7/28/2012

RONNIE SPECTOR - Siren

RONNIE SPECTOR Siren lp 1980
Here Today, Gone Tomorrow / Darlin' / Any Way That You Want Me / Tonight / Boys Will Be Boys / Hell Of A Nerve / Settin' The Woods On Fire / Let Your Feelings Show / Dynamite / Happy Birthday Rock'N' Roll.
Produced by Genya Ravan.
Musicians: Ronnie Spector: vocals / T. Price (Mink Deville Band) : drums / B. Rath (Heartbreakers), J. Vasta JR. (Mink Deville Band) : bass / C. Chrome (Dead Boys), L. Lepore (Cherry Vanilla Band), L. Hanson & C. Taylor (Genya Ravan Band): guitar / G. Ravan: backing vocals & percussion / R. Stackman: clavinet / G. Gerson: flute / T. Graves: keyboards / B. Blain, K. Margolis: piano / C. Freida, K. Curry: saxophone.
There are many extraordinary things about Ronnie Spector's Siren album. It was conceived and produced by the legendary Genya Ravan (aka Goldie Zelcowicz) of one of the first all-girl bands, Goldie & the Gingerbreads. It has a street feel much like Ronnie Spector's solo concerts over the years. And it has pretty much a cast of thousands. Well, if not thousands, more session people scattered over one album than Phil Spector would put on one song.
It is an important piece of Ronnie's musical legacy which bridges the gap between The Ronettes Sing Their Greatest Hits to the 1995 collection of her '70s/'80s material on Sony, the "Dangerous" re-release on Australia's Raven Records. One of the Ramones biggest selling albums, if not their biggest, was the one produced by Phil Spector. Genya Ravan's choice of the Ramones song "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow" is brilliant. They may have been headbangers, but they were Ronnie Spector fans.

Members of Johnny Thunders' Heartbreakers, the Dead Boys, and Mink DeVille must have been honored to appear on this, and the musical integrity and heart is there, for sure. Here's the classic '60s voice which ruled on Top 40 for five hit records in 1963 and 1964 rocking out with the best of them on songs like "Settin' the Woods on Fire" with backing by the Diamond Dupree Band, or singing to the reggae beat of the Bahama Mama Band on Roger Cook's "Let Your Feelings Show."
This is a dynamic and diverse album with even Janis Joplin/Merrilee Rush/Troggs songwriter Chip Taylor weighing in on "Any Way That You Want Me." If Phil Spector overproduced to good effect, Genya Ravan purposely underproduced, choosing instead to let flavors of different musicians paint the fabric behind Ronnie Spector. In her book 'Be My Baby' on page 248, Ronnie says "Genya was a strong producer who knew what she wanted, just like Phil." High praise indeed! Allmusic
Buy the LP HERE or the CD HERE !
This post is dedicated to Mihaleez & The White Trash Soul Blog!

CITY KIDS - The Orphans Parade (re-up)

CITY KIDS The orphans parade cd 1986
Poison Dream / The Real Thing / Rebels* / Dawn Of Love / Shell World / Nightfall* / Liar / Promised Land / S.h Infirmity / All Fool's Day° / Only Question / Glasscage
Produced by Rob Younger & Alan Thorne.
City Kids: D. Comont: vocals, piano / C. Paillette: bass / S. Lesauvage: drums / P. Lamy: guitar + N. Gilleele: cello ° / V. Dugina: violin *.
The City Kids were a french rock band from Le Havre.Formed in August 1980, their influences are diverse: the Anglo-Saxon rock of the seventies (MC5, the Stooges, the Who), the punk (Clash, Damned,Saints,Undertones, Stiff Little Fingers ...) and especially the Australian rock underground (Radio Birdman, Died Pretty). Since the mid-seventies, Le Havre city has a reputation for being "a heavy rock town"...Thanks to Little Bob Story at the time the only French rock band singing in English to perform across the Channel.
City Kids will soon imitate their elders in 1981 for 25 dates with Doctor Feelgood.The City Kids has performed in France and in Europe with about a hundred dates a year with Iggy Pop in 1990 at the Zénith of Paris.
Against the current musical fashions of the moment, City Kids did not got successful beyond a certain part of the rock audience.
The City Kids have recorded two mini lps, four albums and some singles: all highly recommended!!!."The Orphans Parade" is their first full length album: a must-have !

