Wax of the Week #71...Back from the Grave Volume Two (1983)

Strong entry in the series.

Wax of the Week #70...Arthur Lyman: Polynesia (1965)

One of his better titles, if a bit mellow.

Wax of the Week #69...B.B.K.'s Expedition: Upship’s Creek (c. 1973)

Brass-laden lounge band from parts unknown does the Ojay’s, Chicago, and the Doobies; plenty of private white guy funkiness.

Wax of the Week #68...Arthur Lyman: At the Crescendo (1963)

Good live set with a soft, mellow vibe. I wonder if it’s really live…zero audience clapping or chatter.

Wax of the Week #67...Lonely Moans: “Shoot the Cool” 7” (1989)

 

Early Sub Pop 45. I wanna say these guys were from Western Mass. but I don’t know for sure. They also recorded a single for AmRep, and had an obscure sole LP I haven’t heard. But this is a nifty two-sider of sorta-psych pop sludge. I need to check out their other stuff.

Wax of the Week #66...American Whitewater: Live at the Red Blazer (1973)

Custom Century pressing from a New Hampshire lounge band, with a notable singer.

Wax of the Week #65...v/a: The American Standard (1971)

I reviewed this for the Acid Archives book, so I’ll just reproduce the review here…

Pretty interesting double college LP that's made up of two sides of poetry and two sides of music. For the most part, even though much of it is given a psychedelic tinge with some trippy studio effects, the poetry sides (which include black, gay, and sci-fi themes) evoke little interest, save for "Death of Ulysses," effectively recited in a Long John Silver accent over a raga psych background. "St. James Infirmary," "Foreign Legion Blues," and "Ninety Nine" are unremarkable basement jazz/blues with long guitar and sax solos, but the instrumental "Death of the Lord High Executioner" gets into decent, Traffic-like jazz rock zones. Side three is where the heat is: "The Arm/Invocation and Main Theme" is a long, interesting piece of lysergic free jazz given additional appeal with more tape effects as the song moves along; modern noise/improv heads would flip if they heard it (Roland Kirk and Sun Ra are thanked). "Havens but Not Much" is a satisfying, almost Dead-like instrumental jam driven by acoustic guitar, with electric guitar, drums, and bass providing a exploratory accompaniment. "John Riley" is a nice piece of British folk with male harmonies. If just the music was issued as a single LP this probably would have gotten a lot more attention, but it's still worth looking for.

Wax of the Week #64...Aerosmith: Draw the Line (1977)

Having peaked on their previous record, the drugs start to finally take their toll, and creatively the band begins a downslide. The record’s mostly filler, salvaged by a couple of good rockers. Classic Hirschfeld cover, though.

Wax of the Week #63...Alan Caddy and Bob Faloon: Songs Made Famous by the Rolling Stones (c. 1972)

Over the years I’ve collected a LOT of exploito LPs (cash-in records consisting of often one-take cheap-o versions of hit songs recorded by anonymous studio musicians), but have been slowly getting rid of them for space reasons, mainly. Had to keep this one though, it was so good. The guitars are nice and fat and the singer has a cool ‘60s punk snarl. Caddy, founding member of the Tornados who passed away in 2000, produced dozens of now sound/exploitation LPs chock full of a mix of rock and orchestral covers of hit songs of the day, mainly through the Canada-based Avenue of America label, for which he was house arranger and producer. Don't know who Bob Faloon was. [Funny; when I tried to upload a song to SoundCloud I got a copyright notice for an entity called Studio Union, presumably the current rights holder to these versions.]

Wax of the Week #62...Rein Sanction: “Creel” 7” (1991)

 

Out-of-nowhere Florida oddball band (for Sub Pop at the time), sounding a little like Dinosaur Jr., with laconic vocals that fade in and out, and dripping syrup guitar. Don’t remember liking their other records, but the a-side here is cool.

