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...
In my house, I'm the one who gives out the candy to neighborhood children on Halloween. Each year, I try to think of unique, spooky music to play in the background when kids come to the door for their treats. On many occasions, I've wound up playing Primus. One year recently, I featured their Primus and the Chocolate Factory LP. 2011's Green Naugahyde is another favorite. Here is my favorite song off of that release.
Man, 1967 was a weird year for music. While some bands, like the Beatles, had made the transition to psychedelic rock, there were hundreds of bands that were in the middle of that transition. Here is one such example. Mick Farren's band sounds like equal parts garage and psychedelic on the band's debut long player, Ptooff! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAb1-glPEpM
Some astute followers of this blog may think that I've already featured Pat Travers in this space. While that is true and the post can be seen here, today's selection is slightly different as this tune is from the Pat Travers Band, not just Pat Travers. Pat would record and tour solo and with the Pat Travers Band interchangeably over his career, especially in the early days. Here he is with his band in 1980 singing about the pinnacle of 70's excess.
What do you get when you mix punk rock with very talented musicians? You get Nomeansno. This band from British Columbia made some very angular, well-played songs. For me, it took a couple of attempts to get into their music and at this point, I've only really scratched the surface. So far, I've gravitated to their fourth LP, 1989's Wrong. Here is a track off of that album.
1973 for a recording date of today's song is a mere guestimate. New York proto punk legends, Jack Ruby, did not see any of their original songs released during the approximate time of their existence(~1973-1977). It wouldn't be until 2011 before these songs were unearthed and released as a self-titled CD release. As you might expect, the music is raw. That, of course, is what makes it so appealing.
Today is a rare post for three reasons. First of all, I don't usually feature slower paced tunes. Secondly, I rarely feature music from late in an artist's career(as they are not usually as good). And finally, it is not common for me to play songs that were massively overplayed in their original incarnation. But, there is just something about Richie Havens version of this Who staple that just grabs me. Maybe the Pete Townsend lyrics seem more poignant than ever in today's turbulent times. And I wouldn't have heard them in the same old Who presentation.
While the rock world was getting swept up by the grunge scene, the Nomads were coming up in Sweden playing old fashioned garage rock. But unlike grunge, the Nomads are still going strong 25 years later. Here they are off of their debut LP, Sonically Speaking. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbhhxePvLM0&feature=youtu.be
Fancy Rosy was not a punk singer. She came from Puerto Rico to Germany and wound up in a disco group called Pretty Maid Company. When punk music started to get big, she decided to record a song in that style on her own. It isn't clear if she meant it to me a joke(like when the Beastie Boys first decided to rap) or if she really liked punk music. The fact that I can't tell means that maybe she is pulling it off!
The band T.I.M.E. stands for "Trust In Men Everywhere" and that seems like terrible advice. Ignoring the name, though, this group features future Steppenwolf guitarist, Larry Byrom. T.I.M.E. made a couple of psych albums in the late 60's. Here they are with track that seems inspired by Smokey Robinson's Get Ready. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84nHekjT5sM
Krzysztof Klenczon was a Polish composer who made some interesting psychedelic music in the early 1970's. Unfortunately, his life was cut short at the age of 39 in 1981 at the hands of a drunk driver in Chicago. We are left with his music, though, which is definitely its own brand of psychedelia.
German rockers, New Lords, must have had a fresh copy of The Who's Live at Leeds when they recorded their self-titled 1971 album. The riff from today's song, Power, seems to have be lifted directly for the middle of the My Generation jam on the Who's seminal live album. If you're curious, as to what I mean, go to 8:41 of this link. Still, the New Lords music is definitely worth a listen.
After guitarist Leigh Stephens was unceremoniously kicked out of Blue Cheer, he went right into the studio to record a decidedly trippy, less hard rock album as a solo artist. Here is the title track to his 1969 solo effort.
Recently, one of this blog's readers(Thanks Jeff!) tipped me off to Seattle's Welcome. This band has been described as indie rock, but it sounds a lot like garage rock or even proto punk to me. Of course, today's song was released in the mid-2000's, so indie rock might have been an easier description. To me, this band resembles Simply Saucer, at least on this track.
