The College Crowd Digs Me

"Angels From Hell"  Soundtrack (1968) This biker soundtrack is highly sought after by a lot of psych fans.  Two of the tracks are by the psych-punkish... The Lollipop Shoppe and were only released as singles.  Three songs are by The Peanut Butter Conspiracy and to my knowledge are not available anywhere else.  I enjoyed most of Stu Phillips contributions, as well.   Stu Phillips was a longtime composer for films and television and here he delivers six songs that are mostly groovy instrumentals sprinkled with jazz-psych dust.  Many throw off a Goldie Hawn and body paint vibe, and that ain't bad.  That leaves us with Ted Markland's contribution…a folk-rock song that sounds like a Schoolhouse Rock outtake.  It's not exactly bad, but whaddyagonnado?  Interestingly, Ted Markland went on to play one of the patients in “One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.”    "Angels From Hell"   Soundtrack (back) Favorites include both ve...

"It was really interesting because  audiences at first didn't understand what was going on." ~ John Lodge ~ Since 1967, when The Moody Blues began recording their groundbreaking album "Days Of Future Passed" ...bassist, singer/songwriter John Lodge  has been a creative force helping meld symphonic orchestral side dishes with driving rock and roll sensibilities.  And for 15 studio albums, the Moodys made some heady mind candy that both rocked us out and chilled us out in satisfying measure.  Not an easy line to walk. Harder still is taking a 5-year break from the music park only to return in an even grander fashion.  But that's what The Moody Blues did.  It was the MTV generation that saw The Moody Blues pick up the gauntlet once again and string together another run of successful albums.  And even during the band's hiatus,  John Lodge , with longtime friend and bandmate Justin Hayward , recorded the album, "Blue Jays" ... which is now cons...

"Live In Cook County Jail"   -  B. B. King (1971) I was familiar with B. B. King,  I knew who he was.  But I'd nothing in my collection to pull.  Someone in the vinyl community held up "Live In Cook County Jail" and I knew I had to have it.  The textured album cover is so memorable.  The album title is in an obvious prison-issue font.  And the bluish-gray tint captures King squeezing out every spark from his guitar, while the gloomy prison bars loom behind him.  Located in Chicago, Illinois...Cook County Jail is the third-largest jail system in the United States...and at one time held the largest concentration of inmates in the free world.  (Maybe they should have called the place..."Crook" County.  God bless'em.) The album is an interesting snapshot.  And despite its location, BB's performance is classic and as awkwardly fun as one could get.  The album starts with an introduction of prison officials and is met with boo...

(4 For Friday) * Seven songs about footwear (or not) at Star Maker Machine . *  Here are 30 small actor roles in movies that had a really big impact. * Echoes In The Wind discusses another song by the cannibal-minded... The Buoys . *  Here is another pretty cool film from The Criterion Collection.   "Equinox" (1970).  A horror mystery filled with silly, crazy-cool ideas.  It's weird, creepy, and sometimes unintentionally funny.  Made on a shoestring, this goodish-bad film can still be easily appreciated. (free-Youtube) "Frenchette" / David Johansen / David Johansen (1978) Good stuff. Casey Chambers Follow Me On FACEBOOK

 (a short jaunt) "Glad And Sorry" - Golden Smog / "Down By The Old Mainstream" (1995) I remember rescuing this CD from a tall Walmart wire basket filled to the brim with dozens of other lesser-known artists.  Golden Smog  has been one of my go-to's ever since. The band was a bit of an Americana supergroup that included...Jeff Tweedy (Wilco), Gary Louris, Marc Perlman, and Kraig Johnson, (The Jayhawks), Dan Murphy (Soul Asylum), and  Noah Levy (Honeydogs)   And the guys play like they really enjoy being together.  You can actually hear it.  Fun and loose, but definitely not sloppy.  "Glad and Sorry"  was written by Ronnie Lane for the Faces' last album... "Ooh La La" (1973)  And with this cover, Golden Smog  gets to honor one of their heroes. (NEED).   "Rockin' Round the World" -  Country Joe and the Fish / "CJ Fish" (1970) Country Joe almost whispers the mantra  "Rockin' all around the world.  Rock...

  "Nature Boy" - Joe Beck (1969) This is a really good album.  Joe Beck is better known for his jazz guitar wizardry, having jammed with Miles Davis, Gil Evans, Stan Getz, and dozens of others, but on "Nature Boy" ...jammin' psych-rock is on tap.  And his vocals are perfect for what's going down.  Six of the nine tracks are over 5-minutes long and each song rocks, trips, and floats without falling into a dull "sameness" that so often plague otherwise good albums. Don't be fooled by the laidback, country-charm album cover, either.  "Nature Boy" has some fire.  Beck is extremely solid on the guitar, throwing down wah-wah, fuzz, and killer lead runs all in just the right measures.  And any jazz dust flowing out of Beck's fingers only serve to kiss the sky.  It was also cool to find Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten lending a hand on this gem, as well. "Nature Boy" - Joe Beck (back) Favorites include the killer title...

