, not to be confused with Detroit's modern day band, were a British 60's one hit wonders, only releasing one single. But this mod single is a good one, a cover of a Memphis Slim tune. Check it out.
Tonto's Expanding Head Band made some really trippy music. This band was as unique as it gets. They are actually a musical duo consisting of Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff. They created a multi-timbral polyphonic analog synthesizer our of existing synthesizers and then began to make some electronic music before the genre's time would come. Later, the two members of this band went on to support Stevie Wonder. Check it out.
It's been awhile since I've featured a band/artist that most people have heard of. I think maybe Chicago was the last one and that was over a month ago. Well, even more popular than Chicago, Miles Davis gets the nod today. To me, Miles Davis was the Elvis and Beatles of jazz, all rolled into one. And Miles' period from 1969 to 1975 was the cream of the crop. Today's song was recorded in early 1973, but did not get a proper release until 2007.
But you say "wait, this is a rock blog, not a jazz blog". It's a blurry line. Just listen to a master practicing his craft.
I know that it's probably blasphemous to feature a song by one of Lemmy Kilmister's first bands that was actually recorded before Lemmy joined the band. Well, that's the way it goes, I suppose. I imagine that Lemmy must have had to play this tune dozens of times, though, if that's any consolation. But, I feature it here because the early Vickers had that great British invasion sound.
In this blog, I like to feature songs that were underappreciated. These are usually songs that got released, just overshadowed by "hits" or never able to get airplay. The Misunderstood were a great Californian garage/psych rock band that had a few singles, but most of their music would not be released until years later. Today's song, Children of the Sun, got released three years after they recorded it, but not widely released until it showed up in some compilations decades later. I wish we heard more from this band.
The Outskirts of Infinity certainly sound like they recorded music in the late 60's, but in fact, this British band was 20 years too late. This probably has something to do with why they weren't a bigger act. They made some good music, though. Check out this track from their second album, Scenes from the Dreams of Angels. To me, this tune sounds a bit like a psych version of Thin Lizzy. Check it out.
Today, let's dig into some mid 70's Texas hard rock. The band cranked out six albums in seven years. They seem to be more influenced by ZZ Top that the southern rock bands of the day. What say you?
Today's song is one of those rarities for me in that I heard this song when it first came out. This brooding, beautiful tune is just mesmerizing to my ears. And Michael Stipe's added vocal is well placed. It blends together perfectly with Kristin's voice. Part of me wishes that they just formed a duo and toured. But I'll take this masterpiece as it is.
Krokodil was a Swiss band(mostly) that evolved into a band with psych and prog leanings. However, for their first LP, they were mostly a blues rock band. Today's particular track never made the originl album, only being released on as a bonus track to a 1999 German re-issue.
It seems like all of the rock stars of the late 60's/early 70's started out in a garage band in the mid 60's. For future Yes guitarist, Steve Howe, this was no exception. The Syndicats were Howe's first band. However, he left the band in early 1965, before they would record their most memorable song. Here it is in all its garage glory.
Man, I always knew that Dave Edmunds was a good songwriter and knew how to play a catchy hook, but I wasn't aware how much he could shred the blues. Here he is from his late 60's band, Love Sculpture. Despite having the word "love" in the band's title and some trippy album graphics, this was a blues band. If anything, they skewed towards Ventures-like precision. Good stuff.
Stuart David Cohen was a singer/songwriter/folk artist in Greenwich Village in the early 60's. When some of his contemporaries started to change their names, Eric Anderson suggested Stuart change his name to David Blue. Bob Dylan thought this was funny and started singing, "It's All Over Now, David Blue". At that point, Stuart had to stick with it and was David Blue for the rest of his career. Sadly, David died of a heart attack in 1982. Here he is from his first LP in 1966.
Today as I remember Jerry Garcia on 21st anniversary of his death, I'm digging deep into one of the Grateful Dead leader's other projects. In late 1978, longtime Jerry collaborator and bass player, John Kahn, put together a new band in the ashes of the most recent version of the Jerry Garcia Band. The key difference with this new band would be the addition of saxophone and trombone. The band was together for about a year and performed together just 57 times. Luckily, for Deadheads like me, there was always someone following Jerry's bands around with tape recorder. This is especially true with Reconstruction as they never recorded anything together in the studio. In any case, enjoy this peppy number from 7-7-79 in Palo Alto, California.
Wanda Jackson was a teenage country music performer in 1955 when she ended up opening for an up and coming singer named Elvis Presley. She ended up dating Elvis for a spell and he would help to teach her how to play and sing rock n' roll music. I'm glad that he did, because Wanda's powerful vocals would not likely have been pushed to the max in the country music spectrum. If you haven't heard Wanda's vocals you're in for a treat.
I've spent most of the last ten days in the early 70's. So, I'm going to time leap forward to the present day for today's featured song. Sergeant Thunderhoof is a British band that combines well played stoner metal with a hint of Jane's Addiction to my ears. Check out this track off of their recently released second album, Ride of the Hoof https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8uXV9hyJ4c
Today we should remember yet another great musician who we lost to drugs, Gram Parsons. Gram was a mere 26 years old when he died from an overdose of opiates and alcohol in 1973. Here is a track from three years prior off of the second Flying Burrito Brothers album, Burrito Deluxe. This band also included Chris Hillman(of the Byrds) and Bernie Leadon(later of the Eagles).
Terry Stamp's 1975 Fatsticks LP is a rare one indeed. If you ever see it for cheap, pick it up. But before you re-sell it, take a listen. This is some quality pub rock. For a story on the album's creation and what Terry's been up to since, check this link.
James Ramey, aka Baby Huey, was a talented soul singer from Richmond, Virginia who died of a drug induced heart attack only a few short months before his debut LP, The Baby Huey Story: The Living Legend, was released. Well, "living" he wasn't, but he a "legend" he was, as he left us a great album.
Time to cleanse the palate with some straight up UK punk from the original punk wave. Here are the Killjoys with the A side to their only release during their existence.
Patto was an English band that got labeled as a prog rock band by the end of their four year existence in the 70's. However, they didn't really start out that way. Here is a scorcher from their first self-titled album.
