Louisiana born singer/musician Bobby Powell’s been quite a productive gent releasing (at least) 19 singles and an album of some pretty incredible R&B and soul in his long career. Both songs on this early 1967 Whit label release are set to a slow stroll that touch on the blues yet stew 100% soul when left to Bobby’s southern sentimental drawl. The smoldering female backing vox and nicely plucked guitar are nudged up front which gives the tunes a raw swagger that sound a bit like Bo Diddley’s album Black Gladiator …minus the bondage gear. “Thank You” was issued again in 1973 on Excello with a different flipside, his 1965 hit “C.C. Rider”.
…here’s both songs from the original single!
download: Bobby Powell- 7”
The hardest workin’ band in T-Land… GIRLTROUBLE layin’ it down Tacoma stylee with their hometown homage (duh) “My Home Town”. They’ve been tearin’ it up for 30 odd years now… and are STILL out bashin’ chops at various punker clubs & local VFW halls!
…Must be sumthin’ in the water?
Seattle area (Vashon Island to be exact) personality Rod Chavarry has been entangled in the Nor’west garage scene for well over 20 years now and I see NO sign of him bustin’ free anytime soon. Granted The Strychnines are an on again/off again proposition, but no matter what Rockin’ Rod steps his well-tattered beatle boots in… it’ll have his one-of-a-kind, sincere, grey charm. The consistent (ahem) “looseness” in his “style” can be perceived as amateurish, but if omitted the recordings could come across as just typical garage rehash. What ya get here is 1000% of a very passionate man, attempting to survive in his isolated surroundings by reaching out with every ounce of talent he has… and I DIG that!
This self-released split 7” with Portland’s Calamity Jane (their side’s cool too!) was released sometime in the ’90s.
download: Rockin’ Rod and The Strychnines- “(Sweet) Lady Jane” (orig. The Rolling Stones)
Here’s an interesting addition to the Screamin’ Jay Hawkins catalogue. “Itty Bitty Pretty One” was released on the relatively sketchy Koala Record Company outta Hendersonville Tennessee back in ‘79. The tracks are culled from his 1972 album “Portrait Of A Man And His Woman” AND the seriously hard-to-get “Lawdy Miss Clawdy”, which makes me think they just might have “borrowed” the cuts, if ya know what I mean. The songs are not what you’d expect from Hawkins… heading more in ’70s rock territory with enough wah-wah & wacka-wacka string slingin’ to squeeze into ‘bout any blaxploitation soundtrack. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still Screamin’ Jay’s trademark inflections & tirades… it’s just given a good dose o’ semi stoned-out 1970s swagger!
download: Jay Hawkins- “Itty Bitty Pretty One” (selected tracks)
It really doesn’t get any better than THIS! Melbourne Australia’s Sick Things were that area’s bloodbrother to our Germs or Black Flag. Urgent, desperate, NO-holds-barred, in-yer-friggin’-face muSICK that rivaled nearly ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that was happenin’ during the crossover period between punk to hardcore. Supposedly all the “tunes” on this son-uva-biznitch were recorded during 1980 & ‘81 on a reel to reel or some shitty cassette player in various household kitchens, bedrooms, even parties; and from the sonic fidelity o’ this bastard, it’s all that was needed. Not since the Mean Red Spiders single have I heard such vile, angst & energy. Its sound quality is pure punk PERFECTION! This 1989 posthumous collection from Australia’s Shock Records contains their 1985 “Committed To Suicide” 7” along with MANY glorious unreleased tracks. The most famous face to emerge from the band was Mick Turner, who would also form the very twisted & nearly explosive Fungus Brains and the much more popular, Dirty Three.
So hold on to yer shorts for this one cuz… shit’s really gonna start to fly!
download: Sick Things- “The Sounds Of Silence” (selected tracks)
A swig of Australian rock’n roll stardumb from Adelaide’s Grong Grong. Excerpt from a 2011 film school documentary about this “important” band. I think Biafra’s sittin’ on a whole other record by these maestros! Members went on to King Snake Roost, Lubricated Goat, and more. Gettin’ primed for fEEDTIME yet?