 (4 For Friday) Squeeze's  Glenn Tilbrook  offers up his Top 10 favorite songs at  40 Year Itch . The first 25 episodes of  New Wave Theatre ...the independent half-hour music show that spotlighted new wave acts doing their thang.  It was hosted with mucho bravado by  Peter Ivers .  Binge-worthy. A little Q and A with  Stephen King   about his novel Lisey's Story soon to be an 8-part television series. Anthony Perkins  plays a familiar kind of role as a young man recently released from a mental hospital in the film... "Pretty Poison."  (1968)  This strange, dark, and quirky movie was his first since nailing Norman Bates in "Psycho."  His co-star  Tuesday Weld  is equally enjoyable.  ( "Sunday's on the phone to Monday.  Tuesday's on the phone to me.  Oh yeah" )  (free-Youtube) "Nosferatu" - Blue Oyster Cult / "Spectres" (1977) Good stuff. Casey Chambers Follow Me On F...

  "Volume Two" - The Soft Machine (1969) As the title alludes, this was Soft Machine's second album.  The music is clever and nicely unexpected with ducks and louies everywhere.  Prog-psych, both fuzzed-out, and jazzed-off.  This is avant-garde without losing direction.  Only two of the 17 heady tracks are over 3-minutes, but it all holds together.  Side two is a little more to my liking, though.  A little jammier.  Zappa-ish at times, but mostly, this is straight-up Soft Machine .   "Volume Two" - The Soft Machine (back) Favorites include the tripped-out "10.30 Returns to the Bedroom."   The longest song at nearly 6-minutes..." Hibou, Anemone and Bear" is fuzzy jazz-psych goodness.  The proggy-pop of  "As Long as He Lies Perfectly Still" is as close to a radio-friendly song as it's ever gonna get on this album and is quite nice.  Finally, it must be said,  Robert Wyatt's creative   drumming ...

 (a short jaunt) "Heterosexual Man"   - Odds / "Bedbugs" (1993) Hearing this song on the radio makes me talk like Beavis and Butthead all the way home.  That's where a lot of us heard the song for the first time.  Me, anyway.  And once Buthead gets a hold of a song...ya just never forget it.  A friend told me he also heard  Dr. Demento giving the song a ride or two.  I told him, "Shut up, Beavis!"   This was Odds second studio album. (NEED) "Wasted On The Way" - CSN / "Daylight Again" (1982) Graham Nash extends the olive branch gently, but firmly.  And those CSN harmonies are so sweet.  The song was obviously written about the old gang getting back together again, but how easily Nash's lyrics transcend into our very own private Idaho.  But I always thought Stills' "Southern Cross" ...from the same album...strikes a little closer to the bone and for that reason, I give Stills the edge. (NEED) "Living In...

(4 For Friday) Larry King was a bit of a badass!  Here he is telling a wild and crazy story about the JFK assassination. Plain and Fancy reviews   the acid psych-rock goodness of Sam Gopal - " Escalator." (1968 - Rei 2010)   Having pre-Motorhead "Lemmy" in the band just made this more interesting. Enjoy some record finds and online buys from The Psychedelic Experience Record Run #43 with Matt Sands and Sam. DeMilked shares 30...yep 30...awesome and smart, smart, smart  public restroom ideas that go the extra mile.  "Running With The Angels" - Russ Ballard / " Barnet Dogs"  (1980) Good stuff. Casey Chambers Follow Me On FACEBOOK

"Return To Bliss" - Bliss (1969 - Rei 2007) This is the sound of early 70s hard rock right at the cusp.  The vocals, at times, remind me of Grand Funk Railroad , but without the heavy crunch.  And a few songs have a rock funkiness that adds some teeth.  Bliss hails from Arizona and were pieces of an earlier band known as… The Sect .  They had a bit of a following out there.  The album “Return To Bliss” is made up of leftover songs from the band's self-titled (and only) album recorded in 1969.  Both records are favorably mentioned in The Acid Archives , and though I didn't quite like it as much as they did, it's still a pretty enjoyable spin. "Return To Bliss" (back) "Return to Bliss" is often labeled a psych album, but there's really not much psych to be found here.  Mostly a bluesy-rock experience.  Still, there are many goodies to be found within.  Favorites include the fantastic and slightly dark  "Fear Of Fears."   The so...

"UFOs, JFK, And Elvis" by Richard Belzer (1999) Hardcover, 228 pages "Americans have been trained by media to go into Pavlovian giggles at the mention of...conspiracy." -G ore Vidal.   And isn't that the knee-jerk reaction?  Forget the message; kill the messenger.  But one has to discern and discriminate and not throw away the wheat with the chaff.  Richard Belzer's "UFOs, JFK, and Elvis" revisits a couple of conspiracies that have never been explained away with any great clarity.  The JFK assassination or the UFO cover-up.  In this highly readable and fascinating page-turner... Belzer first focuses on the confusing and contradicting and down-right sloppy investigation of our murdered president on November 22, 1963.  We are reminded of the players and possible motives leading up to the assassination along with the dozens of stones left unturned by the Warren Commission .  Readers will no doubt be familiar with many of the strange coi...