Liquid Liquid, “Liquid Liquid” (MoWax, 1997; original release 1981-84)Spooky, bottom-heavy propulso-throb from these early-‘80s NYC post-no wave punk-funksters.Try A/2, A/3, B/2, C/1
Little Anthony And The Imperials, “Tears On My Pillow And Other Hits” (Accord, 1982; original release late ‘50s/early ‘60s)These guys epitomize the try-anything/who-cares fun and abandon of the interlude between rock’s “great” eras – doo-wop, bubblegum-mambo, r&b speed-blasters, it’s all here and it all works.Try 1/1, 1/ 2, 2/110/2/18
Little Anthony And The Imperials, “Tears On My Pillow And Other Hits” (Accord, 1982; original release late ‘50s/early ‘60s)These guys epitomize the try-anything/who-cares fun and abandon of the interlude between rock’s “great” eras – doo-wop, bubblegum-mambo, r & b speed-blasters, it’s all here and it all works.Try 1/1, 1/ 2, 2/110/2/18
Local H, “As Good As Dead” (Island, 1996)This norther Illinois duo’s second – and best – album bears a strong superficial resemblance to the punk-rock side of Nirvana, but really it’s a fusion/streamlining of two great regional traditions – machine-tooled noise-rock (think Big Black) and hard-edged guitar-pop (think Cheap Trick). The sound fills in a […]
Long Ryders, “State Of Our Union” (Island, 1985)Coming out of L.A.’s early ‘80s neo-psych/roots-rock scene (Green On Red, Dream Syndicate, Etc.), these guys were moving toward the mainstream by the time this came out, but this is still pretty raw and stripped-down, archetypal middle-American rock and roll like Mellencamp or Petty if it was all […]
Los Bravos, “Black Is Black” (Magic, 2003; original release 1966)In the mid-‘60s, a German singer in Spain met four local rock musicians, and the result was the international hit title track. They totally deserved the Kudos, too. This is Lovin’ Spoonful-style kooky-flowery sixties guitar-beat-pop delivered with the power and passion of the Sonics, a bold, […]
Los Punk Rockers, “Los Exitos De Sex Pistols” ([some bootlegger], 2014Absolutely astounding curiosity from post-Franco Spain. A re-recording of “Never Mind The Bollocks” by some semi-competent band of studio hacks, recorded in glorious mud-fi. Still more wretchedly brilliant than the ham-handed musicians, though, is the vocalist, who comes on like a crazed, gargling method actor […]
Love and Kisses, “You Must Be Love” (Casablanca, 1979).Ultra-suave disco for a romantic night out on the continent; verges on the absurd, but the kinetic pulse and melodic invention pushes it into the excitement zone. Try 2/111/12/12
Love, “Da Capo” (Elektra, 1966)B-side is a long jam; A-side has what I think is the peak work of this form-shattering L. A. pysch-pop combo, the sinister pummel of their garage beginnings still present, the lush flowers-of-evil soundscapes of their great 1967 “Forever Changes” LP already in bloom. Everything on the A-side is great, but […]
Love, “Forever Changes” (Elektra, 1967)A kind of bridge between the rhapsodic, overloaded pop of the Pet Sounds-era Beach Boys and the hard-driving, nihilistic explorations of the Doors, this L. A. psych masterpiece is alternately passionate, haunted, ecstatic and terrifying.Try 1, 6, 7, 108/23/12