Rolling Past Expiry Hard Rock 2010

Benedictus is the track that sold me on it. Its fabulous. I sold the LP with the lefty bashing "Part Of The Union" on it. It wasn't very good and I hate that particular track. I guess i remember growing up in the 80s with the strawbs playing tory party conventions.

xp

That was the album.

And I'd say if you're hearing Bonzos and music hall in this period of the Strawbs, it was probably kind of Hudson Ford's doing. Because they were always into that kind of wry or alternately jolly sound.

Although Strawbs didn't get the jollies much, particularly later.

Cant beat a bit of Bonzos really.

No argument from me. Love it.

Benedictus is the track that sold me on it. Its fabulous

I would have figured. You liked Camel, right?

In any case, so did I.

Best Status Quo Video Ever/Best Misuse of Status Quo "Slow Train" Tune Ever

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6TeM4VSgNI

First three minutes, anyway.

Who are the chavs in that anyway?

Chavs??

Another killer LP from the Metal Mike box, can't imagine why he wound up pruning out this one: Johnny Diesel And The Injectors, self-titled, Chrysalis 1989. American pressing, but according to the paragraph on the back, the band was formed in Perth, Australia and moved to Sydney (where they wound up touring with Jimmy Barnes, the guy from Cold Chisel -- real big deal Down Under, right?), even though Johnny himself was born in Massachusetts and had moved to Oz at age 9, and eventually wound up pumping gas. On the album he looks like early Johnny Cougar as a gas station attendant, and inside the album he and the Injectors sound like the Stonesiest side of early '80s Coug, or early '80s Bryan Adams at his very, very punchiest. Except by 1989, of course, neither Coug nor Adams was making music like this at all anymore, and Diesel goes further by crossing it, maybe a third of the time, with the Steve Marriott/Humble Pie side of Rose Tattoo. Total blue collar heartland meat-hooked bar-band bogan boogie that squeals like a pig when it needs to. Okay, doesn't ever get as unhinged as Rose Tattoo or Bon-era AC/DC -- too AOR corporate -- but kinda doesn't have to. Meatiest, hookiest, swingingest cuts are probably "Parisienne Hotel," "Burn," and "Get Ya Love", but I also love the absolute Coug/Adams Xerox "Don't Need Love," where it sounds like he's saying "Don't need love from Russian Jews," though probably not. Token original ballad, "Cry In Shame," sounds like good, early Black Crowes; token cover, "Since I Fell For You" (written by Buddy Johnson in 1945, done since by everybody from the Sonics to Ronnie Milsap) sounds like late '70s J. Geils in soul mode; closer is a six-minute instrumental hard blues vamp called "Thang II." Produced by Terry Manning, who has a pretty impressive resume'. According to Wiki, the album was the band's debut, and went to #2 in Australia, and they had a bunch more chart down there after, including a couple #1s in the early '90s. Never charted in the U.S. at all, and quite possibly never released another album here. Don't get the idea that this Chrysalis one got much, if any, distribution. Never even heard of the guy before.

(Uh...come to think of it, did Rose Tattoo even really have a Humble Pie side? I more think of their having a Faces side, and early AC/DC, if anybody, having eaten more Humble Pie. All I'm saying though is that the Johnny Diesel cuts that remind me of Humble Pie also remind me a little of Rose Tattoo. As Aussies, doubt can't be too far-fetched.)

Benedictus is the track that sold me on it. Its fabulous

I would have figured. You liked Camel, right?

Yes I do.

did Rose Tattoo even really have a Humble Pie side?

No. No stop and start, no Peter Frampton modality. Which took them out of blues boogie and into jazzy funky hard rock up 'til Rockin the Fillmore.

I more think of their having a Faces side

Yeah. One guitarist who was the muscle man's Ron Wood.

Been listening to no-date early 70's self-do by a band called Bike. This is real skot stuff.

98 -- 120 lb pound raging nor'easter pantywaists mixing white knuckle Friday night Black Velvet/Seagrams 7 booze seshes, hash and meth pills in that order. And boy are they good at it. Hand claps, cowbell and harmonica and songs about having the most fun ever speeding down an old dirt road and one song with only the lyrics "salt ... from sea" to a Yardbirds riff and berserk mouth harp. And how could a band named Bike not do a climactic song called "Ride"? Totally shunned by girls so they did more booze, pills and hash, sharpening their craft.

