Billy Boyd: Twangy Guitars

There's no such person as Billy Boyd. Okay. There is, of course. But the guy that played a Hobbit in The Lord of the Rings movies didn't record this record in 1960.

This Billy Boyd was actually Jerry Cole.

Cole played with The Champs. He also worked with just about every important musician in America between 1959 and 1991. Find his story (along with a list of albums he released under different names) here: Jerry Cole @ The Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

Billy Boyd: Twangy Guitars

1. Shuffle Boogie
2. Night Rock
3. When the Lights are Low
4. Jivin' at The Savoy
5. Stompin' at the Crossroads
6. Diggin' the Blues
7. Mambo Boogie
8. South Hampton
9. Bolero Boogie
10. Duck Walk
11. Oop Shank
12. Drifting

Divine Horsemen: Handful of Sand & Snake Handler

Rock & Roll: American Style

As Rock & Roll is a completely American invention, I thought it appropriate to post some Rock & Roll music as part of my July 4th celebration. Divine Horsemen were the brainchild of Chris D(esjardins), who had previously masterminded The Flesh Eaters. Whereas The Flesh Eaters were, as I suppose the name implies, a magnificent Punk Rock outfit, Divine Horsemen took a Punk Attitude and conveyed it through straight-ahead, Hard Rock rhythms and tunes. It was a powerful combination.

These were the bands final releases. Both are from 1987 on SST Records. "Handful of Sand" is a 6-song EP.

Divine Horsemen: Handful of Sand

1. Handful of Sand
2. Curse of the Crying Woman
3. Tenderest Kiss
4. Frankie Silver
5. Past All Dishonor
6. Sanctuary

"Snake Handler" is a full length LP.

Divine Horsemen: Snake Handler

1. Snake Handler
2. Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
3. Stone By Stone (Fire Is My Home)
4. Curse of the Crying Woman
5. Someone Like You
6. Fire Kiss
7. What Is Red
8. Blind Leading the Blind
9. That's No Way to Live

The Accelerators: Leave My Heart

One of the Best!

There were quite a few bands in the Carolinas that were quite good back in the 80s and these guys were among the best of all of them. They grew from an outfit known as Moon Pie, from Greenville, SC, and became The Accelerators just before this record was released. Soon after, the band's leader and front man, Gerald Duncan, moved to Raleigh, NC, and, following a few personnel changes, took the band into a less Rockabilly and more Hard Rock direction (leading to the album that I've posted previously here - The Accelerators: The Accelerators).

Moon Pie once rented a former Church building in Greenville as a practice space. It became rather well known as The Church of Rock & Roll throughout a good part of the 80s and was a place where we could all congregate after the local bars closed at 12:00am on Saturday nights (as a result of South Carolina's legal condemnation of "Drinking on The Lord's Day"). I still have special (if a bit Foggy) memories of this place, and of the authentic Electric Chair that they kept in one of the Sunday School rooms.

It's Good! Git It!

The Accelerators: Leave My Heart

1. Leave My Heart
2. Tonight
3. She's the Only Girl I Can Stand
4. Terminal Cafe
5. The Alien Way
6. Regina
7. She's Fifteen
8. Stiletto
9. Tore Up
10. Two Girls in Love
11. Jenny

This is a video that was released in promotion of this record:

Slavdik: Turk

I Ride My Camel, It's an Ugly Mammal

I've seen some pretty f^ck$d up Rock'n"Roll shows in my day (The Cramps, The Butthole Surfers, Conway Twitty...). But some of the most bestest shows I ever witnessed were put on by Slavdik!!!

Okay... Slavdik didn't have some butt-ugly naked girl with rubber bands hangin' out of her braces dancin' naked in front of a projector that was showin' "Hamburger on the Highway" (or some other Driver's Ed film), but That's Because Slavdik Didn't NEED IT! All Slavdik Needed was All Slavdik Had! And That, Brothers and Sisters, is All Slavdik Gave!

The band's name (pronounced \ˈslāvˈdik\, it sounds like Slave Dick) is taken from the true last name of it's founder and front man, Rudi Slavdik. He changed it, after bringing his Albanian Roots Rock Band to the US, to King Cotton. He's also the primary songwriter and, I must say, the tunes on this little EP from 1986 are simply gems. I'm especially fond of "The Turk" and "Karl Marx (He No Dead)." I heard a DJ, in Atlanta, compare King Cotton's vocal stylings to David Byrne once. That's not bad, if you ask me.

