BLUE CHEER - "VINCEBUS ERUPTUM" 1968

Formed in San Francisco in 1967, Blue Cheer are often named checked in association with a wide range of current loud and noisy musical genres. Heavy distorted blues stoner with a bit of an experimental edge is my favoured description of this early 3 piece powerhouse.

The band is said to have been named after a type of LSD manufactured by one Owsley Stanley, who's very "far out " ramblings are featured on the reverse of the sleeve pictured here.

He became infamous for his association with The Grateful Dead and for his part in the rise of the psychedelic drug culture on the West Coast during the late 60's. 

Here's a link to see them performing to their debut single, a version of the classic rock'n'roll standard "Summertime Blues", which, along with the album, charted in the States. 

I wholeheartedly recommend that all you lovers of loud and heavy things in this world check out the entire album. Its 6 tracks being a 50/50 split between self penned songs and cover numbers, which I'm certain you will find a great way to pass 32 minutes of your lives !

The band continued to gig in one form or another right up until founder and bassist Dickie Peterson's death from cancer in 2009. 

words by DOUG E DOGG - thanks for filling in

during my break.

EARLY PUNK VINYL PURCHASE

Obtaining the piece of music you are after has never been simpler than it is today...a few clicks here...some button pressing there....and its yours to listen to again and again.....and all in the comfort of your own home.

 Not so back in late 1976 and early 1977 when UK Punk was starting to set establishment tongues wagging and the disillusioned youth of the day pogoing for all they were worth. If you'd heard a single you wanted you had to get off your arse and go out and find it. Living in the suburbs of West London this inevitably meant a trip up to London as the "local" record shops rarely stocked these early punk releases but instead would offer to order it for you. This wasn't any good for the impatient vinyl buyer and there was no guarantee it would be the picture sleeve you particularly wanted. Most of the singles featured here I heard for the first time at the local Heavy Rock Disco at the Winning Post in Twickenham

where the DJ caught the "punk" bug fairly early. It must be said that the predominantly leather clad motorbike riding punters who frequented the place weren't all that impressed with the whole punk scene at this point in time and there was real friction in the air when the punk numbers came on and jumping about commenced. The punk image back then was very much a home made affair...anything that would outrage anyone over 30 years old was good enough. I have a vivid recollection of the local punks bringing a real pigs head

down to the Disco one Sunday night to throw about during the punk section of the evening. This really didn't go down well with the afore said biker chappies or the owners of the place. I for my part looked pretty conservative with the only parental allowance to my usual "rock" appearance being a bright orange sweatshirt with a punk inspired badge

thereon. Also, the parental opinion was firmly against me actually going to see any of these "dreadful" bands. This was only relaxed later on in 1977 when I saw the Runaways and 999. By contrast the editor of this fine blog, Mr Maim, went to see just about every single punk band you can name in their early prime.....I wish I had had his truly rebellious streak back then. There was a real atmosphere of excitement and tension in the air in London which I've never felt again to the same extent, and this made buying records an event to be remembered. Can you honestly say that downloading  has ever caused your pulse to quicken ? I can recall where and when I bought a frighteningly high percentage of my vinyl....I've a real dustbin for a mind !

The most detailed memories of buying any particular punk single apply to The Saints debut single "I'm Stranded / No Time". I went to the then fledgling Virgin Record Store off Tottenham Court Road in Central London and went down the stairs into the cavernous sub-basement area and nervously approached the counter. "Have you got any Punk singles ?" I asked....the assistant, who now had a look of slight disdain on his face replied they had, and handed me a small box with about 20 records therein for me to look through.

There it was... The Saints...excellent....pushing my luck I asked to hear it...back then you could actually ask to listen to stuff before buying it. The assistant looked nervously about and said that as they weren't too busy...i.e not many people were in there to possibly offend, that he would play it. To the shops credit they did have a real "fuck off" sound system which The Saints strained to the limit !!! When it finished he went to put it back in the box but I said "I'll have that please"....he looked totally shocked that I would want to buy something that to him sounded like a huge row ! I handed over my £1 (?...certainly not much more than that) and left the shop a happy man. Here's the original promo video preceded by an excerpt from a fairly recent tv programme giving a bit of background on the band and the influence they had at the time......

If that has impressed the hell out of you then here's a link to listen to the whole album......if you just want to cherry pick a couple of tracks go for Erotic Neurotic (15 minutes in) and No Time (19 minutes in). I, to my shame, didn't buy this until many years after its release having just frequently borrowed it from a like minded mate..

That's enough lengthy ramblings, so onto a quick fire selection of my early fave punk purchases....

