Happy New One

UPDATE: This post was re-uploaded 04/13/2014. Enjoy, NØ.

Hope this next one increases your every desire by leaps & bounds.

Singers & Players - Leaps & Bounds,
OnU Sound ON-LP 33/B Red 58, 1984.
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Enjoy this & all that the future holds for each & every one,
NØ

At the Drive In at Xmas Tyme

UPDATE: This post was re-uploaded 08/22/2013. Enjoy, NØ.

Even thought I’m not an Xtian, I get a kick out of the holidays. I've got to admit that some of my friends are definitely geeks & some of my closest friends are total musick geeks, which has its real advantages this time of year.

I’ve been selling off parts of my record collection in a move to down-size my life to a more realistic, less materialistic level. So some of my musick geek friends have taken it upon themselves to attempt giving me musick that I will desire so much that I’ll be forced to keep it, no matter what my financial or habitational situation.

The holiday season is made for these (5, mainly) geeks friends. They all gifted me with 'invaluable' records, to my chagrin as well as benefit.

Two of these presents I mention here now, along with public (blogland) thanks.


My friend MAJ sent me Gila Monster’s Scottishe Grammophon 7". It contains flyers, stickers, & three different interchangeable covers. Why it is most prized by me is because Jer Reid, of Glasgow noise outfit Dawson, plays guitar on "Scaredom". This is a rarity with which I won’t be parting. Thanks, babe.


Then my friend Horsefly topped everything. He is an artiste as well as musick geek & he hand-made me a silver box that he filled with some of the greatest musick I now safeguard.


I am sure anyone familiar with my bizarre musickal tastes know I’m a large fan of The Mars Volta. Well, I will brave the limb I am climbing & say that The Mars Volta were unnecessary if only At the Drive In had not folded or imploded or whatever. At the Drive In played some of the tastiest, most articulated PUNK RAWK around, kinda like a West Texas Clash, only completely different.

ATDI is one band that I never get tired of hearing, or ranting on about, as Horsefly well knows from many chemically-fueled late-night talk & rawk sessions at the Casa Nada. Well, not only did he create the box this box set came in, but filled it with the following vinyl:

3 12"ers -
1998 In/Casino/Out (clear vinyl)
200 Relationship of Command
2001 Live in Tokyo (yellow vinyl)

1 10"er -
1999 Vaya (white vinyl)

3 7"ers -
1995 ¡Alfaro Vive, Carajo!
200 Invalid Litter Dept. (yellow vinyl)
2000 One Armed Scissor...

I don’t even have the words to express my overwhelming gratitude. For your listening pleasure...

At the Drive In - ¡Alfaro Vive, Carajo! 7“, Western Breed, 1995.
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Enjoy,
NØ

This Boy's Gone Crazy

UPDATE: This post was re-uploaded 01/12/2014. Enjoy, NØ.

As everyone sez around the Casa Nada this time of year, "What up, Dog?".

A gift for everyone from us.

Overlooked band’s best effort. Just cuz theys inalectyuals donenot mean they cain’t FUNK!

What up, Dawg?

Was (Not Was) - What Up, Dog?,Chrysalis F2 21664, 1988.
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Tracklist -

Somewhere in America There's a Street Named after My Dad
Spy in the House of Love
Out Come the Freaks
Earth to Doris
Love Can Be Bad Luck
Boy's Gone Crazy
11 MPH
What up, Dog?
Anything Can Happen
Robot Girl
Wedding Vows in Vegas
Anytime Lisa
Walk the Dinosaur
I Can't Turn You Loose
Shadow & Jimmy
Dad I'm in Jail

Enjoy yer Brumalia,
NØ

>>>>>>>>>>Don Van Vliet<<<<<<<<<< *****19 Jan. 1941 - 17 Dec. 2010*****

R.I.P.

He always has been & always will be my #1.
Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band - Her Eyes are a Blue Million Miles

American Woman

UPDATE: This post was re-uploaded 08/11/2013. Enjoy, NØ




Sweeping across the wheat fields of Manitoba, Canada blown by the winds of hard-rock that was rearing its head in the late 60s - early 70s, The Guess Who took America & the rest of the world by storm. "American Woman" was the first #1 hit by a Canadian group since The Crew Cuts hit the top with 1954s "Sh-Boom".

This selection goes out to my friend Jonder, who brought up the current epitome of American Womanhood, Kim Kardashian. After years of pencil-thin waifs & heroin-chic skeletons, it’s nice to drool over a curvaceous cutey. This post is dedicated to the two of them

The Guess Who, in their fourth incarnation on this album, were: Burton Cummings - keyboards, vocals, guitar, & harmonica; Randy Bachman - guitar; Jim Kale - bass; & Garry Peterson - drums.

