Plain Or Pan?
Sounds like Bowie? Oh Yeah!
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The Shadows Of Knight were a genre-straddling garage punk band from mid 60s Chicago. Taking their cue from The Yardbirds, The Who, The Stones, The etcs etcs blah blah blah, they are as well known on the northern soul scene for ‘Shake‘ as they are on the garage circuit for their feedback soaked version of Them’s ‘Gloria‘. Lenny Kaye’s Nuggets album included this, their version of Bo Diddley’s ‘Oh Yeah’.
A garage stomper of a track, guitars drop in and out of the mix. The rhythm section takes it down. The singer whispers. The rhythm section section takes it up again. The singer screams. The guitars scream. The girls in the audience probably screamed as well. David Bowie was clealry taking notes. The similarity between Oh Yeah and Jean Genie is bordering on the criminal. But you knew that already.
“Has anybody seen Kosher Pickle Harry?” ask The Premiers at the start of Farmer John, their 1964 universally accepted garage classic. Welding the rhyhtms of Louie Louie and Wild Thing (of course) onto a standard 1950s croon-fest proved a success, given that this track reached the giddy heights of number 19 on the charts before the group disappeared from view forever.
Farmer John is seemingly recorded live at some Animal House type frat house party. Girls whoop and cheer, everyone sings the backing vocals and a rocking good time is seemingly had by all. In fact, the track was recorded to 3 tracks in the studio before the band invited their pals in to hear the record for the first time. The engineer at the desk used the 4th track to record the sounds of the studio party and mixed it across the top.
Neil Young liked this track so much he took to covering it live in concert at the start of the 90s. He turned it into a bucketful of grunge and sucked the life out of it, but, hey hey my my, if he hadn’t covered it, I’d never have gone out of my way to dig out the original. So a backhanded ‘thanks‘ to him for that. And remember folks, as the saying goes, “If you dug it, it’s a nugget!”
Tags: neil young, shadows of knight, the premiers
Them was rotten days
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Going to see a band these days is far too expensive. Yer enormodome megastars like U2, Springsteen, AC/DC etc etc charge a small fortune. Yer second string enormodomers like Coldplay, Oasis, (insert your own choice here) etc etc can get away with charging similar fortunes. Even relatively minor league acts are asking you to stump up anything upwards of £15 to hear their one album’s worth of whining nonsense. And why? Cos in this day and age, when folk (like me) illegally share music, the artist has realised that the only way to make money is on the road. That’s why live music has never been so bouyant. Even Madonna is out and about playing a football stadium near you. You can’t download the live experience. Aye, you can download a Dylan concert the minute he’s off stage. And you can watch umpteen YouTube shaky camera phone videos of Paul McCartney on stage with Neil Young even before the last bit of feedback has fizzled out. What you can’t do is download the actual in-yer-face gig. And until you can, your favourite artists will continue getting away with charging you the price of feeding a family of four for a week. But you knew that already.
It wasn’t always like this. I saw Blur for £1! (see above). I paid £4 on the door the first time I saw the Stone Roses. Even their famous Alexandra Palace gig was only £8.50. And they were massive by this point. I’ve tons of tickets for concerts I’ve been to where I’ve paid a fiver or less. Sure, that first Stone Roses concert was 20 years ago. Blur was 18. I’m no economist, but surely the price of gig tickets these days outstrips the rate of inflation?
I saw the Inspiral Carpets loads of times. So named after one band member commented on his fellow band member’s mum’s orange and brown 70s living room carpet, the first time I saw them they were supporting the Wedding Present in the Barrowlands. I thought they sounded like the Teardrop Explodes; swirly organ, 60s references, bowl cuts and all that. Every song sounded like ‘Reward‘. I was hooked. I kept my fingers poised over the pause button of my tape recorder during John Peel shows and I kept my eyes peeled on the gig pages of NME. I went to see them all the time. I paid £3.50 to see them in the bar at Glasgow Tech. A quick visit to their merchandise stall to purchase 2 ‘Cool As Fuck’ badges (lost on the way home) and a demo tape called Dung 4 cost me a further £3.60. Add a couple of student-bar-priced watery pints and you can see that I had a great night out for a tenner.