The Damned - "Neat Neat Neat"....their furious frantic debut vinyl outing

I also simply have to include here the promo video for their follow up single "New Rose" which is rousing enough to wake the dead !!        

I saw The Damned on a few occasions in the 80's and most recently 5 years ago when they were Supporting Motorhead with Girlschool in Bristol. I bumped into Captain Sensible in the bar and congratulated him on his still youthful appearance after all these years... he thanked me and added that he felt like a sack of shit most mornings !! 

Next up....The Rings -"I Wanna Be Free".....great fun and a great riff...embodies the spirit of the time.

This next one was recommended to me on the basis that it was the fastest song my mate had ever heard...and he wasn't far wrong....by today's standards it is of course positively pedestrian but back then it was a real ear opener !

The Radiators From Space - "Television Screen"....a breathless outburst.

and finally, here's The Adverts doing "Gary Gilmore's Eyes" on Top of the Pops......which to their credit is with a live vocal track.....

I've deliberately not included The Ramones, Pistols etc ( all of whose singles I purchased asap on release and played to death) in this brief list as I think these early, often overlooked singles deserve their place in the sun for once. 

My surprise is not that Doug still has these singles but that he has a room
covered in Astro Turf!

My last overriding memory of record shopping in London in the late 70's was that one Shane McGowan, later to become famous with The Pogues, but then vocalist with The Nips (formerly The Nipple Erectors) used to work on a record stall in Berwick Street market just off Soho and Chinatown in London. It may come as no surprise to learn that he was without doubt the most surly disinterested assistant you could ever wish to meet....anything was too much trouble !!!

words by DOUG E DOGG

KILLING JOKE - WHAT'S THIS FOR...! 1981

This is the only Killing Joke album I have in my collection....... I've heard others and not really got on with them. This is a very hard album......hard in content and hard on the head !! I bought this shortly after it came out and it has always been a favourite album of mine from the post punk era of the early 80's. The rather disturbing and bizarre cover gives the listener a clue that what lies ahead isn't best suited for a sunny summer afternoon. 

Everything from vocals to drums is sharp, brutal, hard and confrontational in nature....no round comfortable edges to found anywhere. Great choppy guitar riffs, growling bass lines and pounding drums that will whirr round your skull long after the record has finished. Here's a couple of tracks to whet your appetite...

"Madness"       

"Follow The Leader"        

words by DOUG E DOGG

MINISTRY AND CO-CONSPIRATORS - COVER UP 2008

I’ve always been a sucker for cover versions....not the pointless ones that sound exactly the same as the original, but the ones that have been given the artists own take on things, i.e Frijid Pink’s - The House Of The Rising Sun (The Animals) or The Dickies - The Sound Of Silence (Simon and Garfunkel), which are both particular favourites of mine.

The album in question here is entirely made up of cover versions and is great fun from start to finish, never failing to surprise and entertain in equal measures. 

Al Jourgensen applies his usual full on industrial thrashy metal influence to all manner of genres of music here, from Glam Rock to easy listening classics ! Not sure if these are just songs that he just fancied tearing to shreds or whether they all hold some important memories in his musical growing up process. Probably a mixture of the two.

Distorted and cranked up highlights include Bob Dylan’s 1960’s classic “Lay Lady Lay” given the treatment it has truly deserved for about 40 years !!...a chuggtastic version of T.Rex’s “Get It On” ......Deep Purple’s “Space Truckin’”.....Sabbath’s “Supernaut”....and many more.

Here’s “Lay Lady Lay” for you to try out.....Dylan fans listen and weep !!

A most entertaining, foot stomping, steering wheel thumping release that’s well worth a listen.

words by DOUG E DOGG

IRON BUTTERFLY “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” 1968

Continuing my trawl through the vinyl collection I found this in between Iggy and The Stooges and Janis Joplin and thought it deserved a listen after far too long.

Side One of this, their 2nd album, comprises some fairly bog standard late 60’s West Coast psychedelic pop/rock tunes albeit with a slight edge provided by a great guitar sound and Doors-ish organ throughout.

The real reason for reviewing this album is the title track which takes up all of side B and runs a little under 18 minutes long. An edited single version was released at a more radio friendly length of approx 3 minutes, and reached the US Top 30 of the day.

This song contains one of the classic riffs from this era and goes to show that the creation of long single riff dominated opuses isn’t a new invention by our favourite stoner/new psych bands. The guitar riff has a lovely crunching distorted edge to it with nice solo parts throughout. The keyboards back up this riff with suitable embellishments and solos adding to the whole feel. The approx 2 minute drum solo prior to the final section of the song is one of the first to be featured on an album and is interesting due to the use of a flanger effect and its rather tribal approach. Its inclusion in the track is not just an excuse for the drummer to show off.....which makes a pleasant change !! All this is topped off with very good 60’s vocals. The overall effect of the long version is quite hypnotic.

