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Saturday, August 24, 2019

Black Flag : Damaged 1982


Black Flag is an American punk rock band formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. Initially called Panic, the band was established by Greg Ginn, the guitarist, primary songwriter, and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes in the band. They are widely considered to be one of the first hardcore punk bands as well as one of the pioneers of post-hardcore.


Over the course of the 1980s, Black Flag's sound, as well as their notoriety, evolved in ways that both embraced and alienated much of their early audience. As well as being central to the creation of hardcore punk, they were innovators in the first wave of American West Coast punk rock and are considered a key influence on punk subculture in the United States and abroad.


Along with being among the earliest punk rock groups to incorporate elements and the influence of heavy metal melodies and rhythm, there were often overt freestyles, free jazz, breakbeat and contemporary classical elements in their sound, especially in Ginn's guitar playing, and the band interspersed records and performances with instrumentals throughout their career.


Damaged is the debut studio album by the American hardcore punk band Black Flag. SST Records released it on December 5, 1981.


Perhaps the best album to emerge from the quagmire that was early-'80s California hardcore punk, the visceral, intensely physical presence of Damaged has yet to be equaled, although many bands have tried. Although Black Flag had been recording for three years prior to this release, the fact that Henry Rollins was now their lead singer made all the difference. His furious bellow and barely contained ferocity was the missing piece the band needed to become great.


Also, guitarist/mastermind Greg Ginn wrote a slew of great songs for this record that, while suffused with the usual punk conceits (alienation, boredom, disenfranchisement), were capable of making one laugh out loud, especially the protoslacker satire "TV Party." Extremely controversial when it was released, Damaged endured the slings and arrows of outrageous criticism (some reacted as though this record alone would cause the fall of America's youth) to become and remain an important document of its time. 


Early in 1981, Black Flag signed a record contract with Unicorn Records, a subsidiary of MCA. The band delivered their first full-length album, Damaged, to Unicorn; the label refused to release the record, citing the content of the music as too dangerous and vulgar. Undaunted, Ginn released the album on his own SST Records. Upon its release, the album received considerable critical acclaim. Soon after it appeared on the shelves, Unicorn sued Black Flag and SST over the release of Damaged.


For the next two years, the band was prevented from using the name Black Flag or their logo on any records. During that time, the group continued to tour, and surreptitiously released Everything Went Black, a double-album retrospective that contained no mention of the band, although it listed the names of the members on the front cover. The dispute ended in 1983, when Unicorn went bankrupt and the rights to the Black Flag name and logo reverted back to the band (by this time, Cadena had left to form his own group).


Over the years since the album's original release it has been recognized as a classic and one of the most influential punk rock records ever made, appearing on a number of "best of" lists by fans and critics alike. In 2003, the album was ranked number 340 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Pitchfork also ranked it number 25 on its list of the Top 100 Albums of the 1980s.


Label: Unicorn Records ?– 9502, SST Records ?– 9502
Country: US
Released: 1982
Genre: Rock
Style: Hardcore, Punk


Personnel

Henry Rollins – lead vocals
Greg Ginn – lead guitar, backing vocals
Dez Cadena – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Chuck Dukowski – bass, backing vocals
Robo – drums, backing vocals

TRAXS

01. Rise Above    2:26
02. Spray Paint (Chuck Dukowski, Ginn)    0:34
03. Six Pack    2:20
04. What I See (Dukowski)    1:56
05. TV Party    3:31
06. Thirsty and Miserable (Dez Cadena, Rosa Medea, Robo)    2:06
07. Police Story    1:30
08. Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie    1:47
09. Depression    2:28
10. Room 13 (Ginn, Medea)    2:04
11. Damaged II    3:23
12. No More (Dukowski)    2:25
13. Padded Cell (Dukowski, Ginn)    1:47
14. Life of Pain    2:50
15. Damaged I (Ginn, Rollins)    3:50

Total length:    34:58

"Police Story" Lyrics


This fucking city
Is run by pigs
They take the rights
Away from all the kids

Understand
We're fighting a war
We can't win
They hate us
We hate them
We can't win, no way!

Walk down the street
I flip them off
They hit me across the head
With a billy club

Understand
We're fighting a war
We can't win
They hate us
We hate them
We can't win, no way!

Nothing I do,
Nothing I say
I tell them to go get fucked
They put me away

Understand
We're fighting a war
We can't win
They hate us
We hate them
We can't win, no way!

