Hype!

Well, I'm not going to let EVERYONE ELSE do everything for me this evening, which is now morning.... since everyone else has been so generous with their fine contributions, allow me to put up at least one selection chosen and uploaded by my own two hands......

I don't think I've ever posted the soundtrack from "Hype", before, and I should have, it's a good one....."Hype" was a 1996 film dealing with the early 90's grunge scene, to be honest, I think the film is a little slow (although worth seeing once), but the soundtrack is not a bad one at all, lotta good stuff on here if you are a fan of the 90's Seattle scene, GOOD LORD, that was 25 years ago? Allow me to take my ativan, or something.....

The "stars" (is that even the word?) of the era are here.....Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden......and of course, they are great, but we aren't here for stuff we can here every night, there are other gems here such as Gas Huffer's "Hotcakes", a live "Knot" from the underappreciated and wonderfully named 7 Year Bitch, stuff from the Fastbacks, The Gits, Tad, Some Velvet Sidewalk, and plenty more obscure stuff to make you go "Wow man"......i recommend this, highly, for fans (like me) of the too-short-lived grunge scene, which of course, melded into the stoner rock scene that I love so much........

I know, it's only rock n roll....
But, I....well you know the rest, right?

These are in glorious FLAC so thusly the files are a little on the large size, you know how it is, right?

HYPE-01 THE FASTBACKS-K Street (live)/02 THE WIPERS-Return of the Rat/03 U-MEN-Dig It a Hole/04 GREEN RIVER-Swallow My Pride (Demo)/05 SOUNDGARDEN-Nothing To Say/06 MUDHONEY-Touch me I'm Sick (live)/07 NIRVANA-Negative Creep/08 SOME VELVET SIDEWALK-Mousetrap (live)/09 DEAD MOON-54/40 (Live)/10 GIRL TROUBLE-My Hometown/11 TAD-Giant Killer/12 GAS HUFFER-Hotcakes (7" version)/13 YOUNG FRESH FELLOWS-Low Beat/14 SUPERSUCKERS-I Say Fuck (Live)/15 7 YEAR BITCH-Knot/16 THE GITS-Second Skin (live)/17 FLOP-Julie Francavilla (Demo)/18 THE POSIES-Throwaway (Live)/19 PEARL JAM-Not For You (Radio/Live)/20 MARK LANEGAN-The River Rise/21 PIGEONHEAD-Fire's Coming Down/22 THE FASTBACKS-Just Say/23 SARA DEBALL-Smells Like Teen Spirit (Instrumental)

OK, kids, between me and the team, we've put a lot of material up for ya on this Tuesday evening... please
respond in kind by commenting, sharing, just by being a part of the community we are trying to create here.....in particular, once again, I would like to see a few volunteers to help with Apantabapanta's big project, he'll need some help with that one, but I'd love if we could. together, as a team, pull it off.....anyways, hope you like "Hype", sorry I've been away for a couple days, I will be back tomorrow with, well, something, as of this minute I have less idea of what than you do, so we shall see.......love to all!

Cliff is back with more reggae

A few weeks ago I posted the legendary "The Harder They Come" soundtrack (an obvious classic) and stated at the time that I am more of a reggae "dabbler", I really don't have a lot of reggae stuff in my collection...... don't get me wrong, I DO love the music, I am just really not an expert on it, far from it, if you've been around here for any time at all, you know where my so-called "expertise" lies, and it ain't reggae..... but as I said I DO enjoy listening to it, always have, thusly Cliff is a perfect fit here, because he IS a reggae expert and is able to turn us on to some of the classic reggae in his collection...... if you share anything from Cliff's posts, please thank him so he stays around for a while, his previous posts have been hit pretty hard (were quite popular), and as long as I am around, Cliff will ALWAYS be welcome with his amazing reggae posts.... I wish I could think of a clever title for his contributions, hell, maybe by next week I will, but for now, take it away Cliff, and thanks again for the great posts and music!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ARISE - ABYSSINIANS

1978 album from a legendary roots tri-part harmony combofamous for their close harmonies and promotion of the Rastafari movement in their lyrics. Consisting of the Manning brothers; Donald and Lynford and Bernard 'Satta' Collins, The Abyssinians serve up a solid piece of laid back roots vibes, with an insistent, conscious message, and crisp, rolling grooves supplied by Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare., Tommy McCook to name but a few.  Although not quite reaching the standard of their legendary Satta Massagane this album is worthy to be in anyones  record collection. Arise comes  at a different pace, the rhythms are more forceful, they take more of a lead in the total sound of the Abyssinians but the lyrics still reach right inside you. 

1.Oh Lord 2.This Land Is For Everyone 3.Mightiest Of All 4.Meditation 5.Wicked Men 6.Jah Loves 7.Dem A Come 8.South African Enlistment 9.Hey You 10.Let My Days Be Long

Link - http://www65.zippyshare.com/v/8OBdGKUs/file.html

DREAD INA BABYLON – U ROY

This is seen as U Roy’s  stand out piece of work . The sound is so classic, the original dancehall vibe, a US RnB inspired rockers riddim with U-Roy’s timeless toasts laced perfectly through the mix. The man’s tone and timing are impeccable.U-Roy popularized and gained a wider audience for "toasting"; rapping over "versions" of popular songs remixed by King Tubby.  The standout track “Runaway Girl" features the DJ pioneer "rapping" over an instrumental version of Ken Boothe's "Just Another Girl". " His lyrics run the gamut of Rastafari concerns,(“Dreadlock Dread”) to troubles with females (“I Can’t Love Another”) and royalist run-ins (“Chalice In The Palace”). “Chalice in the Palace” was a reworked version of the Mighty Diamonds' "Queen Majesty" and became his signature tune.  The uncredited musicians generally stay out of the way but get their own instrumental track at the arse end of the album, “Trench Town Rock” Some may not get what this album is about straight away but give it a few listens and fuck it you won’t be sorry.  And what a record sleeve!!