There has been much written about how this track came to be and what the title actually means. These include that the version here was recorded by accident by the engineer in the studio where they were just doing it as a jam to prepare for a session which would have included recording the track “for real”. The track was also said to have been originally titled “In A Garden Of Eden” but during rehearsals the vocalist was so off his head and unable to speak properly that it morphed into the title we now have. 

Here’s a link to first of all listen to the edited single version.

and another for the full 18 minute version + original 60’s footage of the band performing the song.

...and, as usual, my usual lazy link for more info on the band which is a very interesting read. I’d not realised that they had been lined up to play the famous Woodstock in 1969 but after arriving at the airport were unable to get any further due to the blocked roads and failure of the promoters to provide a helicopter to get them there.

Cannot be bothered Wiki link

Nothing else that the band produced before or after matched the “In-Gadda-Da-Vida” track, but hey, its best to still be remembered for one song some 45 years after the event than to be lost to obscurity like so many bands of the time.

words by DOUG E DOGG

(Tony note - I first heard this track in the film "Manhunter". Among 

the broken glass, blood, a mad psycho doing a st vitus dance and strobing 

- this track was blasting out and it blew my mind. I had never really 

heard music like this before and it was the start

of my long hunt for other gems from that era.)

Doug - His Best of 2013

TOP 3 ALBUMS FROM 2013

EARTHLESS - FROM THE AGES

RAWHIDE - MURDER ONE

BAD SAM - WORKING CLASS HOLOCAUST

BEST OF THE REST FROM 2013

DOMOVOYD - OH SENSIBILITY

THE FREEKS - FULL ON

BLACK MAJIK ACID - S/T

PIG PIGS PIGS etc -THE WIZARD AND THE SEVEN SWINE

CLUTCH - EARTH ROCKER

EGYPT - BECOME THE SUN

BLACK SABBATH - 13

4 RELEASES FROM 2012 THAT I ONLY HEARD FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS YEAR WHICH I SIMPLY HAVE TO GIVE A MENTION TO AS I ENJOYED THEM SO VERY MUCH....

GOAT BONG - GOAT WORSHIP AND SODOMY

ADMIRAL SIR CLOUDESLEY SHOVELL - DON'T HEAR IT FEAR IT

THE HEAVY EYES - MAERA

THE MOON MISTRESS - SILENT VOICE INSIDE

DOUG E DOGG

Doug goes back in time!

Suicide - 1st Album 1977

There is an awful lot to say about this band/duo....too much for here anyway so here's a link for your information..  Here....The influence their sound had on future musical trends is undoubted and obvious when you listen to this ,their debut album. They use a very basic drum machine, effects and repetitive keyboard riffs coupling them with Alan Vega's somewhat unique approach to vocals. This album really needs to be heard for its importance to be fully appreciated.

 If you are feeling really brave.....listen to the classic 10 minute track "Frankie Teardrop"..with the lights out...and the volume way up ...and see if it doesn't thoroughly creep you out !! Not for the faint hearted !!

Butthole Surfers - Locust Abortion Technician 1987

If I was compiling an all time Top 50 albums list, this would be in it every time....but rather curiously its not an album that is played all that often.....I probably last heard it some 7/8 years ago.....but as the seemingly innocent and gentle intro morphs into a mutated Sabbath riff   a warm smile appears on my face as I anticipate the assault to follow for the next 40 minutes ! Their musical style is chaotic and draws on many styles....there's some full throttle speed thrash, some high octane rock, a truly bizarre Far Eastern sounding number entitled "Kuntz" !!, some very industrial sounding moments and some tracks that defy description....all peppered with great guitar work and highly inventive strange sounds that make you sit up and listen. Their choice of subject matter and song titles  pull no punches and are,in truth, quite disturbing.....all these traits are admirably illustrated here on this album. All you noise fans out there should do yourself a favour and give this lot a listen.

The one and only occasion that I managed to see them was at the Reading Festival in 1989 when they arrived on stage and promptly destroyed all their instruments with great relish !! That certainly got everyone's attention....fortunately they had some more with which they went on to assault us with !! Jolly good they were too.

Atomic Rooster - Death Walks Behind You 1970

I think Tony covered this album some time ago but its worth reminding you all of its existence once again !

This is an absolute classic of early 70's British heavy rock, featuring that great Hammond organ sound courtesy of the late Vincent Crane (1943-89). The title track is superb as is Tomorrow Night which was a hit single. The rest is simply marvellous. Add it to your play list ....NOW !

