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KIM FOWLEY
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The Kim Fowley story is one of the most interesting in rock, and the exhaustive liner notes to Impossible but True do a fine job of telling it. Producer, songwriter, manager, promoter, scenester, performer -- Fowley was omnipresent on the wild and seedy fringes of rock & roll in L.A. and London in the '60s and '70s.
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THE PHARAOHS
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The 32 tracks that make up the musical portion of the package are comprised of tracks Fowley released in the '60s under his own name, songs he wrote or co-wrote, and songs he produced or at least had a hand in. Impossible but True: The Kim Fowley Story is a trip through an alternate history of rock in the '60s.
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THE SEEDS
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IMPOSSIBLE BUT TRUE celebrates the life and times, the triumphs and heroic failures of one of rock's most colourful, not to say eccentric, characters and the last true Underground legend. A songwriter, producer, music publisher, talent scout, scene-maker extraordinaire and occasional recording artist, the physically distinctive Fowley - he is 6' 4 3/4 and insect thin - is the Forrest Gump of rock'n'roll, a man who has seen it all from 50s rock'n'roll to psychedelia, through to punk and metal in over 40 years of recording activity and has the tales to support his first-hand experiences.
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THE RENEGATES
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Fowley rarely played the system (and when he did, it was usually on his own terms), shied away from working within a formal business environment, spent 40 years sleeping on other people's divans, or so it seemed - he has never settled in one place for long or owned a permanent home - doesn't bother to drive, and cares little for material possessions. Now 64, he has yet to even consider 'retirement'. He has endured because, as he puts it, I have a modern brain.
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CATHY RICH
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Though capable of lording it with the most sophisticated of label heads, Fowley's preferred milieu was slumming it at street level with the flotsam and jetsam of rock'n'roll. In fact, at the start of his career, he would hang around Hollywood's Greyhound station and approach anyone he saw carrying a guitar case.
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THE RIVINGTONES
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If Fowley always seemed to be in the thick of the action in the 1960s and 70s, he also continued to display the curious detachment of an outsider, a man whose finely tuned sense of his own destiny did not easily lend itself to glib categorisation. This, perhaps, was the key: he was not a musician or a vocalist in the accepted sense (nor did he ever claim to be), nor a producer, nor a label owner, or a music publisher or a talent scout, but a combination of some, or all, of these things as and when it suited his purposes. I sometimes think I'm playing the lead role in the Kim Fowley Story, he once remarked.
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PAUL REVERE AND THE RAIDERS
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As a producer barely out of his teens, his early hits included Alley-Oop, Nut Rocker and Popsicles And Icicles. A regular visitor to the UK at the height of the Swinging Sixties, Fowley was the first to record Slade when they were a Midlands garage band known as the N' Betweens, co-wrote the B-side of Cat Stevens' first hit I Love My Dog and discovered and first recorded the Soft Machine. He tipped off Reprise Records in the US about Jimi Hendrix and tried to sign the Mamas & Papas when they were four penniless itinerants. Always to be found in the thick of the action, Fowley was 21 when he booked Eddie Cochran's last ever US gig in 1960 and compered John Lennon's Live Peace in Toronto a decade later.
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THE SOFT MACHINE
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Painstakingly assembled with Kim's full co-operation, Impossible But True features 32 titles spanning 1960-69, many of which appear on CD for the first time, including gems such as The Comedown Song by Spider (actually P J Proby's hairdresser - he wasn't gay says Kim)-.-Reelin' Feelin' Squealin' by the Soft Machine, (the B-side of their first ultra-rare 45), To Die Alone, a US garage band classic by the Bush (some of whom joined the legendary Misunderstood) and Fowley solo classics such as The Trip, and Animal Man. Also making its CD debut is Pink Dominos by the Crescents, a Hot 100 hit from 1963. Fowley describes this as the last of the surf instrumental hits. It was recorded late at night in a shoe store out in Oxnard, California and features an Asian female guitar teacher and some of her teenage pupils!
