Cool Foreign E.P.'s 27: The Smoke

THE SMOKE-It's Just Your Way Of Lovin'/If The Weather's Sunny/I Would If I Could But I Can't/Wake Up Cherylina E.P. France Impact IMP 200.012 M 1967

Flower Power grows in Mud!

MUD-Flower Power/You're My Mother U.K. CBS 203002 1967

Some of you might be familiar with the U.K. 70's glam foursome known as Mud, but did you know that they began in the 60's and cut an amazing two sider in 1967 as their debut release?

Don't ask me who they were, I don't know, maybe Wikipedia can tell you....On the "A" side we have a ditty called "Flower Power", it was 1967 so you'd expect this sort of thing.  It's a total cash-in with ultra cheezy lyrics (with some touches of skepticism) but it's delivered in that "West Coast harmony" via the U.K. style that I so often espouse here ala Florbunda Rose, The Montanas, The Pyramid, The Bystanders et al. Very catchy! The flip, "You're My Mother" reminds me more of the late '66/early '67 Move both musically and lyrically sounding like one of those odd things Roy Wood wrote early on.  The lyrics are actual pretty creepy, basically about a guy who's complaining that his mother is always too touchy feely with him, punctuated by some nice high "Oooooo's" ala The Who or the Game.  Weird!

Both sides made it onto the Repertoire CD compilation "The Singles 1967-1978".

Stray Rays: The Rockin' Vickers

THE ROCKIN' VICKERS-Dandy/I Don't Need Your Kind U.S. Columbia 4-43818 1966

This was to be the final Rockin' Vickers single and it was produced by the legendary Shel Talmy (Who, Kinks etc).  Their connection with Talmy gave them access, presumably to some Ray Davie's tracks (there's an unreleased Ray Davie's number they cut in '66 called "Little Rosie" that was contained on their CD compilation). "Dandy" was never released as a single by The Kinks and sadly The Vickers release in the U.K. of it as an "A" side in November 1966 had been preceeded a month earlier by a dreadful version by a square as hell looking and sounding gent named Clinton Ford (Pye 7N 35343), neither version charted though Herman's Hermits took it to #5 in the U.S. charts in September 1966 (without a U.K. release)!

The Rockin' Vickers version is not bad, it's far closer to The Kinks version (which appeared on the "Face To Face" LP) than any of the other versions and though it starts out with an acoustic guitar it's got a bit more cranked up electric guitar than The Kinks and played slightly faster, sort of "out Kink's-ing the Kinks" if you will.  The real gem is the flip side, "I Don't Need Your Kind". From it's distorted guitar, sneering vocals and ragged beat and it's a brutal garage punk type record (with a simplistic solo from Lemmy worthy of anything on "Back From The Grave").  Nicky Hopkins (presumably) adds ivory tinkling which gives it the feel of any top shelf Who track circa '65.

Both sides were collected on the RPM Rockin' Vickers CD compilation "Lifelines:The Complete Rocking Vickers", which I believe may be out of print.

Hear "Dandy":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIvyHOHX5TE

Hear "I Don't Need Your Kind":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaHYKmPSvXk

Straight From Merthyr Tydfil It's The Bystanders

THE BYSTANDERS-(You're Gonna) Hurt Yourself/Have I Offended The Girl U.K. Piccadilly 7N.35330 1966

Before they evolved (or de-evolved) into shirtless hairies Man Vic Oakley (vocals), Micky Jones (guitar), Ray Williams (bass), Clive john (keyboards) and Jeff Jones (drums) were The Bystanders, a harmony/pop group from Merthyr Tydfil, Wales who cut 7 singles for the Piccadilly label between 1966 and 1968.  The Bystanders were quite versatile thanks to their multi harmony advantage and were adept at both West Coast pop, "supper club soul" and what I like to call "cabaret psychedelia".

The band had previously cut several unreleased cuts for Joe Meek (one of which, "She Comforts My Sorrow" was unearthed in 2008 for the Castle CD compilation "Joe Meek Freakbeat:You're Holding Me Down") and a rare as hell 45 for the Pylot label "That's The End" b/w "This Time" (Pylot WD 501) in 1965.  This was their debut release on Pye's Piccadilly imprint.  They chose a cover of Frankie Vali's January 1966 "solo" single "(You're Gonna) Hurt Yourself" as their debut 45 in June of 1966 (they also recorded a version of one of Vali's other "solo" 45s "You're Ready Now" which was not released until the 90's on a CD compilation of their work).  Covers of American vocal/harmony pop numbers (with the occasional venture into soul music) formed a bulk of their well honed live act so it was probably no surprise that they went with an American number as their debut "A"-side. Their version is a bit faster than the original and certainly harder and even, if I may add, more soulful.  It's easily my favorite track of theirs.  The flip side is not a terrible track it's just boring, a mid tempo vocal number that hits an octave too high for my ears (in a way that only The Four Seasons can so obviously they achieved their presumed goal of sounding like them on this) and offers none of the vigor or soul that the "A" side does.