1. Runaway Girl 2. Chalice In The Palace 3. I Can’t Love Another 4. Dreadlock Dread 5. The Great Psalms 6. Natty Don’t Fear 7. African Message 8. Silver Bird 9. Listen To The Teacher 10. Trench Town Rock

Link - http://www8.zippyshare.com/v/8FTrzIpi/file.html

WANTED DREAD & ALIVE – PETER TOSH

I’ve not been the greatest fan of Peter Tosh’s solo work, the once upon a time member of the Wailers with Robert Nesta Marley but this is a good solid and varied album. The album moves from tracks with a heavy roots feel of “Comin In Hot” to the bounce of “Wanted Dread & Alive” to the soulful sound of “Nothing But Love”, a duet with the Jamaican Singer Gwen Guthrie. The outstanding track for me is “Fools Die” a quiet and mediatative ballad on wisdom and life.  Wanted Dread & Alive is characterised by some beautiful playing by Sly and Robbie (who else), the wonderful horn arrangements of Mickey Chung and tight harmonies provided by the Tamlins, all  featured in an eclectic mix of soul , pop and roots reggae.

1. Coming In Hot 2. Nothing But Love 3. Reggaemylitis 4. Rok With Me 5. Oh Bumbo Klatt 6. Wanted Dread And Alive 7. Rastafari Is 8. Guide Me From My Friends 9. Fools Die

Bonus Tracks: 10. The Poor Man Feel It  11. Cold Blood 12. That’s What They will Do 13. Rok With Me (Alternate Long Version) 14. Nothing But Love (Long Version)

Link - http://www24.zippyshare.com/v/TNDC3Iup/file.html

Thanks so much Cliff, really great shit, thrilled to have you on board.........wonderful contributions!

Apantabapanta's latest project

My go-to Greek guy Apantabapanta has begun a new project, interesting to say the least.......since we are nearly at the end of the Greek Punk series, (although even HE doesn't know I have a Panx Romana discography I want him to help me with as well), he has began constructing an encyclopedia of various 60's-70's rock bands that have been disbanded.....I think it's an intriguing  idea, should be fun and educational both......he's attempting to do this in alphabetical order, so his first entry has a handful of bands that start with "A", if the band is of interest to you click the link for a Wikipedia history of that band, he's also provided some zippy links to access the music of these bands....a REALLY nice project, so far, and I would LOVE LOVE LOVE it if a few of the minions would stand up and volunteer to help him with this huge undertaking....it CAN be done but we will need some help with this, PLEASE consider what he is trying to do, and (attention all you guys who want old links reupped but don't want to contribute anything, this would be a fine way to earn a couple points in the Bigman's eyes)please please volunteer to help, it won't be a LOT of work, and it will be fun. .....I really like this idea, actually, I'm going to try and help him as much as I can, but if any of you wish to but in a little serious time to help him bring this project into focus, let me know and I will put you in touch with my great friend/collaborator Apantabapanta.........so, without further ado, here is the first installment of Apantabapanta's "Encyclopedia of Disbanded Rock Bands":

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A bunch of best of collections of mostly 70’s & some 60’s bands that have been disbanded, in alphabetical order.

POST 01

A Flock of Seagulls UK The Best of A Flock of Seagulls 1986 @320
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Flock_of_Seagulls
http://www26.zippyshare.com/v/LQMB8r1b/file.html

A Foot in Coldwater CAN The Best of 2003 @220VBR
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Foot_in_Coldwater
https://mega.co.nz/#!MkoXEZAb!ZqVdFzM7KfpNY7G9DvE4yecol1DjyptJ-wdadMTZ29E

Abacus GER Retrospection 1971-82 2004 @256
(missing no 12 ”Believe in Music.” If someone has it, please post.)
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abacus_(Band)
http://www19.zippyshare.com/v/pLVM3P4L/file.html

Abstract Truth SA Cool Sounds for Heads 1970 vinyl @143VBR (first time on the net. If someone has a better album art please post.)
http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=4899
http://www51.zippyshare.com/v/QLnpUBlL/file.html

Accolade UK 1 & 2 Highlights 1972 @192 not really a best of, but a collection highlights of bands only two albums.
http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=4229
http://www23.zippyshare.com/v/q73erBLl/file.html

Note:
a) The idea is to know the music of the bands all around the world that their music style is close to – Pop / Rock-Folk / Rock-New / Wave-Punk / Rock-Hard / Rock-Prog / Rock-
b) I’ll try to post 5 bands every week.
c) Some bands have been reformed for example -A Flock of Seagulls- .
d) If anyone like this idea and have something to post I think BigScott62 will agree.
e) Volunteers needed for finding & posting bands starting from letter ‘’B’’.