I go to court,
For my crime,
Stand in line pay bail,
I waste my time

Understand
We're fighting a war
We can't win
They hate us
We hate them
We can't win, no way!

"Damaged I" Lyrics


My name's Henry.
And you're here with me now
RRRAGHH
My life
It's a song daaahh
It's so you won't even let it happen
You won't
You won't let

DAMAGED!
By attacks
I'm evil attacking my mind
But you don't mind
Cause this scheduled 13
You just sit, down
Buy the ticket
Wait your turn
Waaaaahhhhahahahahahaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!

Can't feel another day
Can't get past you
I can't see nothin'
I'm blind
I'm blind
I'm blind
Hold out your hand to me
Give me your hand
Aagh!
..And I'll bite it off!!

"No More" Lyrics


No, I won't believe that this is all
I'm not happy, I'm not free
Pay check to pay check,
Living for what
Every night I get drunk to ger sunk

I need action, won't take no more,
No more, no more, no more
It won't work, won't work
No more

I knew what I had when I grew up
I know that it really sucked
Now I'm a slave to the same lies
If I don't get out I'm gonna die
I need action, won't take no more,
No more, no more, no more
It won't work, won't work
No more

Control, control for who,
For what?
I'm no robot, they can get fucked
Reaction's masochism this can't last
I need to live, I need it now

I need action, won't take no more,
No more, no more, no more
It won't work, won't work

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Nico : Drama Of Exile 1981



Christa Paffgen (16 October 1938 –[citation needed] 18 July 1988), known by her stage name Nico, was a German singer, songwriter, musician, model, and actress. She had roles in several films, including Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita (1960) and Andy Warhol's Chelsea Girls (1966).


At the insistence of Warhol, she recorded vocals for three songs of the Velvet Underground's debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967). At the same time, she started a solo career and released Chelsea Girl. Nico's friend Jim Morrison suggested that she start writing her own material. She then composed songs on a harmonium, not traditionally a rock instrument; John Cale became her musical arranger and produced The Marble Index, Desertshore, The End... and other subsequent albums.


Drama of Exile, in 1981. produced by Philippe Quilichini. Mahamad Hadi aka Mad Sheer Khan played oriental rock guitar and wrote all the oriental production. It was a departure from her earlier work with John Cale, featuring a mixture of rock and Middle Eastern arrangements. For this album, in addition to originals like "Genghis Khan" and "Sixty Forty", Nico recorded covers of the Velvet Underground's "I'm Waiting for the Man" and David Bowie's "Heroes". Drama of Exile was released twice, in two different versions, the second appearing in 1983.


Nico was a heroin addict for over 15 years. In the book Songs They Never Play on the Radio, James Young, a member of her band in the 1980s, recalls many examples of her troubling behaviour due to her "overwhelming" addiction – and that Nico claimed never to have taken the drug while in the Velvets/Factory scene but only began using during her relationship with Philippe Garrel in the 1970s. She also introduced her son to heroin consumption. Shortly before her death, Nico stopped using heroin and began methadone replacement therapy as well as a regimen of bicycle exercise and healthy eating.


Nico has influenced many musicians including Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure, Morrissey, Elliott Smith and Bjork. Siouxsie and the Banshees invited her as special guest on their first major UK tour in 1978; they also later covered "All Tomorrow's Parties". The Cure's leader Robert Smith has cited Desertshore as one of his favourite records, as has Bjork. Joy Division's Peter Hook cited Chelsea Girl as one of his favourite albums. Bauhaus' singer, Peter Murphy, considered that "Nico recorded the first truly Gothic album, Marble lndex or The End. 


Nico was Gothic, but she was Mary Shelley to everyone else's Hammer Horror. They both did Frankenstein, but Nico's was real." Morrissey cited Nico when asked to name artists who had a lasting influence on him: "The royal three remain the same: the New York Dolls, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, with Nico standing firm as first reserve." Morrissey also commented on the song "Innocent and Vain" with the sentence: "this is my youth in one piece of music"


On 18 July 1988, while on vacation on the Mediterranean island of Ibiza with her son Ari, Nico had a heart attack while riding a bicycle, and she hit her head as she fell. A passing taxi driver found her unconscious, and he had difficulty getting her admitted to local hospitals. She was misdiagnosed as suffering from heat exposure, and died at eight o'clock that evening. X-rays later revealed a severe cerebral hemorrhage as the cause of death.

