-
Featured News
Patti Smith Upcoming Tour for 50th Anniversary of Horses
By Harvey Kubernik
“Horses was like the first cannon blast in a war – frightening and disorienting. I mean, she was so unlike the FM radio terrain in every way. She was literate, aggress -
Featured Articles
BOB DYLAN: A Birthday Salute
By Harvey Kubernik
May 24 is Bob Dylan’s birthday.
Bob Dylan’s ongoing influence is evident on the Bear Family Records’ 2024 compilation He Took us by Storm: 25 lost classics fr -
Sky’s Limits: The Seeds Stumble Into Psychedelia
By Doug Sheppard
To capitalize on their hit single and to keep up with their contemporaries, the Seeds entered the sessions for their third album with aspirations of a more sophisticated sound. It was a great plan, but two things stood in the way: their own limitations and the overconfidence of leader/vocalist Sky Saxon.
Saxon’s inflated sense of self-importance only complicated the band’s limits, but 1967’s resulting Future album came off more as a mixed bag than an embarrassment. Between an overdubbed tuba on “Two Fingers Pointing on You” and “March of the Flower Children” (with Sky’s inane spoken-word intro) and weak material like “Painted Doll” (crappy ballad) and “Where Is the Entrance Way to Play” (forced profundity), Future has its share of awkward moments. The overdubbed harp may be added to that list, but not on “Flower Lady and Her Assistant” — a darker textured number where the objective doesn’t seem as unrealistic — and the obligatory long track “Fallin’ ,” where an “Evil Hoodoo” vibe portends a bad trip. The resurrected B-side “Out of the Question” and “Pushin’ Too Hard” soundalike “A Thousand Shadows” are the best of the lot — probably because they’re the only two that recall the Seeds’ original sound.
Ironically, three of the best tracks from the session — “Chocolate River,” “Sad and Alone” and “The Wind Blows Your Hair” — were left off the album, but appear (plus alternate versions) here. “Rides Too Long” — the original version of “A Thousand Shadows” under a different title — is another highlight of this expanded edition, as are early versions of “Gypsy Plays His Drums” and “Satisfy You,” not to mention less adorned versions (the mono “Travel With Your Mind” is the best mix) of a few album tracks. On paper, the full-length version of “900 Million People Daily All Making Love” has the potential to be another — but 10 minutes of it is a tad too much, and some of these songs (see previous paragraph) will never sound good, no matter what the mix.
To its credit, this reissue doesn’t present Future as an overlooked classic — as Alec Palao even acknowledges in the liners: “If you’re not already a Seeds fan, Future is unlikely to convince you.” The main appeal of this 2CD set is more the historical angle: Even if you don’t like the album much, it’s impossible not to like this beautiful package with extensive sessionography and many cool previously unseen color photos.
Unlike Future, which had at least some redeeming qualities in its original form, Raw & Alive had few. Material notwithstanding, the overdubbed crowd noise (with indiscriminate screams) sounds like a loud air conditioner drowning out the music — and worse, ruining a good performance. Whether you agree or disagree with that sentiment, this remaster presents both the original mix and (to these ears) a far superior undubbed mix.
While the album wasn’t “live” in the sense of being recorded at an actual gig, it was cut live in the studio — so think of it as a lost Seeds BBC session if nothing else. In addition to the new versions of Seeds classics like “Mr. Farmer,” “Pushin’ Too Hard” and a frenetic “Up In Her Room” that beats the Web of Sound original, there are five songs that made their first appearance on this album: “Satisfy You,” “Night Time Girl,” “Gypsy Plays His Drums,” “Mumble and Bumble” and “Forest Outside Your Door,” which hark back to the Seeds of the first two albums, not the ones lost in the psychedelic wilderness of Future.
The second CD is given over to the original attempt at the album, where a small crowd was present. On one hand, it’s easy to see why the band rejected it; “No Escape” is surprisingly limp, “Hubbly Bubbly Love” is cursory, “A Faded Picture” is painfully long and the proceedings generally lack urgency. That said, it’s worth hearing, with strong performances of “900 Million People Daily All Making Love” (much better than its studio counterpart) and “Fallin’ ” (is that Sky chanting “Sun Ra” just after the 5 minute mark?) standing out. What makes this deluxe Raw & Alive worth it even more is (again) the packaging, with the same level of detail and illustration as Big Beat’s other three Seeds remasters. Can’t wait for the singles compilation.