The Guess Who - American Woman, RCA Victor LSP-4266, 1970.
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Side 1 -

American Woman
No Time
Talisman
No Sugar Tonight / New Mother Nature

Side 2 -

969 (The Oldest Man) (Instrumental)
When Friends Fall Out
8:15
Proper Stranger
Humpty's Blues / American Woman (Epilogue)

Enjoy,
NØ

Bloodrock

UPDATE: This post was re-uploaded 12/07/2013. Enjoy, NØ.

I was going to post up Bloodrock 2 just because it contains the great proto-metal masterpiece "D.O.A." but Bloodrock’s debut album is in my opinion a better album overall. It is a dark heavy album with drummer Jim Rutledge singing songs of great lyrical imagery, with Steve Hill’s mesmerizing swirling organ, & Lee Pickens’ fiery guitar lines.

Emerging from Texas in 1969, Bloodrock prove that good ol' Southern boys could rock as good as any English band at the time. At times, the interplay of guitar & organ reminds a bit of Ritchie Blackmore & Jon Lord in Deep Purple except that Lee Pickens is a more soulful guitar player than Ritchie Blackmore, possibly one of the most underrated guitar players of his era.

Bloodrock - Bloodrock, Capitol Records 435, 1970.
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Side A -
Gotta Find A Way
Castle of Thought
Fatback
Double Cross
Timepiece

Side B -
Wicked Truth
Gimme Your Head
Fantastic Piece of Architecture
Melvin Laid an Egg

Enjoy,
NØ

Montrose

UPDATE: This post was re-uploaded 08/22/2013. Enjoy, NØ.

There was one band that I saw at Winterland even more than Humble Pie. Bill Graham would stick them on any bill that needed another band & a little wake-up-the-crowd musick.

That was Montrose.

They seem to have been lost in the 70s history rewrite, especially when other American hard rock bands like Grand Funk Railroad & Aerosmith have gained much more (undeserved) exposure.


I would really like to post up Jump On It just because of all the testosterone-laced memories it brings up. That cover gives the 'Red Rocker' new meaning. Brother, that’s no camel-toe.

But, fact is, Montrose' self-titled first album is a greater hard rock album. Ronnie Montrose is a talented virtuoso guitarist who had a vision...a vision to rock & to rock hard.

Released in 1973, this record introduced a young Sammy Hagar to the world, but the explosive aggression of Ronnie Montrose's biting guitar left no doubt as to why the band was thusly named. Then there is the rock-solid rhythm section featuring drummer Denny Carmassi & bassist Bill Church.

Songs like "Rock the Nation" & "Good Rockin' Tonight" lay the ground rules for an entire generation of late-70s California bands. But it was the sheer euphoria of "Bad Motor Scooter," the adolescent nastiness of "Rock Candy," & the gargantuan riffage of the phenomenal stand-out tune "Space Station #5" that propelled this slab o' vinyl. If this musick doesn’t rock you, then you’re rock done rolled away. You better go find it, zombi.

Montrose - Montrose, Warner Bros. Records BS 2740, 1973.
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Side A -

Rock The Nation
Bad Motor Scooter
Space Station
I Don't Want It

Side B -

Good Rockin' Tonight
Rock Candy
One Thing On My Mind
Make It Last

Enjoy,
NØ

Home

 UPDATE: This post was re-uploaded 11/25/2013. Enjoy, NØ.

Whenever I say Procol Harum to anyone, they always give one of two responses..."A Whiter Shade of Pale" or "Conquistador".

I think??? Robin Trower...Gary Brooker...Keith Reid & two albums that if you haven’t heard, then you don’t know jack...er,Procol Harum. 1968s Shine On Brightly & 1970s Home.

I am constantly torn trying to decide which one I like the best. I think Shine On right now, but I’m posting Home nonetheless.

“I’ll blacken your Christmas & piss on your door. You’ll cry for mercy, but still there’ll be more.”

Procol Harum 1970: Robin Trower - guitar; Gary Brooker - vocals & piano; Chris Copping - bass & organ; & B.J. Wilson - drums. Lyrics by Keith Reid, music by Brooker or Trower. Produced by Chris Thomas.

Procol Harum - Home, A&M Records, SP 4261, 1970.
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Side 1 -

Whisky Train
The Dead Man's Dream
Still There'll Be More
Nothing That I Didn't Know
About to Die

Side 2 -

Barnyard Story
Piggy Pig Pig
Whaling Stories
Your Own Choice

Enjoy,
NØ

Fascist Eats Donut

UPDATE: This post was re-uploaded 10/31/2013. Happy Halloween, NØ

Pop-O-Pies - The White EP, 415 Records 415A-0009, 1982.
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Enjoy,
NØ

Play, Don't Worry

UPDATE: This post was re-uploaded 10/05/2013. Enjoy, NØ.