Next posts
Ace UK
Acqua Fragile ITA
Adam & the Ants UK
After Tea NET
After The Fire UK

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hope as many as possible contribute a few minutes of their time to help out Apantabapanta with this most interesting project, but I guarantee he WILL need some help with it.......again, it sounds like quite an opportunity for the many, many, many folks that want years-old links reupped (my policy is that you must do something to help the blog FIRST before i will reup anything)....in fact that is how Apantabapanta joined the team, by translating Greek albums for me.......please help him out

Got a LOT of stuff to do tonight, lets start with guested links

Been away from the computer this weekend and Monday for the most part, my son had a college visit, my
wife "celebrated" her 49th birthday, which, as always, fell on the date of my father's passing away (this being the 25th anniversary of it actually), so both a busy and emotional time.......I have enough guest posts and guest posted links to fill up a LOT of blog space and I'm gonna do it, Brian has part 4 of his amazing Swans post completed, Cliff gives us another reggae masterpiece, Apantabapanta has started a new, intersting, and unusual project which we will see, but first, let's continue the tradition I started a couple of weeks ago of bringing guests contributed links to the forefront......it came to my slow-witted attention that when one of my great friends like Andie James or Dave Sez  adds a valueable link to the comments section, it may go unnoticed as I shouldn't expect you folks to go back and re-read my comments sections each day......a couple weeks ago I brought a bunch of contributed links to the front page, I have no way to track the download numbers as they are technically not on MY Zippy account, but I don't care.....it makes it EASIER for you guys to get MORE quality music, and THAT is what I care about......btw, the response/reaction to my attempt to better highlight the contributed links was quite favorable, and it is something I will continue to do every couple of  weeks.......hey, I have good ideas sometimes, it just takes them a while to burst through all the sludge......(oh, you say "why is there a picture of former NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP WINNER JIM TRESSEL OF FORMER OHIO STATE GREATNESS pictured here? Well, because my son Grant's college visit was at Youngstown State, where Tressel is now the University President, I got to meet him and talk to him for a few minutes, which, to me, was a thrill, a privlege, an honor, and a pleasure, and I sure as HELL did thank him for teh great years at OSU, specifically the 2003 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!

OK, first let's start with the last thing I posted, Saturday, the Mo-Dettes "The Story So Far".....my always eager to please friend Andie James comes through with THIS great comment and link:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Scott,

Four Mo-Dettes singles were also released and make up the bonus tracks on the 2008 Re-Issue of The Story So Far...

But that's no fun, so here are the four singles with cover scans 

White Mice/Masochistic Opposite
Paint It Black/Bitta Truth
Dark Park Creeping/Two Can Play
Tonight/Waltz In Blue Minor

http://www31.zippyshare.com/v/gofnWE9t/file.html

Great stuff Andie, I have a vinyl single of "masochistic Opposites/White Mice Disco" here somewhere, finding it would be quite another issue.......again, you do a FANTASTIC job of supplementing my posts with stuff from your stash, which we will all see IN SPADES here in a minute........

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

OK, a couple days before THAT, we did a post regarding Public Image Limited, it was quite popular, MUCH more so than I expected, and we had some great submissions to compliment the stuff from MY collection:

First my GREAT and generous friend Dave Sez contributes a pair of rare live Jah Wobble links, which if I were you I would RUN not walk to get these, very rare, very unique, and very great, thanks Dave!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Scott! Yuh, I also went off PiL when Jah Wobble left, but here's some rare goodies:

http://darkcircleroom4.blogspot.com/2012/09/jah-wobble-live-in-europe-1981-1983.html

http://darkcircleroom4.blogspot.com/2012/12/jah-wobble-larry-hideaway-toronto.html

Cheers, Dave Sez.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Also, in regard to PIL, my buddy simonthecat reminisced (as did I) about the look on Dick Clark's face as PIL performed on American bandstand, 1980........so, what the hell, I dug up a YouTube clip of it, here it is in all it's glory, have you never seen this, your life is lacking just a touch.......I STRONGLY recommend giving this a look if you are in the biz of "understanding" what PIL were trying to "accomplish" at the time.....

https://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=_u17pbdySQ8

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And one more HUGE contribution from Andie James.......I'll let him explain it to you, but this is as close as we can get to the original vinyl recordings of the classic "Metal Box", YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS THIS, I am not kidding, this is an amazing sonic listening experience.....DO NOT contact me a year from now asking me to re-up this, get it NOW, it is almost impossible to find in this format and is a MUST HEAR experience.......Please, please, please, if you have never heard the original recordings, here is your chance and I advise you take it on........Andie, again, you are the MAN, and I mean that, of course, in multiple meanings (in case you don't know the story, I once thought Andie was a chick, and he was cool enough to have a sense of humor about it rather than get pissed as so many would......a great DUDE Andie james is, and this is a SOLID GOLD contribution, again, don't miss this one:

Hi Scott,
Please excuse me while I blow your ears clean off...

Ripped from a triple 12" vinyl set released on Virgin Records (METAL 1) in 1979 to high resolution and high quality lossless 24-96000 FLAC audio then converted for playback to MP3 @ 320kbps

http://www45.zippyshare.com/v/NVA19V63/file.html

The full FLAC file is 1.2GB and Zippy completely freaked out, but this amazing rip at 320 is sonically awesome in comparison to my CD rip...

This is Scott, again, and once again, do not underestimate how badly you REALLY DO want to hear this, quite an experience for what is normally a high dollar collector's item..........

