Archive Review: The Greasy Truckers Party (1972/2007)

The “Greasy Truckers Party” was a benefit show for Greasy Truckers, an English flower-power group raising money for a number of social causes. Held at The Roundhouse in London on February 13, 1972, the show bill featured the improbable trio of Hawkwind, Brinsley Schwarz and Man. Originally released as a two-album set back in the day, the original eight-track tapes were recently unearthed, cleaned up, and reissued as a proper thee-disc set featuring complete performances from each of the three headlining bands. In a couple of cases (Man, Brinsley Schwarz), the chance to hear the complete set is quite breathtaking – on the original LP, for instance, only two of Man’s five distinctive performances were offered, tho’ that did include the incredible “Spunk Rock.”

Man’s Spunk Rock

Prog-rockers Man opened the show strong with a set that included their impressive twenty-two-minute jam “Spunk Rock.” The song features some incredible interstellar fretwork from Mickey Jones and Deke Leonard, the two guitarists seemingly engaged in some earth-shaking duel as their jagged riffs and razor-sharp leads intertwine like concertina wire. Drummer Terry Williams acts as both a referee and a cheerleader here, his steady, explosive drumbeats providing a constant barrage of rhythm and noise for the two six-string gladiators to build upon. The song’s ever-shifting time signatures, emotions and directions is enough to put many of today’s limp-wristed so-called  “virtuoso” jam bands to shame.

It would be tempting to say that the remainder of Man’s set was a letdown after the high-flying antics of “Spunk Rock,” but ‘tain’t so…the band clearly set the bar high and then attempts to demolish it with an impressive set of material, the band clearly influenced by the sounds emanating from San Francisco over the previous five years. Shimmering guitars and subdued rhythms lead into the scary, riff-driven, semi-psychedelic “Many Are Called But Few Get Up,” which sounds eerily like Volunteers-era Jefferson Starship at their dark, menacing, flower-power-is-kaput best. Once again, Williams’ machine-gun drumbeats provide the foundation for some really spacey and entertaining guitarwork.

“Angel Easy,” the other carryover from the original Truckers LP, is a shorter, more traditionally-structured rocker with distant vocals and a slightly funky rhythmic undercurrent. Whether it’s Leonard or Jones kicking in the notes here, the guitars set the pace for the song to rumble along like QMS on any given night at the Fillmore. The fourteen-minute “Bananas” sounds every bit like the band had been torching some peels on its way to the show, a mild hallucinogenic cloud settling over a rollicking pub-rock rhythm. The song extends for a whopping 14-plus, which lends itself to all sorts of cosmic abuse, lane changes, and slippery mountain curves. The set-closing “Romain” is pure electric booger-rawk, with long sweeping rhythms, bent-wire guitar tones and some of the most brilliantly bombastic drumming that you’ll ever hear.

Hawkwind’s Sonic Poetry

Hawkwind closed the show with its unique psychedelic space-rock, punctuated by Robert Calvert’s bizarro poetry. The Hawks’ set suffered from some initial sound and power problems – a bit of a drag, indeed, for a band whose entire vibe was built upon the manic manipulation of the sonic realm. Nevertheless, by the time that the band gets its set off the ground and launched towards the stratosphere with the lengthy “You Shouldn’t Do That,” the chemically-assisted among the audience were soaring wing-to-wing alongside ‘em, if you know what I mean (and I think that you do). After all, this was ‘72 kiddies, and mind-altering goodies like LSD and ‘shrooms, and even peyote had yet to be bulldozed in favor of the extreme highs-and-lows of coke and ‘ludes (and the coming tragedy of the disco era).

Even if many in attendance had brought their aviator helmets and flight jackets with them, nothing could have prepared them for the lightspeed, white lightning, brightly-flashing magic migraine that was Hawkwind in its prime. This is Lemmy the K era ‘wind, with wings of razor-sharp titanium and the most god-awful sonic roar heard this side of purgatorio. “You Shouldn’t Do That” starts with the sound of full-thrust afterburners and steadily climbs to a crescendo build upon shards of crystal riffage, claustrophobic drumbeats, and switchblade synthesizers. You didn’t have to be as high as a Greek god sitting in a stupor on Mount Olympus to enjoy this stuff, but it didn’t hurt any, either.

Not that the old Reverend would prescribe dangerous substances to his gentle readers, but as one who was around back in ‘72 and…ahem…as someone with a taste for various illicit mind-benders and cerebellum-snacks, Hawkwind was definitely playing my song. “The Awakening” is like falling headfirst into a shimmering puddle of quicksand, as slug-like, squiggly guitar lines and odd bodkins synth-squawks leave a slimy, colorful trail across your skullpan. “Master of the Universe” is a delightful proto-metal spacewalk with stunning fretwork, Lemmy’s incandescently heavy basslines, and steady backbreaking rhythms clearly spawning the entire glut of “New Wave of British Heavy Metal” bands that would stumble into the future from the Roundhouse’s doorstep that night.

Space Rock Pioneers

Of course, Hawkwind was never a band to leave an audience simply awestruck when they had a real opportunity to thoroughly reprogram their collective gray matter (reference: the band’s subsequent Space Ritual LP). Devoid of hope, the dark vibe of “Paranoia” is overwhelming in its desperation, but the short, sweet, shock-to-the-brain that is “Earth Calling” is pure Kafka set to something that approximates music, an alien-encounter with intense-sound-and-emotion unheard of in these parts of the galaxy. The out-of-this-world, hard rocking “Silver Machine” was as close to a hit song as Hawkwind’s merry pranksters were ever going to experience (albeit in a slightly different form). Almost traditional in its rock-and-roll aspirations, the song includes some high-flying synth work among its scorching guitars and driving rhythms nonetheless.

The band’s final tune here, the free-form “Brainstorm,” is a cosmic-orgy of massive proportions, a sheer lysergic-fueled attempt at traversing time and space, a mock-battle where no single instrument dominates, but rather they tend to all meld together into a singular noisy conglomeration of sound and fury. When a random guitar or voice does manage to break out of the musical miasma, it’s only to herd the listener back into the hive with electric cattle-prod efficiency. This is the kind of transcendent, out-of-control moment at which Hawkwind often excelled, and their attempt to rewrite the laws of physics that February night back in ‘72 is duly appreciated.

