ZouZou!

download or listen here:
Zouzou - "Tu Fais Partie Du Passe" - mp3

Who was the beautiful ZouZou?
Zouzou (Danièle Ciarlet) was/is an iconic French model, actress and singer of the 1960s and early 1970s. She dated several famous men back in the day, including Brian Jones, and Jack Nicholson. Born on November 29, 1943 ZouZou was a model, actress, singer and icon of the 1960s and early 1970s mostly known for her beauty and for her lead role in Éric Rohmer's "Love In The Afternoon". Her career, however, was constantly hampered by her addiction to heroin and other drugs. The nickname "Zouzou" is due to her lisp.




Being a French model, actress and singer in the 1960s, she didn’t have to seek out work – it came to her. With her slim, almost masculine frame, she was perfect for the androgynous styles being designed by Jean-Paul Goude and she was offered modelling work for him and, later, for Yves Saint Laurent. She gained notoriety for her private life as much as for her work. Of an evening she would frequent the top Parisian nightspots, and her tireless clubbing led to her being dubbed “Zouzou la twisteuse” by Paris-Match magazine . Almost inevitably, she was offered a recording contract with the Vogue label. Her first EP, released in April 1966, comprised four songs composed by the then unknown Jacques Dutronc (he became an extremely successful singer himself shortly afterwards). The lead track was the excellent folk-styled "Il Est Parti Comme Il Est Venu" (see above video).While promoting the release she met Marianne Faithfull and the two became firm friends. The British singer and actress was just one of the stars that Zouzou counted amongst her entourage. That year she became romantically involved with Brian Jones and lived with the Rolling Stones guitarist in London for about a year - even though they did not speak each others language!
In 1967 she returned to the studio to record a follow up EP, featuring Petit garçon as the lead track. Again, she supplied the lyrics, including a French translation of Young girl blues, which folk singer Donovan had offered her and which became Ce samedi soir.
Here's a fairly recent music video of ZouZou & Donovan doing a duet. It's always amazing what time and passing years can do to the young and beautiful.

Stop

Hello Faithful listeners,
Here's a great song I've been groovin too over the last few weeks. Sticks to your brain like a fruity marshmellow-tangerine dream! Created by a guy named simply, "Giorgio". (Giorgio Moroder) Dig this chorus. This tune could easily have been a big psychedelic-pop hit back in 1967. If you like Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd & Sgt. Pepper-era Beatles you'll love this catchy little ditty.
Fun Fact: This is the same man who would later launch the career of disco-queen Donna Summer.

download or listen here:
Giorgio - "Stop" - mp3

You Should Never Have Opened The Door!

Overlooked killer tune from the legendary Ramones off the LEAVE HOME LP.
For some reason I kept playing this over and over last weekend.
It features great some minimal & rare backing Ramones vocals with great philosophical and intellectual lyrics:
Mama, where's your little daughter?
She's here, right here on the altar
You should never have opened that door - now you're never gonna see her no more
You don't know what I can do with this axe, chop off your head so you better relax!
Check it out and of course, Turn it up!

download or listen here:
Ramones - You Should Never Have Opened That Door - mp3

Another smokin' great tune off the LEAVE HOME l.p is The Riviera's cover of "California Sun".
Check it out ~ LONG LIVE THE RAMONES!!!!!

download or listen here:
Ramones - California Sun- mp3







border="0" />

TOM JONES - Bama Lama!!

I'm hoping many of you have never heard this 1966 tune from Tom Jones.
A cover of a 1965 Little Richard song, "Bama Lama Bama Loo" Rocks all the way through. He cut this single when he was in The Squires. It's probably the wildest thing he's ever cut. Take a listen & turn it up!

download or listen here:
Tom Jones - Bama Lama Bama Loo - mp3

Another great song from his early days is one of his first singles, "Chills and Fever". Also a great rockin tune - which also shows off his signature powerfully strong delivery. Here it is:

download or listen here:
Tom Jones - Chills & Fever - mp3

Check it out on YouTube:




Jones rose to fame in the 1960s as a singer with an exuberant live act that included wearing tight pants and billowing shirts, in an Edwardian style popular among his peers at the time. In 1963, Jones became the frontman for Tommy Scott and The Senators, a local beat group. Clad in black leather, he soon gained a reputation in South Wales, although the Senators were still unknown in London.
In 1964 the band laid down seven tracks with maverick "Telstar" producer Joe Meek, who took them to various labels in an attempt to get a record deal, with no success. The plan was to release a single, "Lonely Joe / I Was A Fool", but the ever-flighty Meek refused to release the tapes. The group returned to South Wales and continued to play gigs at dance halls and working men's clubs. One night, Jones was spotted by Gordon Mills, a London-based manager. Mills became Jones's manager, and took the young singer to London. He also renamed him "Tom Jones," an ingenious moniker that not only linked the singer to the image of the title character - a good-looking, low-born stud, portrayed in Tony Richardson's film of Henry Fielding's The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, which was a huge contemporary hit - but also subtly emphasized his Welsh nationality. Gordon Mills gave many rock stars their stage names, among them Engelbert Humperdinck. The Senators became the Playboys, and later still the Squires. It was the beginning of the second phase in Jones's career.