The Present
When the original Seeds imploded, there were hundreds of bands left to pick up the slack (and of course, Sky and company would regroup for two last killer 45s on MGM). Now, such a breakup would be catastrophic, what with a world where great music and real musicians are drowned out by a shrill cacophony of computerized, autotuned sound as heard through the mouthpieces of hip hop, diva bimbos, jocks with cowboy hats (aka, country) and teen schlock. Much as we’d like to believe otherwise, and as easy as it is to now avoid it, mass culture really does suck — possibly more than even in the ’80s. Even the most popular alternatives such as indie rock are lame.
The silver lining is that the glass ceiling on real rock ’n’ roll has created a cottage industry of bands and record labels with no delusions or aspirations fame who just go about their business. They usually don’t make money, slogging it out locally or before small-yet-devoted followings on the road, but the quality is there.
It’s where bands like Richmond, Viriginia’s Ar-Kaics come in. Following up on their stellar debut of “She Does Those Things to Me” b/w “Don’t Need Your Love” on Speakertree (reviewed in UT#36), the band has unleashed three singles at once in Moby Grapesque fashion. With the same primal cheap guitars and tell-tale-heart-attack thump of their ’60s garage heroes, their sound bleeds Southern and subliminally channels the discontent of many bands with current music.
The first of the lot, “Why Should I” b/w “Slave to Her Lies” (Windian), pairs a hooky romp on the top with a downer lament on the bottom. The “Promotional Copy Not for Sale” release (dream big, I say!) on Steady Sounds channels the raunchy guitars and drum thump on “Make It Mine” before moving on to “Movin’ On,” where a ’70s glam-like stomp intro segues into a smoother rhythm. The Hidden Volume 45 of “Sick and Tired” b/w “Cut Me Down” brings back the rough sound (is it about romance or frustration?) for the A-side—then slides down for the slow, almost bluesy flip. Buy ’em all. Buy their upcoming album, which sees the lineup expanded to four with a bass player. See ’em on tour.
One band that has shared bills with the Ar-Kaics is Oakland’s Bad Coyotes, who trump the traditional punk-metal crossover with something more akin to a punk-hard rock hybrid that engulfs listeners in fuzz. Their latest Resurrection Records EP, It’s Time for Sex Positions with Bad Coyotes (sounds like Dr. Ruth advocating bestiality), displays that sound in fine fashion on the gang chorus of “Sex Positions,” the catchy punk burner “Reasons,” the over-the-top riff pounder “Rat Breeders” and “Ex Lion Tamer,” which is actually the comparatively tamest of the lot. All short, all great.
There are some great things happening in Southern California as well — and not just the computer server allowing this blog to be published. The self-titled debut EP San Diego’s Schitzophonics on Munster Records features a powerful movin’ and groovin’ sound on three R&B-styled shakers cut from the tapestry that this magazine has been weaving for the past 30-odd years. In fact, Mike Stax is credited for backing vocals and played with guitarist/vocalist Pat Beers in the fiery ’60s R&B tribute act the Diddley Daddies. Never mind being full of piss and vinegar; Beers onstage has as much of the yellow liquid as the urine samples of an entire Major League Baseball team and as much vinegar as the wine cellar in Stax’s La Jolla seaside estate. (It’s true: I was paid a lot of money to write this review while visiting. Or was it the summer home in the Hamptons? I don’t remember. Anyway, please bitch accordingly on Facebook in garage forums.)
Bonus Review: Stained Glass
For web readers, here’s a bonus review originally intended for the print magazine. This will not appear in the pamphlet or LP versions of this blog, so read it now.