In the middle of the night, however, tucked between the two dynamic, prog-oriented monoliths, was Brinsley Schwarz (with a pre-cool Nick Lowe). The pub-rockers faced down a hostile crowd, winning them over with their exclusive blend of pre-No Depression twang-rock and blue-eyed soul. Whereas the previous two bands left the audience in awe of their mighty instrumental powers, the Brinsley boys pursued a vision of pure songcraft with actual melodies, choruses, and catchy hooks. “Country Girl,” one of the band’s signature songs, is a gently-rolling Byrdsian outtake with more keyboards and less 12-string, while “One More Day” is a playful mid-tempo country rocker that would have fit right in on any Uncle Tupelo album.

Brinsley Schwarz’s Pure Songcraft

The R&B stomp-and-stammer of the vintage Otis Rush tune “Home Work” benefits from some manic string-mangling, while the Nick Lowe rocker “Nervous On the Road (But Can’t Stay At Home)” offers up swaggering soulfulness, Bob Andrews’ Staxian keyboard riffing, fine vocals and subtle touches of rockabilly-tinged guitar. Blessed with two considerable songwriters in Lowe and Ian Gomm, the band had a wealth of material to choose from. Gomm’s “Range War” is a romping, stomping melodic twangfest that expands upon late-era-Byrds with ringing guitars, rapidfire keyboard-bashing and some truly odd lyrics – something about an Old West fracas with six-shooters and, for some strange reason worthy of Hawkwind’s poetic nightmares, Marvel Comics’ anti-hero the Silver Surfer.

The traditional “Midnight Train” is provided an appropriately raucous reading, with some crafty honky-tonk piano, twangy vocals, and South Nashville chicken-picking. The savvy “It’s Just My Way of Saying Thank You” offers whip-smart lyrics, strutting keyboard-led rhythms, and great live harmonies. A cover of Allen Toussaint’s New Orleans soul classic “Wonder Woman” offers a lively rhythmic soundtrack, Andrews’ finest Booker T-influenced pianowork, and some Steve Cropper-styled wiry fretwork. Brinsley Schwarz’s fourth album, 1972’s Silver Pistol, included two songs from obscure American folk-rock songwriter Jim Ford; one of those is performed here – the blues-tinged, countryish “I’m Ahead If I Can Quit While I’m Behind.”

Paradoxical title aside, the song is a freak-folk ballad featuring Schwarz’s finely-crafted guitarwork, mournful vocals, and weeping rhythms … a heartbreaking hillbilly lament if ever there was one. Lowe’s wonderful “Surrender To the Rhythm” is a fine example of what Brinsley Schwarz did best, a seamless fusion of Nashville-by-way-of-Camden-twang with a rolling R&B backbone, ‘60s-era pop aspirations and an “anything goes,” ‘70s rock mentality that lends a timeless quality to a relatively obscure but vastly underrated pub-rock genre.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

Sadly, rather than closing on a high note with the delightful “Surrender To The Rhythm,” the second CD in this set instead crawls out on all fours with the atrocious hippie-cretin blathering of Magic Michael. The sort of free-spirited acid-casualty that the late ‘60s and early ‘70s spit out by the handful, Magic Michael haunted London’s rock underground like a drooling phantom, often gracing the stage during mid-band set changes, offering the audience the measure of his limitless lack of talent.  Michael’s “Music Belongs To the People” is a mindless, improvised mess including members of the audience climbing onstage to “jam” alongside the magic one’s yelping vocals and cacophonic guitar strumming. This insipid, fetid chunk of stoner-era trash wouldn’t cut the mustard at the height of Flower Power’s drug-fueled insanity; in this day-and-age, it’s more painful than a botched root canal by a drunken dentist.

If this all sounds like an odd combination of music that I’ve described for you all well, yeah, it is. Any one of these three bands stands on its own, and all three are distinctly different in both style and ambition. That was the magic of the early ‘70s, however…long before corporate radio and major label homogenization lowered expectations across the board, young music fans had a gluttonous buffet of bands to choose from, and we often ate from the trough with glee. It was a high-flying time for “music-as-culture,” and art often times outweighed commerce. Although it’s unlikely that a performance of the diversity and scope of the Greasy Truckers Party concert could take place these days, the album represents more than a mere cultural artifact – Greasy Truckers Party also captures a magical night of music. (Liberty Records, released November 2, 2007)

Review originally published on the Trademark of Quality (TMQ) music blog, 2007

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: The Greasy Truckers Party

Book Review: Brucer Iglauer & Patrick A. Roberts' Bitten By The Blues (2018)

Whether label founder Bruce Iglauer would admit it or not, Alligator Records is an American treasure. From the label’s initial 1971 release – the white-hot self-titled album by Chicago blues trio Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers – and throughout the ensuing decades, Alligator would become the foremost champion of that most American of music genres, the blues.

With a deep catalog of over 350 albums released over the span of almost 50 years, Iglauer and Alligator Records has documented and preserved music by both blues legends and lesser-knowns alike, sometimes dabbling in Americana, R&B, blues-rock, and even reggae music (!) without moving far from the label’s core mission.

Alligator’s legacy is built on the blues, however, with albums from the aforementioned Hound Dog Taylor – whose raucous sound would become the template for the label’s future releases (the label’s slogan is “Genuine HouseRockin’ Music”) – and bona fide greats like Koko Taylor, Buddy Guy, James Cotton, and Charlie Musselwhite building a foundation for the business. There are also artists like Son Seals, Lonnie Brooks, Albert Collins, Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials, and Saffire – The Uppity Blues Women, among several others, whose careers were nurtured by the label and with whom the artists’ fortunes have long been tied.   