Les City Kids sont un groupe de rock originaire du Havre formé en août 1980 par Dominique Comont, Eric Houllemare, Pascal Lamy et Stéphane Lesauvage. Les influences du groupe sont diverses, le rock anglo-saxon des seventies (MC5, les Stooges, les Who),
le mouvement punk (Clash, Damned, Saints, Undertones, Stiff little fingers…) puis le rock australien underground (Radio Birdman, Died Pretty). Depuis le milieu des seventies, Le Havre a une réputation de ville « rock » notamment grâce à Little Bob Story qui est
à l’époque le seul groupe de rock français chantant en anglais à se produire outre manche. City Kids ne tardera pas à imiter ses aînés dès 1981 en partant pour 25 dates en Angleterre en 1ère partie de Doctor Feelgood. Depuis le groupe se produit en France et
en Europe avec environ une centaine de dates par an, dont une 1ère partie d’Iggy Pop en 1990 au zénith de Paris et une tournée avec Noir Désir en 1993. A contre-courant des modes musicales du moment, City Kids ne connaît pourtant pas de succès au-delà
d'une certaine partie du public rock. Ils se séparent en 1995 et Dominique Comont, leur chanteur, continue une carrière en solo. Les City Kids se sont retrouvés sur scène, notamment dans leur ville d'origine, Le Havre, le 13 décembre 2008, au Cabaret Electric.
Leurs retrouvailles sur scène se sont faites au bénéfice d'une œuvre caritative ayant pour but de venir en aide aux enfants défavorisés. Après quelques concerts en France, le groupe se prépare à enregistrer un nouvel album. Source
Buy It HERE !

7/26/2012

DIG IT! N° 55

Dig It! N° 55
Arthur Alexander, Peter Greenberg, Giuda, Tav Falco, Chrome Cranks...
Quel sommaire !
Soutien ICI !

7/19/2012

JEFF DAHL - Best Of ~ Vol. 1

JEFF DAHL Best Of ~ Vol. 1 cd 2003
Mary, Are You Livin' / Goin' Underground / Junkies Deserve To Die / Elks Lodge Riot / Lisa's World / Arizona / Hey Cinderella / Wasted Remains / She's So Cool / Leather Frankenstein / Only Lovers Left Alive / European Vacation / No Apologies / Pissing On Your Flowers / French Cough Syrup / Pinpoint Eyes / Little Girl Smile / She's Breakin' My Heart Again / Down On You / Miss Thing / Ravaged / Narco Voodoo / Girls I Used To Know / I'm In Love With The GTOs.
Musicians: Rikk Agnew, Robert Brock, Michael Brooks, Cheetah Chrome, Anna Conda, Jeff Dahl, Bruce Duff, John Duffy, Del Hopkins, John Manikoff, Dave Naz, Zepp Oberpichler, Jaime Pina, Mr Ratboy, Tony Reflex, Mike Reese, Maseline Ridley, Jenni Sex, Ammy Wichman.
Jeff Dahl is an American musician. Born in Stuttgart, Germany in 1955, but in 1960 the Dahl family relocated to Hawaii. Jeff recorded his first single, "Rock N Roll Critic", in 1977 and it was released on the Doodley Squat label. Since then Jeff served time in Vox Pop (Germs, 45 Grave & Dream Syndicate members) , The Angry Samoans (1985, stepped in for "Metal" Mike Saunders), and Powertrip as well as playing & recording with Dead Boys' legend Cheetah Chrome and ex-Adolescents Rikk Agnew.
There are approximately 26 full length albums released (Studio, live, bootlegs, Best Of collections), and in the neighborhood of 100 7" singles.
Jeff Dahl has released a wide variety of records that remain true to his three chords and one bad attitude dictum. The confessional "I kill me", the glammy "French Cough Syrup", the tough-minded "Leather Frankenstein", the acoustic "Have Faith", the live "Scratch Up Some Action","Heart Full of Snot" who revealed Dahl at his most confrontational and indeed ruffled many feathers within the punk rock community. all provide glimpses into various chapters of Dahl's musical legacy; an ongoing committment to tried-and-true rock 'n' roll coupled with a tireless international touring schedule complete the picture. His release, Jeff has done extensive touring and studio production work in the USA, Europe and Japan
Buy It HERE!

