Record of the Week - Artful Dodger - The Complete Columbia Recordings (CD)

Those that follow power-pop closely, especially mid 70s power pop, are probably already familiar with this band from Virginia.  Their great song, Wayside, was included in a key various artists compilation, DIY: Come Out and Play - American Power Pop 1 (1975-1978), that was quite popular amongst the rabid pop fans of the early 90s. 

In order to listen to Artful Dodger records today, one usually has to search used record bins. I found at least one that way and have seen their other releases in various shape around Los Angeles.  This CD is then a welcome addition to my collection because it gathers their three albums for Columbia Records on 2 CDs in a nice package.  So, less time digging through used bins for Artful Dodger albums (at least momentarily).  In addition, the liner notes are excellent and are penned by Jeremy Cargill- so you know they will be good.

The first album, for my taste, is the best one of the bunch. Aside from opening with Wayside, there are other great songs like, It's Over, that are both melodic and have a bit of bite to them. The bite, in part, comes from the throaty vocals of Billy Paliselli.  Most of the songs on the first LP are written by guitarist Gary Herrewig and Paliselli and they make a nice songwriting combo. They seem to carry much of the first album and their songs are excellent.  The other songwriter in the band was Gary Cox, who is no slouch by any means, but his songwriting tended to be a more pure pop sound; a sound with less bite but more polish.  In fact, on the third album (Babes on Broadway), Cox carries more of the songwriting credits and actually pens a song that could easily be mistaken for an mid-era Bee Gees composition (Who in the World).  Not surprising, as Cox wrote more songs, Artful Dodger became a little less crunchy and a bit more polished. Becoming a bit more polished is not a bad thing if the melodies are still there and luckily for us Artful Dodger was always melodic.

Artful Dodger was a good band and based on some of the live videos that you can find on YouTube, a pretty good live band.  While they never quite reached the high standards of their first LP, the next two albums had enough good songs on them for it to make it worth while to buy this CD. Yes, you should still hunt those used bins for the vinyl copies as well!

Records of the Week: Last of the Garage Punk Unkowns Volume 1 and Volume 2

I cheated. Instead of one "Record of the Week", I decided to go with two. I actually listened to Volume 1 a while ago but only was able to listen to Volume 2 within the last week. I initially thought about just posting about Volume 2 by itself but that did not really make any sense. Also, I figured if you like Volume 1 you are also going to like Volume 2 so I might as well discuss both at the same time.

Now to the record

Tim Warren is a legend in 60s garage punk rock circles and deservedly so.  His Crypt Records label has been putting out some of the finest 60s garage punk compilations, including the greatness found in:

• Back From the Grave
• Garage Punk Unkowns
• Teenage Shutdown
• Sin Alley
• Strummin' Mental

The story about these two volumes is that Tim had enough new material to put out some new Teenage Shutdown volumes but the stamper was lost or thrown away by the LP manufacturer. So, based on the material that Tim had, and the sparse information he had on the bands, a decision was made to put out this series: Last of the Garage Punk Unknowns since it was similar to the previous series Garage Punk Unknowns. Got it?

Not much information is known about most of the bands on these records so the liner notes are limited but the liner notes still carry that Tim Warren humor and charm! In fact, so little is known about the bands on these records that Tim admits in the liner notes that many of the pictures of the bands on the jacket are not even of the bands on the record!

Trust me, it does not matter. You will love the pictures and you will love the music on these compilations.  These records are on the Crypt label so it carries that seal of quality.  Highly Recommended.  By the way, as of this writing, I think they are up to Volume 8 or so. I just ordered the LPs and CDs of Volume 3, 4, and 5! I am behind!

If you want to taste a little, try this link

Velvet Crush - Pre-Teen Symphonies (CD) 2016

Velvet Crush, in part, was the soundtrack to my graduate school days at Berkeley.  When in graduate school, one often has to think a lot and I found that long walks with my Walkman was a good way to think.  So, Velvet Crush albums would make it to a cassette and then I could walk around the streets of Berkeley listening to their music.  One of the albums I listened to a lot was Teenage Symphonies To God.  I memorized that album, front and back.  This release is a set of demos made prior to that album being recorded.  This release also contains some live recordings of the band from the era.  A soundtrack to my life. 