Record companies were finding his style and delivery to be too abrasive and raw. Jones's vocals were considered to be too raucous, and he moved like Elvis (whom he later cited as one of his influences). But eventually, Decca rekindled their early interest, and Jones recorded his first single, "Chills And Fever" in late 1964.
The single didn't chart, but the follow-up, "It's Not Unusual," (see this great video) which Mills wrote and composed jointly with Les Reed, was an instant hit, released in early 1965. The BBC initially refused to play it, but an offshore pirate station, Radio Caroline, picked it up. Its orchestrated arrangement, coupled with Jones's energetic delivery, proved infectious, and by March the song reached number one in the UK and the top ten in America. In the same year, Jones sang the theme song to the James Bond film Thunderball. Jones was awarded the Grammy Award for Best New Artist for 1965.

Also -You gotta see this Funky-as-all-hell duet with Janis Joplin from 1969! "Raise Your Hand!"

Latino a Go-Go!

Ola Amigos! I'm not sure what inspired me to put together this 5-song mix of Latino Garage tunes. Maybe it's my longtime love affair with The Sounds single, "Little Joe" (Sunglow 126). Those mystery rockers from somewhere in Texas put out this nugget in 1967. If anybody can shed some light on these guys...PLEASE DO!
But also this other great tune I've just recently discovered. Gene Ricky & The Swingers doing "What You Wanted Most".
I'm not even sure if Gene Ricky is Hispanic or not. He almost sounds like it. He may have been a Rockabilly artist trying something new in the mid-60's. But to me the song sounds like a mix between ? & The Mysterians and an early demo for Sam Sham & The Pharoah's. Great stuff!
So these tunes helped kick this mix in gear. So I had to throw in Thee Midnighters, Question Mark & The Mysterians and The Blendells! Not to outshine other greats like The Premiers, Sir Douglas Quintet, Ritchie Valens, Sam Sham & The Phaorahs, Cannibal & The Headhunters & The Sentinals.
Dig it!

download or listen here:
The Latino A Go-Go Mix - 11 MB mp3

- Thee Midnighters - "Whittier Blvd."
- Gene Ricky & The Swingers - "What You Wanted Most"
- The Sounds - "Little Joe"
- Question Mark & The Mysterians - "Don't Tease Me"
- The Blendells - "La La La La La"

Contentment

Here's a quick one you'll want to hear again and again. Dig on The Lydells masterpiece, "Contentment". These fine lads from Rolla, Missouri made all the little girls cry back in the day.
With their sad, moody-but-tough & raunchy mid-western surf sound, you'll see why. Recorded in a college radio station in 1965.

download or listen here:
The Lyndells - Contentment - mp3

For more info on The Lyndells, click here.

original lineup

The Lyndells get groovy!!

End of Summer 09 Mix

Hey gang! I don't know about you, but I'm ready for some cooler weather. Enough of this sticky, bug-infested hot summer! Bring on the cool nights and the sweet colors of autumn! We've gathered a shit-load of new music over the summer and thought it would be a good idea to put together a little mix of some highlights, as well as throwing in a few old surprises.
So to help say goodbye to yet another summer, click on the mix link, crack a cold beverage or two, kick back and enjoy the pics and info on these tunes. We hope you dig it!
Stay tuned for some upcoming new posts in the works.

download or listen here:
End of Summer 09 Mix - 33mb mp3

Track list:
1. Brian Jones interview by Harry Harrison 1965.
2. She Said So - The Conductors
3. She's A Girl - The Primordials
4. I Stand Accused - Elvis Costello
5. It's a Dirty Shame - Esquires
6. Color Dreams - The Deep
7. Struggle/Arkansas - Charles Manson
8. Purple Floating - Hydro Pyro
9. I'm Doin' Alright - The Fugs
10. Go Get A Wig - The Ideals
11. Excuse, Excuse - The Seeds
12. S.P.I. - The Spiders
13. 99th Floor (demo) - The Moving Sidewalks
14. Do Nothing - The Specials
15. Doin' My Time - Flatt & Scruggs