Slavdik: Turk

1. The Turk
2. (I Hate) Party Talkin'
3. Karl Marx, he no dead
4. Barbecue Hut (Live in Prague)

To quote The King (King Cotton, not Elvis): "The Mighty, Mighty SlavDik had its day, but a new Magog has risen from the ashes. Check out King Cottton and The Remnants."

Yes, King Cotton, along with what is left of the original Slavdik personnel, have released a new collection of Weird-Ass Southern Country Soul on CD. You can get it HERE.

The Zig Zag People: The Zig Zag People Take Bubble Gum Music Underground

Whoa! This Bubble Gum Tastes Kinda Funny...!

Ever wondered what happens when you let a bunch of Hippies make the Bubble Gum you're fond of chewing on? Well, wonder no more! On this record The Zig Zag People take Bubble Gum Music underground (which goes a long way toward explaining the title of the album).

The Zig Zaggers in question were, actually, apparently just a bunch of studio musicians recruited by Decca Records to cash in on both the Bubble Gum and Psychedelic music crazes that were sweeping the world in 1969. The album consists of radical reworkings of some of the top Bubble Gum hits of the day as well as two interesting original songs.

Sink yer Chompers into This!

The Zig Zag People: The Zig Zag People Take Bubble Gum Music Underground

1. Little Bit of Soul
2. Hanky Panky
3. Simon Says
4. Yummy, Yummy, Yummy
5. Sally Goes to the Dentist (Available in 8 & 16MM)
6. 1 2 3 Red Light
7. Chewy Chewy
8. Indian Giver
9. Peel it Off Your Face

The Electronic Concept Orchestra: Moog Groove

Tuna Melt gets it's Groove On... Moog Style!

The Moog Records that littered record store shelves from the late 60s through the 70s were of two different types. One type featured The Moog Synthesizer as a solo instrument and The Moog was used to synthesize, replace and/or duplicate the sounds of an entire band or orchestra. The other type featured The Moog as an instrument playing along with a more conventional Band set-up.

This record is of the Second Variety. What it lacks in Moog Purity, however, it more than makes up for in Soul, Funk and Groove. Granted, there are a few slow points ("Hey Jude" is particularly staid), but on the songs that really jump the bass, guitar and drums add a "human touch" that The Moog is incapable of recreating. Give this copy of Steppenwolf's "Rock Me" a spin and see what I mean.

The Electronic Concept Orchestra: Moog Groove

1. Aquarius
2. Oh Happy Day
3. Hey Jude
4. Both Sides Now
5. Grazing in the Grass
6. Feelin' Groovy
7. Penny Lane
8. Atlantis
9. Rock Me
10. Windmills of Your Mind

Various Artists: Badger A-Go-Go

Dat Tooner Melt Got Good Toons, Aina Hey?

If you ever sipped cold water from a bubbler and wished it was PBR, this is one record you're gonna want! It's a compilation featuring bands representing the Milwaukee New Music Scene of the late 80s and early 90s such as Die Kreuzen, E-I-E-I-O, Plasticland and Couch Flambeau.

Liner notes on the back cover read: "15 of the Greatest Sounds. Here's the lp that had to happen. The swingin' sounds of the Badger State that have made it Nationally.

Without a doubt, this lp is a collector's item… representing Contemporary Sounds, R&B, Psychedelic, Rock & Roll, Calypso, Folk Rock, and the Mod Sound.

Not only is this a great lp for listening and dancing… It's a party in itself."

So… Grab yourself a twelver of Pabsts, and few links of Goose Liver Sausage and a wheel of Medium Sharp Cheddar and Get Ready to Get Down!