The Pink Fairies - Finland Freakout- Live 1971

This is absolutely tremendous !!... For a start the quality is amongst the best of any "Live" stuff I've heard, with the possible exception of the 2 tracks on the Glastonbury Triple Album (...Do It and Uncle Harry's Last Freakout) ....the highlight for me being an astonishingly blistering live version of "The Snake".......If you are unfamiliar with this song, which like all the other tracks on this offering, are  packed full of fantastic earshredding ballsy guitar then click on this link Here to listen to a version taken from a John Peel Radio Show session in the early 70's....the version on Finland etc is actually even more powerful than this !! They are an often overlooked band who spent much of their heyday rather in the shadow of Hawkwind with whom they appeared at virtually every "free" festival/gig that was going during the early 70's. If you want to check out their studio albums, their first "Never Never Land" 1971 is the best followed by their 3rd "Kings Of Oblivion" 1973. "What A Bunch Of Sweeties" 1972 is a bit patchy but is redeemed with their covers of Walk Don't Run and I Saw Her Standing There.

A band with a most colourful and fascinating history who are well worth taking some time to check out.

   

The Stooges - 1st Album and Funhouse Outakes

Its always great to hear some new stuff by The Stooges that is of good "official release" quality. Most non-official releases sound as though they were recorded on a clapped out reel to reel 1/4" tape machine that had been hidden in a toilet cistern some distance from the PA !!

These are very nice out takes/alternative versions from the recording sessions for their first 2 albums.

The 1st contains 10 tracks including 2 versions of No Fun, 1969 and I Wanna Be Your Dog...4 tracks are labelled as John Cale (of Velvet Underground fame) Mixes and the rest either alternate vocals or mix or "full" versions. Nothing previously unreleased though. Good to listen to and mentally compare to the originals which are of course burned into the minds of all noise fiends out there.

The 2nd contains 8 tracks.....6 alternate takes of Loose,Funhouse,Dirt,T.V.Eye,1970 and Down On The Street and 2 unreleased tracks, Lost In The Future and Slide (Slidin' The Blues). These 2 tracks are nice to hear but don't surpass the excellence of the tracks which finally went to press.

Both of these releases are very worthwhile additions to your Stooges collection.

Till next time......

Doug E Dogg

Sabbath - 13 vs Never Say Die vs Technical Ecstasy

The Great Sabbath Album Debate.......13 v Technical Ecstasy v Never Say Die.......

This is a follow up to one of my recent "What's on the car stereo" ramblings when I said I would see how the new album stands up against the '76 and '78 releases..... 

I undertook a comparison of "13", Technical and Never, listening to each one twice over 3 days worth of car journeys....the big problem is just how long the last 2 have been part of my musical background (over 35 years in fact !!) and all the memories that are associated with them....."13" is sooooo new.......but it is however superb as a stand alone album and I freely admit that it pisses over the majority of Never Say Die with the exception of the title track, Johnny Blade and Juniors Eyes....but, and this is a very big but, I absolutely love those 3 tracks to bits and always will......and Technical (love it all) has the truly awesome Dirty Women.... these were some of the mainstay tracks at various Heavy Metal/Rock discos I used to go to on Friday,Saturday and Sunday nights from '76 onwards.

13 is far far better than anything that was released after '78 bearing the name of Black Sabbath ( without Ozzy of course ) but as to whether it will ever give earlier albums a run for their money....deep down I doubt it.

I have bitter sweet memories about the Never Say Die Tour in '78......As I'd not seen them live, I was elated to see the list of Tour dates including Hammersmith Odeon but then my heart sank....it was right before one of my 'A' Level exams on a subject that was requiring much revision and study. In the words of The Clash...."should I stay (at home and revise up to the last minute) or should I go ?".... I decided to give it a miss and revise...after all I could always see them next time !!......OH fateful words.....there wasn't a next time as  after that tour Ozzy left the band......I did however pass my exam as the very topic I studied on the Sabbath Gig Night came up in the test paper. 

I made do with seeing Blizzard of Oz several times and thoroughly enjoyed all of the gigs enormously....as for Sabbath....I saw them with  Ronnie James Dio (RIP 2010) in '82 but only because Girlschool were supporting. In fairness to Dio he was perfect with Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow on their first 3 albums but he was never really a Sabbath vocalist if you understand me............talking of Rainbow...that reminds me of the only time I saw them when they stomped off after about 35 minutes and a near riot ensued....but that's another story.......

Sorry ....I appear to have gone on and on and on.....again !!