The band would go on to cover lots of other U.S. hits like Keith's "98.6" (which was recently utilized in the dreadful Pirate Radio flick "The Boat The Rocked", or as they called it here in the States, "Pirate Radio") and Jimmy Webb's "Pattern People" and an English language version of Spain's Los Brinco's "Mejor" retitled ""Make Up Your Mind" (Los Brincos cut two U.K. 45's for Page One as part of the short lived Iberian invasion in the U.K. along with Los Iberos and Los Bravos). They also interestingly cut a number called "When Jezamine Goes" in 1968 which most likely to their horror was later recorded by The Casuals and became a huge U.K. hit for them (and it boasted "Cave of Clear Light" on the flip, their trippiest record of all perhaps offering some indication of things to come).

Both tracks were collected on two now out of print CD collections of their work, See For Mile's "The Birth Of Man" and Castle's "The Pattern People: The Pye Anthology".  "(You're Gonna) Hurt Yourself" appeared on Castle's "Doin The Mod Volume 5: That Driving Beat" and  Sequel's "Ripples Volume Four: Uptown Girls And Big City Boys".

Hear "(You're Gonna) Hurt Yourself":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzK6tgL0Ch4

Hear "Have I Offended The Girl":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5b0MgKZUp8

The Man Who Sold The World (On Mr. Fish Man Dresses)

DAVID BOWIE-"The Man Who Sold The World" LP U.K. Mercury 6338 041 1971

SIDE ONE:

1. The Width Of A Circle

2. All The Madmen

3. Black Country Rock

4. After All

SIDE TWO:

1. Running Gun Blues

2. Savior Machine

3. She Shook Me Cold

4. The Man Who Sold The World

5. The Supermen

"The Man Who Sold The World" was Bowie's third LP, his second on the Mercury label and his first album of the 1970's.  His backing band has yet to solidify but the personnel on the LP consisted of David on vocals, acoustic guitar and stylophone, Mick Ronson on guitar, Tony Visconti on bass and piano, Mick Woodmansey on drums and Ralph Mace adding Moog synthesiser.  Best known for it's "dress cover" of Bowie reclining in his Mr. Fish "dress" and Veronica Lake hairdo, it marked a shift into "heavier sounds" thanks to Ronson's Jeff Beck inspired guitar solos and not a track on the disc runs shorter than three minutes.

The album opens with the heavier than air opus "Width Of a Circle".  The number goes through varying phases and tempo changes almost making it several songs within a song (akin to King Crimson's "In The Court Of The Crimson King") with cryptic lyrics typical of the period (eccentrically mentioning author/poet Kahalil Gibran).  It's a great track though clocking in at 8:05 it's a bit too long and ponderous. "All The Madman" can equally be compared to King Crimson with it's use of woodwinds and a slight Medieval feel to it before Ronson and the band kick in with their rocking-ness.  Bowie's vocals are quite spirited and the track is certainly my fave on the platter with it's lyrics leaning towards the subject of madness, not the first time Bowie visited it and certainly wouldn't be the last.  It winds up (down?) with some "Clockwork Orange" soundtrack sounding synths.  "Black Country Rock" is another raucous affair without being too over the top in it's heaviness.  During one of  Ronson's many trills of the hypnotic main lick Bowie lets rip with a warbly Bolan noise, which can't have improved frosty matters between the former friends soon to turn glam competitors. "After All" is an eerie track.  The varispeed backing vocals (which at times resemble that of small children) chanting "Oh By Jingo" (a phrase picked up from a World War II acquaintance) are just wiggy, especially when coupled with the return of "Space Oddity's" Stylophone and more "Clockwork Orange" meets baroque synth (predating a sound The Stranglers were so fond of). 