Various Artists: Badger A-Go-Go

1. Danelectro - Liquid Pink
2. I'm Gonna Emphasize - Plasticland
3. Downer Street - Squares
4. The American Way - Dummy Club
5. K.I.D. - Boy Dirt Car
6. Can't Sit Down - Paul Cebar & The Milwaukeeans
7. Seasons of Wither - Die Kreuzen
8. Helvetica - Couch Flambeau
9. Grievance in F#m - The Blowtorch
10. Mrs. Wilson - Cherry Cake
11. Stop at the Left…Look to the Right - F/i
12. Play with Pain - Appliances-SFB
13. Blood on the Saddle - Brian Ritchie & The Ghostly Trio
14. Gonna Get Gone - E-I-E-I-O
15. My Mother Still Likes Me - Voot Warnings

The Neighborhoods: Reptile Men

There Goes the Tuna Melt!

Let me start off by saying that the first thing that I ever do when it comes to posting any of the rather large number of Power Pop albums that I have is to head over to the Power Pop Criminals blog to see if Angelo has already beaten me to the punch. It's not like I'm worried about stepping on toes (although some bloggers are sensitive to such... as if they own the rights to the records that they pirate) and it's not like I don't think it's possible for me to never post anything that no one else has posted. It's just that I'd rather post things that aren't available elsewhere but that deserve attention.

So anyway... PPC has not posted this record! They did, though, post The Neighborhoods' first two records ("Fire is Coming" and "The High Hard One") back in June. Go here now and Get 'em and remember to say "Thank You": http://powerpopcriminals.blogspot.com/2007/06/neighborhoods-fire-is-coming-1984.html

I'd tell you all about The Neighborhoods if I thought I could. Instead I'll just tell you that you should visit their fine Tribute Website at http://www.thehoodsonline.com/ or go read this article at http://www.rockinboston.com/hoods.htm. They also have a MySpace page (of course) and there's a nice article from Trouser Press at http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=neighborhoods.

What I can tell you is that this Boston Power Pop Trio used to play in a small bar in my hometown on a fairly regular basis and were Amazing! On top of being a great band, they were also three of the nicest guys in the entire world.

If you like Rock & Roll... This is a record you need! If you don't... Please go see a Brain Specialist.

The Neighborhoods: Reptile Men

1. Pure and Easy
2. Modern Cowboy
3. Reptile Man
4. Tommy
5. Dangerous
6. The Man…
7. Peeping Tom
8. Out of Your Reach
9. Wailing Wall
10. Clichés

Boxer: Below the Belt

Repost by Request: Under the Radar and Below the Belt

Mike Patto (singer) and Ollie Halsall (guitar) were both members of Timebox, from which the 'progressive jazz-rock' band Patto evolved. After Patto split up, Halsall played with Tempest and The Soporifics while Patto signed on with Spooky Tooth.

The two reunited in 1975 to form Boxer and this was the first record by the group. A second album, "Bloodletting", was released in 1976 and almost immediately withdrawn from the market. Halsall had left before the third and final album, "Absolutely", was recorded.

This record gained immediate notoriety for it's original cover art (the obvious inspiration for Spinal Tap's "Smell the Glove"). The photo featured on it was both sexist and juvenile. I figure it must have seemed pretty clever and creative to some folks back in 1975, but not to the people who mattered. The album was almost immediately yanked from the shelves and repackaged. The album that I have is in the package with the cover that replaced it, and with which the album is most identified with to this day.

In another Comedy Related connection, Halsall played many of the instruments - and supplied the singing voice for Dirk McQuickly - on The Rutle's album (also appearing, briefly, in the accompanying television program as 'Leppo, The Fifth Rutle'). Halsall has also been cited as the primary inspiration for the guitar stylings of XTC's Andy Partridge. Oh, and Mike Patto was a good singer, too.

Quite a bit more on Halsall here: http://www.olliehalsall.co.uk/

Boxer: Below the Belt

1. Shooting Star
2. All the Time in the World
3. California Calling
4. Hip Kiss
5. More Than Meets the Eye
6. Waiting for a Miracle
7. Loony Ali
8. Save Me
9. Gonna Work Out Fine
10. Town Drunk

Magma: Attahk

I Don't Understand a Word!

I guess you can tell from what I post here that I've never really been very interested in Progressive Rock. I've got nothing against it, it's just never been something that really commanded my attention. As in every case, though, there are a few exceptions. I like some stuff by Hawkwind quite a bit, for instance. And I LOVE this record.

