The College Crowd Digs Me

(4 For Friday) *   An interesting way to experience Van Gogh's...Starry Night. *   Plain and Fancy take a peek at Steppenwolf's..."Skullduggery." (1976)  Have a look-see. *   A pretty strong curio  list of misconceptions for you to peruse. *   A low-budget little gem of a crime caper.  "The Rebel Set" (1959) paces right along, looks good, and is a lot of fun in a silly sorta way.  A nice way to chill an hour. (Free - Youtube) "Lake Marie" - John Prine / Live from Sessions At West 54th - 2001) "You're gonna wanna see this." Good stuff. Casey Chambers Follow Me On FACEBOOK  

"Dracula's Greatest Hits" - Gene Moss (1964) Gene Moss was the Weird Al Yankovic on this album.  Moss wrote all the song parodies for "Dracula's Greatest Hits" along with a few original offerings and provides the vocals in a Bela Lugosi exaggerated style.  Pretty funny, as well as a fun spin.  The musicians were all established studio rats and as silly as the songs may be, the rats didn't short-change the music.  All are pretty good. The album artwork was created by Jack Davis of the bent Mad Magazine fame.  Davis also did the artwork for albums as diverse as Homer and Jethro to The Guess Who .  And it was this recognizable artwork that caused me to pause in the first place to have a better look. "Dracula's Greatest Hits" - Gene Moss (back) Favorites include "I Want To Bite Your Hand."  And   "Drac The Knife" and "The New Frankenstein And Johnny Song"  are both pretty excellent.  Of course, all the song...

(4 For Friday) *   An outdoor 3D optical illusion changes everything.  Look how the air duct near the top-right is brought into the picture.  Good stuff.  *   This was amazing.  Fixing a cavity.  You're gonna wanna see this! *   Here are trailers for 20 documentary films you might want to put on your watchlist.  I've seen nine of them.  How 'bout you? *   A few weeks ago I showed a  white blood cell chasing bacteria .  Now  check this mother out!    "I Got A Feeling" - The Cleverlys / "Larry's Country Diner" (2018) Good stuff. Casey Chambers Follow Me On FACEBOOK  

"Heaven Was Blue" - Rick Saucedo (1978 - Rei 2015) The "Heaven Was Blue" album is one of the more expensive private pressings to own in its original form.  It's an acid folk-psych grail for many.  Very few exist and are hard to come by.  Rick Saucedo was just 20 when he created this DIY psych square.  Saucedo , out of Illinois, was already a successful Elvis impersonator and continued his craft for all of his life.  However, there is nothing Elvis about "Heaven Was Blue."   Rumored to have been inspired by an acid trip, the music is atmospheric and layered with a 60s lysergic compass.  Floaty with a mystical flavor.   Diggers of psych will enjoy the first two tracks of side one and the side-long title track on the flip.  All are headphone worthy.  Unfortunately, the two tracks that end side one really break the spell.  The songs are kind of a rock and roll thing that doesn't fit.  Not bad for what they are, I suppose, b...

"Bo Diddley Is A Gunslinger" - Bo Diddley (1960) I wasn't actively seeking out Bo Diddley.   I'm   not the biggest fan hanging from the ceiling.  But I can still appreciate his contributions.  Pushing the music forward.  I mean everyone has copped his trademark "chug...a-chug-chug..chug chug" guitar percuss style at one time or another.  So finding a nice original copy of "Bo Diddley Is A Gunslinger" in the wild was exciting. The album cover has some writing in the corner, but the color still shines and pops.  And Bo, dressed like a cowboy and about to reach for his...guitar...to take somebody out is pretty cool, as well.  I wanted it for the cover alone, if nothing else.  The vinyl has a fairly clean shine and plays about VG.  Not bad for a 60-year-old pressing. This was Diddley's 5th album and sounds about like what you might expect.  Some early rhythm and blues rock and roll.  Bo Diddley (Ellas McDaniel) wrote 9 of...

(4 For Friday) *   A Hurdy-Gurdy man.  And now you know. *  This isn't a ship.  This is the ocean knocking at your back door! *   Looking at the sleeping cat upside-down looks like a really angry rabbit .  Once you see it... *  The strange-speaking "Pingu" was an oddly satisfying children's show that fascinated my nieces growing up.  The fellow who provided the voices (Carlo Bonomi) is fascinating as well. "Time On My Hands" - UFO / "Phenomenon" (1974) Good stuff. Casey Chambers Follow Me On FACEBOOK  

"Let Me In" - Poobah (1972 - Rei 2021) Poobah was a power rock trio outta Youngstown, Ohio and their debut album "Let Me In" has plenty of stoner rock to go around.  Plus there's a little psych-dusting here and there.  An atmospheric incense piece and maybe some protopunk as well.  Nothing ironed and folded neatly on this puppy.  It occasionally has a blender of early Grand Funk and Stooges vibe.  In that neighborhood, anyway.  Not on the same block, but they share the same Zip.  It didn't blow me away.  Nothing amazing.  But it's quite good.  Poobah only pressed 500 copies of "Let Me In" initially,  so a reissue was certainly warranted. This 2021 reissue is a two-record gatefold with six original songs from the band's debut and ten bonus tracks of previously unreleased material from the same period.  And the bonus material is pretty strong.  In fact, I liked it just as much.  Overall, the album has a couple of ...

(4 For Friday) *   A white blood cell chasing Bacteria .  Not the swiftest, but the Terminator is relentless. *   I don't know why I'm so fascinated by Celebrity Doppelgangers , but some of these average people look pretty spot-on. (Others...missed it by this much.) *   A baby-faced Steve Irwin gets snake-bit on local TV and is cooler than you are. *  Optical illusion at its best . "Walking In The Rain" - Flash & The Pan / "Flash & The Pan" (1978) Good stuff. Casey Chambers Follow Me On FACEBOOK  

(a short jaunt) "Hey Fredrick" - Jefferson Airplane / 'Volunteers" (1969) "Either go away or go all the way in. Look at what you hold." Grace Slick makes her demands known right from the start of this musical epistle which gradually builds up into a guitar jam of acid fuel proportions.  It was at about this time my head slipped into autopilot mode.  The sounds of JA have an almost Pavlovian effect that still causes my head to travel light.  This was the band's fifth album and the last with founder Marty Balin and drummer Spencer Dryden . (OWN) "Angel In Blue" - J. Geils Band / "Freeze Frame" (1981) " And the bees they had stung her. The birds they had flown. There were guys she could number but none had she known ." This doesn't sound like any J. Geils I'd ever heard.  But dang if the band's sincerity isn't dripping out of the speakers in spades.  No smokescreens here, folks.  And I'll take catchy s...

"The Doors" - The Doors (1967) I realize this copy of  The Doors' self-titled album I picked up is in rough shape.  The back cover had been stuck to something once upon a time and most of the paper peeled away when someone tried to separate the two.  However, I still picked it up because the vinyl surprisingly looked like it had never seen the light of day.  It's a 1982 pressing out of Spain, as well, which is just bonus.  I wish I could show you how pristine the record looks. And the dealer was practically giving this one away.  I'm guessing most buyers passed right on by the square because of the outside appearance.  And yes, that's usually a dealbreaker for me, too.  But sometimes taking a moment to look inside can be worth your while.  I didn't have one to spin at the house and now I own a fantastic player copy to enjoy until a pressing closer to an OG comes along. "The Doors" - The Doors (back) Favorites include... “The End” "Light M...