A couple of weeks ago I dug out that old demo tape and converted it into mp3 files. It’s very much of it’s time, but still sounds pretty good. If you’re in anyway into Farfisa-led 60s influenced tunes sung by a shouty guy called Steve (these songs are pre Tom Hingley fame era) then it’s for you. Some of the tracks appeared polished and shiny down the line on the Rare As Fuck Plane Crash ep. Others crept onto 7″ b sides or re-appeared in future Peel Sessions. If you’re a fan of Inspiral Carpets you’ll know most of them. If not, it’s as good a place to start as any. This tape was the one thing that convinced me I had seen the future of rock n roll. And it wasn’t called Bruce Springsteen.
The Inspiral Carpets occasionally gave out a newsletter. By issue 4 it had become known as the moos-letter. Here’s the one I got round about the time I saw them in Glasgow Tech and bought the tape that you’re just about to download.
Footnote:
I meant to write in my original post that about a year after the Glasgow Tech gig, I saw the Inspiral Carpets again at Strathclyde University. This was round about the time Noel Gallagher was roadying for them. The band were outside unloading their van and I took the chance to get them to sign the inside of my Levis denim jacket. They all signed it (apart from the singer who was, to quote the roadie (Noel?), “away shaggin’”). Clint Boon drew the cow logo and wrote “Inspirals ‘89″ underneath it. I think my sister nicked the jacket about a year later. Pre-eBay, I don’t know where it ended up…
Tags: dung 4, inspiral carpets, noel gallagher
Slave To The Rhythm Method
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You’ll need a good scrub in the bath after listening to some of these tracks…
Probably long before Little Richard even though about hollering “Tutti Frutti, Oh Rudi“, pop music has been awash with sexual reference and innuendo. Island Records’ current celebration of their 50th birthday found me thinking about ‘Pull Up To The Bumper’, the Grace Jones hit from 1981.
The elastic band bassline (courtesy of Sly and Robbie’s Robbie), pattering percussion and honking horns can’t disguise the fact that this track is downright filthy. Taken at lyrical face value it would appear to be about driving through city streets at night, cruising the scene looking for action. So far, so very 80s. The fact that it’s sung by a woman might change your perception of it a wee bit, but if you know anything about Grace Jones you’ll be well aware of her appetite for life’s little pleasures.
It should therefore come as no surprise when you read between the lyrics and discover that Pull Up To The Bumper is really an open invitation to come and get it.
Driving down those city streets,
Waiting to get down,
Want to ditch your big machine,
Somewhere in this town?
You’ll find the proper place,
Just follow all the written rules,
You’ll fit into the space.
Now in the park and lock garage,
Pull up to my bumper baby,
In your long black limosine,
Pull up to my bumper baby,
And drive it in between.
Pull up, to it, don’t drive, through it,
Back it, up twice, now that, fit’s nice.
back up I’ll pump your tire baby
We operate around the clock,
So won’t you please come in?
There’s lot’s of space for everyone,
Plus one for you my friend?
The lines are short,
I’ll fix you up so won’t you please come on,
That shiny, sleek machine you wheel,
I’ve got to blow your horn.
Pull up to my bumper baby,
In your long black limosine,
Pull up to my bumper baby,
Drive it in between.
Pull up to it, don’t drive through it,
Back it, up twice, now that fits nice,
Grease it, spray it, let me luricate it,
Pull up to my bumper baby.
See what I mean? There’s a multitude of versions out there. In addition to the original version from the Nightclubbing album (see above), there’s a nice early version from the Compass Point studio sessions (I think). There’s also an extended 12″ (uh-huh) version, which is basically the unedited final version of the album track. Larry Levan, Paradise Garage house DJ supremo took that version and updated it to a sleeker, club-friendly version. This version reminds me a whole lot of..
…‘Lady Cab Driver’ by Prince. Shuffling percussion? Check! Rinky-dink funk guitar? Check! Honking horns? Check! Suggestive lyrics? Check, although Prince isn’t as suggestive as Grace Jones, he’s more straight ahead and right to the point. Of course, the purple headed perv is no stranger to such things. But you knew that already. But have you heard the alternate mix of ‘Erotic City‘?
