Psycho

The popularity of songs of tragedy and murder in Country music has a long history. Tales of disaster, confessions from killers and songs of madness and depravity have all found a home in the hallowed halls of "good old down-home music." But while the annals of Country music's past are littered with the bodies of Knoxville Girls and Pretty Pollys, the king of all hillbilly murder ballads has got to be this simple honky-tonker whose title cuts right to the heart. "Psycho", written by Leon Payne and recorded by Eddie Noack, is a songwriting masterpiece of both gruesome excess and subtle understatement. Noack's recording has a rough, single-take demo quality to it, as the rhythm section can't seem to settle on what they should be doing, but that uncertainty is also part of the charm.

Leon Payne

Leon Payne was a country singer and songwriter who had the distinction of having two of his songs recorded by Hank Williams; "Lost Highway" and "They'll Never Take Her Love From Me". Other well-known songs he wrote are "I Love You Because", which Elvis Presley recorded at his first session for Sun Records in 1954, and "Things Have Gone To Pieces", originally a hit for George Jones. But Leon's song "Psycho" is written as a confession of sorts, as its narrator calmly tells of dispatching his ex and her new beau, strangling a puppy, beating a little girl to death with a wrench and more hinted-at horrors. The put-away line comes in the chorus with the rhetorical question of "You think I'm psycho, don't you Mama?"

Over the years, the story of the song's origin has become as twisted as its subject matter, with many falsehoods spreading across the Internet. The most common story is that the song was a reaction to the mass-shooting rampage perpetrated by Charles Whitman on the University of Texas campus in August 1966. Other sources say the song was inspired by the classic 1960 Alfred Hitchcock film "Psycho" and/or Robert Aldrich's intense 1964 Southern gothic film, "Hush Hush, Sweet Charlotte", which is possibly the creepiest soap opera ever made. I'm sure you're all familiar with the Hitchcock story, so enjoy the rarely seen "Charlotte" trailer... if you dare!

"The movie story came from my mother, and she was known to exaggerate at times," says Myrtie Le Payne, Leon Payne's daughter. Since both Payne and his wife were blind, their daughter did accompany them to movies and whisper descriptions of what was happening onscreen, but cinematic horrors were not the direct source for "Psycho."

After years of people asking her about the song, Myrtie Le only recently tracked down the true story. "Jackie White was my daddy's steel guitar player," she says. "He started working with him in 1968, and the song came out of a conversation they had one day."

According to the story related by White, in the spring of 1968, he and Leon Payne were discussing the murders of eight student nurses in Chicago in July of 1966, for which one Richard Speck was convicted and sentenced to death the following year. Being a history and true crime buff, Payne was familiar with the cases of many notorious mass killers, and the discussion soon turned to other famous murder cases. That conversation directly inspired the song, and Payne immortalized White's contribution by naming the boyfriend killed in the first verse after him, along with working in references to some of the murderers they had discussed in lines like, "Can Mary fry some fish, Mama?"

Another popular rumor is the that Payne stipulated the song could not be recorded until after his death. "I don't know of any songwriter who writes a song and then says 'Don't record this'." Myrtie Le says. "When Daddy wrote a song he had someone in mind to record it. He would call them and actually sing the song over the phone to them. He was quite the song pitcher."

The original 1968 single.

Myrtie Le thinks her father probably had fellow Texan and old friend Eddie Noack in mind for the song when he wrote it. In any case, Noack recorded the first and arguably quintessential version of "Psycho" in the fall of 1968 for the Nashville-based independent label K-Ark Records, before Payne's death from a heart attack in September 1969. This is the version you heard at the top of the page.

"Psycho" was revived in 1974 by Michigan country singer Jack Kittel, whose considerably tidied up arrangement was used in the 1996 Bill Murray film "Larger Than Life". That version was then adapted further by Elvis Costello, who recorded a live version in 1979, and also a studio version in 1981 for the "Almost Blue" sessions, which was rightfully shelved. Here's that live recording from Mr. MacManus.

