The Holiday Inn Tapes
Roky Erickson
Vinyl Lovers 901028
2010
This is my belated tribute to the great Roky Erickson who died last year in May. I regret that it has taken me more than a year to get around to this, it is more a reflection of my laziness than a lack of respect for Erickson who I have greatly admired since I was a teenager when I first heard Erickson singing "You're Gonna Miss Me" with the 13th Floor Elevators on the "Nuggets" compilation. I worshiped the Elevators when I was in college and they remain one of my favorite bands. I think the best records for a tribute to Erickson would be the first two albums by the Elevators: "The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators" and "Easter Everywhere." I already wrote about those two masterpieces however so I have opted for this more humble solo record. It was recorded by Patrick Mathé of France's New Rose Records in a hotel room in Austin in 1986. Erickson stopped by with his acoustic guitar to serenade Mathé with 10 songs which he recorded for posterity. Mathé issued the recording on a record in 1987. For this reissue those ten tracks have been supplemented with the "Mine Mine Mind" EP which was issued by Sponge Records in 1977. I imagine many Erickson fans would illustrate his solo career with some of the highly charged horror-inspired tracks he performed on records like "The Evil One." I would not dispute that, I admire that music too. I find those songs exciting and compelling, but they do not really speak to me the way this record does. This album emphasizes the more sensitive and romantic side of Erickson which was expressed back in his Elevator days on the songs he wrote with Clementine Hall like "Splash 1" and "I Had To Tell You." There are exceptions to this on this recording most notably the opening track "The Singing Grandfather" which describes a homicidal maniac in lurid detail that belies the jaunty folk melody and Erickson's mellow crooning. Erickson reprises the song at the end of the recording. "The Times I've Had" is a hard-travelin' type folk song enlivened by Erickson's lively guitar playing. "That's My Song" is a similar sounding track. It is basically a song fragment notable for its optimism and Erickson's perseverance in the face of adversity. "Mighty Is Our Love" is a pretty song but unfortunately the lyrics are monotonous and banal. "I Look At the Moon" is one of my favorite tracks. Erickson sings about how the moon inspires him and supports the song with kinetic fret work. Most of these tracks are obscure and as far as I am aware were never recorded in a studio. The two exceptions are "Don't Slander Me" which he recorded in a rocked up version in 1982 and "May the Circle Remain Unbroken" which appeared in a haunting psychedelic version on the 13th Floor Elevators album "Bull of the Woods" back in 1969. The original tracks are definitive but I enjoy the intimacy of these acoustic versions especially "May the Circle Remain Unbroken" which I find very moving. Roky also does a pair of Buddy Holly covers, "True Love Ways" and "Peggy Sue Got Married." I find his earnestness very charming on these tracks and it does not surprise me that this Texas boy admired Holly whose influence I think I can hear in his work (on this album it is most noticeable on "Don't Slander Me.") The four songs from the EP were recorded in a studio and feature a full band on three tracks. They are all terrific. "Two-Headed Dog" and "Click Your Fingers Applauding the Play" are among his best known songs. They are driven by noisy hard rock riffs and feature Erickson bellowing out horror-themed bizarre lyrics. "Mine Mine Mind" is more power pop in its sound, but it plows through similar lyrical darkness with its description of demonic possession. "I Have Always Been Here Before" is a solo acoustic performance by Roky. In it he sings about the devil in a surrealistic and poetic manner. I am very fond of this record although it is essentially a bootleg. Erickson was performing informally for a friend obviously not intending the music to end up on a record. I doubt it would have bothered him though and the performance is so delightful and unusual that I am glad that Mathé put it out. If you wanted to introduce someone to Erickson's work this is definitely not the place to start, but I think most fans will dig it. I listened to it a lot following Erickson's passing and it reaffirmed my devotion to his work. Recommended to people who prefer Erickson's cover of "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" with the Elevators over "Bloody Hammer."