STAINED GLASS – A Scene In-Between 1965-1967 (Ace/Big Beat, UK) CD
They didn’t have the kinetic chemistry of the Chocolate Watchband or a hit like the Count Five and the Syndicate of Sound, but among San Jose ’60s garage bands, Stained Glass had the best original material. In reality, they probably should have had national chart action, but RCA Records forced them to record schlock at the expense of unreleased originals, didn’t promote the records and never let them do an album. Stained Glass also hasn’t appeared on many garage comps, as their music isn’t quite the Stonesy blues or fuzz mayhem associated with the genre.
Rather, using a heavy Beatles influence as the template, Stained Glass featured three- and four-part harmonies, intricate arrangements and lyrics that transcended the lust/angst themes of their contemporaries. The Fab Four inspiration is most overt on the “I Should Have Known Better” knockoff “Walkin’ Shoes” (released in 1966 under their original name, the Trolls) and the “Can’t Buy Me Love” cousin “Dollar Sign Friends” (one of 16 previously unreleased tracks), but otherwise the band utilizes their influences to forge an original sound.
The best is unquestionably the title track, a killer raga-like burst of Anglophilia that anticipates psychedelia, but there’s also the minor-key character study “Mr. Martyr” (an unreleased RCA master), the unique harmony vocal arrangements of the Zombies-like “Lonely Am I” and “My Buddy Sin,” and the Trolls’ Mersey ballads “How Do You Expect Me to Trust You?” and “Sweeter Than Life.”
“We Got a Long Way to Go,” one of the few by outside authors (Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil) is also quite good, but ironically it’s two live covers — “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” and “My Flash on You” — that are this comp’s weakest moments. Otherwise, it’s all quite enjoyable — and boosted by Alec Palao’s detailed band history and lots of vintage photos. Limited edition, so grab it quick. (Doug Sheppard)
QT
Avec les freerolls de , vous pouvez gagner du liquide ou
des entrées dans des plus grands tournois avec de l’argent réel.
If some one desires to be updated with most up-to-date technologies afterward
he must be go to see this web site and be up to date all the time.
I enjoy reading through a post that will make
people think. Also, many thanks for allowing for me to comment!
I’ve been exploring for a little for any high quality
articles or blog posts on this kind of house . Exploring in Yahoo I eventually stumbled upon this website.
Studying this info So i’m satisfied to exhibit that I
have a very just right uncanny feeling I came upon just
what I needed. I so much unquestionably will make sure to don?t disregard
this site and provides it a glance regularly.
I’ve been browsing online more than three hours today,
yet I never found any interesting article like yours.
It is pretty worth enough for me. Personally, if all webmasters and bloggers made good
content as you did, the web will be much more useful
than ever before.|
I could not refrain from commenting. Well written!|
I will right away seize your rss as I can’t to find
your email subscription link or newsletter service.
Do you have any? Please let me know so that I could subscribe.
Thanks.|
It is perfect time to make some plans for the future and it is time to be
happy. I’ve read this post and if I could I desire to suggest you some interesting things or suggestions.
Maybe you can write next articles referring to this article.
I want to read more things about it!|
It’s the best time to make a few plans for the future and it is time to be happy.
I have learn this post and if I may just I desire to counsel you few interesting things or suggestions.
Maybe you could write next articles regarding this article.
I wish to read even more issues approximately it!|
I’ve been surfing on-line more than three hours nowadays, but I never found any attention-grabbing
article like yours. It is pretty worth sufficient for me.
In my view, if all webmasters and bloggers made excellent content material as you
I’m going to come
did, the net will likely be much more helpful than ever before.|
Ahaa, its nice discussion on the topic of this article here at this blog,
I have read all that, so at this time me also commenting here.|
I am sure this post has touched all the internet visitors, its really
really fastidious post on building up new weblog.|
Wow, this paragraph is good, my sister is analyzing these
kinds of things, thus I am going to tell her.|
Saved as a favorite, I really like your site!|
Way cool! Some very valid points! I appreciate
you writing this post and the rest of the website is really good.|
Hi, I do believe this is a great web site. I stumbledupon it
back yet again since i have bookmarked it. Money and freedom is
the best way to change, may you be rich and continue to guide other people.|
Woah! I’m really enjoying the template/theme of this site.
It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s very difficult to get that “perfect balance”
between superb usability and visual appearance.
I must say that you’ve done a very good job with
this. In addition, the blog loads super fast for me on Safari.
