Hey Hey What Can I Do

Led Zeppelin released very few singles during their lifetime.  Even rarer, were non-LP B-Sides.  They only released one.  Hey Hey What Can I Do as the B-Side to The Immigrant Song in 1970.

Trip With the Ventures

One of my favorite sub sub genres of popular music is psychedelia by artists who have no business getting trippy.  

The Ventures were arguably the finest guitar oriented instrumental band ever.  They put out about six albums a year.  When musical tastes changed, The Ventures followed.  

I offer up this one.

The Ventures - Super Psychedelics  (Liberty 1967).

This features a trippy cover in line with Disreali Gears.  Prominently featured in the lower left is a marijuana leaf.

The photos on the inside gatefold feature The Ventures doing psychedelic things....

Playing jump rope with a pool lane line floaty thing.
Shooting pool.
Playing electric guitars not plugged in.
Shopping for new duds at Brooks Brothers.

and finally.

Walking abreast down the street like The Wild Bunch in cardigans and sport coats.

Alas, I don't have the booklet which promised a full color story of The Ventures.  I'm sure they must have done a lot more trippy activities.

REM Goes Green

In 1989 REM released their Green album on Warner Brothers.  This is the record that launched them from college rock darlings to indie rock godfathers. 

Of course there were a few singles.  Of course they offered up a few non-album B-Sides.


REM - Stand b/w Memphis Train Blues (Warner Brothers 1989)

This one sported a cover of a young Michael Stipe running or something.  The back featured a young shirtless Peter Buck

 

 The label featured a pinwheel. Fitting with the carnival nature of the song.  The B-Side is about 40 seconds long.

  

REM - Get Up b/w Funtime  (Warner Brothers 1989)

The second single from the album.  the B-Side is cover from Iggy Pop's The Idiot album.  The B-Side was recorded and mixed in four minutes.

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REM - Pop Song 89 (Album Version) b/w Pop Song 89 (Acoustic Version)

And then one more without a picture sleeve.  B-side is an acoustic take of the A-Side

The Curious 45 of Bowie's Rebel Rebel

In 1974, David Bowie (Or just plain Bowie as he was calling himself that year) released Rebel Rebel on a 45 in the USA only.  

The single was a completely different version from the Diamond Dogs album.  It starts with the vocal rather than the guitar riff, has different lead and background vocals, different guitar parts, etc.

A curious thing happened with this one.  When Diamond Dogs was released, the track from the album began getting some airplay.  RCA replaced the version on the single with the version from the album.  They didn't bother to change the catalog number.  The only way one can tell which version you get is by checking the running time on the label.  

The original single version clocks in at 2:58.  The album version clocks in at 4:20.


Bowie  - Rebel Rebel b/w Lady Grinning Soul  (RCA 1974)

The B-Side was taken from 1973's Aladdin Sane

This Record Looks Far Out Under the Blacklight

In the late '60s, blacklights and blacklight posters were all the rage.  All the local headshops had arrays of posters.  One record in particular wasn't too far removed.

Cream  - Disraeli Gears (ATCO 1967).

This is an original issue on the brown and purple ATCO label.  I put it under the blacklight for your enjoyment.

The Sex Pistols - Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols  (Warner Brothers 1977)

The seminal punk band went blacklight to be outrageous.  

And continued it on the back.  For some reason, the one track that was included on the USA release and not the UK release isn't glowing.

Sometimes I Like to Buy a Box of Old 45's and Take My Chances....

This is only part of my latest.  Below are the keepers so far....

I'll pounce if I see some cool '60's titles in the picture.  Lot's of '70's pop out there I don't care about.  I'll toss a few Eagles items in the trash.  Condition varies.  This time out I got an original Wooly Bully, Wild Thing, Wipe Out, Raunchy, 96 Tears,  and Bongo Rock.

Also threw in some original Hank Ballard, James Brown, Buddy Holly and Duane Eddy.

Coolest thing (I My Humble Opinion) was the original of Tore Up Over You by The Midnighters - Later covered by Jerry Garcia on his Reflections album.

Record Store Day - The Official List is Out......

Get up early.  Stand in line.  

It's Record Store Day April 18th - The annual celebration of independent record stores.  Once again, the limited edition offerings are legion......

Here's the List.......

Web Version

Downloadable PDF Version

So get in line - just as long as you're not ahead of me with my wish list items on your wish list.   I won't tell where I go, but they've got it down and aren't too crowded. I've never been shut out.  Let's just say I've seen our ambassador there and it's not Amoeba.... and it's in the Valley.,...and next door to a place where rich idiots take their dogs for play-dates...and across the street from one of the finest old school pizzerias in the San Fernando Valley.....

Talking Heads meet Robert Rauschenberg

Talking Heads were on the smarty/arty side of the punk rock/new wave movement.  They came out of the Rhode Island School of Design.  Their original name was The Artistics.   

For their 1983 release 'Speaking in Tongues' they commissioned artist Robert Rauschenberg to design the cover.  The suits at Sire weren't too happy about how elaborate (and expensive) it was.   The album was released to the masses in a standard cover.

A few of the elaborate ones were pressed up anyway and offered on a limited basis.  They were expensive and sold out quickly.  I managed to find one for under $10 in a used bin.

Talking Heads - Speaking in Tongues (Sire 1983)

The packaging consisted of a clear vinyl record sandwiched between three circular transparencies.  Each transparency was a different color.  

The effect was close to one of Rauschenberg's collages. It would look different each time you put it away...

Note that the outer plastic has yellowed.  Originally it was clear. There was a major downfall to the packaging.  The material used for the transparencies created some weird chemical reaction when residing next to the vinyl.  Some of it rubbed off and couldn't be removed. The vinyl - even though there are no visible scars - is very noisy.  Perhaps it was never meant to be played at all.   Sometimes art trumps function.

This limited edition cover won a Grammy.

Just Like Crazy Otto...

Just like Crazy Otto

Just like Wolfman Jack

Sittin' plush with a royal flush

Aces back to back

Lyrics immediately recognized by any DeadHead from Ramble On Rose by the Grateful Dead.  The song originally appeared on their Europe '72 set and remained in heavy rotation in the Grateful Dead live shows ever since.

I was a bit shocked to find that Crazy Otto was a real guy.  Evidently this odd German gentleman with an extremely large head played crazy keyboards.  Judging by the covers of the following EP's, he was most likely the Keith Moon of the keyboard.

I came across an LP of his as well.  This one sports a cover by Jack Davis of Mad Magazine fame.  And for all you DeadHeads, there is a tune called Crazy Fingers on this.  It's not the Garcia/Hunter tune.