Magma was the creation of Christian Vander. The son of a jazz pianist, he met such jazz notables as Elvin Jones and Chet Baker at an early age and initially set out on a career as a jazz drummer. In 1969, however, he had a vision of the Earth of the Future beset by a spiritual and ecological catastrophe. So disturbed was he by this concept that he switched to Progressive Jazz Fusion and founded Magma with plans to record ten albums relating his vision to the masses.

The story concerns our planet becoming completely uninhabitable, at which point survivors set out to colonize a planet called Kobaia. The problem here is that Kobaia is already inhabited by The Kobaians. Alas, as we are known to have done in the past, the humans simply move right on in. That's when the fun starts.

Sounds like a great story, doesn't it? Well wait until you hear it being told! It's told, in fact, in Kobaian. Vander composed the language and members of the band had to learn it and perform songs using it. There's not a word of English, French, German, Spanish, etc... Not one Human word in any of it. Not only that, but Kobaians tend to talk as if they've been eating a great deal of greasy food and drinking a lot of carbonated beverages (meaning they tend to burp and belch as they're speaking). Oh... And they Shriek a good bit, too. And Grunt. And sometimes they sound as if they're playing kazoos but they're not.

The music here is really quite wonderful, a Progressive, Jazzy kind of Rock Pop (this is probably the most accessible of Magma's albums) but the vocals are just plain weird. Interestingly enough, though, a few of the songs are so catchy that you may find yourself attempting to sing along.

If so, you can find a Kobaian dictionary here: http://myfile.hanafos.com/~jangminsu/magma/MAGMA-KOBAIAN-dictionary.html.

Magma: Attahk

1. The Last Seven Minutes (1970-71, phase I)
2. Spiritual (Negro song)
3. Rindق (Eastern Song)
4. Liriïk Necronomicus Kanht (in which our heroes OURGON & ĞORĞO meet)
5. Maahnt (The wizard's fight versus the devil)
6. Dondaï (to an eternal love)
7. Nono (1978, phase II)

Nicks and Buckingham: Buckingham Nicks

Aaaackkk! Naked Peoples!

Don't worry. You haven't stumbled upon another Porn Site. It's just a record jacket featuring a couple of Long Haired Musicians Au Naturale.

This record was released in 1973 and was a huge commercial disappointment for Polydor Records (who released it again, with much the same result, in 1976 after Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks had joined Fleetwood Mac). All the same, it commanded a rabid cult following in the late 70s and through the 80s and I can't figure out why it's never seen wide release on CD.

Nicks and Buckingham: Buckingham Nicks

1. Crying in the Night
2. Stephanie
3. Without a Leg to Stand On
4. Crystal
5. Long Distance Winner
6. Don't Let Me Down Again
7. Django
8. Races are Run
9. Lola (My Love)
10. Frozen Love

The Lucy Show: Mania

Lucy! I'm Home!

I don't know much about this band. Despite the information available on the Net (primarily at http://www.thelucyshow.net/) I find it hard to really know a lot about a band without having heard much out of them. That being said… I would LOVE to know more about this band.

I do know the band was formed in South London in 1982 by two ex-pat Canadians, Mark Bandola and Rob Vandeven, and that they remained together until 1989.

This record was released in 1986 and is simply amazing! It's Pop, but it has a Punk Informed edge and just enough of a Guitar Band quality to keep it squarely in the Pop-Rock category. This is the beginning of the Alternative scene that swept through in the 90s. In this record I hear R.E.M., The Psychedelic Furs, Rain Parade, David Bowie, several other bands who's names I can't recall at the moment, and (at some level) The Hoodoo Gurus? Maybe?

Anyway… It's a great record. Enjoy!

The Lucy Show: Mania

1. Land and the Life
2. View from the Outside
3. Sojourn's End
4. Sad September
5. A Million Things
6. Sun and Moon
7. Shame
8. Melody
9. Part of Me Now
10. New Message

86: Minutes in a Day

An 86 is not ALWAYS a bad thing…

I mean, sure… to be 86'd from a business establishment usually means you've done something to piss someone off.

The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster took place in 1986, as did the bombing of a West Berlin discotheque that was eventually attributed to the government of Libya.

But a lot of great stuff is associated with the number 86! Like the Texas Instruments TI-86 Graphing Calculator… The Memtest86 Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool… and the Boeing AGM-86 Air Launched Cruise Missile! Yessiree, Boy Howdy!