Outstanding Blog!|
These are genuinely great ideas in regarding blogging. You have touched
some nice points here. Any way keep up wrinting.|
Everyone loves what you guys are usually up too.
Such clever work and coverage! Keep up the awesome works guys I’ve
you guys to my blogroll.|
Howdy! Someone in my Facebook group shared this website with us so I came to look it
over. I’m definitely enjoying the information. I’m book-marking and will be tweeting this to my followers!
Exceptional blog and outstanding design and style.|
Everyone loves what you guys are up too. This sort of clever work and
coverage! Keep up the good works guys I’ve added you guys to my personal
blogroll.|
Hey there would you mind stating which blog platform you’re
using? I’m going to start my own blog soon but I’m having a hard time making a decision between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal.
The reason I ask is because your design and style seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something unique.
P.S My apologies for being off-topic but I had to ask!|
Hey there would you mind letting me know which
webhost you’re using? I’ve loaded your blog in 3 completely different
web browsers and I must say this blog loads a lot faster then most.
Can you suggest a good web hosting provider at a reasonable
price? Thanks a lot, I appreciate it!|
Everyone loves it when people get together and share ideas.
Great site, stick with it!|
Thank you for the auspicious writeup. It in fact
was a amusement account it. Look advanced to more added agreeable from you!
However, how could we communicate?|
Hey there just wanted to give you a quick heads up.
The words in your article seem to be running off the
screen in Opera. I’m not sure if this is a formatting issue or something to do with internet browser
compatibility but I thought I’d post to let you know.
The style and design look great though! Hope you get the problem
fixed soon. Thanks|
This is a topic that’s near to my heart… Take care!
Exactly where are your contact details though?|
It’s very simple to find out any matter on web as compared
to textbooks, as I found this post at this site.|
Does your site have a contact page? I’m having a tough time locating
it but, I’d like to shoot you an e-mail. I’ve got some ideas for your blog you might be interested
in hearing. Either way, great blog and I look forward to
seeing it improve over time.|
Hello! I’ve been reading your web site for some time
now and finally got the courage to go ahead and give you
a shout out from Humble Texas! Just wanted to tell you keep up the great job!|
Greetings from Ohio! I’m bored to tears at work so I
decided to browse your site on my iphone during lunch break.
I really like the knowledge you provide here and can’t wait to take a look when I get home.
I’m shocked at how quick your blog loaded on my
cell phone .. I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyways,
amazing blog!|
Its such as you learn my thoughts! You appear to know
a lot approximately this, like you wrote the ebook in it or something.
I think that you simply could do with a few percent to drive the message house a bit,
but other than that, this is wonderful blog. An excellent read.
I will certainly be back.|
I visited multiple sites except the audio feature for audio songs current
at this site is truly superb.|
Howdy, i read your blog occasionally and i own a similar one and i was just wondering if you get
a lot of spam feedback? If so how do you stop it, any plugin or anything you can recommend?
I get so much lately it’s driving me crazy so any help is very much appreciated.|
Greetings! Very helpful advice within this post!
It is the little changes that will make the biggest changes.
Thanks for sharing!|
I really love your blog.. Excellent colors & theme. Did you develop this
amazing site yourself? Please reply back as I’m planning to create my own personal website and would love to learn where you got this from or what
the theme is called. Appreciate it!|
Hello there! This article could not be written any
better! Reading through this post reminds me of my previous roommate!
He continually kept talking about this. I’ll forward this
post to him. Fairly certain he will have a very
good read. Thanks for sharing!|
Amazing! This blog looks exactly like my old one! It’s on a totally different topic but it has pretty much
the same page layout and design. Excellent choice of colors!|
There’s definately a lot to find out about this issue.
I love all the points you have made.|
You have made some really good points there. I checked on the internet to find out more about the issue and found most individuals will go along with your views on this web site.|
Hi, I check your new stuff daily. Your humoristic style is awesome,
keep up the good work!|
I just couldn’t depart your web site prior to suggesting that I extremely loved the usual info an individual supply for your visitors?
Is gonna be again steadily in order to check out new posts|
I want to to thank you for this great read!! I definitely enjoyed every little bit of it.