7/16/2012

THE CRAWDADDYS - Still Steamin...

THE CRAWDADDYS Still Steamin... lp 1980
There She Goes Again / Why Don't You Smile Now / Lolette / Pretty Face / I Can Never Tell / I'm Gonna Leave You / I'm Dissatisfied.
Produced by Randy S. Fuelle.
The Crawdaddys: S. Potterf: guitar, vocals & harp / R. Silva: guitar, vocals, percussion / M. Zadarnowski: bass / Don McLain (alias Country Dick Montana): drums.
The original Crawdaddys lineup formed in 1978, inspired by British rhythm-and-blues groups of the early 1960s, such as the Pretty Things and Rolling Stones. The original lineup included singer Ron Silva, bassist Mark Zadarnowski, guitarist Steve Potterf, and drummer Dan McLain. Potterf and Silva were both in the similar garage band the Hitmakers. The quartet signed to Voxx records in 1979, releasing an album the following year and a 45 and EP in 1980. They soon fractured with various Silva-fronted lineups taking the band through 1984.
Potterf left the group after recording the first Crawdaddys LP, leaving Silva as head Crawdad. Unfortunately, the group's sound took a slight dive in aggression level as a result.
Later lineups included guitarist Peter Miesner, keyboard player Keith Fisher, and drummer Gordon Moss.
McLain, later known as Country “Dick” Montana, passed away in 1995 while on tour with the Beat Farmers. Potterf apparently stopped making music.
Many early Crawdaddys recordings were mastered by Stan Ross, who mastered "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" for Iron Butterfly and worked with Phil Spector. The band reunited in 2011 for a pair of shows: June 10, headlining the sixth annual “Go Sinner Go” festival in Spain, and again on September 2 at the Casbah. Memorial Day weekend was spent shooting at the Rhino Pop Up Store with filmmaker Eric Rife, in preparation for their September reunion show.
The 2011 Crawdaddys feature Silva and Zadarnowski alongside members from slightly later lineups — guitarist Peter Miesner, keyboard player Keith Fisher and drummer Gordon Moss. The last time Zadarnowski, a South Park resident, and Silva, who currently resides in Los Angeles, performed together was in 1993 at the now-defunct venue Bodie’s downtown.
Silva says the reunion is due to the tenacity of Spanish promoter Edu Sinner. “The guy has been emailing me for a couple of years now, trying to get the band for his festival. I recently moved back to Southern California, [so] it makes more sense,” he said. “I just thought now’s as good a time as any.”

Though Sinner has brought numerous American bands to Spain for his events, he’s particularly excited to score the Crawdaddys. “They’re one of my favorite bands. I’ve always wanted to bring them here. After three years of talking, we got it,” he says, and explains Spain’s continued fascination with San Diego’s ’60s-influenced bands:
“This is real music, from the gut.... I’m sure that even after another 50 years, Crawdaddy Express will still be considered a fantastic record by young R&B fans.”
Zadarnowski doesn’t find it unusual that his band’s reunion has been set in motion by music fans in Spain. “The Spaniards are certainly receptive to all the old San Diego stuff. Probably even more so than San Diego,” he joked. While Silva wouldn’t mind seeing the Crawdaddys perform beyond these two shows, he says, “I want to see how these two shows go. We’ve rehearsed a handful of times.
It’s just like the old days, except we’re all a little bit fatter.”
Buy It HERE!

