Hank Ray - Everybody's Into Rock'N'Roll - #188

Hank Ray - Everybody's Into Rock'N'Roll

I don't really have a top ten (or top onehundred) of my favourite songs. There's too many good songs and I happen to forget a lot of them after a while. Of course, when I kind of rediscover them, I know exactly why this certain track is in my spotlight. Hank Ray's "Everybody's Into Rock'n'Roll" is different. Either I can't remember the guy's name or I can't find the CD and have to do with a clip on YouTube.

The video should be widescreen viewing, though. Cheeky bit of footage, excellent transformation of the song. "Everybody's Into Rock'n'Roll" has me kind of dancing through the flat every time I hear it and since I happened to find the CD in my collection quite accidentally today, this song has been playing a couple of times.

There's a few things to be said about this track. First, Hank Ray sounds like a Johnny Cash on half mast and second, this is no Rock'n'Roll at all. If I'm not completely mistaken, this is more of a Waltz. I think I get the joke. If you want to buy this one, it can be found on "Mainstream Death Country", a CD that's a couple of years old. You might have to do some searching. And there's some more excellent songwiting to be found on this album.

Cheers

Devon

Utrecht Mega Record & CD Fair November 2014 - Part 3 - #187

Utrecht Mega Record & CD Fair November 2014 - Part 3

Here's a few 7"s I bought at the Mega Record & CD Fair in Utrecht this year. All top notch French Rock'n'Roll bands from way back when.

Les Chats Sauvages is the only reissue 7" amongst the lot. All others are original EPs.

Cheers

Devon

Utrecht Mega Record & CD Fair November 2014 - Part 2 - #186

Utrecht Mega Record & CD Fair November 2014 - Part 2

Here are two more remarkable items I've found at the Utrecht Mega Record & CD Fair this year. I already had a beat up copy of the original U.K. release, plus an original German Vertigo copy and the Repertoire release (and the CD version, of course). This is a first release U.K. copy that comes as close to mint as possible. It didn't come cheap though. First thing I did upon returning home, getting rid of the thrashed U.K. sleeve I had already in my collection and turning the German original Vertigo platter into a frisbee. So, now, I have this m/m first release U.K. copy, a m-/m- Repertoire release and a strange first release U.K. vinyl matched to a first release German Vertigo sleeve (and the CD of course)

And this here: I've been looking for this LP for forever and a day. I have my uncensored playing copy, a stone mint archive copy and the CD of course. The censored version eluded me for decades. All that ever seemed for sale were vg/vg copies at best. This here is as mint as can be and an excellent companion to my regular archive copy. The price was o.k. too, in fact, quite a bargain at EUR 120.00

In case you're wondering what the censoring bit is here, below is the original version.

Cheers

Devon

Utrecht Mega Record & CD Fair November 2014 - Part 1 - #185

Utrecht Mega Record & CD Fair November 2014 - Part 1

Just back from this event. Bought a ton of LPs and 7"s, including some beauties. As usual at record fairs, the Dr. Feelgood/Wilko Johnson related stuff was a bit thin on the ground. This is not just the Utrecht Mega Record & CD Fair, but at about every other event as well, you come up empty handed each and every time. Just goes to prove my theory, that Dr. Feelgood/Wilko Johnson is not a "collectable" band/artist. Do I care about this? I mean, except for the fact that there is never really anything on offer? Not really, I'm a lucky guy not collecting the likes of the Beatles or the Rolling Stones (or Queen etc.), thus avoiding getting into an infight with collectors worldwide about a "rare" record (sutch as the butcher cover, of which there are thousands upon thousands out there). I'm baking smaller bread.

This one, I don't know what it is and what Wilko Johnson is doing here. Sounds like announcements at a rally (I remember there was a handwritten sticker on the outer sleeve saying Amnesty). Whatever, I have no clue. Information is very much appreciated, if anyone knows more about this 7". I do guess it's a bootleg though.

I paid dearly for this one, just to find later, that I owned it already. Dutch release. Although it's in better condition than my other copy. And just to think I checked my collection on the smartphone before buying this ...

This one didn't come cheap either, but the actual 7" is a stock copy (which I already own), so there's not a lot to cheer, because of one self made radio station sleeve. Don't know where my head was, when I shelled the cash out for this one.

Cheers

Devon

Wilko Johnson - Barbed Wire Blues (CD Reissue) - #184

Wilko Johnson - Barbed Wire Blues (CD Reissue)

Just saw a rerelease of this CD today in a shop nearby. It's on Jungle FREUDCD026, "Made In The EC", comes with a clear inner tray and the inlay (the part facing you when you open the jewel case, shows Wilko holding a guitar and a barbed wire running on the left side. The rest is the same as previously issued and I should think, that the songs are a one to one copy of what we've got before. There's probably no new mastering, which is fine with me. I don't need to adjust my hearing aid just because some sound engineer took artistic liberties with the album.

Cheers

Devon

V/A - Sounds Of Silence, The Most Intriguing Silences In Recording History! - #183

V/A - Sounds Of Silence, The Most Intriguing Silences In Recording History!

This is the one to test the limits of your stereo set-up at midnight. Go all the way to thirteen and enjoy this recording of, well, two sides of nothing. Not a sound ... which is not quite true, there's the background noise of any LP, even when the vinyl is clean as can be. But the concept is a fascinating one, with John Cage's 4:33 being the forerunner (and I'm not talking about his 4:33 second version). There's never real silence. And if you're sitting in a soundproof room, playing 4:33 (first version) in a digital copy, you're still going to hear your breathing and you also listen to your own heartbeat and movements.