Elvis Costello's 1981 country experiment, "Almost Blue"

Although the song "Psycho" initially sank into obscurity, various versions can be found on YouTube, including live performances by horror-fantasy writer Neil Gaiman and his wife, musician Amanda Palmer. In 1984, Australian pub rockers Beasts Of Bourbon cut their version, followed by Teddy Thompson, who recorded the song anew for the soundtrack of Gus Van Sant's heinous 1998 remake of the movie "Psycho", which is best ignored and forgotten. (You can't get those 2 hours back, you know.) It's also become a favorite cover song for many Alt-Country and Rockabilly bands that skew toward the twisted and dark side of country, thus proving a great country song will always find its audience, once the world gets weird enough.

Finding Elvis Costello's version of "Psycho", which was issued as a bonus track on his album "Almost Blue", is certainly easy enough. Amazon can assist with that. The recordings of Eddie Noack, long out of print stateside, have been picked up by the German archival label, Bear Family, whose uber-quality reissues of classic American Rock 'n Roll are without peer. There's an Eddie Noack anthology, "Psycho: The K-Ark and Allstar Recordings 1962-1969" on CD at Amazon, or if you just want that one song, there's a 7" vinyl single in a picture sleeve. It's a Limited Edition of 500 numbered copies, and goes for about $10. I'd be surprised if it's not pressed in red vinyl. It should be, if it isn't.

Regarding the version by Jack Kittel; an album of his is available, but because it's Halloween, I'm gonna steer you toward this wild compilation from Ace Records in the UK, "Dead! The Grim Reaper's Greatest Hits"! It features Kittel's version and all of your favorite teen tragedy songs, including many rarities not found elsewhere on CD, including the death song to end all, "I Want My Baby Back" by Jimmy Cross. It's morbid, but fun, and Ace makes quality products of the same caliber as Bear Family.

Space Oddity / Ashes to Ashes / Major Tom (Coming Home)

A 1969 UK picture sleeve of the Philips single.

Today, I'm going to have to tell you one story just so I can tell you another. That's just how things unfold sometimes.

I've always found it interesting how certain fictional characters can take on a life of their own over the course of several unrelated works by different artists. Today's case in point is one Major Tom, who we first heard of in David Bowie's breakthrough song, "Space Oddity", from all the way back in 1969. For those unfamiliar with Bowie's narrative, Major Tom was an astronaut who, by accident or intent, has a malfunction with either his spacecraft or his tether during a spacewalk outside the ship, and is doomed to drift in space with no hope of returning to Earth. The song was very timely as the first moon landing occurred in July of 1969.

As for subsequent appearances, Bowie himself revisited the character in the song "Ashes To Ashes" from his 1980 album "Scary Monsters", but only in the form of a distant memory. Instead of an astronaut who casually slips the bonds of this world to journey beyond the stars, "Ashes..." describes Major Tom as a "junkie, strung out in heaven's high, hitting an all-time low". This lyric can be interpreted as a play on the title of Bowie's 1977 album "Low", which charted his own withdrawal inwards, following his cocaine excesses in America a short time before; a reversal of Major Tom's original withdrawal outwards towards space.

The final lines, "My mother said, to get things done, you'd better not mess with Major Tom", have been compared to the verse from a nursery rhyme, "My mother said, that I never should, play with the gypsies in the wood" Interviewed in 1980, Bowie described the song as "...very much a 1980's nursery rhyme". Years later, Bowie said that with "Ashes to Ashes", he was "wrapping up the seventies really, for myself, and that seemed a good enough epitaph for it".

Although Bowie would give another brief passing nod to the character in his 1995 song, "Hallo Spaceboy", the story of Major Tom had received more significant development back in 1983 from Peter Schilling in his international hit "Major Tom (Coming Home)", which was featured on his 1983 album, "Error In The System". Although the song was originally recorded in German as "Major Tom (Völlig Losgelöst)", translation: "totally disconnected", the hit version was sung in English. The song would remain Schilling's only visit to the upper reaches of the Pop charts, riding Bowie's coattails all the way to #14 on the American Hot 100.