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, next up, Comedy/Soundtrack afficianado Brian Parker was pondering what he should do for his next post.......anyway, someone asked for some Martin Mull (I personally do not have much of a comedy stash, really other than what I've gotten the last few months from Brian), anyway, the SPECIFIC Mull recording that was requested wasn't in Brian's arsenal, however, he did contribute a vinyl rip of "Sex and Violins" (I know NOTHING about it, I'll defer to his judgement, which on comedy recordings hasn't let us down yet (fantastic Firesign Theater and Lenny Bruce stuff notably, and more, so logically this is likely a winner as well:

Sorry, the only Martin Mull I have is on vinyl. I did find this rip of Sex & Violins though...

http://www27.zippyshare.com/v/26751160/file.html


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

OK, that is it for THIS post, but NOT for tonight, by a long shot.......I have a gaggle of guest posts (FULL posts, not just link submissions) that will rattle your gums, trust me.........but for now, enjoy these fabulous links, if you pick off any (or all) of them, PLEASE thank Andie james, Dave Sez, or Brian Parker, or all three, they are all GREAT friends of this blog and REALLY help to expand the spectrum of stuff I can help to provide and share!

The Mo-Dettes "The Story So Far"

This was a great 1980's new-wave/chick band, really did like their stuff for a while, this is a killer album that
you will want to hear/have, with the classic "Masochistic Opposites" and "White Mice Disco", and more, this is a forgotten 1980's masterpiece that NEVER fails to put a smile on this face when it hits the turntable.....the Mo-Dettes, I THINK, released but this one album, they consisted of guitarist Kate Kouris, bassist Jane Crockford, singer Ramona Carilier, drummer June Miles-Kingston, and guitarist Melissa Ritter.....give this forgotten classic a listen, it is simply a great release, buried under the three decades (!) that have passed since I bought it!

THE STORY SO FAR-01 Fandango/02 Satisfy/03 Dark Park Creeping/04 Kray Twins/05 Paint It Black/06 White Mouse Disco/07 Bedtime Stories/08 Masochistic Opposites/09 Foolish Girl/10 Norman (He's No Rebel)/11 Sparrow/12 Milord


http://www38.zippyshare.com/v/oJBNr4F7/file.html

Persona Non Grata

Another quickie, a 980's new-wave crew (this time from French) that VERy few are familiar with, cannot
find a personnel lineup (maybe could if I tried a LITTLE harder), but take this to the bank.....once you get used to the french/english blur of the lyrics/vocals, this is a dark, spooky, and quite good "cold wave" Ep ca early 80's sometime......I've always enjoyed this dark effort a bit, if you dug the Marquis De Sade disc I had for you a couple weeks ago, you'll go for this too, I think......

OUR SHADES OF SIN-01 The Heirs (Part )/02 The Heirs (part 2)/03 Brother/04 Sunk With a Sheen/05 The Clawning/06 Iroquois Hound Boys (And Bogey Girls)/07 Lacerados Hombres

Please leave a comment with your opinions as to this disc, should you sample it, thanks!

http://www32.zippyshare.com/v/n0XSb3CP/file.html

Surf Legends and Rumors

How about yet another set of the early 1960's surf instrumentals for which I have such a soft
spot/weakness.....hell I've talked about this many times before, it's something that I love to death, just a unique, high energy, balls-out genre of rock n roll........I love this stuff, by now you will know if you do as well.....no need to run down the highlights, you know these names, some of these tracks, and the ones you don't know are treasure-chest material for you instro-surf fans as well, right? Here are two volumes, eat em up......a comment or three might be appreciated!

VOLUME 1-01  THE SURFTONES-Cecilia Ann/02 THE HUSTLERS-Inertia!/03 THE RUMBLERS-Surf Rat/04 THE BLAZERS-Bangalore/05 THE NEVGANS-Surfbound/06 THE RUMBLERS-Boss/07 THE REVELS-Church Key/08 THE REVEL-Intoxica/09 THE PASTEL SIX-Twitchin'/10 THE RUMBLERS-Night Scene/11 THE NEVEGANS-Downey Surf/12 THE RAMBLERS-Hanging One/13 THE REVELS-Comanche/14 THE RUMBLERS-It's a gas/15 THE CHEVELLES-Let There Be Surf/16 THE BLAZERS-Beaver Patrol/17 THE PASTEL SIX-Hot Dogger/18 THE RUMBLERS-Destruction/19 THE REVELS-Revillion/20 THE RUMBLERS-Summertime Blues/21 THE PASTEL SIX-Don't Leave Me/22 THE BLAZERS-Sound of MEcca/23 THE PASTEL SIX-Braham's Nightmare/24 THE RAMBLERS-Mozart Stomp/25 THE RUMBLERS-Slippin'/26 THE HUSTLERS-Inertia!