Morly Grey was a psych rock band from Ohio that formed in the late 1960's. They didn't get around to releasing their first album, though, until 1972, and it ended up being their only studio release. Check out the debut track off of The Only Truth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ENQpLJs0bA
I do not know much about Detroit guitarist Bob Goodsite. I do know that I enjoyed his fuzztone stylings on today's song, which recently saw a second life on the Brown Acid compilation.
Time for some Cleveland proto-punk. Mirrors was originally active from about 1972 to 1975. They recorded several tracks in 1975, but nothing would get immediately released. It wasn't until 1977 that two of those tracks wound up on a single. By this time, the band was broken up. Here is one of those two released tracks.
No, the title is not a typo. In fact, Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic is sung by the back-up singers for the chorus. As for the song itself, it sounds like a cross between proto-funk and soul. Perhaps Isaac Hayes nailed the sound with the title of his 1969 release, Hot Buttered Soul. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N8k3uJu6K8
Riot is one of those bands that transitioned from hard rock to heavy metal. The title track to this NYC band's sophomore effort illustrates that process well. There are other tracks on this LP that are much more "hard rock" in nature, but it is clear which direction the band is heading in...
Today, let's try some mid-70's Houston funk from Leon Mitchison. If you come across the original 45 of this tune, it could be worth $200. If not, it was also a part of a 2005 compilation called Cold Heat: Heavy Funk Rarities 1968-1974. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrVqQU_G53o
Ah, a great little fusion set recorded in 1974 with keyboardist Eumir Deodato and percussionist Airto Moreira. The band also featured some smokin' guitar from John Tropea, hence the title of this piece of work. In other words, it is guitar heavy. Enjoy.
Okay, here is that heavy track I was subconsciously seeking out yesterday. Blitzkrieg was a band that was originally signed during the NWOBHM wave of the early 80's. For a multitude of reasons, though, the band split up in 1981 before being able to record a full length album. The band members went on to other projects, but would find their way back to each other by 1985 to reform the band and record their debut album, A Time of Changes. Here is a track off of that release.
The other day I was walking to work and today's song popped up on my iPod. I had forgotten about this track and Bloodrock in general. They were a hard rock band from Texas that had a bit of the Southern Rock sound, but was mostly just hard rock. Today's track is just a straight up rocker.
After a week in the early 70's, which is not a terrible place to be, I'm consciously pushing forward to the next decade for some post-punk. Department S was a British band that was named after a 60's tv show. The band would last only a couple of years during its initial incarnation and released a few singles. Today's song, though, was not one of them. This lost classic wasn't released until years later.
Alright, Fridays are a great time for some funky goodness with Detroit's own Chairmen of the Board off of their 1974 LP, Skin I'm In. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxfQ0uBIegY
While I've been careful not to feature the same artist more than once(with the notable exception of David Bowie after his death), I have repeated songs on occasion. In fact, today mark's the third time that I've featured Hey Joe, written by Billy Roberts in 1962. Of course, it's most popular version was Jimi Hendrix's take. I first featured this song in one of my early blog posts. You can find it here. Then, I played a version a few weeks ago that was a pure rocker by Wicked Lady. Today's version is from soul singer Lee Moses, who gives it an entirely different treatment.
Eddie Hazel, lead guitarist with Funkadelic and Parliament-Funkadelic only released one solo album in his entire career, but it was a doozy. That album, Games, Dames, and Guitar Thangs, is a great album from end to end. It was a funk LP released during the height of disco, so it's timing was a bit off for mass exposure. Eddie would continue to perform for a number of years, but would die young of liver failure in 1992. At least we have this one solo album to feature his skills.
Back in the 80's, when I was a teenager, I have a recollection of reading some Rolling Stone list of the most controversial album covers of all time. Near the top of that list was the self-titled debut album from a ten-piece band from Ohio, Mom's Apple Pie. (Please note that the album cover pictured in the linked Youtube video is the censored version. If you'd like to see the uncensored version, you are only a quick Google search away). In any case, after reading that article, I remember looking at my local record store to see what all the fuss was about. Of course, that album had been out of print, so I quickly forgot about it. Fast forward a couple of decades or so, and I looked up this album on the internet. The controversial album cover was quite predictable. The music, however, was surprising. The band sounds like a slightly funkier version of Blood, Sweat, and Tears. I had expected some hard rocking tunes that matched my stereotype of a band that would have racy album art. It just goes to show you that you can't judge a record by its cover...
Here is the band performing one of their more upbeat tunes. Enjoy.