Although that song has been recorded numerous times by the diverse likes of Plastic Bertrand, MXPX and Hilary Duff, the one that sticks is the version done recently by Shiny Toy Guns. Their synth-based sound and theatricality, along with a glittery stage production, really launches the song into the 21st century. I have to say I find it interesting that as up to date as Shiny Toy Guns sound, even a cursory listen to most of their songs shows an obvious lineage to the 80's band, Berlin. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if Shiny Toy Guns were to release a cover of "The Metro" sometime. While I'm not a fan of the blatant corporate sponsorship that is seen at the end of this video, I understand that a band's gotta do what they've gotta do if they want to play at the national level, even if that means doing a cover tune for a car commercial. For some, getting that commercial is the big break.

Pugwash

A lot of musical Bowie devotees have covered his songs, and it seems that many of them tend to specialize in darker genres like Goth, Emo, Techno and Electronica. Many of those covers are either too morose or soulless for me, although lyrically, Bowie hasn't been the most chipper chap when it comes to subject matter. But a good song always proves itself when it stands up well under a sparse acoustic treatment, such as this rendition of "Ashes To Ashes" by Irish pop wunderkinds, Pugwash, whose own original work is startlingly musical and refreshing. Here's Pugwash front man Thomas Walsh in a live performance with The Section Quartet.

And just when you think that this party has had all it can handle, in strolls William Shatner, of all people.

Shatner says in the liner notes to his 2011 album "Seeking Major Tom", that he and producer Adam Hamilton would often think "Is this absurd or is this awesome? Or is this absurdly awesome?". The basic premise was that Shatner had been presented, yet again, with the notion of recording some science-fiction related songs, which was of little interest to him, until he stumbled onto the character of Major Tom and wondered whether there was more of the good Major's story to be told. Shatner had apparently been long fascinated with the concept of the Major Tom character and his motivations. And so, Shatner and producer Hamilton went about vetting songs that might flesh out the tale of Major Tom, however speculative or vaguely referential they might be.

I'm just gonna say that every musical instinct in my being is telling me that I should loathe and despise this ham sandwich of an album. Like some other recent overblown concepts, this may have been successful as an EP of 5 to 7 songs. But as the concept quickly wears thin, 20 songs over 2 CD's is overkill, and ultimately buries the project under its own weight. But to be fair, sometimes performers do things that aren't intended to have much artistic merit. They do them because they're fun things to do. Like karaoke. Which is what this recording mostly is: Shatner-ized karaoke, and that has its own special charm, I suppose.

Which brings us full circle to William Shatner's renditions of both "Space Oddity" and "Major Tom (Coming Home)", the 1-2 punch that opens this album. I'm surprised that Shatner's producers didn't have him do "Ashes To Ashes" while they were at it. Guess they were too busy having him throw buckets of aural tempura on masterworks like "Bohemian Rhapsody" and yes, "Iron Man", which is worse than it sounds. Take it away, Shat-man.

If you are overcome with curiosity, or just want it because it's weird, you can find this wretched album, and other amusements by William Shatner at Amazon. Having said that, I will happily recommend his 2004 album, "Has Been", as it's overseen by Ben Folds and features musical guests like Joe Jackson and Henry Rollins, who bring a far better level of quality to the proceedings. It's everything "Seeking Major Tom" could have been. I understand that his latest musical exploration, "Ponder The Mystery", is a significant improvement, as Shatner is paired with more progressive musicians and new original music. I'll check it out when the mood permits. For all you Trekkies, Shatner's 1968 pop culture classic, "The Transformed Man", is back in print and a new copy can be yours for less than 3 bucks! It's kitschy, but worth it for the hilarious "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" medley.