Bruce Iglauer’s Bitten By The Blues

I first met Alligator’s Bruce Iglauer at a NAIRD music trade group convention in Nashville back in the 1990s and would get to know him a little better during my tenure as the About.com “Blues Expert” circa 2008-2014. I’ve found him to be a smart, generous, supportive individual who you’d never guess ran a successful record label, a dolphin swimming among sharks as it were. As a couple of interviews we’ve done over the years has shown, Bruce is also a great storyteller, so it’s only natural that nearly a half-century after launching the label that would become his life’s work that Iglauer would get around to putting some of those stories down in print. Working with noted writer and Northern Illinois University associate professor Patrick A. Roberts, Iglauer has produced Bitten By The Blues: The Alligator Records Story, a book that is part autobiography and part label history, the man and his work forever joined at the hip.

Bitten By The Blues tells the tale of blues music in the latter part of the 20th century and the early 2000s, with art and commerce intersecting in often interesting ways. Iglauer has been intimately involved in the blues music scene since his late 1960s college days, and has been deeply immersed in the business of music nearly as long. Bitten By The Blues digs deep into the hidden mechanisms of the music biz, offering up a fascinating portrait of the ups and downs of running what, at this point, is one of American’s longest-running independent record labels. Unlike men in similar positions in the industry, Iglauer isn’t afraid to tell the whole story, warts and all, and the book offers reminders of bad business decisions, or situations where the blues-lovin’ Bruce went into a bad deal following his heart rather than his head. 

Iglauer’s triumphs far outweigh his failures, however, and his successes have led to some mighty fine music. Bitten By The Blues is chockful of inside stories about working with Alligator artists like Koko Taylor, Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials, Johnny Winter, Roy Buchanan, and Albert Collins as well as Bruce’s friendships with legends like Junior Wells and Luther Allison. Sometimes Alligator’s triumphs aren’t readily apparent, or they’re the result of a stroke of luck, like the recording of New Orleans music legend Professor Longhair’s final album, Crawfish Fiesta. Iglauer writes of loss – the impact of the death of Alligator’s raison d'être, Hound Dog Taylor is notably significant, as was the loss of Michael “Iron Man” Burke – as well as the challenges and obstacles of running an old-school record label in the era of streaming and diminishing sales of physical media like vinyl and CDs.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

Iglauer imbues Bitten By The Blues with the same wit, humor, and charm that he evinces in person, and his larger-than-life personality shines through every page. Iglauer admits that while he’s always envisioned Alligator Records as a big family, not every artist or employee has always been happy. Although he’s known as a straight-shooter who does right by his artists, a few have complained of royalties they thought they deserved or of slights by the label and, to his credit, Bruce addresses these controversies in the book. It’s telling, though, that not only has Alligator had several artists who enjoyed lengthy careers with the label, they’ve also had more than a handful of talents who have left the Chicago institution’s ranks only to return and record some of the best music of their lives.

Most importantly, perhaps, Bitten By The Blues reveals some of Bruce’s vision for the future of the label, a future that’s not carved in stone by any means, but is strengthened by the label’s discovery and development of young talents like Shemekia Copeland and Selwyn Birchwood as well as the addition of road-tested blues veterans like Tommy Castro, Nick Moss, and Tinsley Ellis to the label’s ever-evolving roster. Bitten By The Blues is an insightful and entertaining read for any blues music fanatic or anybody interested in the business of music. The only (admittedly minor) quibble I have with the book is that I’d loved to have seen more photos, but extra credit to Bruce for including a complete Alligator Records discography that we rabid collectors can use as a convenient shopping list. Grade: A+ (University of Chicago Press, published October 19, 2018)

Buy the book from Amazon.com: Brucer Iglauer & Patrick A. Roberts’ Bitten By The Blues

Also on That Devil Music.com:
Shemekia Copeland - America’s Child CD review
Elvin Bishop - Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio CD review
Alligator Records 45th Anniversary Collection CD review

New Music Monthly: March 2019 Releases

Hey now, this is more like it! The floodgates open in March and no matter your taste in music, there's something here to satisfy, pacify, and tickle the fancy of even the most hidebound hater. Blues fans will dig new albums by  Tommy Castro, Nick Schnebelen, Robin Trower, and the first solo effort by the great Reese Wynans while metalheads will be bangin' their craniums to jacked-up new music by In Flame, Demon Hunter, Queensrÿche, and Devin Townsend.

Indie-rock fans will groove to LPs by Weezer, Meat Puppets, Stephen Malkmus, Ty Segall, and Lambchop, among many others. Americana aficionados aren't left out, either, with new albums by Steve Earle, Todd Snider, Son Volt, and a cool reissue of the long-ago debut by Uncle Walt's Band. Speaking of archive release, wrap your brains around long-lost tunes by Robin Lane & the Chartbusters, guitar maestro Dennis Coffey, Americana legend Townes Van Zandt, and the one-and-only Frank Zappa!

If you’re interesting in buying an album, just hit the ‘Buy!’ link to get it from Amazon.com...it’s just that damn easy! Your purchase puts valuable ‘store credit’ in the Reverend’s pocket that he’ll use to buy more music to write about in a never-ending loop of rock ‘n’ roll ecstasy!

MARCH 1
Ian Brown - Ripples   BUY!
Tommy Castro & the Painkillers - Killin' It Live   BUY!
Kid Creole & the Coconuts - Live In Paris 1985   BUY!
Dennis Coffey - Live at Baker's   BUY!
Demon Hunter - Peace   BUY!
Demon Hunter - War   BUY!
In Flames - I, The Mask   BUY!
Robin Lane & the Chartbusters - Many Years Ago [box set]   BUY!
Pond - Tasmania   BUY!
Queensrÿche - The Verdict   BUY!
Royal Trux - White Stuff   BUY!
Nick Schnebelen - Crazy All By Myself   BUY!
Weezer - Weezer (The Black Album)   BUY!
Reese Wynans - Sweet Release   BUY!

MARCH 8
Flight of the Conchords - Live In London   BUY!
Patty Griffin - Patty Griffin   BUY!
Amanda Palmer - There Will Be No Intermission   BUY!
Meat Puppets - Dusty Notes   BUY!
Townes Van Zandt - Sky Blue   BUY!
Leo "Bud" Welch - The Angels in Heaven Have Done Signed My Name [produced by Dan Auerbach]   BUY!

