Happy New Year, Rock Town Hall!
Before I share my burdens with you in the coming year, I thought I’d butter you up with a few tracks that have been rocking my world the last few weeks. Perhaps you know them. Perhaps you don’t. My hope is they will find a place in your heart over the coming days and buy me a little favor with you in the coming months.
Here’s a track that I believe fits Mr. Mod’s recently stated preference for productions that don’t shoehorn the listener into one point of view, or hear, as the case may be. It’s too bad the album from which this track appears, New Picnic Time, is easily written off as the beginning of Pere Ubu’s walk down David Thomas’ more impressionistic side. Certainly it has its moments hinting at the shapes of things to come, but tracks like this one rock in a way few have ever rocked.
Pere Ubu, “49 Guitars & One Girl”
Talk about musicians headed for a walk on the impressionistic side, Captain Beefheart quickly abandoned his garage-rock foundation shortly following Safe as Milk. This 1966 demo, from the Grow Fins box set, is nice to have around.
Captain Beefheart, “Just Got Back from the City” (1966 Demo)
Finally, this track reminds me of the childhood joys of eating sugar-loaded breakfast cereals.
Music Explosion, “Sunshine Games”
I just wanted to mention that these all sounded good to me. I’d heard them all before but not in a while. “Dishes! Dishes! Dishes! All for love of you!” David Thomas sure has a way with words
And while looking up the players on that album, I found this, tying in with a thread from last week: “The lyrics for the song “The Voice Of The Sand” are based upon the poetry of Vachel Lindsay.”
The Beefheart song is so short it’s like a taste of a real record, but I do love the garagey Captain.
The Music Explosion’s song is no Little Bit of Soul (what is?), but it’s better that you’d expect. Good drummer, all but ruined by bad tomtom recording technique. Still, you gotta love the fat bass sounds they used to get sometimes on these throwaway 60s singles.
Thanks for sharing.
I like these songs, too! Thanks!
And BigSteve, the same lyrics jumped out at me on the Ubu number.
This is my favorite period of Beefheart…those beginnings, when they still had a blues thing going. they could really lay down a groove but with some original angles. I love later beefheart, too, but i always thought it became less interesting when those original, angular aspects took over, and there was virtually no dialogue or interplay between the blues elements and the more abstract ones.
Regarding “Sunshine Games”, RTH’s own Mighty Sethro Baer pounds out a brilliant drum part on the Original Sins version of that song, ca. 1994, on “Acid Bubble Punk.” It fits so well on that album that if you don’t know its a cover, well, you’d never guess it was a cover. Seth and the Sins sped up tempo to match the true spirit of the song.
I forgot the Sins covered that song! I’ll have to pull out that CD and load it up for all to enjoy. Wonder if KingEd knows it.
I’ve never heard the Original Sins version. Turn me on, dead man.
Mod, lemme know if you need the Bethlehemmer’s version of “Sunshine Games”. I’ll mail it to the back office.
Thanks. I’m pretty sure it’s filed correctly at home. I’m not super anal about that stuff, but I know my O’s from my P’s. I’ll let you know if not. Stay tuned!