As you might guess, music from Shiny Toy Guns and Peter Schilling is also available through Amazon. However, STG's version of "Major Tom" is currently available only as an Mp3 download single from Amazon. If all you want from Schilling is "Major Tom", then get thee to the excellent, 5 volume, 80's comp series, "Living In Oblivion" from EMI/Capitol, which contains many lost gems of the 80's, and can be obtained, used, for a mere pittance.

Music from the mighty Pugwash is available spottily only as pricey imports, as the band has no US label and only tours in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the UK. For the curious, I will recommend their most recent effort, "The Olympus Sound", which is also likely the most affordable of their difficult to find catalog. Pugwash is working on their 6th album, due out next year.

And yes, there's more career-spanning music by David Bowie at Amazon than anyone would ever know what to do with. But do indulge. His 70's work is inarguably essential.

Wild Horses

You can say whatever you want about The Rolling Stones. But from where I stand, it's been a long, long time since I gave a moose's patoot about any new release from the Stones. In the esteemed opinion of many, they haven't done any work in the last 30 years that measures up to anything they did prior to the "Some Girls" album in 1980, although I'll make an exception for Keith's excellent autobiography, "Life". Apparently, the Stones themselves have finally realized that their best work is now behind them, releasing a series of excellent live recordings as digital downloads, available through Google Play, of all places. The "Brussels Affair" concert from 1973 is a corker!

One thing undeniable about The Rolling Stones is that they have their own unique sound, which makes their songs rather difficult to cover. The overwhelming majority of attempts ultimately fail, often from the jump, as performers seem to focus on doing their best to capture the Stones' sound. But, by not concentrating on the song at hand so much, the rendition will likely not accomplish anything relevant. Under such circumstances, the only thing to do is to abandon any attempt to sound like The Rolling Stones. Just play the song as your band would play it, and you'll probably come away with something worthwhile. 

The best example is this Rolling Stones classic from the "Sticky Fingers" album, "Wild Horses". It's truly one of their greatest recordings and is well worth a good listen, if you haven't done so in a while.

Blackhawk: now appearing at a rest stop on an interstate near you!

There's a good lyrical narrative happening and guitarists are not required to adjust their instruments to any odd tunings; unusual for a Stones tune. Having some some good harmony singers in your band helps a lot with making this one your own. Which brings us to to this fine rendition of "Wild Horses" by the country band, Blackhawk. What better way to NOT sound like the Stones than to switch up the genre completely? This one works primarily because Keith Richards, in particular, was no stranger to country stylings. But this one just takes it into full blown bluegrass territory, and that's cool because it works.

The Sundays will never be the same.

So, as we discussed earlier, the simplest way to make a song your own is by sounding like yourself. As part of a sub-genre known as Dream Pop that was very popular at the time, The Sundays rode a path across the 90's on one heavenly voice and layers of echoing guitars. They made their modest mark on musical history before walking away from it all to continue on with life, children and such. But before taking the so-called 'indefinite hiatus' that so many bands seem destined for, these Brits put out three excellent albums and one unforgettable cover. The Sundays' recording of "Wild Horses" was so popular that, to this day, it's the new standard on which any other new version is based.

As always, music from The Sundays can be affordably found at Amazon, or the used bin at your local indie CD emporium. That is also the most likely place to find music by Blackhawk, whose version of "Wild Horses" can be found on a countrified Rolling Stones tribute album called "Stone Country". This one is really just for Country fans, as only maybe 1/4 of the album breaks any ground; mostly for the reasons cited at the top of this article. Stones fans who are completist collectors will either like it or loathe it. But it can be had for reasonably cheap, should you so desire.

And, as you might imagine, there's more Rolling Stones music available than anyone would know what to do with. Amazon currently lists over 460 titles, but there is plenty of wheat to be had amidst the acres of chaff. If you have no Stones music at all, then you could safely start with "Hot Rocks", and go forward or back from there.

Forget All About It

The black vinyl edition is the rare one!