MARCH 15
Dennis Brennan & the White Owls - Live at Electric Andyland   BUY!
The Brian Jonestown Massacre - The Brian Jonestown Massacre   [vinyl]   BUY!
The Faint - Egowerk   BUY!
Stephen Malkmus - Groove Denied   BUY!
Karen O & Danger Mouse - Lux Prima   BUY!
Todd Snider - Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3   BUY!

MARCH 22
Matt Andersen - Halfway Home By Morning   BUY!
Andrew Bird - My Finest Work   BUY!
Lambchop - This (is what I wanted to tell you)   BUY!
Jenny Lewis - On the Line   BUY!
Megadeth - Warheads On Foreheads [anthology]   BUY!
Leroy Jodie Pierson - Rusty Nail   BUY!
Mighty Mike Schermer - Bad Tattoo   BUY!
Strand of Oaks - Eraserland   BUY!
Henry Townsend & Roosevelt Sykes - Blues Piano and Guitar   BUY!
Robin Trower - Coming Closer To the Day   BUY!

MARCH 29
Steve Earle - Guy   BUY!
L.A. Guns - The Devil You Know   BUY!
Yngwie Malmsteen - Blue Lightning   BUY!
Mekons - Deserted   BUY!
Ty Segall - Deforming Lobes   BUY!
Son Volt - Union   BUY!
Devin Townsend - Empath   BUY!
Uncle Walt's Band - Uncle Walt's Band   BUY!
Whitechapel - The Valley   BUY!
Frank Zappa - Zappa In New York [deluxe vinyl reissue]   BUY!

Album of the Month: Tommy Castro & the Painkillers' Killin' It Live. Yeah, I know that I listed this one for February, but I goofed up...the album release actually kicks off March, with multiple Blues Music Award winner Tommy Castro and his band delivering a spanking live set of red-hot blues that showcase Castro's underrated, soulful vocals and scorched-earth fretwork. There's a reason why Castro is probably the most "in-demand" live artist on the blues scene today, and it's shown quite nicely in the grooves of Killin' It Live. Got it? Get it!

Archive Review: Rocket From the Tombs' The Day The Earth Met The Rocket From The Tombs (2002)

One of rock music’s most interesting cult obscurities, Rocket From the Tombs has become the standard-bearer for an oft-overlooked Cleveland rock ‘n’ roll scene as well as a textbook illustration of “what might have been.” Formed in 1973 by “Crocus Behemoth,” the alter ego of singer David Thomas, the band derived its name from a short film made by Thomas and his friends titled The Day The Earth Met Rocket From The Tombs.

It wasn’t until guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Peter Laughner was added to the ever-fluid Rocket line-up, however, that the band began to focus on making serious music. The best-known Rocket roster, circa 1975, included Thomas and Laughner along with guitarist Gene O’Connor, bassist Craig Bell, and drummer Johnny Madansky. Over the course of the eight months they would play together, these five Cleveland musicians would create a legacy that is still being debated today...only at the time they didn’t know that what they were doing would last beyond tomorrow.

Rocket From the Tombs’ The Day The Earth Met The Rocket From The Tombs

RFTT would develop a unique musical style that was heavily influenced by the underground sounds favored by Laughner and Thomas, artists like the Velvet Underground, Iggy & the Stooges, and the MC5 mixed with a healthy dose of 1960s-styled garage-rock and British Invasion bands like the Who and the Kinks. The resulting songs were chaotic, unpredictable affairs that would often veer off recklessly into sheer sonic overkill, Thomas' yelping vocals and manic onstage performance style driving the audience berserk. With the help of friends at local radio station WMMS-FM and friendly local club owners, Rocket From the Tombs would become one of a handful of popular original bands in a Cleveland rock scene dominated by Top 40 cover bands. When Laughner, then writing album reviews for Detroit’s Creem magazine, gave critic Lester Bangs a tape of a live RFTT radio broadcast, the legendary critic championed it in the pages of the magazine.

Alas, RFTT seemed doomed from the beginning. The band burned so brightly and with such intensity that the members were constantly at each other’s throats. Drummer Madansky left the band at the urging of his girlfriend. When a young Iggy acolyte by the name of Stiv Bators joined RFTT as the primary vocalist, his presence would prove to be so disruptive as to break the band apart. Bators would take guitarist O’Connor (who would become known as Cheetah Chrome) and Madansky (a/k/a Johnny Blitz) and form the Dead Boys while Laughner and Thomas would start a new band called Pere Ubu.

Live From Punk Ground Zero

Unfortunately, Rocket From the Tombs never recorded a proper album. Bootleg tapes have circulated for a quarter-century, but now indie label Smog Veil Records has collected the best available tapes from RFTT’s all-too-brief career, cleaned them up as much as possible and has thrown them together as The Day The Earth Met the Rocket From the Tombs. This important compilation is the most complete document available on this legendary band, and the material it preserves is a priceless rock ‘n’ roll treasure. The album includes nine songs recorded in February 1975 in the band’s rehearsal loft, taken from a tape made for broadcast on a WMMS-FM radio program showcasing Cleveland bands. These were probably the songs on the tape given Lester Bangs, including a discordant pre-punk “Life Stinks” and the complex Laughner composition “Ain’t It Fun.”

Three of the songs here are culled from five recorded live by WMMS during a “heavy metal showcase” at Cleveland’s Agora club, while another seven songs were captured on tape during a July 1975 gig opening for Television. Although several of the songs offered on The Day the Earth Met... – notably “Sonic Reducer,” “Final Solution” and “30 Seconds Over Tokyo” – would become legendary when revisited by the Dead Boys and Pere Ubu, neither of those band's renditions comes close to matching the energy and passion of these originals. Choice covers of the Stooges’ “Raw Power” and the Velvet Underground’s “Foggy Notion” reveal RFTT’s roots and influences while several of Laughner’s songs, such as “Amphetamine” and “Transfusion,” show the talents of a gifted wordsmith, a punk Dylan who matched highbrow lyrical poetry with lowbrow street music.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

The sound quality on The Day The Earth Met the Rocket From the Tombs is spotty, but certainly no worse than many musically inferior bootlegs. Given that most of these tracks were recorded on reel-to-reel tape in the mid-1970s, it’s a wonder that any survived. As it is, the album shows Rocket From the Tombs to be the creative contemporaries of bands like the Dictators, Television, and the Ramones, an important and influential pre-punk band that would launch both art-punks Pere Ubu and punk legends the Dead Boys.