"Heroes"
David Bowie
RCA AFL1-2522
1977
After David Bowie died I heard tributes to him on classic rock radio stations, commercial alternative rock stations and college radio stations which I think is an indication of his eclecticism and musical adventurism. Given that he also dabbled in soul/funk and on his final album jazz, there is practically a Bowie album for everyone who likes pop music no matter what genre. I like all his albums from the 1970s, but my favorites are the Berlin trilogy from the latter part of the decade when Bowie collaborated with Brian Eno on three classic and highly influential albums, "Low," "Lodger" and "'Heroes.'" I love all three but I've opted to discuss this one because it was the one that I bought first and it was the album that made me a Bowie fan. As a teen I was lukewarm about Bowie. I was too uptight and naive to appreciate him during his glam rock phase although I liked several of his singles from that period. I was alienated by his flirtation with soul in the mid 1970s although I came to like it later. This album hit me at just the right time. I had become enamored with the early New Wave bands and was looking for something different from the classic rock I had grown up on. The sound that Bowie and Eno came up with for this album excited me and opened me up to explore new sounds in rock. I consider it one of the key albums in my personal musical history. The album begins with "Beauty and the Beast" which still has the funk sound of Bowie's soul period with its percussive punch, soulful backing vocals and driving bass line. However the song's high energy level, Robert Fripp's noisy guitar work, the frenzy of synth sounds and Bowie's intense vocal make it also sound New Wave. The song evokes cynicism and decadence. "Joe the Lion" also has a pronounced beat suitable for the dance floor but it is even noisier than the opening track with more howling guitar work from Fripp and swirling synth lines. The lyrics are again decadent with imagery suggestive of a pulp novel about the dark side of town. "'Heroes'" was co-written with Eno whose influence is evident in the drone that runs through the song. Bowie begins by seductively crooning and as the song builds he becomes more emotional as he desperately shouts out the words. The song's overt romanticism is powerful, idealistically suggesting that love can overcome the turmoil of the world. Given the climate in the world of the time, it was a resonant message, when the song cites the Berlin Wall it is a reminder that the Cold War was still raging in 1977. The first time I heard this song, it immediately captivated me and I still consider it Bowie's best vocal performance ever. By comparison "Sons of the Silent Age" sounds more conventional aside from Bowie's mannered vocal. It starts out with a Middle Eastern flavor before assuming a romantic pop sound that reminds me of his music from his glam-rock days. The saxophone and synths heighten the romantic feeling generated by the music. The lyrics describe the alienation of urban life and escaping through love much like "'Heroes'" does. Side one concludes with another funky dance tune, "Blackout." It is a harsh portrait of urban desperation and a plea to a lover to rescue him. Aside from "'Heroes'" it is the most dramatic song on the album. The music is richly textured and harsh, bordering on cacophonous and the vocals are screechy befitting the tone of the song. It is one of my favorite tracks on the record. Side one of this album is flawless, the best side of vinyl in the Bowie catalog and one of the great achievements in rock in the late 1970s. Side two is more experimental, consisting largely of electronic music instrumentals. When I first got this record I didn't play side two very much, I found it boring. As my musical tastes expanded, I came to appreciate it much more and now consider it an integral part of the experience of listening to this album. It begins with "V-2 Schneider" which is the most pop oriented of the instrumentals. It has a driving bass riff over which Bowie blows energetic sax lines supplemented by synth drones. It is not purely instrumental since Bowie sporadically sings the words of the title throughout the song. Pop disappears for the menacing "Sense of Doubt" which sounds like the soundtrack to a gothic horror movie. Gloomy synth lines alternate with an atmospheric piano line. The mood lightens with "Moss Garden" which was co-written with Eno. The langurous synth drones convey a dreamy feel to it, like meditation music. Bowie noodles around on a koto giving it an exotic texture suggestive of the Far East. "Neuköln" is another collaboration with Eno. It has some of the ethereal feel of the previous track punctuated by Middle Eastern sounding blasts of sax from Bowie which become harsher and more dissonant near the end of the song. It is my favorite of the instrumentals. The side ends with "The Secret Life Of Arabia" which was co-written with Eno and guitarist Carlos Alomar. This is a funky song that returns to the sound of side one giving the album an upbeat finish. I never get tired of this record. It still stimulates me as much now as it did when it came out. There are several Bowie albums that I don't like very much (most of the 1980s and early 1990s) but I don't think there was ever a more adventurous artist in rock. His artistic restlessness made him one of the most interesting and compelling characters that I've ever encountered in pop music. This quality makes his premature passing seem even more tragic to me, I think he still had the potential to make exciting music as his excellent final album "Blackstar" indicates. I'll miss him and I'll always be grateful for the gift he shared with us. Recommended to fans of "Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)" who wish that Eno was a better singer.