When we were kids with no money, we would often swap records when we got tired of them. I got this one from a buddy who threw it in with another album so he could get a Chicago album from me. I forget what the other record was, but this one blew my little 13 year old mind. The bright red vinyl was pretty cool too! Wish I still had it, like a lot of other things that are gone.

Can I even put into words how much I love the music contained on this incredible second album by The Nazz, entitled "Nazz Nazz"? From the phased whoosh that begins the startling power pop sugar rush of the opening track "Forget All About It" to the fading notes of the last tune, the epic "A Beautiful Song", this is a stone cold masterwork of musical genius. Born in the tipping point year of 1969 under difficult circumstances, the music is unmistakably of its time, and yet somehow manages to sound like it's from the future; just as much today as then.

Even though the third Nazz album, which followed this one, contained little more than debris from a band falling apart, the 3 albums together form a concise trilogy as a band history and deserve much better archival treatment. I do wish that some enterprising record company would do a solid remixing and remastering job on all 3 albums by The Nazz. Perhaps Todd Rundgren himself would be up to it? Now that would be definitive! A well done boxed set would also be awesome and appreciated. Oh, and please do reissue the vinyl too, thanks.

Pop on the headphones and enjoy this amazing opening track, "Forget All About It"! No Auto-tune or ProTools were available then, just talent and skill. And, the album gets better from here!

This must have been a fun concert!

Inspired by a variety of British Invasion groups, from the omnipresent Beatles to cult favorites The Move, guitarist Todd Rundgren and Woody's Truck Stop bassist Carson Van Osten formed The Nazz in 1967, taking their name from a Yardbirds song. They were soon joined by drummer Thom Mooney and lead vocalist and keyboardist Robert Antoni, better known as Stewkey. There had been many groups that drew inspiration from The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, but none had been so self-consciously reverent as The Nazz. Their first single, "Open My Eyes," twisted the riff from The Who's "I Can't Explain," and much of their music felt like homages to Brit-Rock icons from The Kinks to Cream, thereby setting a precedent that was followed by scores of American Pop bands from The Raspberries to Material Issue, and beyond.

Their second single, "Hello It's Me", managed to reach #71 on the charts, and the record, along with the band's self-production, attracted some good notices. Taking this as a cue, The Nazz headed off to England to cut their second album, but became embroiled in work visa problems. Undaunted, they returned to America and began work on an ambitious double album with the working title of "Fungo Bat". By the time it was released in April 1969, it had been trimmed to a single album and retitled "Nazz Nazz". Although the project's scale was diminished, the music remained diverse, going from psychedelic rockers to pop ballads and even a protest song about police brutality, thinly disguised as a novelty/fantasy tune.

It's one thing to love this, or any music. It's certainly another to attempt to play it in tribute. But when The Gladhands decided to cover "Forget All About It" on their criminally neglected 1997 album "La Di Da", the influence of both The Nazz and Todd Rundgren were already well in place. So much so, that the song was a natural fit with the rest of the album's music, although they wisely chose to not open "La Di Da" with it.

Go buy this CD right now! You can thank me later.

Gladhands formed in 1992 in Omaha, Nebraska, a few months after transplanted east coaster, Doug Edmunds, met Omaha native, Jeff Carlson, during his first week in town. That first meeting took place (of course) across a record store counter; Jeff being the amiable store clerk and Doug the eager job applicant. The two bonded over shared musical interests and traded demo tapes shortly thereafter. By the start of the new year, the two were actively rehearsing in Doug's basement.

Eventually, the two relocated to Edmunds' adopted home of Chapel Hill, NC in January 1994, determined to capitalize on their early momentum in a town well-known for its support of original music. After a false start or two, the band solidified with the addition of bassist Pat McGraw. In late 1995, they recorded four songs, which in addition to several tracks cut previously in Omaha by Jeff and Doug, would end up on the band’s debut CD with Big Deal, the ironically titled "From Here To Obscurity".