Sadly, RFTT also serves as a large part of the legacy of Peter Laughner, a brilliant and talented songwriter and guitarist who would die before his place in the rock ‘n’ roll firmament could be ensured. Perhaps the most entertaining historical recording you’ll run across this year, The Day The Earth Met the Rocket From the Tombs deserves shelf space in the collection of any true punk rock aficionado. (Smog Veil Records, 2002)

Review originally published by Alt.Culture.Guide™, 2002

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: Rocket From the Tombs’ The Day the Earth Met the Rocket From the Tombs

Archive Review: The London Quireboys' This Is Rock 'N' Roll (2002)

Proving the old adage that “you can’t keep a good band down,” the London Quireboys have come roaring into the twenty-first century with a new line-up, a new album, and a trademark sound that is pure, timeless rock ‘n’ roll. Formed in 1984, the Quireboys were less ‘glam’ than Hanoi Rocks, less obnoxious than Motley Crue, and more roots-oriented than Guns ‘N’ Roses.

The Quireboys’ sound was firmly influenced by classic rockers like the Rolling Stones and the Faces yet, due to the time and place, they were always thrown in amongst the L.A. glamboys and MTV hair bands. The band enjoyed a modicum of success in the U.K. with a handful of albums and hit singles before finally breaking up in 1993.

The London Quireboys’ This Is Rock N’ Roll

The flame refused to die, though, and the Quireboys kept plugging away at it throughout the 1990s. Various roster changes did little to change the band’s raw hard rock sound, the one common thread in the various band line-ups being vocalist Spike Gray. The Quireboys recorded their fourth album proper, Lost In Space, in 2000 and with their latest effort, This Is Rock ‘N’ Roll, they have delivered a rocking coup d’grace. For Spike and the Quireboys it’s always 1973 and This Is Rock ‘N’ Roll echoes the arena rock of Aerosmith, the Stones, and the Faces. Spike’s raucous vocals evoke memories of a young Rod Stewart, his inflection part whiskey and part cigarettes, while the twin guitars of long-time member Guy Griffin and newcomer Luke Bossendorfer wail and roar like ghostly doppelgangers of Keith Richards and Mick Taylor.

The album’s title track is an affirmation of rock ‘n’ roll and band brotherhood that hides a dirty little secret – that for some people, rock music is the only way to go, their only means of escape and, as Rod once sung, a “reason to believe.” It’s more than a livelihood, it’s a reason for being and for veterans like the Quireboys, it’s been a collective identity for so long that they can’t stop now. Shuffle just a few songs down, though, and you’ll find “C’mon,” a rowdy admittance that rock ‘n’ roll may well have passed the band by. Spike sings “don’t go changing my favorite songs, keep them rolling along” with the sad realization that rock music has changed and that, just as for the mods and rockers of the 1960s and the punks of the ‘80s, rock ‘n’ roll has turned its back on the Quireboys as well. These two songs are the cornerstones of This Is Rock ‘N’ Roll, providing a revealing glimpse behind the party-time façade the band has projected for two decades now.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

The rest of This Is Rock ‘N’ Roll rattles and shakes like a ’73 Plymouth Satellite, tracks like “Seven Days,” “Turn Away,” and “Show Me What You Got” redlining the speedo, moving from 0 to 100 mph in a single drumbeat. At the proper volume, these songs will peel the veneer siding from your speakers, but for an all-too-brief hour, you’ll experience sheer sonic bliss. Rock music may have changed through the years, but its heartbeat remains the same and the London Quireboys prove with This Is Rock ‘N’ Roll that they have their finger on the pulse. (Sanctuary Records, released February 19, 2002)

Review originally published by Alt.Culture.Guide™, 2002

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: The London Quireboys’ This Is Rock N’ Roll 

Short Rounds: Pete Berwick, Big Star, Ted Drozdowski, Walter Trout & Watermelon Slim (2019)

New album releases in 150 words or less…

Pete Berwick – Island (Shotgun Records)
Second-generation country outlaw Pete Berwick made his bones playing the honky-tonks and juke-joints that existed on the fringes of late 20th century Nashville. Berwick’s intelligent wordplay has always been his strength and previous albums like Ain’t No Train Outta Nashville show that he could rock a bit as well. Island is a departure for Berwick, a collection of mostly-introspective, insightful mid-tempo tunes that lean more country than rock, more blues than folk. You can’t argue with the results, songs like “Anyway” and “Island” speaking to the heartbreak of love and loneliness while “The Streets of Pasadena” is country tear-jerker worthy of George or Merle. “One Setback At A Time” gallops by comparison, the song a statement of defiance set to a lush soundtrack that would make it a hit single in a more enlightened era. Island is Berwick’s most melodic and mature album yet, a masterwork from a unique craftsman. Grade: A+   BUY! 

Big Star – Live On WLIR (Omnivore Recordings)
After the release of 1974’s sophomore effort Radio City, power-pop pioneers Big Star sojourned to Ultrasonic Studios in Long Island, NY to record this live-in-the-studio radio broadcast. Although this performance was previously released by RykoDisc as Live, it’s been out-of-print for the better part of a quarter-century until rescued by the good folks at Omnivore. Working from the original studio session tapes, the often-bootlegged performance captured by Live On WLIR displays all the rawness and immediacy of the radio broadcast but provided a modern-sounding sonic clean-up. The then-new line-up of Alex Chilton, John Lightman, and Jody Stephens crank out an energetic 14-song set that includes “September Gurls,” “Mod Lang,” “Thirteen,” and “I’m In Love With A Girl,” classic tunes upon which the Big Star mythology would later be built. If you’re a fan of Big Star and/or power-pop and don’t have Live On WLIR, what are you waiting for? Grade: A   BUY! 