7/10/2012

TEENAGE HEAD - Trouble In The Jungle

TEENAGE HEAD Trouble in the jungle LP 1985
Frantic romantic / Let her dance / Drive-in / Save your love / I can't pretend / Weekend /Splatter man / Jam up & jelly tight / Parasite / Teenage heaven / Sloppy drunk / I need your love / Little sister.
Produced by Dave Desroches & Gordon Lewis .
MCA picked up Teenage Head the next year and tried to market them to the American audience - biggest example was the adding of an 'S' to the band's name to appease those who were trying to clean up rock & roll. 1983's "Tornado" was a 6 track EP which made Head-fanatics cringe. Their previous image of 'party til you puke punks' now more closely resembled a group of Potsy Webbers - just not as cool. Featuring production work by David Bendeth, who'd filled in here and there in various capacities over the years, label execs tried to gear the rockabilly-twinged record to the college yuppies ... with disasterous results.

The band signed with Ready Records after MCA lost faith that same year. Back to their original name, a new version of the debut was re-released before year's end, with "Top Down' the single - again. The aptly-titled "Endless Party" hit the shelves in 1984, and was quickly heralded as one of the better albums in capturing a band's live stage presence. A third version of "Top Down" was now on the airwaves but again the band watched their label fold when Ready Records went under later that year. Their woes continued when Venom's living the rock and roll lifestyle a little too much led to him being fired around the same time. He went on to a number of new groups, including The L7's & Frankie Venom & The Vipers to little success. Head meanwhile shopped around for a new label.

With new vocalist Dave 'Rave' DesRoches, ex of The Shakers, they cut "Trouble In The Jungle" in 1986 on Warpt Recrods. Still doing the 'white punks on beer' they were caught in the middle of a musical change of tide, and the single "Frantic Romantic" did nothing to improve the situation. Their second release with Warpt was CAN'T STOP SHAKIN' the next year. A total commercial failure, the band foundthemselves on Fringe Records a year later, releasing "Electric Guitars" .... same result. Again the guys found themselves label-less and this time went their seperate ways, with DesRoches going on to form The Dave Rave Conspiracy and then Rave & Agnelli (with Lauren Agnelli) in later years.

Various incarnations of the band resurfaced now and then, seeing Attic reissue "Frantic City and "Some Kinda Fun" in a special combined package in 1990. A deal with OPM Records also saw the release of the debut a third time in '96. They reformed in '98 to release "Head Disorder", more mature but just as rowdy, the album featured an unlikely cameo by Burton Cummings on a pair of tracks. That same year "Bonerack" from the 1977 debut made the soundtrack to the independant film "Hardcore Logos". As well, New York's The Fleshtones covered "Tearin' Us Apart" (also from the debut) a year later. The Vapids, one of Toronto's hottest new talents, paid their own tribute by re-recording Head's entire first album in 2002. A greatest hits package is also currently in the works.
Buy it HERE!
Re-up & new rip in flac !

7/03/2012

BAD LUCK CHARMS - Bad Luck Charms

BAD LUCK CHARMS Bad Luck Charms cd 2008
Twilight In The Asylum / Break My Heart / One Track Mind / Untouchable / I Didn't Mean To Kill You / Poison / No Vacancy / Happily Ever After / Superstition / Tokyo / Tokyo (reprise).
Produced by K. Martinez & D. Rundall.
Bad Luck Charms: K. Martinez: howling, guitar / B. Knott: guitar, vox / M. A. Million: bass guitar, vox / B. V. Mier: drums, vox.
Sell your soul... Sleazy, Dirty Rock'n'Roll straight outta the smelly clubs of NYC, fronted by Kerry Martinez (U.S. Bombs/Shattered Faith) and fueled by the syringe sound of the Heartbreakers, tongue in cheek of the Stones and all the snot of the Dead Boys! Go for it if you don‘t wanna end up having to wait another 35 years!!! ...to Rock‘n‘Roll! Now for their second Euro Tour we‘re happy to announce that we released an exclusive and fully remastered version of their killer full length for the first time ever on vinyl!! Plus it comes with a revised artwork in a strictly limited gimmick silkscreen-sleeve (buy it HERE)! Source
Buy the cd HERE!