It was not until the band’s sophomore effort, "La Di Da", that Gladhands truly hit their stride. The album marked a high point in both songwriting and production and garnered rave reviews in Billboard, Guitar Player, Magnet and many other national and regional press outlets. College and modern rock radio added the record to their playlists while the band toured throughout the US in support of the record and started to build a dedicated following.

Gladhands in 2009 at the Charlotte Pop Fest

By fall of 1998, Gladhands had begun recording the follow-up to "La Di Da", eager to build on its success. But due to financing and restructuring issues with their label, Big Deal, the ensuing album, "Wow & Flutter", would never see the light of day in the US. In March of 1999, the record came out in Japan on JVC Victor, and early promo copies received further positive press stateside. But, the band became increasingly frustrated by ongoing label issues and the lost momentum, eventually calling it a day in late 1999.

There's one main reason why records like this one are so great. It's because the band isn't presenting themselves as any sort of celebrity, nor their work as a 'product'. This recording was very obviously written, recorded and presented with the idea of it being, first and foremost, quality audio entertainment; something you listen to because it's fun, original, engaging and entertaining to hear. The music and production capture your heart and your head. I think that's extremely cool and rare in these auto-tuned times.

Here's the Gladhands' recording of "Forget All About It". I promise you won't! If I ever heard a cover band pull this song off live, this well, I would completely lose it.

"La Di Da" is a fantastic album, and is available used at Amazon for as cheap as 1 red cent!! Spend the 3 bucks on shipping and it's still a hot bargain. The other recordings by Gladhands are still considered collectible and are a tad more pricey, but do pick up "La-Di-Da". It gets better with each listen.

The availability of music from The Nazz on CD or vinyl is a bit patchy at the moment. Your best bet would be to luck into a used copy in decent condition that's reasonably priced. Even the "Open Our Eyes" anthology is over 10 years old and a pricey collectible. But while it's fairly complete, the songs are not in the playing order that was on the original albums, which doesn't make any sense. It's as if someone put all 3 albums in a CD player, hit the shuffle button and mastered the result. We CAN do better. Are you listening, Todd? Seriously...

I Can't Let Go

Recently, I've been in the beginning stages of embarking on another band project. I don't know how many more of these I have in me, so I'd like this one to be a solid winner. As usual, one of the larger problems is choosing the right songs to play, because as a good friend often says, "There's SO many songs". So, while I may not have a handle on the musical direction yet, I am certain of the sound I want to aim for.

There are a lot of mediocre bands out there that are successful because they have a good vocal sound. Conversely, many bands that are musically excellent suffer because they don't pull the listener in with good vocals. And let's face it, a lot of Rock music doesn't have all that much going on in the verses, so it is critical that the vocal sound stops people in their tracks.

After going through a ton of possibilities, I know that I want my band to sound like this recording as much as possible. I'm not even going to insist on doing this specific song, should someone object for whatever reason, although I'm all for it and I have no idea why anyone wouldn't want to do it. But again, it's all about the sound of it.

This is the Continental Drifters with their riveting cover of "I Can't Let Go" by The Hollies. It comes from a great Hollies tribute album that came out in the 90's called "Sing Hollies In Reverse" that every Hollies fan should have in their collection. Your undivided attention is directed to the vocal exchanges, as they are critical to the arrangement, and yes, that elusive sound that I'm after.

Continental Drifters

So what do I think is so great about this recording? First off, they capture all the positive energy of The Hollies so effortlessly. Second and most important, I love the exchange of the male and female vocal parts. One takes the first verse, the other takes the second. Then, they intertwine on the chorus, which takes the narrative from being a single person's declaration to a conversation, and does so seamlessly. But we all know that making something sound easy is incredibly difficult, isn't it?