And here's another one. The band named 86 were quite popular in Atlanta back in the late 80s and were frequently chosen to open shows at some of the larger performance spaces in town. I saw them open for both The Ramones and The Cramps on different occasions and they were always mesmerizing. Their Throbbing, Swirling brand of Psychedelia is something I've not ever heard anyone else come close to. It was, and remains, a completely original style. Enjoy!

86: Minutes in a Day

1. Minutes in a Day
2. Gems
3. Floating
4. Waiting
5. Smile
6. Just One

Dino Lee: King of White Trash

Everybody Get Some TUNA MELT!

Dino Lee, King of White Trash, was a Genuwine Tejas Phenom back in the mid-80s. And he was a Weirdo, too. But what a Great Weirdo He Was!

Sporting necklaces bearing Bleached Cow Bones, Baby-Doll Heads, Ancient Coinage and Animal Claws, he Scooted and Skated across whatever stage he was on at any given moment SCREAMIN' the Praises of Gettin' Ya Some and of, well, Gettin' Ya Some More!

It's Groovy! It Rocks! And it's Downright Dancifyin'!

Dino Lee: King of White Trash

1. Beer Party
2. Everybody Get Some
3. Rosa Maria
4. Testing for Love
5. Baa Baa Black Sheep
6. White Man in a Black World
7. Good Year for the Roses
8. Stud Pony

Rotary Connection: Peace

Okay, Silly Earthlings! Who Stole My PEACE Pipe!?!

And I'm not talking about a sorry bit of Drug Paraphernalia. I'm talking about one of the many and very impressive and incredibly important tubes that pokes out of my very impressive and incredibly important helmet. It's the one pipe that helps me control my Madness. I mean... My Temper! It also helps me keep my Brain Gas inside my skull!

Damnit! My Very Impressive and Incredibly Important Martian Intelligence is going to seep out of my Freakin' Hat thanks to you people!

I should be quite angry and, out of retribution, not share with you this incredible recording. I'm not gonna do that, though.

It's called "Peace" and it's by Rotary Connection. It has everything you could ever need during the Holidays... Traditional Christmas Tunes, Loud Wailing Psychedelic Hippie Guitar, Sweet Smooth Soul and, even, Obvious Drug Reference Lyrics!

Rotary Connection: Peace

1. Opening Round
2. Silent Night
3. Christmas Love
4. Last Call for Peace
5. Shopping Bag Menagerie
6. Silent Night
7. Christmas Child
8. Peace at Least
9. Santa's Little Helpers
10. Sidewalk Santa
11. If Peace Was All We Had
12. Silent Night Chant
13. Silence The Rotary Connection

Various Artists: Christmas Guitars

Happy Holidays, Silly Earthlings!



I'm Back! The idiot Traitor Vic forgot to lock the door after I left in August and now I, Voldar, have returned to wreak Holiday Havok on The Tuna Melt!

I got here just in time for the Holiday Season! Yesterday was Thanksgiving here in the USA and that is, traditionally, the beginning of the season that encompasses Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Years. There aren't many people, of course, who celebrate all four of those, but it's a fairly good number of holidays in a relatively short time. I say that's a good reason to celebrate all by itself!

I have always avoided ripping from Cassette Tapes, but that is the only format that I had a copy of this on. Luckily, our pal Eddie Riff (over at Eddie's Riffs) was kind enough to supply a copy he ripped from his Compact Disc. Thanks, Eddie!

This one is called Christmas Guitars and it features performances by Larry Coryell, Al Anderson, Taj Majal, Adrian Belew, Terre Roche and a few others.

Various Artists: Christmas Guitars

1. White Christmas - The Guitar Ensemble
2. Bring a Torch, Jeannette, Isabella - Nancy Wilson
3. The Christmas Song - Larry Coryell
4. Rudoph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer - Al Anderson
5. We Three Kings - Adrian Belew
6. Christmas Passacaglia - David Tanenbaum
7. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen - Taj Mahal
8. Christmas Medley - Yomo Toro
9. Joy to the World - Terre Roche
10. Winter Wonderland - Al Kooper
11. We Three Kings - Emily Remler
12. Taqasim for the Magi - Geral Trimble
13. Little Drummer Boy - Nina Gerber
14. Wind Through the Olive Trees - Terry Garthwaite
15. The Christmas Song - Michele Shocked
16. I Saw Three Ships - John Renbourn
17. What Child Is This? - Larry Coryell
18. Break Forth, O Beauteous Heav'nly Light - Scott Johnson
19. Have Yourself a Merry Little Chritmas - John Scofield

So Welcome to The Holiday Season! I hope the best for all of you. I hope your travels go well and that all of you and that all that you care for are well and happy.