John Cage is not even the inventor of performed or recorded silence, but he's the one most associated with it. And if you're like me, kneedeep in Noise, Avantgarde, Industrial and the like, you appreciate a live performance as well (as I did a few years back, John Cages 4:33 first version on piano - dead silence, except the audience beginning to get nervous and restless).

What I didn't know until I bought this record just recently, is, that so many recording artists have jumped on board. Of the 30+ tracks on offer here, you'll find some big names like Andy Warhol, John Lennon & Yoko Ono, Sly & The Familiy Stone (that one really surprised me), Crass, John Denver (another surprise), Soulfly, The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, Robert Wyatt and Afrika Bambaataa & Family.

But to put matters straight, this is actually serious stuff with a lot of these tracks making a statement of sorts. The LP has apparently been issued as a double set with a 250 copies limited run (not sure about this claim - wether it actually exists and the 250 bit) and a single LP issue, limited to 500 copies. I almost missed this one in one of my favourite shops, because I'm not in the biz to buy Simon & Garfunkel LPs.

Cheers

Devon

Mono vs. Stereo - #182

Mono vs. Stereo

I'm not enough of a Beatles fan to shell out for the Mono box set that came along recently. But I did buy myself the "Mono Remasters" stand-alone triple LP, as it claims on the sticker, that it is a mono release only, with no digital input whatsoever. Sorry, forgot to mention, I'm talking about the vinyl releases. I still have to listen to the aforementioned LP, but I did realise, that I know close to nothing about mono playback. My set-up was always stereo, but I've been reading a few forums with this topic recently and I'm surprised at the level some enthusiasts will go to have a hardcore mono sound.

Apparently, forget about your stereo with two speakers. If you're serious about it, then you need a mono cartridge with the proper needle on your turntable, a mono block amplifier and one speaker only (not even for "fattening" the sound, would you use two of them). Everything else will not do. Some seem to use a cheap solution by connecting everything with a y-cable, but this is like watching a 50's black and white flick that's been handcoloured. Of course, the erstwhile chain of equipment will set you back a couple of thousand EUROs, just for the pleasure to listen to this stuff the way it was intented. I don't think there's a lot more in the way of mono recordings to be found in an average collection.

A good mono block amplifier (and you need two of them if you want to go back to stereo every now and then) will empty your pocket to the tune of a couple of thousand EUROs (per unit). So, there you are! Plus, a good mono cartridge, so I'm being told, is another 1'000 EUROs of your family income. Assuming that the turntable itself, the cables and the one loudspeaker required are already in place, you're done. That might be overdoing it a bit, but it seems to be very worthwhile. I'm afraid, I'll have to do with my stereo set-up, but reading all about the depth one can go to, in the search for the best imaginary sound, is fun in itself.

Some of these Beatles releases were actually made with the mono set-up in mind and the real fiddling seems to have been on these. The stereo versions were later mixed with no involvement of the band. If I got everything in the correct order, those LPs are not folded down mono versions, but are the real McCoy. The last chronologically regular albums by the Beatles were released in stereo only.

The funny thing is, around 50 years after the fact, the world is still talking about the Beatles and getting hysterical at the same time. Even I'm doing it, with no Beatles collection to speak of. One thing is certain, the Beatles catalogue is being milked and there are, for at least some time to come, always takers that will shell out for recycled stuff. And it comes at a premium price. I can't remember when a box set, broken down to single LPs (including the book) had that kind of price tagged to it. This is expensive stuff, but I should think, the Beatles fan of yesteryear has come into money by now and can well afford the asking prices. It might have been rebellion 50 odd years ago, it's now your chair at the fireside with some 25 year old cognac sniffing and "Love Me Do" playing in the background. You earned your place, enjoy it.

Cheers

Devon

Johnny Spence & Doctor's Order - Kickstart Your Mojo - #181

Johnny Spence & Doctor's Order - Kickstart Your Mojo

Well, the CD's been in my player for a few days now and I'm trying to let it settle. Head over to my website for a thorough appraisal of album #3 of the Johnny Spence & Doctor's Order collaboration. I'm a bit confused right now. These are 12 tracks, three of them witten by Johnny and 9 cover versions. Some of the latter are very well known, yet they point in a completely different direction from what one might be used to. Let's say, you need to get used to those songs from a completely different angle.

There's an overlaying reference to I don't know what, but I'm trying to figure this out by the time the review is on my website. And if this takes me all year long! Let me say what I know for sure so far: The playing time is, with around 33 minutes, quite short and before you turn around, the CD playtime is coming to an end and needs a restart. But my personal take on this is, better a good short album than a boring, "pulls your socks off" 70+ minutes offer. I believe, I mentioned this before.

Doctor's Order pull it off just beautifully, again rough, the right side of production and not filed down to death. And yet, the proficiency comes through and leaves no doubt about the class act they are. I might be out in the cold with this one, but of the three Johnny Spence & Doctor's Order albums, this here is the one where Johnny sounds the most like in his Pirates days. My personal favourite here? How about "Rockin' My Life Away"? Don't ask me, but I thought of Wild Bob Burgos in a flash.

Released on Goofin' Records GRCD 6183. You can order it directly from them, send a message to the band or order it at your local dealer. They can easily get it for you. Do yourself, the world and everyone in music a favour and do not buy from corporate mailorders. They'll sell you stinking socks if need be. Support the people that are your friends.

Cheers

Devon

P.S. Here's the link to my review on my website: http://www.drfeelgood.ch/dockym.htm