What ho, fellow RTHers! I fear I spent far too many paragraphs in my introductory Thrifty Music post jawboning about the whys and wherefores of this music I love so much, so, with your kind permission, I shall simply dive in to the first collection I offer up with trembling hand, sweaty brow and palpitating heart. I trust that you, too, will find much to enjoy here. And remember: it only cost me a buck-twenny-five, so if you don’t like it, I don’t care!
Anyhow, here goes:
First up, a surprisingly funky groove by the band that backed up John Lennon during his frankly awful Sometime in New York City period, Elephant’s Memory. The tune is called “Mongoose”, and some know-it-all on the InterWeb informs me that it actually climbed to #50 on the pop charts — when, I couldn’t say, and don’t care. There is so much to love in this song: that silly lyric, the serious foot-stomp funk, and — come on, how can a song about a freaking mongoose fighting a cobra not kick ass?! I’d also like to ask the following two questions: am I the only person who hears how blatantly Naughty By Nature ripped off this song’s groove for their “OPP” smash in the ’90s? Question two: How badly must John Lennon have sucked to make this band sound like shit in the early 70s? I ask you!
The Young Ones of Guyana, “Expressway (to Your Heart)”
Next, a really cool instrumental take on the the Philly Soul classic “Expressway (to Your Heart)”, this time performed by The Young Ones Of Guyana, an integrated Carib/soul combo from, I assume, Guyana (home of the much underappreciated Eddy Grant). I have no idea when this came out, but based on the groovy threads they’re wearing on their LP cover, I’d say — what, maybe ’68 or ’69? Anyhow, I just love the joyful, multicultural groove on this tune. Pass that rum punch, RTH! It’s limbo party time!
Chairman of the Board, “Morning Glory”
Is there anybody on this list who doesn’t think “Give Me Just Little More Time” is one of The Great late-60s soul platters? Well, the next bin score is “Morning Glory”, the B-side to the Chairmen Of the Board‘s “Everybody Party All Night” single on the incredibly cool Invictus label. This song has so much going for it: a fuzz bass (I love fuzz bass! How can you not love the fuzz bass?!), free-flowin’, mind-expandin’ mellotron flutestramentalism, and, in general, a great balance of mellow flow and solid, solar-plexus-hitting groove. I could listen to this tune all day.
Mohammad Rafi, “The She I Love”
Quick — without consulting the Guiness Book Of Records, tell me: Who was the most frequently recorded human being in history? Elvis Presley? Barbara Streisand? Andre Kostelanetz? Robert Pollard? WRONG! It’s Mohammad Rafi, king of the Bollywood soundtracks! I found this oddball 1970 single, “The She I Love”, in a bin in Maryland, and picked it up for 40 cents. Let me tell you, it’s provided more than its share of merriment over the last few weeks. That manaiacal introduction alone is worth every penny. But stick with the song at least until the proto-“rock” break in the middle, where Mohammad really lets loose with his shoutin’ and clappin’. Brilliant!
Excerpt from “Canaries Are Cute, But They Can’t Talk”
Lastly, to give you something to think about as you plow through another soul-crushing day workin’ for The Man, I bring you 20 seconds of a 4-minute A-side released under the Custom Records label, written for and about, um, birds. Yes, you heard it here first: a thrift store single recorded to help you brainwash your mynah bird! If you remember nothing else from this volume of Thrifty Music, remember this: “canaries are cute… but they can’t talk!”
Enjoy!
Killer stuff, Townmsman! I’ll have more in-depth comments on some of the tracks when I’ve had a chance to sleep on them. Bravo!
Before I forget, I came across a reference on the excellent Soul Sides site to “Mongoose” having been a song that had most likely been sampled. I forget what song the guy thought it was used for, but you may be onto something with “OPP”.
Wow. Great selections for your inaugural post with tracks! Really digging all of them – a song about a ‘mongoose fighting a cobra’ DOES kick ass! I love the war-painted Look on the cover in front of the Elephant image – unless it’s a real elephant?? It’s too bad that can’t be remastered or something, really cool. And I love the Young Ones of Guyana! I’ve seen that cover before because a friend purchased it as well but never heard it. I love the label name too – “RAMPY” was it the name of a person, a nickname or they just liked that name? I am digging the label art (and definitely the fuzz bass too) on the Invictus recording. Last night I was going through my 45s and it makes me kinda crazy that not a lot of them a) have the year listed and b) unless you look at the numbers, it’s sometimes hard to find which is even the A/B side if it’s not listed online. Although the bonus to older 45s is that a lot of the times they list more of who played on the track. Alright Mohammed Rafi!