The easily offended should cover their ears and look away now. The Clique are a mysterious band. The ying to Grace Jones yang, their track ‘Bareback Donkey Riding’ was recorded in 1995 by Mr Lo-fi himself, Liam ‘Friend of Jack White’ Watson at ToeRag Studios. But if you didn’t know that, you would be let off for thinking this track was recorded by some enthusiastic mid-western garage band in 1964. Heavy on the hammond, distortion and passionate vocals, it’s a Nugget-friendly no hit wonder. But have a listen to some of the lyrics…
Well here we are again
It’s you and me my friend
Let’s go throught he same routine
We’ll get there in the end
Last night she went away
Didn’t want to stay
Packed her bags and called a cab
I guess it’s not my day
If I could find a girl who’d like to hold the reigns
We could carry on our sordid lovers games
Bareback Donkey Riding! Bareback Donkey Riding!
Let’s go through the same routine? Beg beg beg! What d’you mean “not tonight?” Sounds like his girl left him because he wanted to do something that she didn’t. ‘Bareback‘? No protection? Another word for donkey? I’ll leave you to work out what it all means. I might be wrong…
*BONUS TRACK. Here’s the Serge Santiago Special Edit of Grace Jones‘ ‘Slave To The Rhythm’.
Like A Rolling Stone quadruple-whammy
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Probably Bob Dylan’s most famous song, Like A Rolling Stone shows no sign of gathering moss just yet. He’s still playing it live to this day, and unusually for 21st Century Bob, it sounds fairly similar to the original 1965 version released on Highway 61 Revisited. Dylan loves playing around with songs, changing them, playing them in different keys and in diferent tempos (LARS was originally in 3/4 waltz time). If you get him on a good night, he might have told the band that the key has changed before they start playing it. On a great night (Barrowlands 2004) he might even conduct the lucky few in the room in a bit of a singsong. “We musta played that song a thousand times and ain’t nobody ever kept up with us.” For Bob to say anything to his audience, never mind a dish out praise as flattering as that, is rare indeed. Given that Bob likes to change his songs so much, I’m sure The Old Zim would like, even dig, the versions below.
How does it feel? Burny, of course
I say ‘dig’ because, as you no doubt know, in between changing the sound of the rock guitar forever and before disappearing somewhere down flare city, Jimi Hendrix was Dylan fan numero uno back in the 60s. His version is from the Monterey Music Festival in 1967. It’s long, bluesy and uh, kinda groovy. Yeah, dig brother (You get the idea). Jimi set fire to his guitar at the end of this show. Everyone thinks he did this all the time on stage, but he didn’t. Monterey was one of those rare occassions.
Another guitar hero who had a bash at LARS was Mick Ronson. Redolent with full-on Ziggy Les Paul power chords and rather shitty sounding drums, this version is remarkable in that it features David Bowie on vocals. It wouldn’t sound out of place on ‘Pin Ups’ (my 2nd favourite Bowie album, just behind Hunky Dory). Choc-full of spectacular guitar sounds, it twangs, squeals and screeches it’s way from beginning to end in just over 4 minutes.
The Creation were a pslightly psych garage rock band from England. But you probably knew that too. They famously described their music as ‘red with purple flashes’ and for most of the time this was true. Obviously, Alan McGee was a fan. Obviously. ‘Making Tyme’, ‘How Does It Feel?’ ‘Painter Man’ (aye, later done by Boney M) are all fantastic speed/acid fuelled foot-to-the-floor romps throught the tale-end of the 60s. Shame, then, that their version of LARS is so tame. Given that Bob was something of a Holy Grail for many of these musicians, it’s possible that The Creation were just paying too much respect to the tune. I don’t know, but listening to it doesn’t really conjure up the red and purple flashes I’d like.
Oh smile, ffs
The same cannot be said for The Soup Greens. Recorded in just one take, this is garage band rock at it’s finest. The Soup Greens have the distinction of making LARS sound like Louie Louie or Wild Thing, and given that that’s pretty much the only songs they knew before recording this (there are only 8 known Soup Greens recordings in existence), it makes perfect sense. There’s echo, twang, Farfisa organ and that nagging insistant beat that Julian Cope clearly heard and ripped off before passing it off as an original recording. Back in the mid 80s, Cope was indeed flying in the face of fashion, but World Shut Your Mouth would not have been possible without this record, that much is clear. Even with the vinyl snaps, crackles and pops, it. Is. A. Belter.