We start things off with an old radio interview with the Rolling Stones, Brian Jones. I'm sure Brian was rolling his eyes when having to answer legendary DJ Harry Harrison's silly questions.
We go right into a 60's garage punk nugget I just discovered a few days ago. Where has this unknown cruncher been all these years? Mystery group, The Conductors.
These guys are a current garage group hailing from Toronto, Ontario Canada. I really dig their version of The Attraction's freakbeat single, "She's A Girl". Rarely does that happen, but I almost like it better than the original. check out their MySpace page.I used to play this record over an over back in the New Wave days. Something about the cool graphic cover and the cheesy keyboards grabbed me. Of the 20 songs on this great album, this one was a real standout. "I Stand Accused" explodes with early 80's energy. Dig it!
"It's a Dirty Shame" by The Esquires is off a comp I found online called Wild Canada. Very cool.
This is the record that they say was the first album to tag the word "Psychedelic" with their music. (Pre-dating the 13th Floor Elevators and Blues Magoos) This version has some overdubbed trippy sounds mixed in that are not on the album I bought back in the day.

The Deep brings us to this next weird tune. When I discovered Charles Manson and his 'Family' recorded an album back in 1967-68, I had to hear it just out of curiosity. I was surprised to hear alongside of some forgettable folky-guitar ramblings, a few trippy, train-of-thought psyche numbers - like this one. Off his 'album' LIE, in this tune, he's mumbling something about Arkansas... featuring droney background vocals by his murderous female followers and a twangy electric guitar. This song sort of reminds me of a song I heard years ago by an American psyche group Hydo Pyro doing "Purple Floating". Here it is... Ahh, this is much better!

In turn this sort of reminds me of The FUGS! Their first 2 albums from 65 and 66 are great! I always had a soft spot for "I'm Doin' Alright!" Dig it!

This cool obscure soul tune I found on Derek's Daily 45 site. Love it!

In honor of our beloved Sky Saxon passing to the energy earlier this summer, I give you an "Excuse, Excuse." I would love to know what the other Seeds are doing now!! Anybody know?
I met Jan Savage in 2002 in Hoboken, NJ at a Seeds show! He was having a BLAST!!

Great garage instrumental from the great Japanese group The Spiders.

I bet many of you have never heard this obscure demo version of the almighty 99th Floor! Dig it!

I still love The Specials - They single handedly introduced me to Ska back in 79. Love this one.

I heard this on NPR the other day and had to get it. I can dig some bluegrass every now and then. Love the lyrics. Hope you had a great summer! Until Next time. Let me know what you think!

Shang Foo Pt. 2!

We're back with a killer. Awesome mod-funk tune with a chunky organ breakdown and a rare, tasty vibraphone to boot. Found on the amazing Buttshakers! Soul Party Vol. 3! SHANG FOO!

download or listen here:
Shang Foo Pt. 2 - Danny Freeman & The Soul Superiors

Satisfaction

Jesus Christ Superstar - 1970

Hello music fans. This one I can remember rocking out to back when I was around 7 or 8 years old right after it came out. My parents had this record and I used to listened to it on our big wooden stereo hi-fi record player cabinet. I can still remember playing on the backyard swingset and singing 'Jesus Christ Superstar'. (Along with The Jackson 5's "Rockin Robin", The Raiders "Indian Reservation", The Carpenters "Close To You" and Curtis Mayfield's "SuperFly".
I once read that Dave Brockie of GWAR, loves this record too. This little 3-song mix is all you need to go back for a bit, and get a taste of the music. Starting out with my favorite track on the album, the funk-rock (dig the subtle Hammond organ touches) Sly & The Family Stone-ish, "What's The Buzz?". Next we go right into that superfunk workout, "Superstar". Ending out with Yvonne Elliman's (I can't believe I've got her on my blog!!??) "Everythings Alright".

The Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber rock opera was first heard as a 1970 album before being staged on Broadway the next year, and then a 1973 movie. On the original album, the part of Jesus was sung by Ian Gillan, the lead singer of Deep Purple who later also worked with Black Sabbath and others, and that of Judas by Murray Head. The future Gary Glitter had a one-liner as a priest and Michael d'Abo appeared as King Herod. The title song, "Superstar", sung by Judas (Murray Head), and "I Don't Know How to Love Him", sung by Mary Magdalene (Yvonne Elliman) about her relationship with Jesus, were both big hits. Now Testify!

download or listen here:
Jesus Christ Superstar 3-song mix