The Beach Boys: Beach Boys' Party! Uncovered And Unplugged (Capitol Records/2015)

In the Autumn of 1965, Brian Wilson was composing and preparing The Beach Boys' legendary Pet Sounds album. 1965 also saw the release of two top-five charting albums (The Beach Boys Today! and Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)) which both show Wilson's maturing as a songwriter and a producer. By the middle of the Summer Capitol had been hounding the band for a new album to release for the Holiday shopping season. However, the band didn't have anything prepared. So, Brian Wilson came up with the idea of recording an album where the band sounds like they're just hanging out at a party with their friends and just performing acoustic cover versions of some of their favorite songs. The only instruments heard are acoustic guitar, bass, tambourine and bongos.

The album contained covers by Bob Dylan, The Everly Brothers, Phil Spector and three songs by The Beatles. Plus the novelty songs "Alley Oop", "Hully Gully" & "Papa Oom Mow Mow". The band's cover of "Barbara Ann" from this album was rush released as a single by Capitol when the bands' non-album single "The Little Girl I Once Knew" stalled at #20 on Billboards single charts. Apparently, "The Little Girl I Once Knew" was taking too long a time, slowly building momentum, in becoming a hit for the label's liking.  "Barbara Ann" reached #2 on the charts. Dean Torrence of Jan & Dean sings co-lead on the track with Brian Wilson.

To add a party atmosphere to the album, the bands recorded an ambient track of just chatter, clinking of glasses and general party noises which pervades the entire album. Capitol record has just released Uncovered and Unplugged, which is the album without the backround ambient track and just the band playing and singing in the studio. The vinyl version is a beautiful reproduction of the album with labels faithful to the original mid-60's Capitol label. And the CD contains two discs of the album itself and virtually all of the outtakes as well. Including versions of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", "Ticket To Ride" and "California Girls".

The album itself is unwittingly a virtual snapshot of the pre-Pet Sounds Beach Boys. How they were and never would be again.

Highly recommended for the Beach Boys connoisseur and for maybe a listen for the Beach Boys novice as well.

Here's The Video Review:



Special Thanks to Dave Rerecich of T.V. Games.

Zorro Zero & The Warlocks: A Very Special Krizmas Gift For You (Fanatical Army Records/2014)

Now this Holiday offering comes from an eccentric New York art-collective known as Zorro Zero & The Warlocks. They started out in the late 90's in a more punky vein (i.e. thirty-second guitar-based outbursts about Pathmark, V-8 and Weebles). Zorro Zero is the cult leader/lead singer. And the Warlocks are Denver Gillette and Groove Champion, who both handle the production/music end of things.

This release is a would-be traditional Christmas album, except it's creepy, tripped-out and the vocals border on satire. "Sleigh Ride" features left-field outbursts from "cult leader" Zorro Zero like "let's bang a pigeon", "All I Want For Christmas Is You", sung but Denver Gillette, sounds like Axl Rose in a karaoke bar, and "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" is sung a tad too excitedly by Groove Champion.  There are deep shades of homo-eroticism to spare in "Christmas Wrapping" (the Waitresses cover) and "Baby It's Cold Outside". There are three tracks of banter from the band members to coax the listener even further into Holiday cheer. Kudos for the sped-up bridge in "Marshmallow World" and the crazy Nintendo-esque music in "Let It Snow".

If you can find this unusual Christmas album, by all means, pick it up.

Erasure: She Will Not Be Home For Christmas (Sire Records/1988)

Erasure's holiday offering comes from their Crackers International EP. It's basically a song that takes at the holidays as opposed to being a Christmas song, per se. It's decent little song. Musically it sounds like quintessential Erasure; bright and danceable synth-pop.  The B-Side is a version of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman". I'd say, avoid this and gravitate towards lowest-common denominator Erasure; the hit singles.

Payola$: Christmas Is Coming (A&M/1983)

From their third album, Hammer On A Drum, Vacouver's Payola$ released this Holiday gem in 1983. It's a mid-tempo love song filled with longing and loss, reverb on the snare and chorused guitars. It was the 80's thank you very much. It's a fine song, Holiday-themed or not. Nice, logical chord progressions in the verses. It was released on nice clear green vinyl in the US. Not too much to say other than it's not regarded as a holiday classic and it's a damned shame that it isn't.

Recommended holiday listening.

