Sounds of the hall in roughly 33 1/3 minutes!
This is my third independent records spotlight. In this episode we look at the 1980’s label Coyote Records out of Hoboken N.J. It was interesting how much of Coyote Records material is long out of print compared with my two previous record label spotlights from the ’60s (Kapp & Hideout). Further, there is hardly any documentation about the label’s existence despite popular releases by The Feelies and Yo La Tengo. Since this is music from the ’80s, the studio production might recoil some Townspeople but I think there some good gems included in the episode.
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Playlist (after jump):
No comments yet so I’ll start the lonesome howling – is it true that the combo of NJ roots and and jangle means I have more Coyote albums than the average RTH bear? I’m surprised this is the first I’ve heard of Full Time Men, but I probably never went far enough into an REM obsession to do that, or maybe came at it a bit too late. That was more of a North Carolina/Mitch Easter Drive-In Studio thing in the mid 80s for me.
The Coyote-released Dreams So Real album Father’s House perhaps deserves a new listen, I think only Maybe I’ll Go Today made it to my ipod. It didn’t make enough of an impression for me to follow them to a major label, I guess.
I enjoyed The Good Earth as it fell right into my wheelhouse since I was in the process of buying cheap Velvet Underground albums in college. I later felt cheated when I was trouser-pressed into buying Crazy Rhythms. Another lesson learned. It seemed like a entirely different band who weren’t my thing at all. I guess I can thank the Hoboken scene for Good Earth and a couple of songs on the follow-up album.
I still like the first two Yo La Tengo albums a lot, the third President one not so much as I generally don’t care for the feedbacky, droney numbers, which seem to start getting more of the running time (their next one, Fakebook, excepted). Having said that, I’ve got most of their catalog and they lean quite a bit on that sort of thing I guess. Perhaps you wouldn’t agree with me since you chose the Story of Jazz, which is an early example, but at least not to the extent that I have a problem with it, and there’s an interesting lyric or two buried in there that keeps it from boring me. Still, the jangle lies elsewhere on those albums.
Was Coyote run by Steve Fallon, the booking agent (and owner?) of Maxwell’s? I am just about to dig in on this episode. I remember liking the overall style of many of those records, if feeling that the bands were often short on songs. More later!
As I listened to this I looked up Coyote Records and confirmed that, yes, it was Steve Fallon’s label. That whole Maxwell’s/Hoboken scene was really pleasant and produced cool music, despite my long-time, petty grudge against Ira Kaplan. I loved seeing bands at Maxwell’s. Hearing these Coyote releases again after all these years reminds me of the essential elements I often felt were lacking in records I generally liked: none of the bands had midrange-y guitars, and they rarely used barre chords, fuzz boxes, or distortion. After all these years, the kinder, wiser me is more able to dig this stuff for what it is. I no longer sit here and say to myself, “Man, I’d like the Feelies a lot more if someone put their guitar on the middle pickup!”
Cliff, you asked if this sound is what I mean by the Sam Ash Sound. No, it’s not. This is what I call the Hoboken Sound. No joke! The Sam Ash Sound is more like a cheapo version of the sound of the first 2 Pat Benetar records. Sometimes power pop bands in the ’80s and ’90s tried to “rock out” and fell prey to that hideous sound. The Hoboken bands all sound like Fenders on the treble pickup, little to no reverb, lots of open chords…
Thanks for filling in a few gaps in the history of the label. I admit my ignorance in the Hoboken scene.
I thought the Sam Ash sound also included polished 80’s production and guitars with no mid-range which also includes jangle. The Tim Lee and Myra Holder songs I thought were examples of an overly polished sound.
How about guitarist who rely too heavily on the “chord” pedal? Andy Summer not included.
I like all facets of Yo La Tengo. There are very few bands out there who can get away with all that genre hopping. I chose Story Of Jazz to change things up a little.
The more polished take on the Hoboken Sound led to the 128-String Guitar Sound, as “perfected” on that Stamey-Holsapple album, Mavericks, or whatever it was called.
That was an interesting track. Like you, I’m a fan of most things Yo La Tengo. It was good to hear a real rockin’ track.