Rocket To Russia
The Ramones
Sire SR 6042
1977
A post for the late Tommy Ramone, the last of the original Ramones. Tommy was the drummer on the first three albums by the band and under his real name Tommy Erdelyi had a distinguished career as a producer. This is my favorite Ramones album. I have to admit that when I first heard the Ramones, I did not like them. I thought they were primitive and stupid. Of course that was the whole point, but my tastes were formed by classic rock, I believed in fancy guitar solos and pretentious lyrics. I was too brainwashed by the crappy music of the 1970s to understand what the Ramones were attempting to do. Then I heard "Nuggets" and fell for the Clash, Blondie and Elvis Costello. My aesthetic perspective shifted dramatically. When I bought "Rocket To Russia" a couple of years after it came out, I loved it. Much of it follows the classic Ramones formula, fast paced primitive paeans to idiocy like "Cretin Hop," "Rockaway Beach," "Locket Love," "I Don't Care," "Teenage Lobotomy" and "I Can't Give You Anything." The standout tracks include the hilariously subversive "We're a Happy Family" with its immortal stanza "sitting here in Queens, eating refried beans, we're in all the magazines, gulpin' down thorazines." "Why Is It Always This Way?" is remarkably macabre with its lyrics about being unable to forget a girlfriend who committed suicide and is now preserved in a bottle of formaldehyde. "Sheena is a Punk Rocker" transcends the Ramones' formula achieving classic status with its irresistible catchiness and its timely lyrics. It is a testament to the vapidity of that era that the song was not the massive hit single it deserved to be. The band shakes loose from the formula for a few tracks. "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow" offers a change of pace with a mid-1960s style love song. "Ramona" also features a more pop-oriented song structure reminiscent of the early Kinks as well as slightly more sophisticated lyrics (by Ramones standards anyway.) "I Wanna Be Well" also slows things down a bit for a more poppy flavor although the repetitive drug addled lyrics are pure Ramones. These songs show the band trying to expand their sound, a trend they would explore more deeply on their next album, "Road to Ruin." The album is rounded out by a pair of well chosen covers, a hyper-paced version of Bobby Freeman's "Do You Wanna Dance?" and a faithful performance of the Trashmen's moronic classic "Surfin' Bird" that is right in the Ramones' wheelhouse. There is not a weak track on this album. I think it is the band's masterpiece, the ultimate expression of their original message and style. There was nowhere to go after this. The album's lack of commercial success led the band to attempt to create a more popular sound in their future albums with mixed success. "Rocket to Russia" remains one of the great records of its era, or any era really. It has hardly aged at all. It still sounds fresh and exciting, its energy, creativity and vitality continue to have immense appeal. Tommy Ramone may have passed from this world, but this record's excellence insures that his name and work will not be forgotten as long as people still feel the urge to rock. Recommended to fans of the Stooges.