Doug E Dogg

What's on my stereo

WHAT'S BEEN ON THE CAR STEREO RECENTLY - by guest writer Doug.

I do all my music listening in the car.......my daily journeys to and from work allow for about an album each way to be enjoyed....or sometimes not !...here are my thoughts on some of what's been on the car stereo in the last couple of weeks....

Ramones - Adios Amigo...their last studio album from 1995.....and one of my favourites since the second one way back when....this doesn't of course take into account any live albums which are always simply wonderful. It was with a mixture of sadness and joy that I witnessed their last ever London show at Brixton Academy....you always knew exactly what you were going to get and were never disappointed.....Its hard to believe that Johnny, Joey and DeeDee are no longer with us.

Blood Of The Sun - In Blood We Trust (2007)......they were Ted Nugent's backing band and on the evidence here have done the right thing in leaving him behind, as this is an absolute belter....tremendous full on stoner rock featuring some fantastic Hammond organ and soloing throughout. A must hear.

Jimi Hendrix - At The Albert Hall......sheer genius.....don't really need to add anything here.....if you've never really checked him out, find this and prepare to be amazed.

Boris  - Heavy Rocks (2002).....another mad Japanese band who were described to me as..." imagine Tony Iommi had been born in Japan"......truly fantastic opening track...mega heavy....the rest of the album doesn't quite match up to it but tries hard.

The Cult - Born Into This (2007).......probably their most consistent album since the monstrously foot stomping, mega riffing and unsurpassable "Sonic Temple" (1989). Previous efforts have all had 1 or 2 stand out tracks amongst a lot of mediocrity but this later offering delivers a number songs that do dwell in the memory. The track "Sound of Destruction" being my personal favourite. Listening to this of course led me to play Sonic Temple...several times.....a true classic. Again, this is required listening. I was fortunate to see them on this tour and marvelled at how Billy Duffy managed to be in a classic rock guitarist pose at all times whilst playing !

Iggy and The Stooges - Raw Power (remix).........if you seriously want to test your speaker system then pop this on !!......once you've heard this Iggy remix you will never want to play the original release again. The guitar sound on every track sounds as though it is about to break apart under the sheer distortion and boost it gets in the mix. Lets hope the new album with James Williamson will treat us to similar, and put to rest the awfulness that was "The Weirdness" album....a most unfortunate lacklustre and uninspiring last outing with Ron Ashton...RIP.

Frijid Pink (1970).......debut album by this Detroit based band which, if you like your early 70's rock very heavy and distorted then this is for you. It contains their one off hit single, a cover of The Animals "House of the Rising Sun"....now....if you're going to do a cover version then put your own spin on it.......and in this they excel.....a classic, filled with huge slabs of guitar and marvellously desperate vocals. The album version is slightly longer than the released single. Whilst on the subject of "covers", the furore surrounding Bauhaus's release of Bowies "Ziggy Stardust" in 1982 comes to mind...they took a frightful slagging from the press due to it being a virtually exact reproduction of the original and the merit of it being released at all became a matter for public debate. This culminated in the most bizarre scenes at their gig at The Lyceum in London in October '82......prior to their set the stage was turned into a sort of living room complete with armchair, sofa, rugs and a lampstand......the band came on and took their seats on the sofa and then a music paper journalist (whose name escapes me) who had been particularly critical of the release took his seat opposite them. They then entered into an onstage debate on the subject which, as you can imagine, was a rather one sided affair given the hostility coming from a packed house of fans. The band eventually stood up en masse and left the stage, leaving the journo all alone to face the music !!.......sorry....I digress....

Electric Wizard - "Black Masses" (2010).......this is really good with some marvellous riffs that drawn you in and you don't want to stop.....first class doom from the best band of this genre......after this I naturally had to listen to their 2000 album "Dopethrone" which has to be the best doom album ever and against which I always compare any new Doom that I get to listen to. If you have never heard this album you absolutely have to......it will make your speakers attempt to leap out of their housings !! You have been warned.

I've also been on a bit of an early 70's kick at present , all sparked of by the excellent documentary on Mott The Hoople on BBC4 a few weeks back.....I bought their singles as and when they were released back then and "All The Young Dudes" would be in my top 5 of all time songs....so my "Best of Mott the Hoople" album has been wheeled out together with some Slade (Greatest Hits and "Alive") and Bowie (1971-74 releases only). These might seem rather at odds with a lot of the stuff I now listen to but I grew up loving these bands and their songs hold so many memories.....and that is one of the wonderful things about music....its ability to bring back strong vivid memories of emotions, places, people and situations.

Well, that's all there is to say for now, so until my next review of "What's been on my car stereo".... 

Cheers

Doug