Herman Brood & His Wild Romance: Herman Brood & His Wild Romance

Dope Sucks!

Herman Brood (pronounced "Ehrman Broat") was a true Rock 'n Roll Junkie. The Dutch personification of "sex, drugs and rock 'n roll," he was nearly more famous for his outspokeness concerning sex and drug use than for his music.

He started playing piano for The Moans (who later became Long Tall Ernie and The Shakers) in 1964. Soon after, though, Harry Muskee asked him to join Cuby and The Blizzards and he was with them for the next decade. He started His Wild Romance in 1977. He began painting in the early 90s and became as successful a visual artist (known for his large-scale, colourful works reminiscent of the CoBrA style) as he was a musician.

He even kicked just about all of his habits. At least he cut back to only alcohol and a daily shot of speed. Seems he waited too late, though, as he was told in 2001 that he only had a few months to live. On July 11, at the age of 54, he lept to his death from the roof of the Amsterdam Hilton.

Herman Brood & His Wild Romance: Herman Brood & His Wild Romance

1. Saturday Night
2. Doin' It
3. Champagne (& Wine)
4. Back (In Y'r Love)
5. Doreen
6. Hit
7. R & Roll Junkie
8. Dope Sucks
9. Never Enough
10. Pain
11. Get Lost
12. Hot Talk
13. Prisoners
14. Skid Row

This is the US release of the album that was released in Holland (in 1978) as "Shpritsz". The only differences are the deletion of the song "One" and the change of the cover art from the image of a male's hip to the (much less artistically presented) image of a female posterior. I'm sure the record company was afraid that the Male image would frighten customers away just like the cover of Sticky Fingers did.

Oh. And then there's the fact that (as I had noticed previously, but was thankfully pointed out by Billy Shears) the introductory Title Song is a Completely Different Recording from one record to the other. That's a difference, too.

The Coolies: dig..? & Doug

What's So Cool About That!?!

Q: Who are The Coolies?
A: Five fine young men from Atlanta, GA not too different from you or me except for being blessed with seemingly superhuman talent, overwhelming artistic integrity and devastating good looks.

Q: Why do they call themselves The Coolies?
A: Well, the dictionary defines a coolie as "one who does heavy work for little pay." (I'm surprised there aren't more more bands around called The Coolies!)

Q: Why don't The Coolies play original songs?
A: They do! Just ask Paul Simon! He wrote most of 'em!

Q: Do The Coolies like to Party?
A: Only in groups of one or more and on certain special occasions, like the drop of a hat.

I copied those questions and those answers off of the back of the record jacket. They oughta go a long way toward explaining this record.

The Coolies: dig..?

1. Scarborough Fair
2. Bridge Over Troubled Water
3. The 59th St. Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)
4. I Am a Rock
5. El Condor Pasa
6. Having My Baby
7. Cecilia
8. Homeward Bound
9. Mrs. Robinson
10. The Only Living Boy in New York

Allow me, please, to quote a review from Trouser Press to explain the next one. Here goes:
"Amazingly, the Coolies followed the one-joke dig..? with the brilliant Doug, a trenchant "rock opera" about a skinhead who murders a transvestite short-order cook, gets rich by publishing his victim's recipes, falls into paranoia and substance abuse and ends up in the gutter. The sad tale is related through ingenious knockoffs of the Who ("Cook Book"), John Lennon ("Poverty"), the Replacements ("Coke Light Ice"), rap ("Pussy Cook") and metal ("The Last Supper"), and in a comic book — not included with the cassette or CD, alas — designed by Jack Logan, of Pete Buck Comics fame. A quantum leap from its predecessor's one-dimensional silliness, Doug is a work of demented genius."

Here it is.