But where are my manners? You haven't had a proper introduction to the band. The Continental Drifters were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1991. The band dissolved in New Orleans about a decade later. Though the line-up changed several times, at one point the band comprised a kind of college rock/indie-rock/power-pop supergroup, including, at different times, Peter Holsapple of the dB's, Mark Walton of The Dream Syndicate, Vicki Peterson from The Bangles and Susan Cowsill of... yes, those Cowsills. They recorded three albums together, all now out of print, but findable and most affordable.

The Hollies

Comparing this great cover to The Hollies' original almost isn't fair, as great and unique as The Hollies were. But the cover is sturdy enough to stand on its own. The first thing that will jump out at you on The Hollies' version, besides Allan Clarke's dependably great lead vocal, is the high harmony provided by a youthful Graham Nash, later of Crosby Stills and. It has often been reported that Nash's resonant tenor vocal part in the chorus, "You gotta help me pleeeease...", was mistaken by one Paul McCartney to be a very high trumpet part, possibly and/or partially inspiring the use of a real one on a little tune you may have heard of called "Penny Lane".

And so, as mentioned above, you can find recordings from the Continental Drifters, along with that most excellent Hollies tribute album, at Amazon, used, for a very reasonable fee. On the other hand, the library of recordings by The Hollies is extensive and includes lots of the original albums, but also an assortment of collections and anthologies, most of which are redundant and appeal mostly to completist collectors. In light of all that, I will recommend the excellent 3 disc 30th Anniversary set, which is rather affordable and sounds great. For those of you who just want the essentials, you can't go wrong with this Greatest Hits album from the 70's, now nicely remastered and reissued on high quality 180 gram vinyl as well!

Brand New Cadillac

New Heroes, 1979. The author is 2nd from right.

Every musician recalls their first band with great fondness, much like a first girlfriend. But even if the band was less than great, time has a way of putting a shine on things. I think it's because the memory is more about recalling our youth in a pleasant way. My first band happened in 1978 and we named it The New Heroes. The band was more like a club or a gang than any sort of proper business. We had no clue about any of that. We were young, loud and snotty, as that song went. The music was mostly New Wave (when the New Wave was new), Punk and a few 60's oldies given some extra horsepower. We played a lot of songs by popular artists of the day, such as Joe Jackson, The Romantics, Bram Tchaikovsky, Sex Pistols, The Cars, The Police and The Clash.

Ah yes, The Clash. We wanted to BE The Clash, though in our alcohol-fueled youthful ignorance, we didn't understand or even care what their politics were all about. But the songs rocked hard and that's what we understood very well. Besides doing some of their earlier songs, we played "Clampdown", "London Calling", and "Brand New Cadillac", all of which came from the monumentally great "London Calling" album.

The Clash themselves were by no means shy about recording cover versions of their own. Heavily influenced by early Ska and Reggae singles, as well as the burgeoning UK punk scene, The Clash simply adapted these songs to their capabilities. Junior Murvin's "Police And Thieves" and Eddy Grant's "Police On My Back" are not the least of these. Frankly, some of The Clash's more popular songs were covers, such as their take on Bobby Fuller's "I Fought The Law". I have a feeling this feature may be the first of a few featuring songs covered by The Clash. You'd be alright with that, wouldn't you?

For now, here's "Brand New Cadillac" from The Clash. If you feel like you should play it loud, then by all means, do it.

Vince Taylor

Just for the record, The Clash are very high on that short list I've got of bands that I really should have gone to see when I had the chance, but didn't have the 8 bucks for a ticket at the time. Truthfully, it's a rather long list.

The Clash picked up "Brand New Cadillac" from one Vince Taylor, one of the many 2nd shift Elvis clones, like Billy Fury, that had very successful runs in early 60's Britain and Europe, largely due to The King's MIA status of doing any live appearances over there. The style had already been blueprinted by Elvis, Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent and Jerry Lee Lewis, but as a singer and performer, Taylor was apparently no slouch; infusing originals and covers with the requisite hiccuping vocal chops and vitality that won kids over. But there ain't nothin' like the real thing, and Taylor and his ilk ran very close to the parody figure of Conrad Birdie, from the Broadway and movie hit, "Bye Bye Birdie". Vince Taylor's personal story is characterized by sad tales of odd disappearances and mental illness that found the rocker eventually going off the deep end; reportedly becoming part of the inspiration for David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust character in the process.