VOLUME 2-01 THE ASTRONAUTS-Baja/02 THE TORNADOES-Bustin' Surfboards/03 THE TORNADOES-Charge of the Tornadoes/04 THE TORNADOES-The Phantom Surfer/05 THE TORNADOES-The Gremmie Part 1/06 THE BEACH BOYS-Surfin'/07 THE ESQUIRES-Flashin Red/08 THE ESQUIRES-What a Burn/09 THE RAMBLERS-Ticonderoga/10 THE BEL AIRS-Mr Moto/11 THE BEL AIRS-Little Brown Jug/12 THE BELAIRS-Volcanic action/13 THE BEL AIRS-Runaway/14 ALAN SMITH AND THE FUGITIVES-Fugitive/15 THE FURRIES-Double Barrel/16 THE SURF-BUDDIES-Super Surfer/17 THE PASTE SIX-Rendezvous Rods/18 THE PASTEL SIX-Strange Ghost/19 THE PASTEL SIX-SURFER SMOOTH/20 THE PASTEL SIX-Bandito/21 THE REVELS-It's party Time/22 THE REVELS-Tough Soul/23 THE NEVEGANS-One-Armed bandit/24 THE NEVEGANS-Russian Roulette/25 THE HUSTLERS-Kopout/26 THE HUSTLERS-Migrane/27 THE BARRACUDAS-I can't Believe You're Really Mine/28 THE BARRACUDAS-Come Back To Me


Please leave a comment or an album review to TRULY become part of our "Total Sharing" community.......Thanks!

Public Image Limited

Still waiting for the Part 2 Clutch links to load (Zippy up to her old tricks again), well, I wouldn't leave ya hangin with NOTHING to listen to would I? Well, how about some Public Image Limited, to wash that Clutch right outta yer ears...... TOLD ya I am the king of bloggersphere variety, NOW whatcha say?

OK, PiL were Johnny Lydon's (Rotten's) post Sex Pistols project, it was meant to, if I remember correctly, "destroy rock n roll" which "deserved to die" because it was over 30 years old (just a guess but I'd bet good money that at the time John Lydon was ALSO over 30 years old, but, ahh, well....)...

The personnel has shuffled over the years, Lydon being the only constant, but in the beginning (1978) there were Lydon, guitarist Keith Levine, bassist Jah Wobble, and drummer Jim Walker..... this was "anti-rock", which quickly became, as I recall, one of the first to earn the label "post-punk"...... about as far from the Pistols (or anything else, really, as it could be), this was droning, slow paced stuff with Wobble's bass mixed way up front, and Lydon's sneering, incoherent "vocals"....... imagine, though, the furor that was raised among the "hip" music audience at the time, when we "learned" that the Pistols were passe'? THIS was the "music" of the future"?

The release of 1978's "First Edition" caused quite a furor ("almost" as if it were intentionally so, WOW), sort of semi-reggae, it IS listenable and takes a bit of work to get into, the track "Public Image" was something of a single (it appeared on the "Troublemakers" compilation"), there are attacks on religion (specifically Catholicism) and on Malcolm McLaren, I really do kinda like the finale "Fodderstompf", a long, droning "dance" number...... if ever there was music that was an acquired taste, then, brother, this was it.........

1979's "Metal Box", like it or not, was one of the most revolutionary albums, well, ever, just in format..... originally pacakaged as three 45 RPM records inside what appeared to be a film cannister, these discs were EQ'd at some of the most smoking hot levels  ever recorded...... just amazing if you have ever heard the originals...... later released on more affordable vinyl (and later, CD), but if you ever have the chance for the original "Metal Box", you'll be amazed (this is the CD version, not quite as hot as the original).... even in thiss format, "Albatross", "Chant", "PopTones" and more survive to this day, although MUCH more as historical footnotes than as "heavy rotation" stuff......

Oh, the memories...... they appeared on American Bandstand and to the stunned shock of Dick Clark, would not even pretend to lip-sync.... they had a disastrous "Tomorrow Show" appearance with the Thought-he-was-hip Tom Snyder..... they performed a show in NYC from behind a sheet so the audience could not see them, as Lydon gleefully chanted "Are you getting your money's worth?"..... oh they were MUCH more fun to follow than to actually listen to.

"Paris Au Printemps" which I have in glorious vinyl here, is a live recording, most notable for Lydon's audience-baiting rants (sample: "I'll walk off this fucking stage if you keep spitting......DOG!"), it is a decent summary of the first two releases, "Chant"and "Attack" come off pretty well.......

OK, for me they pretty much lose it here.....Wobble left the band, and "Flowers of Romance" (1981) has next to no bass parts on it, and Levene takes up synth......it's a VERY difficult album to listen to, I DO know people that like it (my brother for one), but you decide for yourself......their time had come and gone, and yet, they continued to "kick out the Jams" (supposed to be funny, there).

The follow up, "Commercial Zone", is a mess as well, the band was fighting with each other, I suppose this was some sort of contractual fullfillment thins, as, was, quite possibly, "Live In Tokyo", which is not NEARLY the effort that "Paris Au Printemps" is, they sound tired and out-of-it......I know "lovers" of the band will likely blast me for my opinions, but these guys DID have a place in history, although it's MORE so in "history" than it is in "music"......

The last of thier albums that I happen to have is 1984's "This is What You Want......And This Is What You Get"......it's an attempt to re-do "Commercial Zone", it's OK, I guess, but really.......zzzzzzzzzzzz....they have made a few more albums since then, but hey........

Pioneers, revolutionaries, have to be VERY careful......they often become the VERY establishment that they attack...... never seen a better example than PIL...... the fact that they linger on even today proves that point VERY well.......... another chapter in the history of rock n roll and the offshoots thereof, it's SUPPOSED to be dangerous, but after too long, it just becomes comical.