Which they do. Another example of from the bottomless pit of early hard rock US homeboys.

Chavs??

UK -- trashy women or men. Kid Rock fodder in the US. Female versh = Elastic, compulsively exhibitionist, polymer fiber, shiny, skin tight, high high heels. Objects of ridicule for purposes of titillation in Fleet Street press. I think. The real Brits will correct me.

Inspirationally muscular plus bad teeth. I always liked "Slow Train." Now I really like it. Good for a bit of a polish, so to speak.

I saw an odd free show last night at the Port Washington Public Library, made stranger by all the recent Strawbs talk. Ian Lloyd was the featured attraction. Lloyd, apparently a local, cranked through a short set of Stories stuff, then introduced John Ford from Strawbs (also now a Port Washington resident). God bless him if that's his real hair. Together they did "If I Needed Someone" and "Part of the Union." They're planning an album together. Lloyd's second set started with that Cars song from Goose Bumps, then some recent solo stuff (pretty heavy, one song involving an alien mask) & of course Bro Lou joined again by Ford. Through the crappy library sound system it was hard to tell if Lloyd still has his voice. He definitely has the range. In a good studio I bet he could still bring it.

Yeah, I've heard "chavs" as referring to white-trash British blokes before; just never to the birds. Learn something new every day.

As Aussies, doubt can't be too far-fetched.

should've been "that can't be too far-fetched."

I wrote about a good 1980 Ian Lloyd LP -- which I called a "secret Bryan Adams album" with Lloyd singing -- last year, right about here:

Rolling Past Expiry Hard Rock 2009

Today: WRNO-FM 100's The Rock Album Vol II from 1982, sponsored/ bankrolled by Miller High Life Rock To Riches. WRNO evidently being an AOR from New Orleans, where all these no-name bands come from. (Now Talk Radio since 2006, Wiki says, after switching from AOR to Classic Rock in 1997. Time rolls on.) Anyway, I'm loving this. Most metal-heavy cuts would be Persia's "Don't Let Your Dreams" (NWOBHM-like power-drama metal), Chrome's (not that Chrome) Nugenty-riffed "It Was You," and The Rebels' late '60s-style biker psych "Hit The Road." Big-assed butt-rock: Melange's "Lonely Tonight" (about which Metal Mike helpfully penned "Bad Co" in ink on the back cover); Quick Zipper's hefty white funker "Batters Box" (not as loaded with baseball metaphors as I'd hoped but still maybe the most macho sexist dunderheadness on an album hilariously loaded with such stuff), and the unebelivable accidental parody WRNO Theme (not credited to a specific band, though a good one's definitely playing on it) entitled "Rock To The Rock," which (as you'd kind of get the idea from its title) is a B.T.O./"Hot Blooded"-weight yellalong with the chorus, duh, "We're gonna ROCK! to the ROCK!," yep.

Models' "Child Star" and Strait Face's "Good Guys" are more Babys-type AOR powerpop, really catchy; The Limit's "Modern Girl" a slightly wimpier and very slightly new wave (you can tell from the title since it says "modern" in it) version of the same. That's almost all the songs, so, pretty decent slugging percentage overall. Liner notes say 20,000 local bands entered the competition (not sure if that's just New Orleans -- guessing it was maybe a national thing?), and the winner would get $25,000 and a deal with Atlantic, so you could watch "one of your local acts explode and become another Fleetwood Mac or Journey."

I wonder who won. Really makes me wonder about the whole concept of independently/locally released mainstream (as opposed to new wave) hard rock in the early '80s, a phenomenon nobody much talks about. There were lots of bands like that in Detroit, most of which I ignored and probably assumed sucked, because I was such a skinny-tie snob at the time. Rough Cutt, Adrenaline...No idea if they were any good. Wish I still had the LP by a local Detroit band called The Lordz.