Bonus Track. You know that song Groovin’? “Groovin’ waah-waah-wah (harmonica riff) on a Sunday afternoon waah-wah-wah” It was by The Rascals. Before they became The Rascals, they were the Young Rascals. If you watch The Beatles at At Shea Stadium closely (google it – it’s downloadable!) you’ll spot a ‘The Young Rascals Are Coming’ banner. That’s them. They do a fairly good West Coast version of LARS. You can hear it here. Cheerio!
‘I Need You’ Double Nugget Double Whammy
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‘I Need You’ first appeared as the b-side of The Kinks‘ 1965 single ‘See My Friends’. A proto-punk garage band belter of a track, it starts of with some nifty Dandy Dave Davis feedback and continues kicking and screaming it’s way through some clattering drum breaks, decent ‘aaah-aaah’ backing vocals and the obligatory screaming guitar solo before ending in exactly the same fashion as ‘All Day And All Of The Night’. These days you can get it as one of the extra tracks on the CD reissue of ‘Kinda Kinks’, or on the first disc of the hit ‘n’ miss 6 CD Kinks box set, ‘Picture Book’. Or you can get it here.
The Kinks. Of Kourse.
The Rationals came from Detroit. Arguably the first in a long line of classic garage blues bands from the area (Amboy Dukes/Iggy & the Stooges/MC5/Mitch Ryder/White Stripes/Soledad Brothers/Dirtbombs/Detroit Cobras/ etc etc etc), like most beat groups of their era they took up arms after being wooed by the sounds of The Who, The Kinks, The Stones and that other lot a-blasting across the Atlantic.
Guess who?
Using The Kinks version as a blueprint for their brief career, The Rationals’ 1968 version of ‘I Need You’ replicates the original, right down to the gutterpunk feedback at the start. Difference is, their version is about twice as fast and twice as raw. Better screaming guitar solo too.
I went to see John McCusker, Roddy Woomble and Kris Drever play last night. They were fantastic. They were supported by Boo Hewerdine and a girl called Heidi who could really sing. Even the first support act, 2 local teenage lads, one dressed like he was off to see Green Day, the other calling himself Tragic O’Hara were decent. They finger picked their way through a brief set of ‘my women done gone and left me and all I got left is this here empty bottle‘ type stuff. A bit cliched perhaps, but give them time. It was busy too. I’m telling ya, folk is the new indie. Keep it up lads!
Listening to the ‘hip‘ output on BBC6 Music this week, it’s clear we really need records/artists like these above. If bands like Bloc Party can continually get away with releasing records that sound like a half-finished argument with Pro-Tools and White Lies are ‘the next big thing’, I think I might find myself mining by-gone eras for hidden treasure. Keep visiting to find out!
It’s The Aptly-Named Billy Fury!
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Billy Fury. Your granny knows him from such staple Hit Parade fodder as ‘Halfway To Paradise’, ‘Wondrous Place’, ‘Last Night Was Made For Love’….. do I need to go on? Billy and Cliff Richard battled it out for the dubious tag of ‘British Elvis’, but the more sussed among us really knew that Elvis was in fact the ‘American Billy’.
Upturned collar? Check. Lip curl? Check. Half-collapsed quiff? Check. Forget the songs listed above and instead listen to this. ‘Ain’t Nothin’ Shakin’ But The Leaves On The Trees‘ is a hand clappin’ enhanced primal rocker that could’ve sat neatly on any Nuggets-type compilation you care to mention. How Fury got from garage band howling blues to slush like ‘Colette‘ is anyone’s guess but, wow, when he was on form there was clearly no-one like him. His manager obviously gave him his stage moniker round about this time, otherwise he’d have been forever known to the world as Billy Ballad. Incidentally, The Beatles version of ‘Nothin’ Shakin’…‘ can be found on their ‘At The BBC’ album. It sounds pish.