I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you post…|
Hello, just wanted to mention, I enjoyed this post.
It was helpful. Keep on posting!|
Hello, I enjoy reading through your article post.
I wanted to write a little comment to support you.|
I constantly spent my half an hour to read this website’s posts every day along with a
cup of coffee.|
I constantly emailed this weblog post page to all my associates, since if like to
read it next my links will too.|
My coder is trying to convince me to move to .net from PHP.
I have always disliked the idea because of the costs.
But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using WordPress on numerous websites for about a
year and am worried about switching to another platform.
I have heard good things about blogengine.net.
Is there a way I can import all my wordpress posts
into it? Any kind of help would be really
appreciated!|
Hi! I could have sworn I’ve visited this site before but after
going through a few of the posts I realized it’s new to me.
Anyways, I’m certainly pleased I found it and I’ll be book-marking it and checking
back frequently!|
Great article! That is the type of info that should be shared across the web.
Shame on the seek engines for not positioning this publish upper!
Come on over and consult with my website . Thanks =)|
Heya i am for the first time here. I came across this board and I find It truly useful & it helped me out much.
I hope to give something back and aid others like you helped me.|
Hello, I think your website may be having internet browser compatibility problems.
Whenever I take a look at your website in Safari, it looks fine however when opening in I.E., it’s got some
overlapping issues. I simply wanted to give you a quick heads
up! Other than that, wonderful site!|
Somebody necessarily help to make severely posts I would state.
That is the very first time I frequented your web page
and up to now? I surprised with the analysis you made to
create this actual publish incredible. Wonderful job!|
Heya i am for the primary time here. I found this board and I in finding
It really helpful & it helped me out much. I’m hoping to give
one thing back and aid others such as you helped me.|
Hey there! I just would like to offer you a big thumbs up for the great information you’ve got here on this
post. I will be returning to your website for more soon.|
I always used to read paragraph in news papers but now as I am
a user of internet thus from now I am using net for articles or reviews, thanks to
web.|
Your means of describing all in this piece of writing is truly good, every one can easily understand it, Thanks a lot.|
Hello there, I found your blog via Google whilst searching for a comparable subject, your
web site came up, it looks good. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.
Hello there, simply changed into alert to your blog through Google, and found
that it’s truly informative. I am going to be careful for brussels.
I will appreciate when you continue this in future.
Many other folks can be benefited from your writing.
Cheers!|
I’m curious to find out what blog system you
happen to be utilizing? I’m experiencing some minor security problems with my latest blog and
I’d like to find something more safe. Do you have any solutions?|
I’m extremely impressed with your writing skills and
also with the layout on your weblog. Is this a paid theme or did you
modify it yourself? Anyway keep up the excellent quality writing, it is rare
to see a great blog like this one today.|
I am extremely inspired together with your writing abilities and also with
the layout on your blog. Is that this a paid subject matter or did you modify it your self?
Either way keep up the excellent quality writing, it is rare to look a great
weblog like this one these days..|
Hi, Neat post. There is a problem with your site in internet explorer, may test this?
IE still is the market leader and a large part of folks
will omit your wonderful writing because of this problem.|
I’m not sure where you are getting your info, but great topic.
I needs to spend some time learning more or understanding more.
Thanks for wonderful info I was looking for this information for my mission.|
Hello, i think that i saw you visited my site thus i came
to “return the favor”.I’m trying to find things to enhance my
website!I suppose its ok to use {some of|a f\
Hi there just wanted to give you a quick heads
up. The words iin your article seem to be running off
the screen in Ie. I’m not sure if this is a format issue or something to do with web browser compatibility but I thought I’d post
to let you know. The layout look great though! Hoppe you get the
problem solved soon. Cheers
Hurrah, that’s what I was seeking for, what a material!
existing here at this webpage, thanks admin of this web page.
Can I simply say what a comfort to discover an individual who genuinely knows what they’re discussing over the internet.
You certainly realize how to bring a problem
to light and make it important. More people should read this and
understand this side of the story. I was surprised that you
aren’t more popular given that you surely possess the gift.
Peculiar article, just what I wanted to find.