Formerly of The Soft Boys, The
Egyptians and The Venus Three, Robyn Hitchcock has been reliably
producing his blend of jangly psychedelic folk rock since the late
1970's. Since signing to the wonderful Yep Roc Records in 2004 he's
had something of a creative second-coming. This release, which
collects all five of Robyn's“Phantom 45's” is a nice two-disc 12”
45 RPM Record Store Day release.
The songs have a whimsical very
dashed-off quality to them. Disposable in the best-possible sense.
“To Be Human” - which sounds like
it could have been recorded for Eye, “Thank
You Time Girl” and the title track – the latter containing KT
Tunstall backing Robyn - are acoustic-based tracks. The upbeat “Twitch For
Sam Surfer” features Green Gartiside of Scritti Politti on guitar
and vocals. “I'll See You” and “After The Bullfight” feature
Ex-Soft Boy & Egyptian drummer Morris Windsor. None of this
material has been released in a digital format to my knowledge, so
this is the most convenient-way of owning this material.
Robyn
Hitchcock - whose vocals are a hybrid of his primary influences - Syd
Barrett, Bob Dylan and John Lennon - has never been all that easy to
recommend. He's beloved by critics (myself included) but to your more
conservative average low-information consumer, his voice has always
been something of a sore thumb. If you're a Robyn novice, a great
starting point would be Fegmania!, Underwater Moonlight or
Element Of Light.
However for the converted, this release is well worth the time and
effort as it stands up well with his newest releases.
Aside from being known for their
classic hit singles “I'm A Believer”, “Last Train To
Clarksville” and “Daydream Believer”, the Monkees also had some
notoriety for not being the actual musicians who played on the
records. The Monkees was conceived by Bob Rafelson and Bert Schnieder
as an American television show equivalent of The Beatles. Half of the
Monkees were actors and the other half were musicians. As a need to
promote The Monkees name, the band needed to tour - which
necessitated the need for all four Monkees to learn their respective
instruments. So for the Summer of 1967 the band toured the U.S.. For
the first two Monkees albums studio musicians were used on all
recordings except vocally.
However for the third album,
Headquarters, the band played nearly all the instruments themselves.
In 2000 Rhino released The Headquarters Sessions,
an 84-track 3-CD set on their boutique Rhino Handmade label.
Selections From The Headquarters Sessions
is a vinyl-only condensation of that and is an eight-song mini album
consisting of highlights from the recording sessions. “All Of Your
Toys” which the band had earmarked as their third single was marred
by problems involving the publishing and their producer Don
Kirschner. The song is presented here in it's original mono version.
Also appearing in its' mono version is the original version of Mike
Nesmith's “The Girl I Knew Somewhere”. An alternate version (with
an unused tag) of the single “Randy Scouse Git” is another
highlight. Rounding things out are a few acoustic demos from Mike
Nesmith the backing track for “No Time” and a solo Peter Tork
banjo performance of the traditional “Cripple Creek”.
This
release is limited pressing of 2,000 on red vinyl that was issued for
Record Store Day 2012 on Rhino Records. It is basically for Monkees
fans who can't get enough Monkees vinyl and as such a nice collection
for them.
Winston-Salem North Carolina's The dB's
were one of the leading-lights of the American Power Pop/Jangle Rock
movement of the late 70's/early 80's. In 1988, after ten years and
four albums the band called it a day. In 2005 the original line-up
reformed to play various shows and in 2011 they released the Picture
Sleeve single on their own
Orange Sound Records (“The Label With Appeal”) and the Falling
Off The Sky album on Bar/None
Records in 2012.
Released
on Record Store Day in 2013 Revolution Of The Mind
(also on Orange Sound Records) is a four-song EP on Orange Vinyl in a
limited pressing of 2,000 (and includes a digital download). The EP
is basically a four-song distillation of makes the band special. The
title-track is a minor-key rocker that features a hypnotic
siren-esque lead guitar riff. “Lakefront” is compelling ballad
with Mellotron-strings that would've been a lovely addition the most
recent full-length album and recalls earlier dB's tracks such as
“Nothing Is Wrong” and “From A Window To Screen”. “Orange
Squeezer” is a whimsical Chris Stamey composition about a Dan
Armstrong compressions pedal. And rounding things out is a live
version of “pH Factor” (which first appeared as a the B-side to
their 1982 “Neverland” single). “pH Factor, which references
song author Peter Holsapple, is a sleepy Raybeats-like surf
instrumental. And
this is a very-well recorded live version of the song.
The EP
is once again, a nice distillation of what makes the dB's a special
band (i.e. good songwriting, a thoughtful approach to playing and
challenging hooks). The vinyl itself is of nice quality and is on
nice Orange Vinyl. All-in-all a nice piece for the dB's fan. And also
quite appealing for the uninitiated as well.
No Alternative is a compilation
album that was released in the Autumn of 1993 by Arista Records and
was funded by the Red Hot Organization. The Red Hot Organization is a
non-profit organization that has released over a dozen album and
raised over 10 million dollars towards AIDS-research. No
Alternative is a various artists
compilation of several leading lights of the mid 90's alternative pop
movement. This was the age of MTV's 120 Minutes
and Alternative Nation,
when clueless major labels signed any and everything vaguely
“alternative”. This made for an interesting time as bands who
weren't given the time of day (before Nevermind
by
Nirvana introduced Modern Rock and Alternative to those who'd
otherwise had never been exposed to it) were suddenly given the keys
to the kingdom.
In
tandem to the record's release, MTV produced and hour-long No
Alternative
special which was later released on home video. To celebrate it's
twentieth anniversary, it was reissued on 180 gram vinyl and was
issued on RECORD STORE DAY in 2013. Like other alternative comps of
the day (i.e. DGC
Rarities Volume One, Born To Choose and
the Singles
OMPS)
No Alternative
was something of a staple of the Alternative Music Lover's collection
and thus has something of a 90's relic status.
The
inherent problem with compilations like these, is that no one artist
ends of bringing their best material to the table. There are several
live versions of songs and covers as well. Stars of the day include
Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins and an unlisted track by Nirvana.
Established acts like Bob Mould, Sonic Youth, Beastie Boys, Jonathan
Richman and the legendary Patti Smith. Bands on the cusp of their
stardom like Matthew Sweet, Goo Goo Dolls, Sarah McLachlan and Soul
Asylum. And indie stars like Pavement, Uncle Tupelo, Buffalo Tom and
The Breeders.
Obviously
there's going to be plenty of hit-and-miss per individual listener.
But my personal favorite tracks are “Superdeformed” by Matthew
Sweet featuring the fantastic Ivan Julian of the Voidoids and the Outsets on lead
guitar and the legendary Nicky Hopkins on piano, “For All To See”
by Buffalo Tom, “Can't Fight It” by Bob Mould (recorded just
before his stint with Sugar) and “Unseen Power Of The Picket Fence”
by Pavement. That's not to say that the Goo Goo Dolls cover of The Rolling Stones' “Bitch” isn't amusing as it features the late Buffalo
lounge singer The Incredible Lance Diamond on lead vocals or Sonic
Youth's take on their early track “Burning Spear” isn't worth an
precarious listen or the Beastie Boys live take of “It's The New
Style” isn't flat-out great.