Morrissey was a big fan, so much so that he nicked half his look from Fury. Look here. As too are those talented wee fuckers in The Last Shadow Puppets. They stuck their own version of ‘Wondrous Place’ on the b-side of their ‘The Age Of The Understatement‘ single. Understated indeed – a churchy organ, some brooding bass, a top vocal and some Duane Eddy twang halfway through. What I like about this lot is that they all look similar, they even sound similar when they sing and they are clearly very talented. A bit like The Beatles. But then, obviously nothing like The Beatles. I’ve already posted their version of Bowie’s ‘In The Heat Of The Morning’ (here) and if they keep up their high standards of self-imposed quality control I think these two youngsters could be around for years to come. A bit like The Beatles. But then, obviously as I’ve already said, nothing like The Beatles as well.
2 more decent UK garage band rockers to follow. These days, Dave Berry may be more comfortable touring the country in those terrible 60s nostalgia shows alongside such 3rd divison outfits as The Swinging Blue Jeans and The Tremeloes. Back in the day he was equally comfortable blasting out tough R&B tunes as he was crooning pop ballads. One such record was July 1964’s‘The Crying Game’ (number 5, fact fans), much later also a hit for Boy George. The A-side was the pop ballad. The B-side was something else entirely. Along with his backing band The Cruisers, he came up with this proto-punk snarling rabid dog of a record. ‘Don’t Give Me No Lip Child’ is a belter, and given that the Sex Pistols strangled and choked it into something resembling a cover version, John Lydon thought so too.
Before they became The Who, The High Numbers released ‘I’m The Face’. The sound of Swinging London, it was written by Peter Meaden, their amphetamine-fuelled manager stroke publicist. This tune is essentially Slim Harpo’s ‘Got Love If You Want It’ with new lyrics designed to reflect the culture of the times – a classic mod-stomper of a record that was a paen to all things Modern (not modern). Of course, as is more often than not the way with fantastic records, the single was a flop. According to some sources, the only copies that were actually sold were bought by Meaden himself, in a crap attempt at chart rigging. Ivy League jackets. Buck skin shoes. I’m the face baby, is that clear? Clear as crystal, little Roger!
Tags: billy fury, bowie, last shadow puppets, morrissey, nuggets, sex pistols, the who
If You Dug It…
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…then it’s a Nugget. So says Lenny Kaye, as regular reader Ace K points out…
“During my “career” at a law firm that was slowly eroding me, I would play hooky on extended lunch breaks at the great used music stores in the Boston/Cambridge/Somerville (Massachusetts, USA) area. One afternoon at the old, underground (literal) store Nuggets in Kenmore Square, Boston, Lenny Kaye strolled in. He signed the wall “If you dug it, then it’s a nugget,” chatted with the clerks, probably bought something, and left. I still kick myself for not busting my budget, buying their used Elektra 2-LP Nuggets set and getting his signature on it.”
Thank you, Ace. A nice story, and a great excuse to give you the next irregular instalment in Plain Or Pan’s ‘Double Nugget’ series. Todays tracks come from Texas and Chicago. Hold on. Not the groups. Christ, no. Not the groups. There’s other blogs out there that cater for blandness, but Plain Or Pan ain’t one of them.
Mouse & his Traps. Benny Hill top right.
Mouse And The Traps were from Texas. ‘Mouse’ was Ronnie Weiss and he formed the band in 1965. Clearly in thrall to that thin wild mercury sound of mid-6o’s Bob Dylan, ‘A Public Execution’ is almost as much a Dylan pastiche as the ‘Dylan Hears A Who’ post from a wee while ago. If you google Mouse And The Traps, every search mentions Dylan at some point. It’s that obvious. But taking nothing away from Mouse and co, it’s a fantastic record.
