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...
Frederick "Toots" Hibbert and the Maytals have been doing it since 1963. It doesn't get much more authentic than these guys. They played reggae before reggae was a thing. I like a lot of songs by this band, but Pressure Drop is my favorite. This tune just has a way of melting away stress when heard.
When the Detroit garage rock sound was getting ramped up in the early 2000's behind the success of the White Stripes, I started checking out other Detroit bands, such as the Soledad Brothers, the Detroit Cobras, and the Von Bondies. I remember liking the early work of the Von Bondies and then I kind of forgot about them.
Checking in on them now, I see they broke up about four years ago. Oh well. Here is my favorite tune from their 2004 release, Pawn Shoppe Heart.
Yesterday, I posted about a performer that was a rock star who later had a successful radio show. Today, the opposite is true. Peter Wolf, lead singer of the J. Geils Band, was a high profile DJ for WBCN in Boston during their rise to prominence in the late 60's. Soon, though, Peter turned his attentions to his band. The J. Geils Band would go on to have a great career throughout the 70's and into the mid-80's.
The keys to this band's success was their high energy live shows and their charismatic lead singer. Both are on display here on their cover of the Smokey Robinson penned "First I Look at the Purse"
I had never been a big Tom Petty fan. I mean, I liked Refugee okay. And, when I was in college, "Even the Losers" became a theme song for a group of friends. Then, when Silence of the Lambs came out, I gained an appreciation for "American Girl". Yet, I didn't go out and buy any of Petty's albums. I guess I was a peripheral fan at most.
Over the past couple of years, though, I have been listening to Petty's "Buried Treasure" weekly radio show on Sirius. Regardless of whether or not you like his music, you should check out his radio show. He is funny, has strong musical opinions, and has great taste in music.
Being a fan of his show pushed me to check out more of his own work and there are some real gems that never got airplay back in the classic rock radio era. Check out this track from his first album.
In the early 2000's, I was a big White Stripes fan. Enough so, that I bought all of their CDs up through the then current release of White Blood Cells. I then purchased 2003's Elephant as soon as it was released. I remember listening to that entire album and loving each song as I heard it for the first time. The last track on that album, "It's True that We Love Each Other", was a quirkly little number that featured singing from Jack and Meg White, along with someone named Holly.
I immediately had to find out more about this Holly. Of course, now I know that was Holly Golightly, formerly of Thee Headcoatees, which formerly backed up Billy Childish's Thee Headcoats. I went and downloaded a bunch of Headcoatees songs and discovered this kickass garage band of the 90's.
Here finds the band in 1997 covering Plastic Bertrand's classic.
Swedish Afro-beat psych rock doesn't get any better than Goat. Never mind the lack of comparables in the genre. This band is making good music in an age where it is harder to find. Check out their Facebook page for more info about the band. You can also check out their website if you like a challenge.
Here is Goat from a few short years ago off of their first album.
In the days after Dust, but before his time in the Ramones, Marc Bell(aka Marky Ramone) was in another band called Estus. This band was closer to Dust than the Ramones. They only lasted together long enough to release one full album, the self-titled work illustrated in the link.
Today's short selection sounds a lot like it could be an outtake from Led Zeppelin I. See if you agree.