Solo studio albums

Year     Title

1966     Chelsea Girl
1968     The Marble Index
1970     Desertshore
1974     The End...
1978     Fata Morgana
1982     Drama of Exile
1986     Camera Obscura

Nico – vocals
Muhammad Hadi (Mad Sheer Khan) – lead guitar, fretless bouzouki, snitra, backing vocals, piano
Philippe Quilichini – bass, African percussions, rhythm guitar, synthesizer, backing vocals
Steve Cordona – drums
J. J. Johnson – percussion, trumpet
Davey Payne – saxophone
Andy Clark – organ, piano, synthesizer


TRACKS

01. Genghis Khan  3:52
02. Purple Lips  4:10
03. One More Chance  5:38
04. Henry Hudson    3:54
05. I'm Waiting for the Man  (Lou Reed)  4:13
06. Sixty/Forty      4:50
07. The Sphinx     3:30
08. Orly Flight     3:55
09. Heroes  (David Bowie)  6:06

Sunday, August 11, 2019

Pebbles Volume 5: Various Morons, Original '60s Punk & Psych Classics 1992


Volume 5: Various Morons, Original '60s Punk & Psych Classics [AIP CD 5022] - Released 1992

Not surprisingly, the fifth volume in this series of garage rock compilations,  is an improvement over Volume 4 and better than some of the subsequent Pebbles releases. In any case, this is an enjoyable collection of obscure regional bands, featuring 19 recordings from 1965-1967 and one (Magi's "You Don't Know Me") from 1971. Highlights include the garage screamer "Why" by Chicago's Dirty Wurds (later remade by the Pandoras); "The Way I Feel" by Texas punkers the 12 A.M.; and the Kinks-influenced "Go Away" by the Plague.
Between 1981-1982 myself and a like minded friend (now sadly no longer with us) in our mid teens managed to buy between us nearly all of the first 10 Pebbles collections on vinyl - usually from the Virgin Megastore in Oxford Street. Coming back to these collections 30 odd years later (now thankfully available on CD) Volume 5 still stands out as one of the best.
My friend was already out at work, I was still at school, so he had the cash which meant he got to keep the records but immediately put them on tapes for me so that we could both play them to death and compare notes, track by track. Seriously, finding a previously unheard volume of Pebbles in the record racks was a major event...


As with many of the Pebbles CD reissues, not everything is on here that was on the original vinyl LP, but this is compensated for with some cracking additional tracks.


There are many garage/punk/psych classics on here - all of which would have remained unheard to this day I'm sure were it not for the Pebbles series. 'Yesterday's Hero' by The Satyrs is an intense, moving piece of pop with Doors like keyboards; 'I Wanna Come Back (From The World Of LSD)' by The Fe Fi Four Plus 2 pretty much speaks for itself and as for snotty aggressive US garage punk tales of lost love and teen angst, it doesn't get much better than 'Writing On The Wall' (The 5 Canadians) or 'It's A Crying Shame' (The Gentlemen). The reason I love this genre of music so much is that (in general) even the rubbish is usually brilliant, a fine example being the wacky 'I Need Love' by The Time Stoppers.


All these years after first hearing and loving this great, innocent and totally exciting music, I am amazed at the amount of anthologies that exist of these non hit obscurities from the mid to late 1960s - far more than I could ever keep up with, let alone afford!


Don't expect high quality sound, or even high quality playing (!) These are mostly independently released singles by amateur local bands, where in most cases there was only a scratchy copy of the original single as the source for Pebbles. All the better for that I say.


TRACK LISTING

01. Tree : No Good Woman - 02:40
02. The Plague : Go Away - 01:56
03. Magi : You Don't Know Me - 02:31
04. The Gentlemen : It's A Cryin' Shame - 02:33
05. The Five Canadians : Writing On The Wall - 02:19
06. Dirty Wurds : Why - 02:23
07. Merry Dragons : Universal Vagrant - 02:58
08. The Fe-Fi-Four Plus 2 : I Wanna Come Back (From The World Of LSD) - 02:21
09. The Escapades : I Tell No Lies - 02:04
10. Danny and the Counts : You Need Love - 02:37
11. Satyrs : Yesterday's Hero - 02:36
12. Little Phil and the Nightshadows : The Way It Used To Be - 02:06
13. State of Mind : Move - 02:10
14. Yesterday's Children : Wanna Be With You - 02:31
15. Time Stoppers : I Need Love - 02:53
16. Thursday's Children : You'll Never Be My Girl - 02:09
17. 12 A.M. : The Way I Feel - 02:20
18. Shag : Stop And Listen - 02:36
19. Sound Barrier : (My) Baby's Gone - 02:54
20. The Traits : High On A Cloud - 03:31

Playing time...50:07

Saturday, August 03, 2019

The Crawdaddys : Crawdaddy Express 1979


The original Crawdaddys lineup formed in 1978, inspired by British rhythm-and-blues groups of the early 1960s, such as the Pretty Things and Rolling Stones. The original lineup included singer Ron Silva, bassist Mark Zadarnowski, guitarist Steve Potterf, and drummer Dan McLain. Potterf and Silva were both in the similar garage band the Hitmakers.

The quartet signed to Voxx records in 1979, releasing an album the following year and a 45 and EP in 1980. Having played together for awhile, they even played on albums by others, including Spooky Tooth, though the group fractured with various Silva-fronted lineups taking the band through 1984.
Potterf left the group after recording the first Crawdaddys LP, leaving Silva as head Crawdad. Unfortunately, the group's sound took a slight dive in aggression level as a result. Later lineups included guitarist Peter Miesner, keyboard player Keith Fisher, and drummer Gordon Moss.



The Crawdaddys started their recording career properly, releasing a record with nothing but '60s R&B, British Invasion, and blues standards (in addition to two original compositions). The Crawdaddys offer a precise account of 1960s R&B with appropriate versions of John Lee
Hooker's "Let's Make It Right Now," and Willie Dixon's "Tiger In Your Tank," and Chuck Berry's "Oh Baby Doll." The CD reissue in 1994 features bonus tracks, including The Crawdaddys' entire follow-up 5x4 EP, which features the best Crawdaddys original, "I Can Never Tell."
McLain, later known as Country “Dick” Montana, passed away in 1995 while on tour with the Beat Farmers. Potterf apparently stopped making music.
Many early Crawdaddys recordings were mastered by Stan Ross, who mastered "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" for Iron Butterfly and worked with Phil Spector.

The band reunited in 2011 for a pair of shows: June 10, headlining the sixth annual “Go Sinner Go” festival in Spain, and again on September 2 at the Casbah. Memorial Day weekend was spent shooting at the Rhino Pop Up Store with filmmaker Eric Rife, in preparation for their September reunion show.


The 2011 Crawdaddys featured Silva and Zadarnowski alongside members from slightly later lineups — guitarist Peter Miesner, keyboard player Keith Fisher, and drummer Gordon Moss. The last time Zadarnowski, a South Park resident, and Silva, who currently resides in Los Angeles, had performed together was in 1993, at the now-defunct venue Bodie’s downtown.
Silva said the reunion is due to the tenacity of Spanish promoter Edu Sinner. “The guy has been emailing me for a couple of years now, trying to get the band for his festival. I recently moved back to Southern California, [so] it makes more sense,” he said. “I just thought now’s as good a time as any.”

Though Sinner has brought numerous American bands to Spain for his events, he was particularly excited to score the Crawdaddys. “They’re one of my favorite bands. I’ve always wanted to bring them here. After three years of talking, we got it,” he said, and explaining Spain’s continued fascination with San Diego’s ’60s-influenced bands. “This is real music, from the gut...I’m sure that even after another 50 years, Crawdaddy Express will still be considered a fantastic record by young R&B fans.”

Zadarnowski didn’t find it unusual that his band’s reunion had been set in motion by music fans in Spain. “The Spaniards are certainly receptive to all the old San Diego stuff. Probably even more so than San Diego,” he joked.
“We’ve rehearsed a handful of times,” said Silva. “It’s just like the old days, except we’re all a little bit fatter.”
Another reunion performance was staged October 21, 2016 at the Casbah.


TRACKS

01. I'm A Lover Not A Fighter    
02. You Can't Judge A Book By Looking At The Cover    
03. Down The Road Apiece    
04. Let's Make It    
05. Rainin' In My Heart    
06. I'm Movin' On    
07. Mystic Eyes    
08. Oh Baby Doll    
09. Bald Headed Woman    
10. Come See Me    
11. Got You In My Soul    
12. Times Are Getting Tougher Than Tough    
13. Down In The Bottom    
14. Crawdaddy Express    
15. I Wanna Put A Tiger In Your Tank    
16. There she goes
17. Why don't you smile now
18. Pretty face
19. Lolette
20. I can neverr tell
21. I'm gonna leave you
22. I'm dissatisfied