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GENE VINCENT
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Featuring classic cover art by Phil Smee, extensive annotation by compiler Rob Finnis (with input from Mr. Fowley himself) and a stunning selection of illustrations, all contained in the accompanying action-packed 36-page mega booklet, Impossible But True is the soundtrack to those first ten years. It's 'Mondo' magic!
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THE BELFAST GYPSIES
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Fowley had an ear for a great song and a weird streak a mile wide that kept things very interesting at all times. The disc kicks off with two Fowley performances from 1968: the beastly and rude hard rock of "Animal Man" and the hard rock, acid bubblegum of "Bubblegum." His unique vocal technique is best taken in small doses, and these (along with "The Trip," his hilarious psychedelic parody that is also included) are his best and best-known tracks.
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THE MURMAIDS
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The rest of the disc bounces from style to style and from year to year. While most of the tracks Fowley did were pretty obscure, he did have a hand in some actual hits: he played on 1960's "Alley-Oop" by the Hollywood Argyles, discovered the Rivingtons (their "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" from 1962 is an R&B classic), released the classic instrumental "Nut Rocker" by B. Bumble & the Stingers on his Del Rio label in 1962, and he produced the girl group classic "Popsicles & Icicles" by the Murmaids from 1963.
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CAT STEVENS
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He also wrote a songs for Cat Stevens ("Portobello Road"), Paul Revere & the Raiders ("Like Long Hair"), and the Seeds (the wild "Fallin' off the Edge of My Mind") and produced Gene Vincent (1968's "Rainbow at Midnight") and the Soft Machine ("Feelin' Reelin' Squeelin'").
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B. BUMBLE AND THE STRINGERS
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The rest of the disc is made up of the aforementioned obscure but excellent tracks like the hard-rocking garage track "Gloria's Dream" by the Belfast Gypsies (basically a Van Morrison-less Them), the British R&B of the 'N Betweens' (who later became Slade) cover of "Security," the snotty, spacy, and hilarious version of "Wild Thing" by Cathy Rich, and the folk-rock sweetness of "Daydreaming of You" by the Hellions.
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THE CRESCENTS
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Fowley was always looking to wedge his way into every trend that came along, so there are stops made at folk-rock (the sweet "Daydreaming of You" by the Hellions), instrumental rock ("Charge!" by the Renegades), doo wop ("No More" by Little Victor & the Vistas), vocal pop ("Honest I Do" by the Innocents), cornball easy listening (his own wildly amusing "Space Odyssey" from 1968), and blues rock ("Louisiana Teardrops" by Elfstone).
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THE INNOCENTS
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He also seemed to have invented at least one very specialized genre, ski rock. The songs by the Alpines ("Shush-Boomer") and the Snowmen ("Ski Storm, Pt. 1") are basically surf tunes with lyrics about skiing. Impossible but True is a fascinating historical document and a blast to listen to from beginning to end. Ace did a damn fine job putting it all together; it is a picture-perfect example of everything a good collection should be.
