After the game-changing
monster that was their self-titled debut album, Van Halen took a few
years to successfully become a household name with 1984. In
between they released their most-consistent and most-loved albums.
1982's Diver Down is
far and away Van Halen's most diverse album offering. It contains
five cover versions, three instrumentals and four proper, original
Van Halen songs. On paper it kind of sounds like a half-arsed affair,
however the results are excellent. The band sounds phenomenal and
David Lee Roth is well-accounted for. Michael Anthony and Eddie Van
Halen's backing vocals are wonderful and all over the place on Diver
Down.
The
album came to be when, at David Lee Roth's suggestion they cover “Oh Pretty
Woman” and release it as a stand-alone single. They did, and it
became a surprise hit. Subsequently, Warner Brothers pressured them
to record a full-album to capitalize on this and quickly. The album
reached #3 on Billboard's Hot 200 and had six songs to chart in the
Mainstream Rock charts as well.
“Little
Guitars”, “The Full Bug”, “Hang 'Em High” and the
understated single “Secrets” are the best songs on the album.
“Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)” is a nice showcase for Roth
but it's the Van Halen brother's father Jan Van Halen who steals the
show on clarinet. The David Lee Roth-directed music video for “(Oh)
Pretty Woman” managed to be one of the very first banned videos on
MTV. And “Dancing In The Street” became an unlikely staple of
classic rock radio for many years.
I
personally like the album very much and I'd recommend to anyone who
hasn't yet heard this overlooked album in Van Halen's album cannon.
The Flamin' Groovies
started their career in the late 60's as a San Francisco-based bluesy
garage rock band. They released four albums in this guise with lead
singer Roy A. Loney fronting the band. After Loney left the band in
mid 70's, Chris Wilson joined the band as lead singer and rhythm guitarist and they moved
to England and teamed up with guitarist/producer Dave Edmunds and
released three albums of Rickenbacker-driven
jangley late 60's power pop.
The second of these Flamin'
Groovies Now is a very
satisfying listen. The guitars sound wonderful and the band sounds
great. Of the originals “All I Wanted”, “Don't Put Me On” - which has a simply amazing coda - and “Between The Lines” are the
greatest of the batch. The band tackles The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Cliff
Richard, The Byrds and Paul Revere And The Raiders with varying
degrees of success. Only the Stones covers seem a bit off. I personally love the
album and think it's well-worth hearing (as are the other two albums
that form a late 70's Power Pop trilogy – Shake Some
Action and Jumpin' In
The Night). As is their 1971 classic album Teenage Head.
2,500 Redd Kross Fans Can't Be Wrong (Sympathy For The Record Industry/1993)
Lady In The Front Row (This Way Up/1993)
Visionary (This Way Up/1994)
After the commercial
failure of Third Eye to turn Redd Kross into a houshold name, the
band left Atlantic Records and released a few UK-only indie singles.
Super Sunny Christmas was released in late 1991 in Australia on Inspid
Vinyl, Trance was released in the Spring of 1992 on Seminal Twang in
the UK and Switchblade Sister was released in Summer of 1993 on This
Way Up Records in the UK and in Canada.
Sympathy For The Record
Industry collected various tracks from those releases for the
six-song ten-inch” vinyl release of 2,500 Redd Kross Fans Can’t
Be Wrong (a spoof on Elvis Presley's 50 Million Elvis Fans Can't Be
Wrong). Highlights include the early 70's glammy “Switchblade
Sister” (which should have appeared on their then-new album
Phaseshifter), the glam/grunge rave-up“Trance” and its' B-Side “Byrds &
Fleas” co-written bv Jeff McDonald and future-wife and Go-Go
Charlotte Caffey.
Next we have the Lady
In The Front Row ten-inch single from 1993 on This Way Up
Records. The title track appeared on their Phaseshifter album
and is a slice power pop perfection. A re-recording of “Standing In
Front Of Poseur” from their self-titled 1980 debut EP. Also are a
cover of The Kinks' “Fancy” and PJ Harvey's “Oh My Lover”.
Lastly
we have the Visionary single
from 1994 (also on This Way Up). The title track, again from
Phaseshifter has a
metaly riff and has big harmony vocals from the McDonald brothers.
The B-sides are cover of The Beatles “It Won't Be Long” as
performed by Queen and a live acoustic version of “Visionary”.
These
are nice little unique starting places for the uninitiated, granted
there are better places to investigate as to who Redd Kross are.
However for the vinyl fanatic these three ten-inches (the only three
released by the band) are fine additions to any power-pop, proto-grunge, glam pop fans collection. Or just check out Neurotica, Researching The Blues or Third Eye.
By 1966 Brian Wilson was,
creatively speaking, the king of the pop world. As leader and
producer of The Beach Boys he'd been responsible for dozens of hit
singles and albums. He'd also produced and written several singles
for other artists as well. In three years he'd basically spearheaded
an entire industry with selling California and it's appeal to the
entire world. 1966 saw the release of The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds,
an album that was inspired by Rubber Soul and in turn was
single-handedly responsible for inspiring The Beatles to make Sgt.
Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Originally
intended for release in January of 1967, Smile was to be the
next progression in pop music. A continuation of the modular
songwriting that began with the “Good Vibrations” single. It had
a loose thematic concept as an American travelogue from starting as
Plymouth Rock and ending in Hawaii (with references to Imperialism,
expansion, Industrial revolution, Manifest Destiny and the Great
Chicago Fire). It also touches on The Elements (air, fire, Earth and
water) as well. However, due to Brian Wilson's excessive substance
abuse, paranoia and his creative partner, Van Dyke Parks walking away
from the project, Smile was never completed. In fact, it's basically
become a common view that Brian Wilson may have been simply
overwhelmed with all of the fragments that were recorded for the
segments of the pieces. And in his ambitions he basically envisioned
the future of digital editing.
An
over-simplified version of Smile was released in late Summer
of 1967 as Smiley Smile. Songs from what would have been on
the finished album did see release in various forms over the years,
including on Smiley Smile. “Cabbinessence” and “Our
Prayer” were released on the 20/20 album in 1969. "Cool Cool Water" later appeared on Sunflower in 1970. The “Mama Says”
segment from “Vege-Tables” was released on Wild Honey in
1967 and “Surf's Up” served as the title track to their
critically-acclaimed 1971 album.
The failure of Smile to materialize in its' intended
form caused Brian Wilson to retreat from the public eye for many
years and serving to ultimately further deepen his mental health
problems. Wilson re-recorded the Smile album and tour in support of
it in 2004 with his excellent solo band. The 50th
anniversary of The Beach Boys in 2011/2012 was the perfect occasion
to finally release the original Smile recordings as The Smile
Sessions on Halloween 2011.
The
Smile Sessions box set included
one double vinyl album (which comes with the original booklet as it
was originally produced in 1966), two vinyl seven-inch singles, five
CD's, and a sixty-page book. The CDs are one disc of the album as it
has now been envisioned/revisioned and four CDs of session
highlights. It's easily one of the most reverend box sets to be
released specifically with it's fans in mind.
In
1966 album sleeves and booklets were produced way in advance as Smile
was on the most highly anticipated releases in Capitol Records
history. The artwork has been properly restored as well the mid-60's
labels. Not one UPC barcode to be found on the item anywhere. The
singles are beautifully reproduced as well, using the original
“Heroes & Villains” picture sleeve as well as more of Smile
artist Frank Holmes artwork for “Vege-tables”. You can also
purchase the vinyl album as a standalone-purchase.
I'd recommend this release for anyone to hear as it's
such an important slice of 1960's recording history that almost
neverwas.