And also, really makes me think about these low-rent early '80s AOR station compilations of unsigned local bands -- were they all this good? I'm guessing this one (Vol. II in New Orleans alone) was part of a bigger series; did Miller High Life sponsor these sorts of albums in every major city? Is there anybody who collects these things, or has documented them? Has anybody ever tried to compile a mainstream hard rock equivalent of Back From the Grave or Killed By Death, from the best tracks? If not, somebody should. Wrote about this other one, on the same record label (Starstream, based in Houston -- guessing they specialized in such recs?), called KZOK Best Of The Northwest 1981 here a couple years ago. (Just pulled it out; no Miller mention, but sez $25 grand goes to national winner -- Station PDs pick five finalists, who'd "compete in a live show before a panel of judges from the music industry.") Liked that Northewest comp, too:

Rolling 2006 Metal Thread

Rolling Past Expiry Hard Rock 2009

"And also, really makes me think about these low-rent early '80s AOR station compilations of unsigned local bands"

i can make you a REALLY good tape or two of good cuts if you want me too.

i've always wanted to put a mix up on ilm of radio station comp tracks, but i never get around to it. plus i am helpless when it comes to digitizing stuff. maria used to help me, but something happened to her computer that makes it hard for her to upload stuff. don't know what.

Chavs (in scotland it's Neds) are a bit different to the US white trash but I guess it's the most comparable.

The word NED has been in usage a lot longer than CHAV though. I saw a mid 90s episode of Taggart the other week there from 1985 and he referred to wee neds in that. Chavs is a 00s english phenomenon. If you have seen Little Britain, Vicky Pollard is a chav.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ned_%28Scottish%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chav

The radio station comp talk reminded me of this track from my childhood, "Burning Out Young" by Hey Boy. An all female Houston band that got pushed hard by KLOL but never made it. I saw them play some campus festival, and I'm pretty sure Dana Steele (of ESPN now) hosted, but I could be combining things.

Hunted down some info on the guitar player, she's now in Cheap Chick, playing Chick Neilson.

http://www.whitewolfzone.co.uk/beacham1.htm

And there were several other bands before you left Houston, correct?

Oh, yeah. I did a couple of, like, cover bands that also played original music. I did a band called Hey Boy, and I met a guy who owned a recording studio and was actually a pretty big name in town. And he heard some of my original stuff, and heard her singing, and he thought, "you guys could really do something." So she and I put this band Hey Boy together. And we actually won a contest with a radio station and got on a compilation album and that's how things really started to take off.
And I wasn't really happy about how things were going, so we folded that band and started XOX, and that was the band that really did a lot. We were one of the biggest bands in the region. And we were on the radio; we weren't even signed, but there were some DJs there that really liked us and they'd play us. And we got to this national contest in Austin that Willie Nelson was hosting, (laughs) and we didn't win that but from that we got the interest of the same management company that manages ZZ Top. And they also manage Clint Black and Point Blank and a couple of other bands. And they assigned Simon Renshaw to us. He manages the Dixie Chicks now and Mary J. Blige and a lot of other big acts. And what Simon did was to try to groom us for the record labels.

it was a cool song, Heart with some new wave and some muscle. "You're Burnin' out young, You're burnin' out young. Hey Boy! You're burnin' out young." I should buy that comp the next time I run across it. Probably never will now that I'm looking for it.

Chavs. I realize I may be committing sacrilege by naming Billie Piper but that's what she looks like when she's on the teebee in 'Merica.

http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&gbv=2&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=Billie+Piper&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&source=imghp&q=coleen+rooney&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&source=imghp&q=cheryl+cole&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&source=imghp&q=Katie+Price&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

Ran through Dirty Looks' Turn Of The Screw again; I'd call it a marginal keeper, I guess. Favorite track is definitely "C'Mon Frenchie," for being the fastest, catchiest, and funniest track on the record, even though I still haven't quite deduced what it's about -- reminds me a lot of Kix, partly for the between-verse asides and apparent wisecracks, one of which concerns a dirty old man. Agree with George that "Nobody Rides For Free" has some laudable swing to it, thanks to an almost ZZ-like Southern riff. "L.A. Anna" might have the most convincingly chunky AC/DC-like repeatariff pattern to it. Rest of the album, even relatively speedy cuts like "Love Screams" and "Have Some Balls," reminds me more of Dirty Looks's other Atlantic labelmates Ratt than Kix, partly because of all the echo on the vocals I suppose. And sounding like Ratt is fine, but it's not like many of the songs have hooks that really stand out from the pack. "Go Away" is the lone hair ballad, and "Hot Flash Jelly Roll" is the vaguely bluesish strip-club grinder -- okay, but not nearly as fun as Frank Zappa's bubblesoul parody "Gumdrop Jelly Roll" on his '68 Ruben And The Jets East L.A. doo-wop parody album (which I'd never heard before this week, but I've been listening to as part of a new reissue-including-outtakes CD called Greasy Love Songs, and I like it way more than I would've guessed.)

Uh...So I just realized that the phrase "C'mon Frenchie" comes from Zappa's "Dirty Love," weird! Swear I didn't do that on purpose. (Also, the Ruben & the Jets bubblegum song is actually "Jelly Roll Gumdrop," not the other way around. "The way you do the bop Like a spinning top The Pachuco Hop And the L.A. Slop You make a street car stop At the soda shop And my eye-balls pop..." And the music is spot-on, perfect.)

So, Pat Travers' Makin' Magic turns out to be closer to how I've always thought of him than Crash and Burn -- just way purer heavy blues-rock. I also don't like it as much, doesn't have as much in the way of hooks and odd left turns, but I can see how guitar players, say, might like it more. Still really good; faves probably "Statesboro Blues" for heaviness and instro "What You Mean To Me" for the soloing.

Decided the cut on the Skatt Bros' Strange Spirits that most anticipates early '80s flashdance-metal AOR per se' (Aldo Nova, John Parr, Survivor, whoever) is the title track, though "Fear Of Flying" comes close in that it basically sounds exactly like disco Kiss. (Also on Casablanca, obv; supposedly that's a Kiss pinball machine they're playing on the back cover.) Most forgettable song, which I always forget is there, is "Someone's Taken My Baby," a passable soft-rock ballad. Nothing really sounds country, exactly, though the other (great) ballad "Midnight Companion" (best song in history ever to mention a Rand McNally map) and "Life At The Outpost" make me think country -- the latter because it's about cowboys and because it has those spaghetti western guitar parts. Great song I didn't mention above is "Old Enough," the almost six minute closer, about a 12-year-old runaway who winds up living sleazy in the city; evolves into this awesome ending chant: "Sally, Sally, Sally's the alley, dancing...."

in the alley. (You get the idea Sally might be a child prostitute, or stripper, but it's never spelled it out -- same thing lots of hair-metal bands sang about, a few years later. Also of course possible, given the Skatts' cruiser-music premise, that she might be a he, and might be doing something in the alley other than dancing. But the song's totally on her side, and celebrating her street smarts.)

listening to Off Broadway's 1979 debut ON and 1980 follow-up QUICK TURNS. chicago (by way of wisconsin? second album has a madison p.o. box address to contact the band) power pop but with none of cheap trick's power or pezband's quirkiness. still, i'm charmed. i'm easily charmed. gorge should stay away, but chuck might want to investigate for a dollar or two. this is purist power pop. meaning, slightly anemic. maybe i have anemia?

http://www.offbroadwayusa.com/OffBroadwayOn.jpg

http://cliffjohnson.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/coverbmp1.jpg

now playing. not bad. features stu cook and doug clifford on bass and drums for creedence completists. good rockin' version of sixteen tons. wounded bird probably has you covered if you need a cd copy.

http://www.musicobsession.com/Pictures/c/r/creedence428450.jpg

Egh, I remember thinking Off Broadway were way too wimpy -- Chicago always seemed to be an early hotbed of powerpop-without-power to me. Possible I'd like them more now, but I kinda doubt it. They had a radio hit, right? (Pulls out Whitburn: Yep, something called "Stay In Time," went to #51 in 1980, and I can't tell you a damn thing else about it.)

Were Pezband quirky? I remember them being wimpy too, but I think some folks have suggested otherwise here. (The Shoes, Green, Material Issue: definitely wimpy, though I know the Shoes are loved, and I gave Green a great review once. And Chicago probably had others I'm not thinking of.)