FIRST ISSUE-01 Theme/02 Religion I/03 Religion II/04 Annalisa/05Public Image/06 Low Life/07Attack/08 Fodderstompf

METAL BOX-01 Albatross/02 Memories/03 Swan Lake/04 Pop Tones/05 Careering/06 No Birds/07 Graveyard/08 The Suit/09 Bad baby/10 Socialist/11 Chant/12 Radio 4

PARIS AU PRINTEMPS-01 Theme/02 Chant/03 Careering/04 Bad baby/05 Low Life/06 Attack/07 Poptones

FLOWERS OF ROMANCE-01 Four Enclosed Walls/02 Track 8/03 Phenagan/04 Flowers of Romance/05 Under the House/06 Hymie's Him/07 Banging the Door/08 Go back/09 Francis massacre/10 Flowers of Romance (Instrumental)/11 Home is Where the Heart is/12 Another

COMMERCIAL ZONE-01 Love Song/02 Mad Max/03 bad Night/04 Young Brit/05 The Slab/06 Lou Reed Part 1/07 Lou Reed part 2/08 Blue Water/09 Miller High Life

LIVE IN TOKYO-01 Annalisa/02 Religion/03 Low Life/04 Solitaire/05 Flowers of Romance/06 (This Is Not a) Love Song/07 Death Disco/08 Bad Life/09 banging the Door/10 Under the House

THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT.....01 Bad Life/02 (This Is Not a) Love Song/03 Solitaire/04 Tie Me to the Length of That/05 The pardon/06 Where Are You/07 1981/08 The Order of Death

What are your thoughts on this controversial band? How does the music stand up 35 years later? Really like to know your opinions on this......

Clutch Part 2

A day late, perhaps, as I typed this text up and then somehow my drunken fingers deleted it, and I simply said FUCK IT..... so where did we leave off?

"Jam Room" was originally released in 1999, then reissued in 2004.....as with most Clutch releases, it's a fine blend of southern rock/riff rock/metal turning into a fine stoner rock blend.... this is a very good disc as well, "One Eye Dollar", "The Drifter", and "Big Fat Pig" are standouts..... by now I assume you know if Clutch is your thing or not, so have at it as you will.

"Pitchfork and Lost Needles" was released in 2005, a re-issue of "Pitchfork" as well as some demo tracks and stuff...... if you're a Clutch fan (by now), this will be of interest, really NOT essential, but still a fine record.

From the same year comes "Robot Hive Exodus", another good release, this one taking a more bluesy direction, maybe in the vein of Five Horse Johnson if you are familiar........ it's a god disc though, and the blues covers "Gravel Road" and "Who's Been Talking" work well....it's hard to write this band up, as they have consistently released such fine albums for such a long period of time, but, in general, most all of them are worth it for hard rock lovers.

In 2008, they released "From Beale Street To Oblivion", again, what can I say? This is a fine hard rock album as well.... "Electric Worry" is one of their best and there are plenty more hard rocking gems here..... God, this is an underappreciated  band, please help and change that, at least a little?

"Strange Cousins From the West" came out in 2009, and what do ya know, it kicks some serious ass as well, actually one of their better efforts (I seem to be saying that often), "50,000 Unstoppable Watts" and "Abraham Lincoln" are among their better works, and that is not all.... it's a fine album, and it's AMAZING how consistent these dudes released really good albums with no more recognition than they received.

"Basket of Eggs" (2011) is a collection of acoustic takes and other stuff, if you are by now a full-fledged Clutch fan you might desire it, it is not an essential release.... try at your own risk.

Now, the "B-Sides and Rarities" collection IS pretty much an essential release, LOTS of undiscovered gems (that great version of "Cross Eyed Mary" from "Sucking in the 70's" (one of the first albums I EVER featured on this blog!), a slew of live tracks, this one you want..... unsure if it fits on a single disc or not, certainly you can figure it out.

And finally, the most recent release, "Earth Rocker"..... can you believe? This is maybe their "heaviest' release YET, pure stoner/grunge greatness...... sorry, but it's just amazing for me that a band that has kicked it for this long stays fresh, hard rocking, and in tune with the times as this one has and recieve almost zero recognition.......

Clutch is a bad ass band.... they rock hard, always have, and if I wake up ONE person to their greatness, I will have done my duty...... please check out the albums here, and let me know what you think, the fact that Clutch never hit it as big, as, say, at least, Orange Goblin or Fu Manchu (both of whom are great, make no mistake) is amazing to me.......... let's get some recognition for the great CLUTCH!
JAM ROOM 01 Who Wants To Rock/02 big Fat Pig/03 Going To Market/04 One Eye Dollar/05 Raised By Horses/06 Bertha's Big Back yard/07 Gnome Enthusiast/08 Swamp Boot Upside Down/09 Basket of  Eggs/10 Release the Kraken/11 The Drifter/12 I Send Pictures/13 Sink Em Low/14 Super Duper/15 Release the Dub

PITCHFORK AND LOST NEEDLES-01 Wicker/02 Arcadia/03 Juggernaut/04 Far country/05 Nero's Fiddle/06 Passive Restraints (Demo)/07 Bacchanal (Demo)/08 Milk of Human Kindness (Demo)/09 What Would a Wookie Do?/10 Bottoms Up, Socrates

ROBOT HIVE EXODUS-01 The Incomparable Mr. Flannery/02 Burning Beard/03 Gullah/04 Mice and Gods/05 Pulaski Skyway/06 Never Be Moved/07 10001110101/08 Small Upsetters/09 Circus Maximus/10 Tripping the Alarm/11 100000 Witnesses/12 Land of Pleasant Living/13 Gravel Road/141 Who's Been Talking?