Ted Drozdowski – Coyote Motel (Dolly Sez Woof Records)
Nashville-by-way-of-Boston blues guitarist Ted Drozdowski steps aside from his regular band the Scissormen to explore the outer edge of Americana with Coyote Motel. Not surprisingly, given his status as a well-respected music journalist, Drozdowski is a superb, if underrated lyricist and his intelligent story-songs here are accompanied by apt, imaginative music and wickedly effective six-string play. The based-on-a-true-story “Still Among the Living” benefits from Drozdowski’s devastating fretwork, somber vocals, and an overall ominous vibe. The “whimsical” apocalyptic tale “Los Alamos” is deceptively poetic with a maddening riff. The heartfelt “My Friend” is a powerful tribute to R&B great “Mighty” Sam McClain while the anti-racism ode “Jimmy Brown” is an artistic maelstrom, roaring with a punkish fury. Altogether, Coyote Motel is a hell of a lot of fun, a near-perfect fusion of blues, country, rock, and folkish elements that shouldn’t work but instead sounds like Drozdowski invented the entire Americana genre. Grade: A   BUY!

Walter Trout – Survivor Blues (Provogue Music)
Contemporary blues artists stand on the shoulders of giants, and the great Walter Trout pays tribute to some of these legendary talents with Survivor Blues. Not your run-of-the-mill covers album with predictable results, the guitarist digs deep into blues history to unearth long-hidden gems by often-overlooked talents like Sunnyland Slim, Luther Johnson, and J.B. Lenoir, among others, each performance provided Trout’s unique creative spin. Trout inhabits Chicago bluesman Jimmy Dawkins’ “Me, My Guitar, and the Blues” with soaring solos while Floyd Lee’s “Red Sun” is a potent blues-rock stomp with classic rock riffs. Guitarist Robbie Krieger of the Doors sits in on Mississippi Fred McDowell’s country-blues classic “Goin’ Down To the River,” providing elegant solos above Trout’s hypnotic riffs. The twelve tracks chosen by Trout for Survivor Blues serve as a primer for the genre, each performance imbued with the passion and sincerity that has long been the guitarist’s trademark. Grade: A   BUY!

Check out the Reverend’s interview with Walter Trout on the Rock and Roll Globe website!

Watermelon Slim – Church of the Blues (Northern Blues Music)
Erudite singer/songwriter Watermelon Slim worships at the Church of the Blues, delivering his typically droll brand of roots-rock and traditional blues music with whip-smart lyrics and no little insight. Slim is fronting a trio here, but he’s joined in the studio by a wealth of musical talent including legendary guitarists Bob Margolin and Joe Louis Walker and soul-blues singer John Nemeth. The results are stunning, Slim layering his half-spoken, half-sung Okie drawl and greasy slide-guitar atop original tracks like the topical “Charlottesville (Blues For My Nation),” “Too Much Alcohol,” and “Post Modern Blues” as well as covering gems from legends like Muddy Waters, Allen Toussaint, Mississippi Fred McDowell, and Howlin’ Wolf. Church of the Blues provides the listener with an entertaining, spiritual experience that rocks like a tent revival, Watermelon Slim a true believer preaching the power of the blues. Grade: A   BUY!

Previously on That Devil Music.com:
Short Rounds, January 2019: Badfinger, Big Brother & the Holding Company, Billy Bremner, Dave Davies & Midnight Oil
Short Rounds, December 2018: Doug Deming, Tom Guerra, Handsome Jack, Tom Morello, NRBQ & Unicorn
Short Rounds, November 2018: Joe Bonamassa, Peter Holsapple & Alex Chilton, Winston Jarrett, Permanent Green Light, The Posies & Rolling River Royalty   

Book Review: Martin Popoff's Born Again! Black Sabbath In the Eighties and Nineties (2019)

As a teenage rock ‘n’ roll fanatic in the early ‘70s, you discovered bands in a myriad of ways. Sure, FM radio was the primary source of exposure, especially if you were lucky enough to live someplace like Nashville where WKDA-FM offered a progressive rock playlist (the station would get much more conservative in its musical choices after changing its call sign to WKDF later in the decade). Zines were another invaluable tool in discovering new music, and I devoured monthly issues of Creem and Crawdaddy, trucked down to the corner store every two weeks for a new Rolling Stone, and cherished copies of obscure rags like Zoo World, Fusion, and Rock magazine whenever they could be found. Friends, especially older ones, helped fill in a lot of the blanks, and I have to thank long-lost compadres like Rick DiBello and Mark Vantrease for introducing me, respectively, to Spirit and the Mothers of Invention.

As I wrote in my review of rock historian Martin Popoff’s excellent Sabotage! Black Sabbath In the Seventies book, it was Rick and Bill Berg and their biker buddies that turned me onto Sabbath, a band that has remained among my favorites for nearly 50 years. Popoff is a familiar, much-reviewed writer ‘round these parts; the author of some 80 books on hard rock and heavy metal, he was the founder and former editor of the Canadian metal zine Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles, and a frequent contributor to music publications like Goldmine and Record Collector (U.K.), among many others. Here is the part where I’m duty-bound to mention that Martin is also a pal of mine, a friend and colleague of many years, and a fellow masochist trudging away in the treacherous trenches of self-publishing.

Martin Popoff’s Born Again! Black Sabbath In the Eighties and Nineties

Black Sabbath is obviously one of Martin’s favorite bands as well, as he’s madly written three previous books on the band, including the aforementioned Sabotage!, the informative (and essential) Black Sabbath F.A.Q., and Black Sabbath: Doom Let Loose, a gorgeous illustrated history of the British metal pioneers. Born Again! Black Sabbath In the Eighties and Nineties compliments the other three volumes by plowing new turf; nothing here overlaps those other books. As is his usual literary modus operandi, Martin provides the reader with an album-by-album history of these contentious two decades, relying on interviews with Sabbath members and fellow-travelers to create a narrative that includes just the right amount of his critical insight.

Born Again! opens with the release of Sabbath’s 1980 “comeback” album, Heaven and Hell, which vaulted the band back into Platinum™ record sales territory. Sabbath had booted flamboyant frontman Ozzy Osbourne, whose well-documented rock star excesses had begun catching up with him in the late ‘70s. Enlisting former Elf and Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio, Sabbath forged a heavier sound for the new metallic decade with the Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules albums. In recapturing a bit of their former creative and commercial glory, they also sparked an ‘Ozzy or Dio’ debate that, while not as turbulent as ‘David Lee or Sammy’ discussions among the Van Halen faithful, nevertheless split the band’s fans into two distinct sides.