I love the piano in the breakdown – and I think most people will (maybe) also recognize Mohammed from the Ghost World vid for Dan Pahechan-Ho! Awesome track, and yes – really scary laughing;) Lastly, that canary track is quite annoying, but fun to shake your head at. Point Pelee National Park in Leamington, Ontario where my friend used to work as a Gatekeeper was getting rid of all of their vinyl at one point – yes, the park had vinyl records, and a radio station too from the 60s through to the 80s I think, for broadcasts to visitors within the park as they drove through – and they had a sale on all the machinery (reel-to-reel players, turntables, etc.) that they auctioned off a few years ago and I’m sure you can guess what the records were of – sound effects of indigenous animals to the park, a tonne of bird effects! He came home with at least two boxes of the stuff, not sure what to keep.
The sound effects did come in handy though – we used seagull sounds and shore lapping on one of our songs for our album Tiger Verses called Rocky Harbour, Nfld.;)
Wow! great stuff! Looking forward to future finds!
Great finds. I wanna come shopping with you. ‘Morning Glory’ is my favorite of the lot.
Ladies, gentlemen: I am very pleased and honored that you enjoyed my meager selections, but I must tell you, based on the discussion that followed this second Thrifty Music post, that I have failed.
Yes, I have failed you, RTH — for my goal was not only to get heads bobbing to the scratchy, crackly beats I discovered, but also to provoke quality RTH-caliber discussion with this unusual music. SallyC, as usual, teed up the most thought-provoking content in response to my thrifty tunage, but I think hers was a valiant, generous effort in the face of little effective provocation from your humble curator. I shall endeavor to do better next time.
In the meantime, if anybody has anything juicy to contribute — or even if you just want to send a virtual high-five or cheek-flappin’ fart in my direction — please feel free. The truth is, I’m enjoying sharing my nerdy pursuit.
And so I say to you, RTH, with head-scratch-inducing fervor, the words made famous by the great Tito Santana. I say to you, Rock Town Hall:
ARRIBA!
Did I miss something tantalizing, like a back history on one of the members of Elephants Memory having a serious foot fetish and prison release date in 2007 or maybe those dudes in Chairmen of the Board really being half of The Chambers’ Brothers? Was “Time Has Come Today” really supposed to be THEIR number? Did James Jamerson ghost on their single? Is that Mynah bird really Charlie Watts on a branch (I can fake a beat, I am not a hoax, I can fake a beat, I am not a hoax)? I take it all back, I hate these tracks! And, I’ll tell you why… Ummm, wait, I got nothin’. Nothing but a virtual high-five – OOOH! How’s that for provocative? 🙂 🙂 Get with it Fritz, next time we expect more of you. More dirt, more fuzz bass, more tonal indecency, everything. Bring. It. On. Thrift-meister. Andele, andele! Wait, are you a member of The Young Ones of Guyana … ?! Is that you, third from the left? Good God, man!
Townsman Fritz wrote:
Townsman, let me tell you something straight up: YOU did not “fail.” Did you get the immediate desired results you wished for? No! I do know that your post was viewed and tracks were downloaded/sampled. I do know folks got some kicks out of these tracks and dug their share. A couple of things I would suggest as you continue this fine series:
Keep the faith, Townsman, and keep these Thrifty Music features coming. I’m telling you, a lot of people come to music blogs scouting out free stuff to download. Why leave The People with nothing but CYHSY and Of Monteal tracks to download? Let The People download these kooky tracks too!
Thanks again, and I encourage – no, implore – our Townspeople to give back just a bit of what you get from our contributors. We contribute so that you might contribute. In turn, we all contribute more. Stay tuned for reminders about the value of registering to the site so YOU can make your voice heard, or at least read.
I dig the Young Ones of Guyana track. It’s got a rhythm that I just can’t place — a touch of reggae and calypso maybe, but also something (Latin I guess) that I can’t put my finger on. A little googling didn’t turn up any leads, except for the fact that a VG- copy just went for $156.50 on ebay a couple of months ago. My guess is that these guys played in a tourist hotel.