Here's Vince Taylor's hit recording of "Brand New Cadillac". The lyric is different enough that it leads me to believe that it's possible The Clash may have just pounded out their version, live in the studio, from off the top of their heads.

Your best bet for finding the recorded work of Vince Taylor is to visit Amazon, where they have a 3 disc box set, a 'best-of', and a few French import reissues. Vince was big in France, back in his day.

The entire catalog of The Clash, most of it being essential for your collection, has been remastered and repackaged for your perpetual enjoyment, and can be found at Amazon, or your local indie purveyor of musical discs and tapes, whom we heartily support.

That Lady

The Isley Brothers, on stage with Jimi Hendrix, 1964

The Isley Brothers have had one of the most influential and lengthy careers in the music industry; spanning over 50 years, and touching on nearly every musical genre that came along, including R&B, Rock, Funk, Soul, Disco, Quiet Storm, and beyond.

Most everybody knows their 1973 hit single ,"That Lady", but few except the most avid collectors of Soul 45's were aware that this record was actually a remake of a song the Isleys recorded a decade earlier as "Who's That Lady". At least, until very recently.

The album, "3+3" dropped in 1973 and represented a commercial re-awakening for the Isleys, who last had a major hit in 1969, with the unstoppable "It's Your Thing". The Isleys had signed a distribution deal with Epic Records and added younger brothers Ernie, Marvin and Chris, as official band members. Incorporating harder rock textures as well as funk and soulful balladry, the album became their breakthrough hit, selling over two million copies in short order.

The Isleys in the early 70's. Ernie Isley at right.

Those harder sounds were directly attributable to Ernie Isley, whose overtly Hendrixian guitar work propelled the "3+3" album into new territory. It's no small coincidence that Jimi Hendrix lived in the Isley home and played guitar for The Isley Brothers band during 1963-65. Ernie, who is self-taught, but did not pick up the guitar until 1968, had his recording debut playing the bass on "It's Your Thing". He played electric guitar, acoustic guitar, and drums on the group's early 1970's albums "Get Into Something", "Givin' It Back", and "Brother, Brother, Brother", before fully joining The Isley Brothers in 1973 as a multi-instrumentalist, playing acoustic guitar, electric guitar, drums and percussion.

It's important to recall that not only was Jimi Hendrix an important part of the Isleys' early success, but in 1973, the memory of his passing in 1970 was still fresh on the mind of the record buying public, who were snapping up a litany of hastily assembled albums of his last recorded works. Anything that sounded remotely like Hendrix had sales potential. The Isleys were able to outdo all the others by coupling that sound with their legitimate lineage to Jimi.

Here's "That Lady" from the excellent "3+3" album. Enjoy!

Ok, so now, through the magic of digital media, we have the original version from 1963 to examine. This early take is a more jazzy, doo-wop style workout, possibly inspired by The Impressions. This single has been considered impossibly rare for a very long time, as most copies have disappeared into the hands of serious collectors. It's nice to hear a rarity like this in master tape quality; sounding far better than an original 45 in any sort of decent condition. I am not aware of this recordings' release on any Isleys album from any era of the band. It's likely that the Isleys don't own the rights to the master, as was often the case for R&B musicians in the early 1960's.

If you want to get your own copy of this original 1963 recording, just head on over to see our friends at Bandcamp. It's the only place I know of to get it.

The extensive library of recordings by The Isley Brothers, going back to the 60's, are all available at Amazon. Your best budget-conscious bet would be this excellent and comprehensive "Essential" collection, or the "3+3" album, which is available new for a stupidly cheap price. Great soul music is so good for what ails you, and The Isleys are a very good prescription indeed. Do partake.