The Free Design: Resigned The Remix EP Volume 2 (Light In The Attic/2004)

The Free Design were a soft-psyche, baroque pop band from Delevan, New York (which is upstate in Cattaraugus County). They were comprised of the siblings of the Dedrick family. The band released seven albums between the years of 1967 and 1972. They only managed one charting single “Kites Are Fun” which reached 114 on Billboard's charts and 33 on the Adult Contemporary Charts. However by the mid 1990's with American baroque pop of the 60's being reevaluated, they slowly acquired a cult following of people like Belle & Sebastian, Beck and The Polyphonic Spree.

By the mid 2000's all of their albums had been reissued. Along with an album of new original material - Cosmic Peekaboo – as well three EP's of remixed and “resigned”. These redesigned songs are essentially comprise a remixed tribute album of sorts with contributions from Danger Mouse, The High Llamas, Super Furry Animals, Stereolab and Belle & Sebastian. The EP I have is volume 2 (out of the the three volumes). Of the most effective and sympathetic tracks are Stereolab & The High Llamas' remix of “The Proper Ornaments” and Caribou's interpretation of “Dorian Benediction”.

All in an interesting, if diverting tribute album. If you've not heard The Free Design, by all means, check them out. The Beach Boys are the only peers to The Free Design's jazzy, complex vocal harmonies. 

Here is the video review:

Very special thanks to: Cassandra Fowler.

Stone Temple Pilots: Purple (Atlantic/1994)

The late Scott Weiland's band Stone Temple Pilots never really got much respect. After being called out for jumping on the Grunge bandwagon with their debut Core, the band changed their sound and again got little respect for that as well. Their second album Purple, is the sound of the band coming into it's own and it is this vaguely melodic, vaguely psychedelic sound it would be known from hereafter. The album peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and was something close to being the album of the Summer of 1994.

Purple in short, is a frustrating listen; the non-single album tracks could all be considered something along the lines of filer, which makes for a wildly-uneven listening experience. The singles "Vasoline", "Interstate Love Song", "Big Empty" and "Pretty Penny" give the album it's character and some much needed personality. "Interstate Love Song" is one of the band's best songs, yet "Vasoline" manages to top it. It's got cyclical riff and a simple repetitive groove. I'd like to recommend the album but I'd really just steer people towards the bands' hit singles. Thank You is STP's greatest hits album and even that omits a bunch of the bands hits. The band's self-titled 2010 comeback album may be their cost consistent effort with Weiland in the band.

Here's the video review:

Big Star: Jesus Christ 10" EP (Omnivore Records/2015)

This was a pleasant surprise. I didn't even know about this until I wandered in to a local record store and saw this item staring right back at me in the Record Store Day/Black Friday section of 10" vinyl by the counter. Apparently, this is a taster of the forthcoming Complete Third box set coming out in 2016. This is the third Big Star release on Omnivore Records in the last few years (the others being the Nothing Can Hurt Me soundtrack and Live In Memphis) and by all accounts they've done right by Big Star fans.

What's on it? It 's the album version of the now-semi-holiday classic "Jesus Christ", the demo version of "Jesus Christ" (which made it's debut on the Keep An Eye On The Sky 2009 Rhino box set). Two untitled instrumentals by Chris Bell (that were in the Nothing Can Hurt Me documentary). A demo of "Big Black Car". "Thank You Friends (TV Mix)". And "Another Time, Another Place & You"

"Another Time, Another Place & You"  is something of a holy grail amongst Big Star fans as there is still some debate as to who plays on it, when it was recorded and what it's intended purpose was. Even the songwriting credits are somewhat mysterious. It was co-written with sometime drummer Richard Rosebrough and either Chris Bell or Alex Chilton. The credits in Nothing Can Hurt Me attribute it to Bell/Rosebrough while this record credits Chilton/Rosebrough.

These songs were the some of the last that band recorded (either demos or studio cuts in 1974 for the legendary Third album, and/or the Chris Bell tracks). It's a beautiful looking blue 10" EP and it sounds beautiful as well. It comes with an mp3 download card. The cover art comes from a 1973 Ardent Records promotional Big Star poster. It's so nice that these rare tracks are finally becoming commonplace for all to obtain and are out on various releases for Big Star obsessives like myself to pick up.

If you're a Big Star fan and a vinyl connoisseur, this item is just waiting to be purchased by you.

Here's the video review: