Shockabilly: Vietnam 1984 + Heaven 1985

Shockabilly was an underground avant-garde band from NYC that first formed in 1982. The band

included Eugene Chadbourne on guitar and vocals, Mark Kramer on bass guitar and organ, and David Licht on drums. Shockabilly released a number of albums during their brief existence (1982–1985); most were re-released. The music itself is mostly avant-garde reworkings of rockabilly and rock and roll standards.
                            

Shockabilly was formed out of the ashes of Eugene Chadbourne's quintet The Chadbournes in 1982, when John Zorn and the late Tom Cora departed and left a trio in their wake. Eugene Chadbourne, Kramer and David Licht carried on as the newly named Shockabilly.
                                                    

Shockabilly produced music that sounded like an unholy combination of the Electric Prunes and

Karlheinz Stockhausen. They specialized in outrageous cover versions - ‘Psychotic Reaction’, ‘19th Nervous Breakdown’, ‘Day Tripper’, ‘Purple Haze’ - and also more obscure items by John Lee Hooker, John Fogerty and Syd Barrett.
                                         

When the song seems to be familiar, it gives the listener a thread on which to hang the power trio-chaos

in which they liked to indulge. Chadbourne’s background was in rock, blues, late 60s free jazz and free improvisation - he put it all into Shockabilly with an energy and spleen that gained a response from the more adventurous post-punk audiences.
                                          

After they folded in 1985 Chadbourne, an inspired songwriter, pursued a solo career while Kramer, as well as playing in B.A.L.L. and Bongwater, set up Shimmy-Disc, one of the great radical rock labels of the 80s and 90s.]
                                                      

Vietnam is a relatively grand affair, with a huge tour-diary poster and material by Arthur Lee, John

Fogerty, John Lee Hooker and the Beatles.  
Heaven takes the terrible trio further into the realms of the truly weird.
                                                     

                                                  

Shockabilly – Vietnam / Heaven
Label: Shimmy Disc Europe – SDE 9026/CD
Format:    CD, Compilation
Country: Europe
Sortie: 1990
Genre: Rock
Style: Avantgarde, Experimental Rock, Psychobilly

VIETNAM  1984

                                                                   

01. Pile Up All Architecture (Written-By – Chadbourne, Kramer) 2:10
02. Born On The Bayou (Written-By – Fogerty) 2:27
03. Your U.S.A. And My Face (Written-By – Chadbourne) 3:23
04. Vietnam (Written-By – Chadbourne, Kramer) 3:07
05. Flying (Written-By – Harrison, Lennon, McCartney, Starkey) 3:04
06. Nicaragua (Vocals [Uncredited] – Ed Sanders/Written-By – Sanders, Kramer) 2:32
07. Paris (Written-By – Kramer) 2:10
08. Iran Into Tulsa (Written-By – Chadbourne, Kramer) 2:06
09. Georgia In A Jug (Written-By – Bobby Braddock) 2:57
10. Lucifer Sam (Written-By – Syd Barrett) 3:21
11. Signed D.C. (Written-By – Arthur Lee) 3:18

HEAVEN 1985

                                                         

12. Instant Karma (Written-By – Lennon) 1:50
13. She Was A Living, Breathing Piece Of Dirt (Written-By – Chadbourne) 2:17
14. Red Headed Stranger (Written-By – Stuttes, Lindeman) 3:00
15. When You Dream About Bleeding (Written-By – Chadbourne) 2:46
16. Tau And The Soldier (Instruments [All]/Written-By – Kramer) 2:18
17. Life's A Gas (Written-By – Marc Bolan) 2:50
18. Tray-Panning The Man (Written-By – Chadbourne, Kramer) 2:33
19. Hendrix Buried In Tacoma (Percussion – Kramer/Written-By – Chadbourne) 2:22
20. How Can You Kill Me, I'm Already Dead (Written-By – Chadbourne) 2:26
21. Vampire Tiger Girl Strikes Again (Written-By – Chadbourne) 1:43
22. Pity Me, Sheena (Instruments [All]/Written-By – Kramer) 3:05
23. Happy New Year (Piano, Trombone, Clarinet – Kramer/Written-By – Chadbourne) 4:20
24. Our Metempsychosis (Instruments [All], Written-By – Kramer) 2:27

Crédits

                                                   

Art Direction – Dave Larr
Guitar [Guitars], Vocals – Eugene Chadbourne
Mixed By [Digitally Re-mixed By] – Kramer
Mixed By [Digitally Re-mixed With] – Martin Bisi (pistes : 1 to 6)
Organ [Cheap], Bass, Tape [Tapes], Vocals – Kramer
Percussion – David Licht
Photography By – Macioce
Producer – Kramer
                                                   

Notes

Tracks 1-11 are from Shockabilly 'Vietnam' (1984)
Tracks 12-24 are from Shockabilly 'Heaven' (1985)

MP3 @ 320 Size: 149 MB
Flac  Size: 331 MB