Tony Iommi’s Years In the Wilderness

All good things eventually come to an end, however, and when egos clashed over the mixing of Sabbath’s 1982 Live Evil album, Dio packed his bags and exited stage right, taking drummer Vinny Appice (who had replaced the ailing Bill Ward for Mob Rules) with him to form the subsequently-successful band that bore his name. Thus begun Tony Iommi’s years in the “wilderness,” the Sabbath riff master keeping the band together, for better or worse, over the ensuing years and decades. The band would become a revolving door of musicians and singers, Iommi recruiting legendary rockers like Ian Gillan (Deep Purple) and Glenn Hughes (Trapeze) and lesser-knowns like Tony Martin and Ray Gillen (Badlands) to front Sabbath and journeymen musos like drummer Cozy Powell and bassist Bob Daisley to fill holes in the roster as Ward and original fat-string player Geezer Butler rotated in and out of the line-up.

The results of this uncertainty and tumult were mixed – only Martin held onto the microphone for more than a single album, and Gillen didn’t even get that – but Sabbath nevertheless released some pretty decent, albeit overlooked records during this period (1983’s Born Again and 1987’s The Eternal Idol) as well as some stinkers (1994’s Cross Purposes), and one that never should have seen the light of day (1995’s horrible Forbidden). An ill-fated reunion with Ronnie James Dio resulted in 1992’s Dehumanizer album and, after much blood, sweat, and fiercely-negotiated tears, the inevitable band reunion with Ozzy occurred (tho’ it didn’t include original drummer Bill Ward at first), which yielded the rockin’ two-disc live Reunion album (which did include Ward!). Popoff dives deeply into these shadowy corners of the band’s career, standing out of the way and allowing Sabbath band members and related parties to create an oral history of the 1980s and ‘90s.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

I admittedly knew a lot less about the lengthy period of Sabbath’s career covered by Popoff’s Born Again! than I did about the early years of the band, but I walked away from the book with a better knowledge of the artistic dynamic that drove Black Sabbath through the ‘dark’ years. The late, beloved Ronnie James Dio comes across as a bit of a prima donna in his comments and recollections. Tony Iommi’s ego matches that of other great musicians (Ritchie Blackmore comes to mind), which made clashes of personality with other strong-willed talents (Dio and Ian Gillan, notably) a certainty.

Ozzy Osbourne comes across as a clueless dolt in Born Again!, a charismatic singer whose wife and manager Sharon holds the strings (and has seemingly been the ‘agent of chaos’ in the Ozzy/Sabbath camp all these years). Beleaguered original Sabbath drummer Bill Ward is the conscious of the band, and has usually gotten the short end of the stick when dealing with his former band members while Geezer Butler is the literal and figurative ‘heartbeat’ of the band, reappearing in the story to help propel Sabbath to the next level when needed. Popoff spins the tale, warts and all, providing the reader with no little insight into the musical legacy of one of rock’s most misunderstood and often-maligned bands. Grade: A (Power Chord Press, published January 2019)

Buy the book directly from the man himself!

Also on That Devil Music.com:
Martin Popoff - Sabotage! Black Sabbath In the Seventies book review
Black Sabbath - The Dio Years CD review

New Music Monthly: February 2019 Releases

It may be cold as the dickens outside your window, but the spring thaw could come up quickly in the wake of February’s red-hot slate of new releases guaranteed to tickle your eardrums. Aside from new tunes from talents like Tommy Castro, R. Stevie Moore, Bob Mould, the Tedeschi Trucks Band, and the Long Ryders your auditory canals can feast on archive music from Alex Chilton (two of ‘em!) and U2 among much, much more! 

If you’re interesting in buying an album, just hit the ‘Buy!’ link to get it from Amazon.com...it’s just that damn easy! Your purchase puts valuable ‘store credit’ in the Reverend’s pocket that he’ll use to buy more music to write about in a never-ending loop of rock ‘n’ roll ecstasy!

FEBRUARY 1
Beirut - Gallipoli   BUY!
Tommy Castro & the Painkillers - Killin’ It Live   BUY!
Girlpool - What Chaos Is Imaginary   BUY!
Van Duren - Waiting: The Van Duren Story Original Documentary Soundtrack   BUY!
The Specials - Encore   BUY!

FEBRUARY 8
Alex Chilton - From Memphis to New Orleans   BUY!
Alex Chilton - Songs From Robin Hood Land   BUY!
Charlie Faye & the Fayettes - The Whole Shebang   BUY!
Humble Pie - Joint Effort   BUY!
Colin Linden & Luther Dickinson - Amour   BUY!
Marley’s Ghost - Travelin’ Shoes   BUY!
Gurf Morlix - Impossible Blue   BUY!
Bob Mould - Sunshine Rock   BUY!
The Lemonheads - Varshons 2   BUY!
Mercury Rev - Bobby Gentry’s The Delta Sweete Revisited   BUY!
Panda Bear - Buoys   BUY!

FEBRUARY 15
Hayes Carll - What It Is   BUY!
Jon Fratelli - Bright Night Flowers   BUY!
The Long Ryders - Psychedelic Country Soul   BUY!
Millencolin - SOS   BUY!
Tedeschi Trucks Band - Signs   BUY!

FEBRUARY 22
Claypool Lennon Delerium - South of Reality   BUY!
Dream Theater - Distance Over Time  BUY!
R. Stevie Moore - Afterlife   BUY!
Overkill - The Wings of War   BUY!
Rockin’ Johnny & Quiqué Gomez - Dos Hombres Wanted?   BUY!
Luther Russell - Medium Cool   BUY!
U2 - No Line On the Horizon [vinyl reissue]    BUY!
Various Artists - 3x4 (The Bangles, Rain Parade, Dream Syndicate, etc)   BUY!

FEBRUARY 29
Kinetic Element - The Face of Life   BUY!

Album of the Month: The Long Ryders’ Psychedelic Country Soul (Omnivore Recordings), the reunited legendary band’s first studio LP in 32 years. Produced by noted board-wrangler Ed Stasium, who has worked with the Ramones and the Smithereens, among many others, Psychedelic Country Soul is a collection of eleven brand spankin’ new original slabs o’ rockin’ Americana along with an inspired cover of the Tom Petty song “Walls.”