The Knight Brothers - Temptation (CD)

The first time I heard the song "Temptation "Bout To Get Me" on a soul music compilation that I have, I was floored.  The combination and the back and forth vocal delivery of these two gentleman (who are not brothers) was just breathtaking and is exactly why I love about this era of soul music. 

When I decided I need to hear more from the Knight Brothers, I found quickly through Amazon that a compilation CD was available on SHOUT, a division of Cherry Records out of the U.K. (of course!).  Unfortunately, the CD was no longer available and used copies were going for hefty prices.  I decided to write the CD down in my music book and maybe, someday in the future, I would be able to find it cheaper. I just need to remember that it existed.

Over this last Christmas I received a nice Amazon gift card from my sister and I decided to buy some records. As I thumbed through my music book, the Knight Brothers CD came up so I looked for it again. Luckily for me, there was now a copy available for a reasonable price from a trader in Germany. Needless to say I ordered and waited eagerly for its arrival. Yesterday, January 20 was the day it arrived! If you enjoy this song by the Carltons, I'm A Man, an offshoot of the Knight Brothers whose tracks are also included on this compilation, then you will really enjoy the rest of the CD. If you are into 6Ts soul music, you probably should have this in your collection.  One last one, enjoy the passion of this song. If you enjoy this then you will love the Knight Brothers.

The Jayhawks - Paging Mr. Proust (Vinyl) 2016

I have a rule that you should never doubt a release by The Jayhawks.  While my musical tastes have changed over time, there is always room for the sweet sounds of The Jayhawks and the voice of Gary Louris.  I lived in Minnesota for a few wonderful years and this band always makes me feel so Minnesota. Those from the upper Midwest of the US will understand the term, "Feeling Minnesota".  Trust me, it is a good thing.  The Jayhawks should be a bigger band and Gary Louris should be considered a national institution - yet another one from Minnesota (i.e., Prince).  Alas, we do not live in that kind of world.  However, you can always go and buy this album and state your vote for one of the best truly American bands over the last 25 years(?). By the way, on pretty much every Jayhawks album there is one drop-dead gorgeous song that should be a million copies seller. For this album, it is Lovers of the Sun. Check it out.  Majestic.

The Turtles - All the Singles (CD) 2016

I have always loved all the big radio hits of The Turtles.  You know which ones I am talking about.  Song like Happy Together, Elenore, and You Showed Me.  The latter song being a personal favorite. However, much like my surprise discovery of the back catalog of The Beach Boys, The Turtles also have a wealth of beautiful pop music in their back catalog (and that they released on 45!).  If you like melodic pop music with flirtations (later) with psychedelic music then do yourself a favor and get this compilations.  Two CDs worth of music that spans the years 1965 until 1970.  Yes, some of the B sides are a little odd but they are odd in a charming way.  Well, maybe not so much Umbassa the Dragon. 

Before I listened to this CD, The Turtles for me were a good band with a couple of great songs.  After listening to this CD, The Turtles were more than that and the recordings on this compilation are a great showcase.  Glad to add this to the collection.

Night Beats - Who Sold My Generation (Vinyl) 2016

I have been catching up on my records that have been sitting in my living room un-played for months.  The new Night Beats records was one of those albums.  I knew that I would like it once I actually played the record but for some reason something always came up or I felt at that precise moment that I needed to listen to something else. 

I first encountered the band Night Beats through my Dallas music guide, Jacob, from Good Records. As soon as I would walk into the store he would put three records in front of me and tell me, "You are going to like this". Sure enough, he was right about 99% of the time.

So, what can I say about Night Beats? They are a "psychedelic" band from Austin, Texas. I put psychedelic in quotes because I am not sure what that word really means today but let's just say that Night Beats have late 60s influences. So, how good is this record? It is really good. For a taste of what you get check out Right/Wrong  Enjoy that groove? If you do you will like the rest of the LP for sure. All hail Night Beats!