isksp: 2009-08-23

Saturday, August 29, 2009

TNT - 1981 - Gatinha de Luxo 7'' (PT)

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Thanks to Under Review for the cover scans!

Reddy Teddy - 1976 - Reddy Teddy (US)

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According to Joe Harvard (Boston rock specialist) Reddy Teddy were to Boston in the 70's what the New York Dolls were to New York...and then some. All of the founding band members were longtime friends who'd been in the same grade at school: Matthew MacKenzie (guitar), John Morse (vocals),Ted von Rosenvinge (bass) and Joe Marino (drums).

Spending 39 minutes with the Reddy Teddy LP is a very worthwhile use of your time. "Boys and Girls" combines elements of Richie Valens and the Champs with pure power pop. "Shark in the Dark" recalls Peter Townsend's classic mid-period writing for the Who, as do the verses in "Moron Rock" and "Magic Magic". Not all of the Teddy tunes recall earlier or contemporary influences, to be sure. There are tunes like "Ooh-Wow!" and "Novelty Shoes", which are pure Reddy Teddy, quintessential Boston rock; these are tunes referential only to fellow Beanscenesters like Willie "Loco" Alexander and the Boom Boom Band. Other elements of Rt's recorded work point solidly towards the future. "Ooh-Wow!" predates and harkens to Meatloaf's later (and best) material. Bits of "Magic Magic" sound like LA's great X, and the song "Romance" would be just as comfortable in a set by Oasis, Buffalo Tom, Dinosaur, Jr. or any other 90's band. The guitar interplay of songs like "Magic Magic" and "Romance" point the way towards groups like Television, and match the intensity of Todd Rundgren's work with the Nazz. Indeed, it's no surprise that years later, when Richard Lloyd left Television, he recruited Matthew MacKenzie to play guitar on the very solid "Alchemy" LP. Bassis Scott Barenwald was to become a member of Robin Lane & The Chartvusters.

The LP was produced by Willie Alexander and Matthew MacKenzie (with a little help from Maxanne Sartori)

source Fred Pop Dom (link)

Friday, August 28, 2009

Interior - 1979 - Bizarre Disco 7'' (NE)

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V.A. - 1979 - Earcom #2 (UK)

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tracklist:

01. Thursdays - Perfection

02. Basczax - Celluloid Love

03. Basczax - Karleearn Photography

04. Joy Division - Auto-suggestion

05. Joy Division - From Safety To Where...?

06. Thursdays - (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Aerial FX - 1980 - So Hard 7'' (UK)

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Kelpies - 2003 - Television (US)

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"Two-dozen tracks of primo gutter punk" probably adequately wraps up "Television", the retrospective compilation of everything the Kelpies put on tape.

If you haven't heard the Kelpies you're in the majority, with their major exposure to date a single on Phantom, ("Take Me Away") a handful of tracks on a compilation of Sydney punk bands and a posthumous "live in the basement" album, culled from rehearsal tapes. The Phantom 7" is long out of print and the latter two were on the very dormant Aberrant label, so all are virtually impossible to find.

The Kelpies were shortlived (1981-82) but made a name very quickly by being banned from a string of venues, thanks to their rabidly violent following. Former Phantom Records chief Jules R.B. Normington has always had a colourful way with words (did you ever read his hand-written descriptions on the little white labels on record sleeves in the shop?) but when he says the Kelpies were the best live band he's seen, save for Radio Birdman, it really does mean they were worth a listen. There was a danger that the band might go down as yet another minor footnote in the history of the vibrant Sydney '80s scene, but thanks to the label operated by their drummer, Ashley "Oz Rock" Thomson, the wider world now has a chance to hear what the fuss was about.

This 24-song disc compiles all that's gone before and adds another tune, the studio version of the post-punk sounding "How Can I Tell You". The first thing that must be said is that the Kelpies were very much a vehicle for the songwriting of Mark Easton, an under-appreciated talent if there ever was one. He has a hand in each tune (except for "Change", which was co-written by singer Jim Atkins and Danny Rumour, then of Sekret Sekret and now with the Cruel Sea). The themes are the obvious punk ones of boredom, alcoholism, serial killers but there's a degree of lyrical sophistication that lifts the songs above the norm. Try the stunning "My Wall", the Easton/Atkins suicide tune, the words of which are preserved on the CD slick.

Plus, guitarists Easton and Brian Connolly didn't confine themselves to two-chord thrash, bringing in counterpoint rhythms and elements of country and rockabilly just to keep it interesting. It's not all breakneck "World of Fear", "Beer Bottle", "Die", the title track and the country-punk "Ride" are top order singalongs that make you wonder where these guys might have gone had they not been such an explosive/dysfunctional/drug-fucked unit. Great to have "Take Me Away" on a little silver disc, too.

The 2003 reunion show to launch this was a good-natured blast and the band isn't ruling out repeat performances. It did show that the songs had aged well. There should be little deterring you from making the click that counts and scoring a copy from Head Miles. One listen should convince that unrealised potential sure sounded great in the hands of 20-somethings, all those years ago.

source I-94 Bar (link)