I’ve been listening to a lot of my old (late 60s - early/mid 70s) vinyl. I’ve been driving everyone here at Casa Nada totally bonkers. Decided to pass it on to you. I’ve been going through Traffic (from Mr. Fantasy through Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory), Deep Purple (mainly In Rock), Procol Harum (Shine on Brightly & Home), Free (Heartbreaker), Thin Lizzy (everything from their self-titled first through Bad Reputation), Nazareth (especially Hair of the Dog), Vanilla Fudge (the first four), Ten Years After (from Ssssh through A Space in Time)...well, you get the idea...clean rock, great guitars, lotsa hair.

I never know where to start, exactly, when I get on one of these weird tangents.

I have decided to start with the second album from the much overlooked solo career of one great guitar-slinger, Mick Ronson, ex-Spider from Mars. Mick at first wanted to be a music teacher, but the likes of Jeff Beck, whom he idolized & strove to emulate in his own guitar stylings, filled Ronno's young mind with secret dreams of rock stardom.

Mick played in the obligatory rock (Voices) & soul (Wanted) groups before joining the Rats, a Yardbirds-like r&b unit. They had a few singles on UK Decca & Oriole, but broke up after an ill-fated European tour.

1970.

Enter one David Jones, now not wanting to be confused with Davy Jones of the Monkees & calling himself David Bowie. Ronson signed on as guitarist for Bowie’s new project, brought along friend & ex-Rats drummer Woody Woodmansey & proceeded to create the classic The Man Who Sold the World. After the session, Ronno was again out of work.

Mick was close to calling it quits as a professional musician when Bowie called once more. Mick returned to London with Woodmansey & yet another ex-Rat, bassist Trevor Bolder. They began the sessions for Bowie's brilliant follow-up album Hunky Dory(1971). With the ouster of long-time Bowie co-hort Tony Visconti, Mick took over on the production as well, doing the arrangements for many of the songs, which favored strings, piano & horns.

With this kind of momentum, the ex-Rats were no longer just session musicians, but were finally a band again, becoming the Spiders from Mars. They followed Hunky Dory with The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders from Mars. Bowie’s exceptional songwriting & charismatic stage presence were undeniable, but equally crucial was the album’s truly unique sound, which again, as on Hunky Dory, combined strings, keyboards, & acoustic guitars with a crunching rock power trio. Mick Ronson was responsible for that sound. He co-arranged the entire album & performed all the keyboard parts as well as filling his usual role as the guitar-slinger.

Ziggy Stardust’s glitter rock & polysexual decadence made superstars of Bowie & "the Spiders". Ronson, as leader of the Spiders became a star in his own right through several sold-out tours & follow-up work on Bowie's next two albums, Aladdin Sane & Pin Ups (both 1973). Then Bowie announced his "retirement" from the stage. Actually he only retired the band.

Mick didn’t stay retired long, quickly releasing two albums, the Ziggy-influenced Slaughter on 10th Avenue in 1974, followed the next year by the more straight-ahead Play Don't Worry.

He then donned numerous hats: joined Mott the Hoople as guitarist; then when Hoople broke up, he partnered with Ian Hunter for Hunter’s next five solo albums; toured with Hunter in the Hunter-Ronson band; did session work with Kinky Friedman, Pure Prairie League, Genya Ravan, Ellen Foley, Slaughter & the Dogs, & John Cougar (Mellencamp); played guitar in Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue; where he hooked up with Roger McGuinn for the Cardiff Rose album; Ronno also worked as producer for the likes of David Johansen, Morrissey, Iron City Houserockers, the Payolas, & Glen Matlock’s post-Sex Pistols The Rich Kids.

Mick was working on his third solo album when he died of cancer on April 29, 1993 . The result was the posthumous Heaven & Hull.

Although Slaughter on 10th Avenue is probably his most well-known non-Bowie work, my personal favorite is this album, his second solo release from 1975. The album starts off with "Billy Porter" on which Ronson plays all of the instruments himself, showcasing his multi-faceted talent, then goes into one of my favorite tracks, "Angel No. 9". On this song, Ronson’s fierce guitar playing is very up in the mix, highlighting his greatest talent, his sweet guitar chops.

Hope this was a good place to begin this retro-madness.

Mick Ronson - Play Don't Worry, RCA APL1-0681, 1975.
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Side A -

Billy Porter
Angel No.9
This is for You
White Light / White Heat

Side B -

Play Don't Worry
Hazy Days
Girl Can't Help It
Empty Bed (Io Me Ne Andrei)
Woman

Enjoy,
NØ