Queens of Noise
The Runaways
Mercury SRM-1-1126
1977
I recently watched the feature film on the Runaways with my son. To him the movie was ancient history and he was surprised to learn it was based on a true story and that the Joan Jett in the movie is the same artist who performed "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" a song he really likes. For me it was a return to an era I'd rather just forget. I was in high school during the band's heyday and the women were just a few years older than me. Seeing the 1970s lovingly recreated for the film was kind of a nightmare for me, ha-ha. I was not a fan of the band back then, I'm not sure I ever even heard any of their music at the time. I do remember reading an article about them that disapprovingly noted their use of their sex appeal to promote the band (as demonstrated in the cover art of this album with the band clutching strippers' poles) which led me to think they were just a gimmick band. Then Joan Jett became a big star and I liked her records so I went back and checked out the Runaways' music and I liked what I heard. This album was their second record and it sure beats most of what was on the radio back in 1977. I like the band's debut album too but I think this was their definitive statement as a band. The best song is the album opener "Queens of Noise" which was written by Billy Bizeau and sung by Joan Jett. It is the only non-original song on the album but it fits the band perfectly, an ideal theme song for the group. It rocks out wonderfully but I wish the band had increased the tempo and I could certainly do without the hideous synthesizer solo. The song illustrates the difference between the Runaways and the punk bands they are sometimes compared to. A band like the Ramones would have emphasized the song's velocity but the Runaways prefer to emphasize its heaviness. Heaviness also carries the day with Jett's "Take It or Leave It" with its excellent power riff and Jett's forceful vocal as well as lead guitarist Lita Ford laying down some fiery licks in her solo. "Midnight Music" is a lot more poppy although it is still driven by a heavy riff. Cherie Currie sings the lead vocal and co-wrote it with the band's manager Kim Fowley and Steven Tetsch. "Born to Be Bad" was penned by Fowley, drummer Sandy West and future Bangle Michael Steele who had been an early member of the Runaways. It is a self-referential song that plays up their bad girl image. If a guy was singing it I'd find it insufferable, but I like hearing a woman singing about being a rock and roll rebel. The verses are slow-paced, pushed along by a simple heavy riff and then pick up speed for the chorus. Ford delivers a noisy solo that is full of heavy metal cliches but gets the job done. The most appealing part of the song is Jett's charismatic lead vocal. "Neon Angels On the Road to Ruin" was written by Ford, Fowley and bassist Jackie Fox and it is another song inspired by the band's persona. It is a rocking boogie with an outstanding vocal from Currie. Side two opens with Jett's "I Love Playin' With Fire" which is one of the strongest songs on the album. Jett's snarled vocal is backed up with a fast paced hard-riffing tune that foreshadows her solo work. The hard rock noise continues with "California Paradise" which was composed by Fowley, Jett, West and Kari Krome. The song is driven by West's energetic drumming and an alluring, sarcastic vocal from Currie as she croons a twisted paean to California's charms. "Hollywood" is credited to Fowley, Fox and Jett although it is hard to believe it took three people to come up with such an inane song. The song may be dumb but it is very catchy with the chorus boasting one of the strongest hooks the band ever came up with. Jett screeches out the vocal with impressive urgency. "Heartbeat" was written by Currie, Ford, Fowley, Fox and the record's producer Earle Mankey. It is more of a power ballad than a rocker, sweetly sung by Currie as she describes a brief hook-up with a fellow performer. "Johnny Guitar" was written by Fowley and Ford as a showcase for Ford's metallic guitar playing. It is a slow blues that goes on for more than seven minutes. Currie's vocal is buried deep in the mix making it hard to hear the lyrics which describe making love with the title character. The focus of the song is clearly directed at Ford and her guitar. I find her frenzied fretwork self-indulgent but I suppose metal-heads will dig it. The song is easily the worst one on the album for me. Regardless of Ford's regrettable heavy-metal leanings, I consider this to be one of the most exciting hard rock albums of its era right up there with the best work of AC/DC and Blue Oyster Cult. The Runaways were a terrific band, West and Ford could really play, Currie was a talented singer and Joan Jett is one of the greatest rockers of her generation. Despite the sexual exploitation associated with their image, the Runaways' music was a powerful feminist statement of empowerment and liberation. Even with all the countless female punkers and riot grrrls who followed in their wake, I still find this record's statement of female rock power wildly exhilarating. The Runaways kicked out the jams as well or better than any of their male peers. I think they were one of the best American bands of the 1970s. Recommended to fans of the Donnas and L7.
