Roy Wood, “Boulders” (United Artists, 1973)
Solo after the first ELO LP, the Move’s mastermind lets loose a set of twisted, wandering post-Sgt.Pepper’s art-pop that echoes kaleidoscopically in your head.
Try 1/ 4, 2/ 1
6/18/18
Robin Trower, “Bridge of Sighs” (Chrysalis, 1974)
Ex-Procol Harum guitarist with a fine set of moody, Hendrix-inflected riffolas that should appeal to fans of acid-damaged early ‘70s Brit hard rock.
Try 1/2, 1/4.
11/12/12
Ray Stinnett, “A Fire Somewhere” (Light In the Attic, 2012; original recording 1971)
Commissioned by A & M, then never released, this effort by the former Sam The Sham And The Pharaohs guitarist really is a lost classic – funky, hard-edged white Memphis r & b filtered through spooky acid-folk, or vice versa. If there was a missing link between the Band and Big Star, this might’ve been it.
Try 2, 3, 12.
1/13/13
Runaways, “Queens of Noise” (Cherry Red, 20xx; original release 1977)
Second LP doesn’t have quite the immediacy of the first, but there are even more classic songs, and a nice, increasingly heavy edge. Oh yeah, this was one of the most crucial bands of the time, teen bubblegum nihilism filtered through anvil-fisted glitter/Stooges hard-rock stomp. The fact that they could be said to have started both L.A. punk and L. A. hair-metal only begins to suggest their glory.
Try 4, 5, 6
2/21/16
Runaways, “Waitin’ For The Night” (Cherry Red, 2003; original release 1977)
With Cherie and Jackie gone, their third and last studio set for Mercury finds them drifting simultaneously towards metal (Lita) and punk (Joan). Barely out of high school, they were, however, already skilled pros and the two divergent styles are here blended into a tense, exciting whole that is as rude and raw as the early Ramones and as commandingly dynamic as early Van Halen (essentially their two ’77 peer groups).
Try 6, 7
7/11/18
Runaways, “Runaways” (Cherry Red, 2003; original release 1976)
Prefiguring L.A. punk, already beyond metal and glam, the Runaways played rock and roll with such spoilt-brat innocence and arrogance you’d think they invented it all by themselves. The rhythm section somehow darts and pirouettes in lead-soled boots, Lita and Joan’s guitars slash melodies like taffy apples with razorblades in ‘em across smog-streaked sunsets, and Cherie and Joan sing the indelible epic poetry of Quaalude kids playing in the wake of Vietnam and mass crime. Only the Dolls even came close to this.
Try 4, 7, 8, 10
3/8/18
Rubber Rodeo, “Rubber Rodeo” (Eat, 1982)
Providence, R. I., female-fronted art-student-new-wave combo, a unique fusion of synth-pop and Fifties country music, like the B-52s on “HeeHaw.” Kitschy, Kooky fun.
Try A/2, B/2.
4/19/12
Royal Trux, “Royal Trux” (Drag City, 1993; original release 1988)
This debut by the Sonny and Cher of the post-competence-rock underground is still the best of their many fine records, in my book. Early-Stones-indebted flat-affect treble blues gets squashed cubist-style or stretched out into eerie DeChirico desert-scapes. Rhythms that move like their shoelaces are tied together make the urban-decay mantras of the lyrics that much more tantalizing and haunting.
Try 1, 8, 12, 14, 15
4/7/19
Rotomagus, “The Sky Turns Red” (Lion Productions, 2012)
This combo was one of the few French groups playing psych/hard rock in the late ‘60s/early ‘70s. Collecting their recordings from that era, this is some crazed shit, guitars and drums trying to barrel past one another while the singer bellows his soul out over the maelstrom.
Try 3, 6, 8, 13
5/23/12
Roni Size/Reprazent, “New Forms” (Mercury, 1997)
Two-Cd extravaganza from the pioneering jungle auteur, a set representing (reprazenting?) EDM’s early peak of mass-hipster prestige (under the more portentous youthquake-brand “electronica”). Well, the darn thing is actually really good. The speed-twitching breakbeats and sheets of insect-like synth-flutter-swarms whiz through the minimalist frame in a way that often evokes the jazz-like elegance that was intended.
Try disc 1: 1, 2, 8
4/7/19