Highly recommended.Fowley died on January 15, 2015 in West Hollywood, California after a battle with bladder cancer; he was 75 years old. Kim Fowley – Impossible But True: The Kim Fowley Story
Label:Ace – CDCHD 888
Series: Producer Series
Format: CD, Compilation
Country: UK
Released: 2003
Genre: Rock
Style: Rock & Roll, Psychedelic Rock, Avantgarde, Garage Rock
TRACKS
01. Kim Fowley – Animal Man 2:40
02. Kim Fowley – Bubblegum 2:27
03. The Rangers – Justine 1:58
04. The Bush – To Die Alone 1:54
05. The Hollywood Argyles – Alley-Oop 2:43
06. The Rangers – Reputation 2:13
07. B Bumble & The Stingers – Nut Rocker 1:58
08. The Murmaids – Popsicles & Icicles 2:30
09. The Alpines – Shush-Boomer 1:47
10. Kim Fowley – The Trip 1:56
11. Spider – The Comedown Song 2:50
12. N' Betweens – Security 2:38
13. The Hellions – Daydreaming Of You 2:06
14. Cat Stevens – Portobello Road 2:25
15. The Lancasters – Satan's Holiday 1:50
16. The Renegades – Charge! 2:03
17. Gary "Alley-Oop" Paxton & The Hollywood Argyles – You Been Torturing Me 2:39
18. Paul Revere & The Raiders – Like Long Hair 1:55
19. The Pharaohs – Heads Up, High Hopes Over You 1:57
20. The Belfast Gypsies – Gloria's Dream 2:11
21. The Snowmen – Ski Storm (Part 1) 2:00
22. Little Victor & The Vistas – No More 2:22
23. Elfstone – Louisiana Teardrops 2:38
24. Cathy Rich – Wild Thing 2:35
25. Kim Fowley – S pace Odyssey 2:47
26. The Seeds – Fallin' Off The Edge Of My Mind 2:52
27. Gene Vincent – Rainbow At Midnight 2:38
28. The Soft Machine – Feelin' Reelin' Squeelin' 2:47
29. Freaks Of Nature – People! Let's Freak Out 2:33
30. The Crescents – Pink Dominos 1:59
31. The Innocents – Honest I Do 2:30
32. The Rivingtons – Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow 2:25
MP3 @ 320 Size: 293 MB
Flac Size: 348 MB
KIM FOWLEY - OUTRAGEOUS 1968 + GOOD CLEAN FUN 1968
Raw, in your face, no singing, just talking/shouting! Iggy Pop, and Lou Reed together after partying with Bowie and James Brown. 3 Stars, all music, come on! Listening to this is hearing all the heroes mentioned before and all the heroes that came afterwards from Johnny Thunders to Ian Svenonius. Put your ears into this while dealing with reality! You won't be disappointed!
Kim Fowley – Outrageous / Good Clean Fun
Label: Rev-Ola – CREV 033CD, Creation Records – CREV 033CD
Format: CD, Compilation, Reissue 1995
Country: UK
Released: 1968
Genre: Rock
Style: Garage Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Rock & Roll, Parody, Spoken Word,
TRAXS
OUTRAGEOUS 1968
01. Animal Man 2:49
02. Wildlife 4:10
03. Hide And Seek 2:10
04. Chinese Water Torture 0:45
05. Nightrider 2:23
60. Bubble Gum 2:30
07. Inner Space Discovery 4:02
08. Barefoot Country Boy 2:04
09. Up 3:55
10. Caught In The Middle 5:49
11. Down 4:48
12. California Hayride 1:22
LINE - UP
Kim Fowley – additional vocals, keyboards, record producer
Michael Allsup – guitar
Ben "Blues" Benay – guitar, harmonica
Mars Bonfire – guitar
Jimmy Greenspoon – keyboards
Eddie Hoh – percussion
Orville "Red" Rhodes – steel guitar
Carmen Riale – bass guitar
Joe Schermie – bass guitar
Wayne Talbert – keyboards
Joe Torres – percussion
GOOD CLEAN FUN 1968
13. One Man Band 2:12
14. Ode To Sweet Sixteen 1:26
15. Good Clean Fun 2:17
16. Search For A Teenage Woman 2:16
17. Energy 2:04
18. Baby Rocked Her Dolly 2:20
19. Motorcycle 2:22
20. Kangaroo 3:55
21. Lights The Blind And Lame Can See 1:55
22. Good To Be Around 2:14
23. The Great Telephone Robbery 6:29
24. I'm Not Young Anymore 4:27
Engineer – David Brand
Guest – Cow (tracks: A7), Harlowe (tracks: A2, A7), Motorcycle John (tracks: A7, B2), Rodney Bingenheimer (tracks: A4), Mayor Of The Sunset Strip (tracks: A4)
Guest, Backing Vocals – Frog Prince, Thomas & Richard Frost (tracks: B2)
MP3 @ 320 Size: 164 MB
Flac Size: 417 MB
KIM FOWLEY - ANIMAL GOD OF THE STREETS 1974
