Various Artists - Chains and Black Exhaust (Memphix, 2002)

Various Artists - Chains and Black Exhaust
(Memphix, 2002)

Compilation of obscure psych funk 45s from the seventies. It's very good (of course).

Preview (Click to hear): Cynthy Ruthy by Back Merda, Potted Shrimp by Brothers Jackson

01. Prologue
02. Yeah Yeah (Blackrock)
03. Cynthy-Ruthy (Black Merda)
04. Mama, Here Comes the Preacher (Doug Anderson)
05. Showstopper (Iron Knowledge)
06. Dancing in the Light (Frankinsense)
07. Blind Man (LA Carnival)
08. Life is a Gamble (Preacher)
09. I Believe I Found Myself (Sir Stanley)
10. Potted Shrimp (Brothers Jackson)
11. Paper Man (Jade)
12. Get High (Grand Am)
13. The Devil Made Me Do It (Curtis Knight)
14. Alladin Story (Slim Haskins)
15. What's Good For the Goose (Hot Chocolate)
16. Who Am I (Tiny Tex & The J. Jones Connection)
17. Epilogue
18. Crystal Illusion (Creations Unlimited)

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Various Artists - Yellow Pills: Prefille (Numero Group,2004)

Various Artists - Yellow Pills: Prefill
Numero Group,2004

LAME -V2 (vbr)
Includes: Box art, front cover

I'll just get this out of the way: If you're not familiar with the work that the folks at Numero Group have been doing over the past few years, you need to wake up.

Recently I've been listening to a lot of the new John Peel compilation "Perfect Unpop: Peel Show Hits and Long-Lost Lo-Fi Favourites Vol.1 - 1976-1980" and realized that man do I love some well done pop from that era. I don't know nearly enough about the genre, but I do know that one of the first compilations I heard that really exposed the more "underground" style of this music to me personally was Yellow Pills: Prefill. And well, I figured that there'd be no better way to share my love for that album than to share it here.

Numero has dedicated themselves to bringing forth forgotten gems of all varieties out into the limelight where it belongs. Whether it be solo acoustic guitar work, funk, country or in this case power pop - they have proven to be some very fine purveyors of lost music that *deserves* recognition.

Hitting you head on with full force from the get go, there's "Green Hearts" by Luxury. Track two doesn't let up, hell if anything its even more spastic and fun, with "I Need That Record" from The Tweeds. Fast forward a bit to "You Need Pop" by The Speedies. Again, excellent stuff. Rather than basically say the same thing over and over for all 30+ tracks, I'll just say that there's not a soft spot on this compilation, and if you ask me that's really something considering this is a 2 disc set.

The original Yellow Pills series started being released in 1993 by Jordan Oaks (a few years after he started a power pop fanzine with the same name) so that he could share his love for raw pop tunes that dominated a lot of airwaves in the late 70s and early 80s that he loved so much. "Prefill" serves as a bit of a precursor of these tunes, one which represents some of the rarest & rowdiest the genre has to offer.

I know summer is almost over already, but I highly suggest that you take this album out with you and just drive around or go swimming with your pals in the hot sun and soak up the (sound)waves.

Favorite Tracks:
Luxury - Green Eyes & One In A Million
The Sponsors - In And Out Of Love
The Bats - Not Easy For Me
Randy Winburn - Sunshine U.S.A.

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Various Artists - I Stayed Up All Night Listening To Records (Anyway Records,1998)

Various Artists - I Stayed Up All Night Listening To Records
(Anyway Records,1998)

LAME -APS (vbr)
Includes: front cover, nfo, m3u, log

There's something about lo-fi music that I can't help but find really appealing. It can be anything from old gospel to rowdy garage rock but I guess there's something about it that makes it seem more special. I always like these recordings where seemingly average people were able to put out tunes that were really enjoyable without having to be on some huge label with million dollar studios or fancy equipment - and that by doing this it seemed to me to encourage anyone who loves music to just go out and do it.

On "I Stayed Up All Night Listening To Records...", its "90's indie rock" music that's being showcased. Subtitled "A Collection of Field Recordings" it features a large selection of (mostly Ohio native) musicians well known (well, in an underground sense of the word I guess) in the small label Indie circuit of the time, cutting some highly lo-fi/intimate/stripped down indie rock/pop tunes. To be perfectly honest, the reason I got this was because it had a track from Dump on it (for those unfamiliar, the side project of one James McNew of Yo La Tengo fame). I didn't really know any one else on the album at all to any real extent. Many fans of the genre will however recognize (as I do now) names like Robert Pollard, Tobin Sprout, Simon Joyner or Don Howland.

The opener from Jake O'Clay is a bit of an eye opener (in not the most appealing way) but it's still fun, and to me that's what listening to this should be about. The remaining tracks all have a somewhat similar feel to it (mid tempo indie ballads is one description I've read that fits the bill pretty well) with a good combination of solo acoustic tracks as well as straight up indie rock complete with solos and feedback.

A great quote that I think really holds true and can sum up the album is that it "has the feel of a rediscovered favorite mix tape, one that truly merits staying up all night to listen to."

Favorite Tracks:
Bill Fox - Electrocution
Jake Housh - Testament
Dump - It's Not Awright
Smelt Daddy - How Low Can You Go

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Tracklisting found in comments

Ray Sharpe - Linda Lu (Bear Family,1995)

Ray Sharpe - Linda Lu
(Bear Family,1995)

256 cbr
Includes: Front Cover, Back Cover, m3u, nfo


I first stumbled across Ray Sharpe one late night while drooling over the always awesome Norton Records (www.nortonrecords.com) mailorder catalog (go git one, you won't regret it!). They were offering one unopened original copy of his 1964 LP "Welcome Back Linda Lu" priced at $150! Needless to say, I began scouring the depths of the internets trying to find some sort of glimpse at what this (seemingly) important album sounded like.

I don't remember exactly where I dug this up, but it was no surprise that the folks at Germany's Bear Family (www.bear-family.de) label were responsible for the fine compilation featured here today. Somehow Bear Family always manages to dig up the most obscure cuts from legendary artists of the 50's (and beyond) and then produce some of the largest, most extensively researched box sets known to man (including The Carter Family, Johnny Cash, Johnny Burnette and more).

One of the first "one hit wonders", Linda Lu was written for a friend of Sharpe's who's girlfriend Linda (surprise!) was a frequent visitor to a night club they attended and "had a fascinating rear end, so to speak". The rest of the album is great fun too, but it's Linda Lu that steals the thunder right off the bat - and deservedly so.

Though once dubbed "the greatest white-sounding black dude ever" by Major Bill Smith, Ray Sharpe never really found much success beyond that hit single (it reached #46 on the Billboard Charts in 1959). It is nice to know however, that Ray is still going strong and was even present at a recent Ponderosa Stomp (www.ponderosastomp.com) in New Orleans.

Oh, and did I mention that Linda Lu was produced by none other than Lee Hazelwood? And that it also featured guitar work from Duane Eddy and Al Casey? Yeah.

Favorite Tracks: Linda Lu, Monkey's Uncle

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