Wax of the Week #61...AC/DC: Fly on the Wall (1985)

Haven’t heard this since it came out, but I remember a couple of good songs from the local Metal Shop radio show of the time, so couldn’t resist picking up a cheap copy recently (come to find out it was cheap cause it’s full of skips!). “Sink the Pink” still sounds great, flashing me back to rockin’ summer kegger parties in the woods, or driving to a big concert, doing things we shouldn’t. “Shake Your Foundations” is pretty good, but no other songs really stand out. Can’t say I’m familiar with any complete LPs after this one, except for The Razor's Edge and Ballbreaker, neither of which did anything for me. Cover art by Todd Schorr, later a well-known underground painter. (The videos for these songs are terrible.)

Wax of the Week #60...Al Caiola: Theme From the "Magnificent 7 Ride" 73 (1973)

 Cool little easy listening record with some light crime/spy themes.

Wax of the Week #59...Aerosmith: Get Your Wings (1974)

 Contains “Lord of the Thighs,” one of their best songs, along with “Seasons of Wither,” later covered by Die Kreuzen. Has a couple other decent tunes, but was really just a tee up for their next two records. I was surprised to later read that Steve Hunter and Dick Wagner played some (uncredited) lead guitar on this, and the second half of “Train Kept a Rollin’” is not actually live, but mixed with audience noise from the Concert for Bangladesh (!) to sound that way.

Wax of the Week #58...Killdozer: “Short Eyes” 7” (1990)

 

One of my all-time favorite singles. Distills all the cool traits of the band into two songs, and not even with their original guitarist. Crazy Haze drops his deranged Helios Creed spew over the top of the lumbering rhythm section (wish they did a whole LP together). Heaviness meets dry Midwestern absurdity.

Wax of the Week #57...Arthur Lyman: Paradise (1964)

Another solid entry of ultra-mellow exotica; you can smell the salty air and feel the tradewinds on your skin.

Wax of the Week #56...Aeoliah: Angel Love LP (1985)

Don’t brun your ass in pubix, bro, put on some new age and mellow out. Or pretend you’re getting a massage. Two side long (synth?) pieces that, at times, catch a whiff of later Krautrock like Tangerine Dream or Popul Vuh (Aeoliah/Jonathan Fairchild was born in Germany, after all). Sticky note by Will Louviere. Wanna buy some sage?

Wax of the Week #55...Arthur Lyman: The Colorful Percussions of Arthur Lyman (1962)

Not one of his better ones (pretty dull throughout), but it has a couple of OK songs still. And check out the interlocking type on the cover.

Wax of the Week #54...Aerosmith: s/t (1973)

Real basic blues rock for the most part, with a couple of good songs (including an infectious cover of Rufus Thomas’ “Walkin’ the Dog”) plus “Dream On,” which I really don’t ever need to hear again. Portuguese Joe Perry lookin’ like an Indian chief on the cover, Tyler looking closer to his Yonkers Italian roots. All look like longhair degenerates up to no good. Interesting to hear where they started, and how simple the songwriting was.

Wax of the Week #53...Alberto Baldan Bembo: Io e Mara (1969)

I usually avoid vinyl reissues, but seeing as an OG goes for several hundred dollars I figured I’d better grab this 1998 pressing from the reliable Easy Tempo label. Apparently a soundtrack to an Italian TV program, it’s a nice little product of the time, a dreamy, melancholy bit of easy listening jazz with those wonderful Euro wordless vocals. Bembo also composed the soundtracks for NUDE FOR SATAN (1974), EMANUELLE IN EGYPT (1976), THE GESTAPO’S LAST ORGY (1977), and (as Blue Marvin) the 1974 soundtrack to Codice d’Amore Orientale which I’m still trying to get a copy of.

Wax of the Week #52...Accept: Metal Heart (1985)

Their sixth full-length. This one reminds me of Devil’s Kitchen parties the summer after it was released. Danny W. and Scott M. were big into this record (and the first Queensrÿche LP). Crystal clear Dieter Dierks production. Never understood why fans of the earlier records talked shit about this one, I always liked it. I guess it’s a bit more “commercial” in places, but it didn’t seem crowbarred in, rather more natural and organic. They still had some heavy riffs. Love the Tchaikovsky appropriation in the title song.