FROM BEALE STREET TO OBLIVION-01 You Can't Stop Progress/02 Power Player/03 The Devil & Me/04 White's Ferry/05 Child of the City/06 Electric Worry/07 One Eye Dollar/08 Rapture of Riddley Walker/09 When Vegans Attack/10 Opossum Minister/11 Black Umbrella/12 Mr Shiny Cadillackness

STRANGE COUSINS FROM THE WEST-01 Motherless Chile/02 Struck Down/03 50000 Unstoppable Watts/04 Abraham Lincoln/05 Minotaur/06 The Amazing Kreskin/07 Witchdoctor/08 Let a Poor Man Be/09 Freakonomics/10 Algo Ha Cambiado/11 Sleestak Lighting

BASKET OF EGGS-01 Box Car Shorty's Confession (Acoustsic)/02 The Regulator (Acoustic)/03 Basket Of Eggs (Acoustic)/04 Tight Like That (Acoustic)/05 Drink to the Dead (Live acoustic)/06 Cattle Car/07 Walpole Man/08 Promoter/09 La Curandera/10 Steve Doocy

B-SIDES AND RARITIES-01 Cross Eyed Mary/02 Money/03 Gifted and Talented/04 David Rose/05
05/06 Apache/07 Big News III/08 Molt/09 Hot Off the Grill/10 Pile Driver/11 Slow Hole To China/12 24 Earth Years/13 Easy Breeze/14 Four Lords (And One More)/15 Guild of Mute Assasins/16 Hale Bopp Blues/17 High Caliber Consecrator/18 Nickel & Dime/19 Oregon/20 Rising Son/21 The Package/22 Sitting On Top of the World (Live)/23 The Pond (live)/24 The Wheel (Live)/25 Wishbone (live)/26 King of Arizona

EARTH ROCKER-01 Earth Rocker/02 Crucial Velocity/03 Mr Freedom/04 DC Sound Attack!/05 Unto the Breach/06 Gone Cold/07 The Face/08 Book Saddle & Go/09 Cyborg Bette/10 Oh, Isabella/11 The Wolfman Kindly Requests.....

Let's get this great and for whatever overlooked hard rocking band the notice and credit that they REALLY do deserve......at least sample a couple of these and as always, let me know what you think!

Clutch, Part 1

From the metropolis that is Frederick Maryland, we have Clutch, certainly one of the most underappreciated and underrated bands of the last couple of decades...... a GREAT hard rock band with a voluminous catalog, this is a mystery to my why these guys never took off more than they did..... great stuff here, be forewarned, if you love good old hard rock, stoner rock, bluesy-riff rock, look no further.... Clutch is some fucking bad ass shit. No joke!

Clutch's lineup has remained fairly stable over the years, more or less vocalist/rhythm guitarist Neil Falon, lead guitarist Tim Sult, bassist Dan Maines, and drummer Jean-Paul Gaster..... they've released a BUNCH of albums, and for my cash are one of the USA's best hard rocking/stoner (well, CLOSE to stoner) bands that this country has produced, and it's a complete blank to me as to why they have not drawn a bit of a bigger audience.

They formed, as stated before, in Maryland, ca. 1991....the first recordings of theirs that I happen to be in possession of are a couple of fine, somewhat sloppy EP's, 1991's "Pitchfork" and 1993's "A Promo Named Marcus"...... I've had these forever, I THINK they are pretty rare, if I'm wrong, well so be it, BUT there are some good tracks on the both of them..... in particular "Pitchfork", I think, "Promo" contains some cool live stuff as well where the band shows off their not-a-joke live chops..... I would try these out if I were you.....

Thier debut LP, "Transnational Speedway League, Anthems, Anecdotes, and Undeniable Truths" is something of an unknown "semi-classic"... it's a good one, trust me, "A Shotgun Named Marcus" makes a return from the earlier EP, but better yet is "Binge and Purge", a fine early anthem, and "Walking In the Great Shining Path of Monster Trucks'.... this is a fine album and a fine starting point to a LONG career with a BUNCH of good material, buckle up.

The next album "Clutch", is a pretty much perfect piece of 1990's earlsy semi-stoner rock......maybe ust some GREAT hard rocking stuff, like the debut, you would not wish to be without this, if you are unfamiliar..... there is no limit to the great, spaced out, hard rocking tracks on this album, just at random, we have "Texan Book of the Dead", "Spacegrass", "Tim Sult vs the Greys" that's just throwing darts, though, this is a great, 4.5 star album, you really can't call yourself a fan of 90's hard rock/stoner rock without this one, it's GREAT.

In 1997 there was a re-release of the EP "Passive Restraints" (not included here) with a couple of extra tracks..... this is entitled "Impetus", and is ABSOLUTELY worth every second you spend to obtain it....the original EP was fine, and the addition of the demo version of the title track certainly does no harm.

Next, in 1998, they released "The Elephant Riders", yet another wonderful and hard slamming release..... long a favorite of mine, it contains GREAT shit like "Eight Times Over Miss October", "Crackerjack, "and the ending (other than the "hidden tracks",  and they are great as well) "The Dragonfly" which will rock your world, guaranteed...... there are many different pressings of this disc, each of which contain DIFFERENT hidden tracks, you will be perfectly happy with the ones that appear here,  "David Rose", and "Gifted and Talented".