Meanwhile I've been drinking beers and reading the Sunday Times and listening to the self-titled 1978 EMI debut album by this bald hairy-chested Canadian named Zwol, which I found a few years ago, and which I remember somebody at the University of Detroit Varsity News that year claimed was "punk disco." It isn't; in fact it's neither punk nor disco, though maybe the single "New York City" hints at dance-oriented new wave, slightly. (It went to #76; second single "Call Out My Name peaked one place higher; album didn't chart.) The best tracks -- "Don't Care" (which at least has a punk title and attitude I guess -- approximately as good as Stewart Copeland's fake punk song of the same title as Klark Kent, which I like just fine), "Where I Belong," "Every Man For Himself" (proto-Will To Power survival-of-fittest libertarian ubermensch statement about boys on the street) are actually closer to hard rock, but real simple, riffy but also keyboard-propelled (played by Zwol himself), sometimes kinda late glam (in the David Werner sense) but with macho vocals instead of swishy ones. Ridiculously macho, hairy-chested for sure -- the kind of voice that was passed down from Tom Jones to Ides Of March and Looking Glass then eventually through "Urgent" and "Addicted To Love" to Electric Six, who'd probably appreciate his dance-rock rhythms too. Other tracks, like "Call Out My Name," are more on the tough side of yacht rock, maybe like a louder version of late '70s Doobies. And "Southern Part Of France," a jazzy senstive ballad with congas, discusses women who lack pants. Wiki says Zwol, real name Walter Zwolinski apparently, had been around in Canada since 1969, originally in a band called Brutus, who had a Top 3 hit there called "Ooh Mama Mama" in 1975. And then he put out two albums as Zwol, in '78 and '79. Jasper/Oliver give him an entry; say most of the personnel was session musicians, but Goddo bassist Greg Godovitz was on the first album, the one I have. I'm not finding him listed in the liner notes, but Godovitz's Wiki page says he first formed Goddo with Brutus guitarist Gino Scarpelli. So apparently there's some connection.

So, Pat Travers' Makin' Magic turns out to be closer to how I've always thought of him than Crash and Burn -- just way purer heavy blues-rock. I also don't like it as much, doesn't have as much in the way of hooks and odd left turns, but I can see how guitar players, say, might like it more. Still really good; faves probably "Statesboro Blues" for heaviness and instro "What You Mean To Me" for the soloing.

It is pure heavy blues rock but it's also a sag after the debut. "Statesboro Blues" is easy the top cut. "Stevie" was also one of his favorites.

The debut has the original "Out Go the Lights," "Maybelline" (better than the Nuge's version on Tooth, Fang & Claw and a good version of "Hot Rod Lincoln." Plus one of his classic hard rock stem winders,
"Makes No Difference."

You also need to hear Putting it Straight.

Were Pezband quirky? I remember them being wimpy too, but I think some folks have suggested otherwise
here.

Well no. They were wimpy in the studio, though. Had all the albums. The best stuff is live, half of which was
released as 30 Seconds Over Schaumberg". The other half of the show came a little later, forget the title. Neither were available domestically. And the attraction is how they did fast and heavy in the clubs, mostly seemingly courtesy of the guitar player who had a serious thing for the Yardbirds and Jeff Beck, pretty much absent without explanation on the studio records.

Never cared for Off Broadway. Always linked to Cheap Trick through management.

Speaking of chavs. Was watching [i]Jennifer's Body on HBO and Megan Fox is definitely THE apotheosis of American chav. Probably explains why her posters are the Betty Grable equivalents for US troops in Afghanistan or something.

finally found a decent copy of chris youlden's first post-savoy brown album nowhere road. it's cool. funky. great guitars. chris spedding. danny kirwan. a little bit of everything on here.

http://www.wirz.de/music/youlden/grafik/nowher4.jpg

I'm hoping one of you guys can help me here, in the ~~~ VOTING THREAD : ILM ALLTIME METAL/HEAVY ROCK ALBUMS/TRACKS POLL~~~ Voting ends 11.59pm UK Time AUGUST 2ND poll im helping run with JJ, someone nominated Status Quo - Live 1970, but I cant find any info on this, george or chuck you any idea what album this could be? amg is no help. I can only find a live album from 77.

The only thing I can think of from 1970 was a performance session for the BBC which included
Spinning Wheel Blues, Junior's Wailing, Down the Dustpipe, In My Chair and Need Your Love.

Was that released as a promotional or fan club thing? I don't know. Don't live in the UK and it certainly was released over here although it was issued as bonus tracks on remasters of Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon.

Generally, the 77 double LP is the live thing everyone who was into the heads-down-no-nonsense-mindless-boogie version of Status Quo had.