Side Two kicks off with "Running Gun Blues" is a mundane Vietnam era ode to kill happy soldier with uncool lines about "I'll rape the gooks and smash their heads", all delivered in a much too cheeky manner and at a pitch perhaps too high for Bowie's delivery.  The music is pretty cool, especially the Roxy-esque synth but the lyrics are just plain awful. Next. "Savior Machine" runs awash in "Quadrophenia" friendly symphonic synthesizer but fails to move me despite it's jazzy little changes and the guitar and synth licks borrowed from an old 1968 Bowie track he did with his folk trio Feathers called "Ching-A-Ling". "She Shook Me Cold" is a cold as the corpse of Hendrix whom the opening licks seem to attempt to summon, it's cod metal, empty, uninteresting and filler as far as I'm concerned. Bowie's vocals are so forward in the mix it sounds like a pre-gig sound check run through of a track the band hasn't learned completely and the lead singer is still spontaneously composing new lyrics to. "The Man Who Sold The World" rates in my estimation as the best 70's pre- Ziggy Bowie at his best, from it's deadpan delivery to it's absorbing social observation lyrics, even the dreadful cover by some trio of grunge scumbags in the 90's can't shake my faith in this track.  This is greatness at work kids...."The Supermen" launches into Bowie's first foray into the turf of uber-wanker Nietzsche. Pretentious philosophers aside it's a great track. The heavy duty riff chugs away while the backing vocals chant in descending tones like a Satanic manta, this is the devil's music kids, and I like it.

As you will see below the album became quite celebrated for it's varying releases in different artwork around the world.......

Lest the "man in a dress" cover offend Mercury over in the U.S. issued this odd cartoon cover album depicted below as Mercury 61325:

Once Ziggy Stardust was unleashed and the world went Bowie-mad RCA reissued the LP (having acquired Bowie's scant Mercury catalog), and like Bowie's 2nd untitled LP (retitled "Space Oddity" for it's U.S. Ziggy era reissue) it sported a cover with a Ziggy era photo to confuse the record buyers into believing they'd had a new Ziggy product (the same was tried with countless compilations of Deram/Pye material well into the 80's).  Below is the RCA LSP 4618 1972 reissue:

The Germans got an even better treat and were furnished with this wiggy circular sleeve that folded out ala The Small Face's "Ogden's Nut Gone Flake" album as Mercury 6338 041:

Which when folded out looked like this:

More Walkers!

A gallery of Walker Brothers and solo Walker's members 60's picture sleeves:

AUSTRALIAN E.P.

GERMAN 45

GERMAN 45

GERMAN 45

NORWEGIAN 45

GERMAN 45

SPANISH E.P.

SPANISH E.P.

SPANISH 45

U.S. 45

U.S. 45

U.K. E.P.

U.K. E.P.

U.K. E.P.

U.K. E.P.

Sharon Tandy

SHARON TANDY-Stay With Me/Hold On Germany Atlantic ATL 70240 1967

I'm guilty of nicking this picture sleeve from the net because foolishly, I never scanned mine before I sold it (though mine was equally ratty).  It came from a haul that was the result of one and a half days on the floor of the Princeton Record exchange poring through 100's of boxes of 45's they'd recently acquired from the since closed Radio Free Europe.  Most of the good stuff had been snagged I'm told before the records hit the floor by staff and a few select dealers, but my friend and I struck early with lunch breaks at the Athenian (R.I.P.) and dinner at the Alchemist & Barrister afterwards and over two days combed through every box (other boxes mysteriously appeared over the next few months, one containing "Crawdaddy Simone" but that's a story for another day).  I scored some pretty cool stuff and since Radio Free Europe was based in Germany a great deal of the 45's there were German pressings, like this one.

For those not in the known, Sharon Tandy was from South Africa and came to England to further her music career.  She cut several 45's in the U.K. starting in 1965, this was her fifth in July 1967.  The "A" side is a passable version of Lorraine Ellison's "Stay With Me", I don't really care for the track no matter who's doing it so let's move on.  I bought this record for the flip "Hold On".  "Hold On" was simultaneously released on the flip of "Reflections of Charles Brown" by the studio concoction known as Rupert's People (Columbia DB 8226) featuring members of The Fleur De Ly's.  Coincidentally Sharon was backed on her version by the very same mighty freakbeat legends The Fleur De Ly's (both acts shared the same manager).  The number is driven by some of the band's blistering trademark guitar work and Sharon's breathy/sexy husky vocals move it along nicely.  The band would also back her on the equally rocking "Daughter Of The Sun", recorded at the same session and later issued as the flipside of a relaunching of "Hold On" in the U.K. in October 1968.

Both sides were included on Big Beat's CD retrospective of her 60's career "You Gotta Believe It" and are available through streaming.

"Hold On" on German TV's "Beat Club:

 

 Hear "Stay With Me":

https://youtu.be/hDWYBXHHh1w?si=GakBf7sAs3XOB8Yd