The Coolies: Doug

1. Talkin' 'Bout Doug
2. Ice Cold Soul
3. Pussy Cook
4. Cook Book
5. Shirts and Skins
6. Coke Light Ice
7. Doug!
8. 40 Foot Stretch
9. The Last Supper
10. Ain't Gonna Eat No More
11. Crack Pipe (Burnin' My Hand)
12. Poverty
13. Talkin' 'Bout Doug (reprise)

In case you don't recognize the inspiration for the name of the Transvestite Short-Order Cook, here's a picture (lifted directly from the Carvel Ice Cream website) of Cookie Puss.

Jason and The Scorchers: Fervor & Still Standing

Tuna Melt goes CowPunk!

One of these discs was posted at The Tuna Melt last year, but now is your chance to get it if you didn't then. In case you're not familiar with CowPunk, these guys are a great place to start. This is how that happened...

This fella, who grew up on a Pig Farm in Illinois, moves to Nashville with dreams of being a Music Star. But not a Nashville Music Star. He's kinda into a more Punk Rock frame of mind. At the same time, though, he's from a Pig Farm in Illinois, so his song's lyrics are a bit more, well... Country. Somehow he bumped into the most incredible bunch of young musicians in the Music City. The band that they formed was too good for words.

Too good for American Radio too, I suppose, as Country Radio refused to play them because they were too Rock and Rock Radio refused them because, of course, they were too Country. As a result, after releasing four appropriately Scorching albums, they disbanded in 1989. After that, of course, thier history gets complicated.

Jason and the Nashville Scorchers were the closest that Cowpunk ever got to Real Punk. Although the songs are tuneful and melodic beyond what most punk ever dreamed of, and they could also play the quiet stuff as good as The Flying Burritos or The Byrds, the energy and drive they pushed into each tune put them into a class that includes the fastest, loudest bands of all time.

This is their first nationwide American release, a 7-song Mini Album that came out in 1983.

Jason and The Scorchers: Fervor

1. Absolutely Sweet Marie
2. Help There's a Fire
3. I Can't Help Myself
4. Hot Nights in Georgia
5. Pray for Me, Mama (I'm a Gypsy Now)
6. Harvest Moon
7. Both Sides of the Line

And this is their third album, from 1986.

Jason and The Scorchers: Still Standing

1. Golden Ball and Chain
2. Crashin' Down
3. Shotgun Blues
4. Good Things Come to Those Who Wait
5. My Heart Still Stands with You
6. 19th Nervous Breakdown
7. Ocean of Doubt
8. Ghost Town
9. Take Me to Your Promised Land

Richard Lloyd: Field of Fire

The Man who Created the Television!

Okay. That may be a bit of an overstatement, but it's not much of one. The latest post to The Tuna Melt is of a record by an individual who was recruited, in 1973, to join a band called The Neon Boys who were regrouping after a brief split. The new band took the name Television and, with new guitarist Richard Lloyd joining Tom Verlaine, Billy Ficca and Richard Hell, went on to make Rock and Roll History. If you don't know the rest of that story it's not too hard to find. I'd suggest AllMusic for this one at: http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:fifqxqr5ldse~T1.

Back, though, to Richard Lloyd. This guy Loved to Jam! He and Verlaine would go off on these tangents that were all over the map, though never exactly the "blues-based" jams that, well, Jam Bands had dealt with mostly up to that point. These jams, though they rocked and had a nice beat and were easy to dance to, were quirky and seemed a bit disjointed and were just plain weird back in the 70s.

Television finally broke up in 1978 after achieving very much critical but, of course, very little actual (or financial) success. Lloyd released a solo record called "Alchemy" in 1979 and then disappeared into drug addiction.

This is his comeback record. "Field of Fire" was released in 1985 and features a reborn (literally, in the religious sense) and rejuvenated Richard Lloyd at the top of his game. It lacks some of the Punkish edge that some might expect, considering his history, but the attitude is all there. It's Loud. It's Proud. And at times... It Jams!

Well… In a strange way, anyhow.

Richard Lloyd: Field of Fire

1. Watch Yourself
2. Losin' Anna
3. Soldier Blue
4. Keep On Dancin'
5. Pleading
6. Lovin' Man
7. Black to White
8. Field of Fire
   

Ya'll oughta listen to more Punk Rock. It's good for your brain.