Might just have been a typo and was meant to be that one then, thanks!

OK, I am just finally checking out the 1990s ZZ Top albums and ho-lee shit. Every one of 'em is harder and uglier than I expected, having gotten off the train with Recycler, but Rhythmeen in particular is just nasty. The guitar on "Loaded" is so distorted and fucked up it sounds like the guitar from Tom Waits' "Goin' Out West," but even more blown-out, like he's playing through a speaker with about a half-dozen holes punched through the cone. And XXX is like some kind of industrial blues dub metal. If you're looking for total grit 'n' roar, you need to hear these records.

Yeah, I think Rhythmeen is tops. Heh. My favorites are "Vincent Price Blues" and "Hairdresser".

I think part of what you're hearing is the radical downtune to C. So the strings are almost flopping on the fret board. Fuzzes sound really lowdown when given that kind of input.

Totally surprising Metal Mike Saunders mass email:

i ran across a 50-cent neighborhood Salvation Army store copy (the jacket was completely trashed but the VG/VG+ vinyl plays fine) of SPECTRUM/Cobham @1973
Billy Cobham : Spectrum
and wow, this shit IS awesomely entertaining! (the uptempo cuts). (it's not any "free jazz" that i ever knew/heard of, so maybe i am blank on what "fusion" was supposed to sound like...something re Miles Davis playing into amps or some such late 60's nonsense). drumming is crazy good, like Elvin Jones on meth minus the fanciest jazz (licks). is this what the MC5 wished they sounded like?

i never liked McLaughlin/ Mahavishnu Orch because i thought he was a techie-wanker (guitarist) a la Yes-prog damage.

who plays guitar on this Cobham lp? oh wait, i pried apart the water-damage/fire-damaged gatefold -- TOMMY BOLIN! i always wondered where his muso rep came from, because it sure wasn't the lps by Zephyr, James Gang, Deep Purple, or his mostly-wanky solo lps.

that is a terrific album.

A fucking ridiculously awesome album. The guy Saunders is of course wrong about Mahavishnu. Lots of damage in that post, water damage, fire damage, prog damage....

http://www.fdlreporter.com/article/20100721/FON0101/7210443/Passion-for-outdoors-resonates-with-many-loyal-Wisconsin-fans

The delusional but amusing Nuge insists to some reporter that his mostly not good song about an Indian archer, Fred Bear, is the most requested song at his shows in Wisconsin and Michigan. And it's the official rock 'n' roll hunting song of the Badger state.

And that 600 is a big draw at the Fon du Lac County Fair where you get the show for free for the price of the fair's admission.

i look forward to george's regular posts about the Nuge. It really deserves it's own thread.

Bill otm about Mahavishnu.

A friend had my listening to one of John McLaughlin's latest concert CDs and it was amazing stuff. But I kept thinking to myself, I'd rather hear this on electric guitar since he's mostly all about soundstage acoustic groups playing with great energy. But too loudly.

i'm having a very xhuxk morning. started out with the fools - heavy mental. now the romantics - national breakout. on deck i've got greg kihn - next of kihn and greg kihn - s/t. had forgotten that the s/t greg kihn album came out way back in 1975!

Yay, Scott! National Breakout (their best and most garage rock, easy) and Heavy Mental are great! Wrote about the latter on last year's thread, I think? And Greg Kihn's debut upthread, I think.

yeah really digging national breakout. THIS is pop with some power.

Key cuts: "Tomboy," "Stone Poney," "21 And Over."

Ted tells DC and any Mexican reading his columns he's been attacked by a little old lady and some other people from Glenn Beck's official enemies list.

http://dickdestiny.com/blog1/2010/07/23/nugent-copy-editor-works-overtime-but-it-doesnt-help/

Amateur video from Ted's summer tour of Indian gaming casinos and such:

http://dickdestiny.com/blog1/2010/07/22/more-scenes-from-teds-summer-tour-of-assorted-firetraps-and-casinos/