Live! At the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962
The Beatles
Lingasong LS-2-7001
1977
I was watching the movie "Backbeat" the other night and thinking how awesome the soundtrack sounded - too awesome since the music is played by an all-star band. A rhythm section of Mike Mills and Dave Grohl is meant to represent Stu Sutcliffe and Pete Best? That might work if Grohl played bass and Mills played drums. Anyway I pulled out this record to hear what the Beatles really sounded like in Hamburg although this was recorded after Sutcliffe and Best had left the band (there are a few home recordings on the "Anthology 1" album that feature Sutcliffe in the band if anyone is curious.) It was recorded in late December 1962 during the band's final sojourn in Hamburg by fellow Liverpool musician Ted "Kingsize" Taylor on an amateur tape recorder with a single mike. The sound quality is abysmal, sub-bootleg quality, often the vocal is barely audible and the music is tinny with very little bottom. The record itself is shoddily made. I bought it new around the time of its release and it had surface noise and the vinyl was dimpled. In short it was a rip-off, but one I'm happy to own and one that all true Beatlemaniacs will probably find of interest. The American version of this is all covers, but the European issue featured two songs by Lennon and McCartney that were presumably removed from this for copyright reasons. Curiously neither version features "Love Me Do" or "P. S. I Love You" which the Beatles had already released as a single and which they had been performing in England. Maybe they wanted to please the crowd with covers of songs they already knew. Eight of the covers would turn up on the Beatles' studio albums and several of the others will be familiar to people who have heard the BBC sessions or the Decca audition tape. The primary value of this record is that it gives a portrait of the group's sound and repertoire prior to their rise to stardom which was just weeks away. It sounds like a great show, I'd give just about anything to have been there watching it. The Beatles' patter is preserved on the disc and is fun to listen to, McCartney is already quite the charmer while Lennon sounds like he's under the influence of something and takes great delight in substituting the word "shitty" for "city" or "shimmy." The songs run the gamut from ferocious rockers like Ray Charles' "Talking About You," Chuck Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen" and Little Richard's "Long Tall Sally" to pop ballads like the Teddy Bears' "To Know Her Is To Love Her" or Tommy Roe's "Sheila" to standards like "Besame Mucho," "Red Sails in the Sunset" and "Falling in Love Again" and almost all of them sound at least decent and many are first rate. They were so versatile, even at this early stage in their development. What I find amazing, is that by most accounts, the Beatles did not want to be there, they were reluctantly fulfilling a contractual obligation and presumably just going through the motions and yet they still sound terrific. Those early Beatles really could rock. I think even without the benefit of hindsight, you could listen to these crude recordings and detect that there was something special going on here. Recommended for people who prefer "I Saw Her Standing There" to "Yesterday."
Talking Heads: 77
The Talking Heads
Sire 6036
1977
It was the New Wave that got me interested in modern music again after several years of obsessing over the 1960s. I didn't go for it right away. I heard the Ramones and thought they were silly (I've since changed my mind fortunately) and I thought the Sex Pistols were incompetent hucksters (changed my mind there too.) I was always lukewarm about punk, I was alienated by that scene for the most part. I liked the Clash, Elvis Costello and the Talking Heads, they were smart and had something to say. The Heads especially appealed to me - they looked like me and my friends and seemed more like college kids than rock stars. When I saw them on "Saturday Night Live" in 1979 performing "Take Me To The River," I became instantly smitten with them. I went out and bought this, their debut album, along with Elvis Costello's "Armed Forces" which was my first foray into the New Wave. This album amazed me. It was probably the most avant-garde record I had ever heard, not musically but lyrically and conceptually. My taste was pretty mainstream, I had yet to hear the Velvet Underground or Roxy Music or the weirder side of David Bowie. I loved David Byrne's geeky persona and his seemingly normal yet off-kilter statements, I pored over the lyric sheet marveling at his inventiveness. "The Book I Read" was a song that seemed to come right out of my own head as if I'd written it myself (I wish.) I wasn't used to pop songs speaking so directly to my own feelings and experiences. Unlike most rock stars of the 1970s, I could relate to David Byrne. He had so many interesting observations and wrote about mundane topics in a fascinating way. What classic rock act could have come up with a song like "Don't Worry About the Government" in which Byrne sings an ode to the building he lives in and praises civil servants? That song astonished and delighted me when I first heard it. Though I can no longer hear it without thinking parody, "Psycho Killer" at the time impressed me greatly with its deranged point of view. "No Compassion" has some really funny lyrics - "they say compassion is a virtue, but I don't have the time" is one of my favorite lines. It also features some fun tempo changes like many of the songs on the record. I also particularly like the manic "Pulled Up," and the funky "Uh-Oh Love Comes To Town." I really dig Tina Weymouth's bass playing, I'm a sucker for a catchy bass hook and she whomps them out with the best of them. Most of the songs by the early Heads are driven by her. This album is so propulsive and compelling, it never quits. Smarts, goofiness, hooks and a big beat - that almost guarantees a record that will spend a lot of time on my turntable as this one has for 30 years. It is still where I go when I feel like hearing the Heads. Recommended for energetic nerds and twitchy art students.