original single label
‘A Public Execution’ was written as an answer to a girl (of course) named Debbie who thought Mouse was up to stuff behind her back. Think ‘Positively 4th Street’ with added sneering. Does he really sing “You better find yourself a welder babe” at the end? It sounds like it! Some of the band’s other material is possibly even better. Faster, wilder and more out there, a future post will definitely feature ‘Maid Of Sugar, Maid Of Spice’. Keep your eyes peeled…
The Shadows Of Knight
The Shadows Of Knight were from Chicago. ‘Oh Yeah’ was a scorching garage blues cover of a Bo Diddley song. “Woah yeah! Everything gonna be alright this morning!” And then we’re off. Hang on…..that rhythm. That ryhthm! The guitar sound. And that dive bombing bass line. David Bowie! David Bowie!!! You little thief!!!!! There would have been no ‘Jean Genie’ without this record. None at all. And that’s a fact. Bowie likes to think he stays one step in front of the others, but going by this track he’s really just digging for gold in the gazillions of records that don’t quite make it past the lower reaches of the charts. Good spot, David! Bowie once talked of doing a ‘Pin Ups 2′, which would feature solely American music as opposed to the swinging London music from the original ‘Pin Ups’ album. That would have been interesting. Or maybe not. Altogether now, ‘The Jean Genie lives on his back…’
Double Nugget
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Part 1 of a new series in which previously underpraised records/bands get the praise they deserve. Nuggets was the brainchild of Lenny Kaye, guitarist with the Patti Smith Group and garage rock enthusiast. ‘The Original Punk Rock’ claims the sticker on my box set. ‘Last Seen In Rolling Stone’s List Of 200 Essential CDs of the Rock ‘n Roll Era!’
In 1964 when America went Beatlemania crazy watching the Ed Sullivan show, anyone who had a TV and a guitar grew their hair overnight, got together with some like-minded souls and thrashed away in their garage until the 2 or 3 chords they had nicked from the Fab 4 or the Kinks or the Who had been fashioned together into something approaching a tune. Often, there were fantastic results. FANTASTIC RESULTS! Some of these results even made it onto record. Unfortunately, 99.9% of these records remained firmly outside the charts, but they proved to be the training ground for such future stars as Todd Rundgren, Ted Nugent, Warren Zevon, Glen Campbell and many others.
Originally a double album, ’Nuggets’ basically celebrates these no-hit wonders by compiling tons and tons of stuff onto 4 CDs. It is my favourite box set, one I go back to again and again. At least once a year I will wait until I have the house to myself and blast it out while I do some menial chore like cleaning the floor or changing the bed. It’s great music to strip wallpaper to. It’s great music to make the tea to. It’s great music to clean the toilet to. It’s great music full stop.
Double Nugget? I’d rather have a Knickerbocker Glory. The guy in the bottom left hand corner would later change his name and go on to play for Glasgow Rangers. Derek Johnstone, anyone?
Today’s Double Nugget comes courtesy of The Knickerbockers and The Amboy Dukes. New Jersey’s The Knickerbockers released ‘Lies’ in 1965 and it is so obviously under the influence of The Beatles it could easily have slotted onto ‘With The Beatles’ between ‘Don’t Bother Me’ and ‘Little Child’. You should try it in iTunes – it works! The harmonies throughout, the Ringo-style drum rolls, the George Harrison-indebted vocals. There’s even a McCartney-esque “Waaaaaaaaaa!” scream leading into the middle eight. You can just about picture him bobbing his head while he plays his Hofner bass along to this one. Even the adlibs at the end have that whiff of Fab Fourness about them. This track is a cracker!
Handsome
The Amboy Dukes are a totally different kettle of fish. Less pop for a start. Much less. Look at the picture above. This is heavy blues way before Eric Clapton even invented heavy blues. Listen to the feedback drenched opening to their version of ‘Baby, Please Don’t Go’. Originally a Big Joe Williams folk/blues song from the deep south of America, The Amboy Dukes were clearly taking notes from the Them version. I always liked that version until I heard this one. Released at the start of 1968, it sounds like Vietnam. An incessant, nagging rhythm section coupled with Ted Nugent’s amps set to 10 (and ’stun’) this is the true sound of Detroit, pre-dating the MC5, Stooges et al by a few years. A few years later and Nugent was a gun lovin’ maniac. Listening to his playing on this track, we should’ve guessed. You’ll want to learn this version on guitar, trust me. Oh, and listen out for the Hendrix riff in the middle of the freak-out section.
England, 1966
(every Scotsman’s least-favourite phrase)
*Disclaimer. There’s a million great garage band websites out there. Most of them are way more knowledgeable and obsessive about this music than I’ll ever be. And I love this music! Click on the ‘Little Steven’ link on the left hand side for starters. I’m no expert on these things, and I don’t claim to be. As Lenny Kaye himself says in the original sleeve notes, “The notes enclosed are intended to provide a frame of reference in which to approach these hand-picked tracks, and have no pretense either to complete enlightenment or total truth” Happy downloading1