So, speaking of late '60s Detroit rock (you know, like Ted Nugent, and the early '80s Romantics album that sounds like Mitch Ryder -- which is what I meant by "garage" fwiw -- and that album-of-the-year Bob Seger reissue CD-R), this new album by ex Rational guy Scott Morgan is really, really good. One of the best new hard rock albums I've heard this year, easy, and he's somebody I've never even listened to all that much before, though I liked this single he did in the late '80s called "16 With A Bullet" (reviewed it in the Voice at the time, also either interviewed him for Creem or just hung out with him once in Ann Arbor, I'm not sure which.) I think somebody was talking on another thread about some double Rationals reissue from a few years ago, but it sounded like too much of a just okay thing to me. Maybe I was wrong, though. Anyway, the guy's voice -- hard white soul, like Mitch Ryder -- holds up suprisingly well, 44 years after his only Hot 100 single. ("Respect," #92, 1966.) And while the new CD's soul covers are fine (Four Tops' "Something About You," Tempts' "Since I Lost My Baby," Sam Cooke via Animals' "Bring It On Home To Me"), what I'm really loving is the louder stuff -- "Summer Nights" and the Bobbie Gentry cover "Mississippi Delta," both with reams of early Stooges style wah-wah, plus the album-ending biker blues "Highway." Album's about equal parts soul rock, blues rock, and hard rock, I guess. "Memphis Time" (a sort of rollcall of Memphis soul heroes) is kinda corny, but I don't mind. Recorded/mixed/co-produced by Jim Diamond (who's worked with White Stripes, Dirtbombs, Gore Gore Girls, Electric Six, etc), but it doesn't sound indie; sounds like it could've come out in 1969 okay.

Morgan's Myspace:

http://www.myspace.com/scottmorgandetroit

Btw, not hard rock at all, but I mentioned it here last week, so I might as well say that I wound up hating Larry Norman's prissy prancy foo-foo lame-brain Upon This Rock as much as I wound up loving his much tougher and catchier and smarter Only Visiting This Planet. Which just goes to prove I guess that Christian rockers can make both good records and bad ones, just like regular people.

Everything you wanted to know about how Slade got together but didn't know to ask:

http://www.birminghammail.net/news/black-country/black-country-news/2010/07/24/dave-hill-from-slade-talks-about-his-roots-97319-26919971/

Just a few years later, Dave would be climbing to the top of the Mander Centre for a heavily symbolic
photo shoot, next to an arrow sign pointing skywards, as he and fellow Black Country working-class
heroes Noddy Holder, Jim Lea and Don Powell celebrated their first number one in late 1971.

The characteristically mis-spelt Coz I Luv You would kick-start an amazing run of six number ones and a further seven top ten records in a wildly exciting four years, then following a dip in fortunes which saw
them play what Dave calls “the chicken-in-a-basket circuit”, a dramatic return to the top in
the eighties after a fortuitous late call to deputise for Ozzy Osbourne at the 1980 Reading Festival.

-----

Later in his teens Dave, by now obsessed with Chuck Berry, had a fresh beginning when he was
head-hunted by the manager of Bilston band the Vendors, which included similarly aged Don Powell,
an immaculate musical time-keeper who had learned to play the drums as a boy scout.

The Vendors evolved into the N’Betweens after Dave met Noddy Holder, disenchanted singer with
Steve Brett and the Mavericks, in the now long-defunct Milano Coffee Bar off Darlington Street in Wolverhampton.

Don had already run into Noddy while performing at St Giles’s Youth Centre in Willenhall and was
aware of his wallpaper-shredding vocal talents.

The group, with soon-to-depart vocalist Johnny Howells still in the ranks, also recruited
precocious Codsall Comprehensive student Jim Lea on bass after an astounding try-out at
the Lafayette club (now the Gala Casino) in Whitmore Street, in Wolverhampton town centre.

The new N’Betweens’ line-up had earned an estimable reputation by late 1968, having gigged regularly
in town at the Lafayette, at the Woolpack restaurant, the Ship And Rainbow, and on Monday nights
at the Civic Hall, as well as at Brum venues like the Tyburn House, building a solid fanbase as
they churned out a perplexingly wide-ranging repertoire of covers, from Marvin Gaye to the
Moody Blues, Frank Zappa to Ted Nugent. They had blistering power and real stage presence.

Had and have a Scott Morgan solo LP with Scott Asheton on drums and a girl singer. Was pretty much all over the place as xhuxk sez the new one is. Mostly, it had a Bruce/Mellencamp vibe.