Says Long Ryders’ singer, guitarist, and songwriter Sid Griffin in a press release for the new LP, Psychedelic Country Soul is  “the album we were always trying to make… each flavor which made the band unique is there be it C&W, rock ’n’ roll, troubadour folk music, raw R&B, or out-there psychedelia.” The new album comes in the wake of deluxe three-disc reissue versions of the band’s classic 1980s-era albums State of Our Union and Two-Fisted Tales by the U.K. archival label Cherry Red.

Short Rounds: Badfinger, Big Brother & the Holding Company, Billy Bremner, Dave Davies & Midnight Oil (2019)

New album releases in 150 words or less...

Badfinger – Wish You Were Here (Real Gone Music)
The Badfinger story is one of malfeasance and mismanagement that robbed the popular U.K. band of both money and momentum – a tale for another time, perhaps. The last gasp by the band’s best-known incarnation, Wish You Were Here is a stunning, critically-acclaimed collection of rock ‘n’ roll and power-pop that, if not for insurmountable legal issues, could have been huge. I count at least three hit singles here – the grandly-orchestrated “Dennis” (beating ELO at their own game), the enchanting “Know One Knows” (in the vein of earlier hit “Day After Day”), and the country-flavored “You’re So Fine,” which is what the Beatles might have sounded like if they hailed from Nashville. This expanded CD version doubles-down on the goodness with nine bonus tracks, mostly alternative mixes save for the unreleased gem “Queen of Darkness.” Call it Badfinger’s “lost album,” Wish You Were Here is a classic waiting to be rediscovered. Grade: A   BUY!

Big Brother & the Holding Company – Sex, Dope & Cheap Thrills (Legacy Recordings)
San Francisco’s Big Brother & the Holding Company made a star of singer Janis Joplin with their classic Cheap Thrills album, but there was a lot of material left behind that further cements the album’s status as a landmark of rock ‘n’ roll. Sex, Dope & Cheap Thrills is a two-disc, 30-track collection of 29 mostly-unreleased alternate takes from the album’s original recording sessions along with a rare, blistering live performance of “Ball and Chain” from Winterland Ballroom that highlights Joplin’s whiskey-soaked vocals and the twin-guitar attack of the underrated Sam Andrew and James Gurley. There’s nothing truly revelatory here, save for the mesmerizing “Oh, Sweet Mary,” on which Janis shares her vocals. Sex, Dope & Cheap Thrills will appeal mostly to the hardcore faithful, but it’s fun (and a little intriguing) to hear the band’s varying approaches to well-worn and familiar material like “Summertime” and “Piece of My Heart.” Grade: B   BUY!

Billy Bremner – Singled Out (RPM Records, U.K.)
British rocker Billy Bremner is best known for his tenure with the band Rockpile and association with Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe, having contributed musically to solo albums by both artists. But the singer, songwriter, and guitarist has enjoyed a lengthy solo career dating back to the early 1980s, with a handful of albums to his name. Singled Out is a career-spanning, 21-track compilation, and it’s a dandy, indeed! Bremner wrote “Trouble Boys,” a hit for Edmunds, and was an early Stiff Records label artist in the power-pop vein of Lowe, but he’s often been overshadowed by his friends. Singled Out puts his talents on display with smart wordplay and wiry fretwork as on the lovely “I See It In Your Eyes,” the rockabilly-tinged “Fire In My Pocket,” or his first single, the loping “Loud Music In Cars.” Bremner’s masterful style of rootsy pub-rock is timeless, his talent seemingly endless. RIYL Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, Brinsley Schwarz, Rockpile. Grade: A   BUY! 

Dave Davies – Decade (Green Amp Records)
Ray Davies is lauded – and rightfully so – as the songwriting genius behind legendary British rockers the Kinks. Several songs written by brother Dave through the years has shown that there was more than one creative spark in the band, and Decade proves this in spades. A collection of 13 previously-unreleased songs recorded by Dave Davies between 1971 and 1979, Decade offers a something for everybody, from the country-flavored pub-rock of “Midnight Sun” and the soulful “If You Are Leaving” to the bluesy “Mystic Woman” and the swirling prog-psych of “Mr. Moon.” Brother Dave is a top-notch wordsmith in his own right, and if his vocals aren’t as melodic as Ray’s, they’re not half-bad either, and his immense six-string skills imbue each performance with the same sort of energy and emotion that he brought to his full-time band’s work. You don’t have to be a Kinks fan to love Dave Davies. Grade: A-   BUY!

Midnight Oil – Armistice Day: Live at the Domain, Sidney (Sony Music, Australia)
Australia’s favorite rockers returned in 2017 after a 15-year hiatus, the band’s best-known line-up bringing their lyrical message of social justice and environmental awareness to over 500,000 fans with 77 shows around the world on “The Great Circle” tour. The tour ended, appropriately, in Sydney, which is where Armistice Day was recorded. Featuring an explosive 26 performances across two discs and packaged in a handsome square-bound book with lots of photos, it’s really like they never left! Vocalist Peter Garrett still roars like a wounded lion across familiar songs like “Beds Are Burning,” “Blue Sky Mine,” “Redneck Wonderland,” and “Forgotten Years” while guitarists Jim Moginie and Martin Rotsey destroy everything in their path. There are a lot of great “deep tracks” from the band’s extensive catalog included here as well and, overall, Midnight Oil sounds every bit as powerful and passionate on Armistice Day as they did 30+ years ago. Grade: A+   BUY!

Previously on That Devil Music.com:
Short Rounds, December 2018: Doug Deming, Tom Guerra, Handsome Jack, Tom Morello, NRBQ & Unicorn
Short Rounds, November 2018: Joe Bonamassa, Peter Holsapple & Alex Chilton, Winston Jarrett, Permanent Green Light, The Posies & Rolling River Royalty
Short Rounds, October 2018: Mike Felten, Eric Lindell, John McLaughlin, Daniel Seymour & Mark Robinson, Bob Seger & Ska Authentic