They suffered a minor slump in my estimation, with 2000's "Pure Rock Fury" (I don't even like the TITLE!), although, hear me out, this is NOT a "bad" album....just not on par with some of their other work...the title track and "Immortal" are decent enough, but the "Careful With That Mic" silliness (a Korn/Limp Bizkit knockoff that Clutch, as well as everyone else, would have been well advised to avoid), does nothing for the album but bring it down to the level of mediocrity...... there are some good moments here, though, do not dismiss the CD due to MY dislike for "Nu-Rock" or whatever they called it (Hair Metal =1980's, Nu Rock=2000's, any questions?)

Next up they released a live LP that I don't seem to have here (thought I did, maybe it'll turn up before I finish this thang)...... the next release I have is a FINE rarities/unreleased tracks collection, "Slow Hole To China"....... it's got a LOT of good stuff on it, mostly for Clutch fans (of which I no doubt am), check "Equinox" and "Guild of Mute Assassins", there are LOTS of tracks here that are of "regular" album quality........ these guys were no joke, I can only imagine someone who has NEVER heard of them starting here and being blown away by all of this great material.

In 2004 they released the wonderful "Blast Tyrant", really fine album with tracks like "Mercury" and "Prophets of Doom", by now, "stoner rock" was coming into it's own, which HAD to be amusing to these dudes, whi had been doing this stuff for ten years..

OK, that's all for this post..... these dudes have so much good shit that it will take multiple posts.... hell, I just might consider them the MOST underappreciated/underrated bands of the 90's/00's, they were ahead of their time, ahead of the curve on the "stoner rock" thing, and it just seemed to me never got the attention that they deserved. Maybe I'm wrong, I don't know, but to me this is some damn FINE hard rock, which, of course, is my "first love".....

We'll have part 2 tomorrow or sometime...... would REALLY like to hear your feelings on these "unknown" (that may be a bit harsh) hard core rockers, they melded punk/stoner/grunge/good old riff rock into a sound all their own........  they did it for a long time, and barely missed a beat......trust me, more GOOD stuff tomorrow.

PITCHFORK-01 01 Wicker/02 Arcadia/03 Juggernaut/04 Far Country

A PROMO NAMED MARCUS-01 A Shotgun Named Marcus/02 Rats (live)/03 Juggernaut (live)/04 A Shotgun Named Marcus (live)/05 Molt

TRANSITIONAL SPEEDWAY LEAGUE-01 A Shotgun Named Marcus/02 El Jefe Speaks/03 Binge and Purge/04 12 Ounce Epilogue/05Bacchanal/06 Milk of Human Kindness/07 Rats/08 Earthworm/09 Heirloom 13/10 Walking in the Great Shining path of Monster Trucks/11 Effigy

CLUTCH-01 Big News I/02 Big News II/03 Rock N Roll Outlaw/04 Texan Book of the Dead/05 Escape From the Prison Planet/06 Spacegrass/07 I Have the Body of John Wilkes Boothe/08 Tight Like That/09 Animal Farm/10 Droid/11 The House That Peterbilt/12 7 Jam/13 Tim Sult vs the Greys

IMPETUS-01 Impetus ((Demo)/02 Pile Driver/03 Passive Restraints/04 Impetus/05 High Caliber Consecratot

THE ELEPHANT RIDERS-01 The Elephant Riders/02 Ship of Gold/03 Eight Times Over Miss October/04 The Soapmakers/05 Untitled/06 Muchas Veces/07 Green Bucket/08 Wishbone/09 Crackerjack/10 The Dragonfly/11 David Rose/12 Gifted and Talented

PURE ROCK FURY-01 American Sleep/02 Pure Rock Fury/03 Open Up the Border/04 Careful With That Mic/05 Red Horse Rainbow/06 The Great Outdoors/07 Smoke Banshee/08 Frankenstein/09 Sinkemlow/10 Immortal/11 Brazenhead/12 Drink to the Dead/13 Spacegrass (live)

SLOW HOLE TO CHINA (RARE AND UNRELEASED)-01 Slow Hole to China/02 Nickle Dime/03 Sea of Destruction/04 Oregon/05 Easy Breeze/06 Four Lords (And One More)/07 Rising Sons/08 Guild of Mute Assasins/09 Willie Nelson/10 Equinox/11 Hoodoo Operator/12 Day of the Jackalope

BLAST TYRANT-01 Mercury/02 Profits of Doom/03 The Mob Goes Wild/04 Cypress Grove/05 Promoter (of Earthbound Causes)/06 The Regulator/07 Worm Drink/08 Army of Bono/09 Spleen Merchant/10 (In the Wake of) The Swollen Goat/11 Weathermaker/12 Subtle Hustle/13 Ghost/14 (Notes from the Trial of) La Curandera/15 WYSIWYG

OK, guys n gals, lotta stuff here, mostly pretty damn good if you have tastes somewhat/anywhere similar to my own, Clutch have been a VERY under-loved band in their time, let's spread this around a bit and see if we can achieve them a small percentage of the popularity that they really do deserve......good hard rock, all I can say, over a long period of time........tune in TOMORROW for the "rest" of their fine career!