Wednesday, December 07, 2005

Primitive Sound System - Maxwell's - Tuesday December 6th

Hello Y'all,
I'll be holding court at Maxwell's once again on December 6th for their "Turntable Tuesdays". After a two month absence I get to pull the plug on the jukebox and try to avoid any of the herald boxes contents. I have been DJing for my son a lot and it turns out he has great taste... he loves my record collection. So, I have grabbed some of his favorites as well as a whole bunch of records I have acquired in the past two months. I'l also be sharing the decks on Monday December 12th for the Maxwell's Holiday Party. Some of my favorite music in the world are Christmas songs and I pretty much only get to play them for about two weeks every year.

By the way the last time I was at Maxwell's I had quite an experience so let's hope the cast of Hoboken's The Real World stay the fuck home. Unfortunately the face of Hoboken has changed and it isn't pretty nor is it even interesting.

Primitive Sound System Mixed Tape Sessions for Turntable Tuesdays (9PM - 2AM)
Maxwell's
1039 Washington Street
Hoboken New Jersey
(201) 653-1703

LPs:
The Animated Egg - "A Love Built On Sand" "I Said, She Said, Ah Cid" and "Sock It My Way" (Alshire Presents cat. SF-5104)
The Animated Egg were on of a few bands that gave some of the 101 Strings records balls if not at least a dose of acid. This LP let's the band showcase its talents from very original sounding material to the "sound-alike" songs they were usually called upon to produce (i.e Gimme Some Lovin' = "T" omorrow" on this particular LP). The guitarist and keyboards get the most play (if you will) and they certainly are deserved of the spotlight. Organ and guitar wrestle in soulful interplay throughout the LP. The few stand out tracks are also the most aggressive tracks. "Sock It My Way" is more commonly known by the title "Flameout" which appears more famously on "Astro Sounds From Beyond The Year 2000" (cat. 5119) but is presented here (preferably (for me at least)) without the sharp strings which bury most of the track. Many of the tracks from the Animated Eggs LP appear throughout the catalog of 101 Strings but are lost behind the wall of strings created by using 101 of them. All in all this is a pretty great Rock Instrumental record.

Other 101 Strings / Alshire Records LPs worth checking out are:
"Hank Williams & Other Country Greats" (cat. S-5103)
"Sounds Of Today" (cat. S-5078)
"...Play Million Sellers Written By The Beatles And "Other" Now Writers" (cat. S-5111)
"Astro Sounds From Beyond The Year 2000" (cat. S-5119)
"Famous Songs of Hank Williams... a return trip with Modern Sounds" (Cat. S-5136)
(There may be others let me know!)

Fat Albert and The Cosby Kids - Starring In "Creativity" "The Fat Albert Theme" (Kid Stuff Records KS021)
Plot: "The famous Junk Yard Band is organized when the kids are unable to afford musical instruments." This was always one of my favorite episodes. Weirdly the theme is a different version than the one we are all used to. Taken at a slower pace with a vocalist who seems to be struggling to jut get through the song and it does lack that deep "Hey, Hey Hey" that is the signature of Fat Albert but it is still quite a groover. What is weirdest of all is musically the backing track sounds very very close to the original. It seems to be a alternate take with a scratch vocal.

Urbie Green And His Electric Bone - "Fantastic Stereo Volume 6 - Green Power" songs: "Lumps" "Green Power" and the Bob Dorough track "Comin' Home Baby" (Barclay cat. 920.262 T)
Like the 101 Strings his is also a record you can probably still find this for a buck. "Lumps" is the real winner here. Super clean production allow the Grady Tates drums to stand out and are pretty upfront for a "Jazz" record. A variety of keyboards keep everything grooving even on the slower songs which compliment the Varitone sounding Trombone. "Comin' Home Baby" highlights the keys and drums best and it is a non-stop mover and groover with some great Tony Mottola electric guitar added to the mix. The title cut would fit in with any Muse or even Tribe Soul Jazz LP with some expressive solos that never disrupt the flow.

Dominic Fontiere - Music From The Film "On Any Sunday" songs: "On Any Sunday" and "Cross Country" (bell cat. BELL 1206)
My brother gave me this LP a long time ago for two reasons. It's the soundtrack to a Steve McQueen recommended motor cross movie and because it has some genuinely funky songs. With Carole Kaye on bass and Larry Bunker on drums it should be expected that there would be at least some soulful moments but better still you also get fast passed Garagey trips through the dunes. The theme is a slamming monster opening with a signature Kaye line which quickly builds to an ensemble fuzz guitar lead funk number. "Cross Country" is not much different dynamically and it is always hard to choose which of these gems to drop the needle on.

The Nucleus (Galt MacDermot) - S/T songs: "Golden Apples - Part ," "Duffer" and "Love Scene" (Kilmarnock KIL 72001)
It would take 3 emails to really explian this LP and how I got it so I'll keep it short. I have about 8 Kilmarnock LPs and 6 45s. All of them were given to me by Eothan "Egon" Alapatt and Galt himself. "Golden Apples - Part 1" is a raw cut from 1971 with a very simple theme that leads into funky segments either lead by Galt or Bernard "Pretty" Purdie. All the while Billy Nichols and Ted Dunbar slash guitars over Gordon Edwards steady bassline that seem to ground most of the songs. The record is a moody one with a few really amazing moments from some truly great players.

45's
The Turtles - "Buzz Saw" (White Whale cat. WW292)
Jack Hansen & His Orch. - "The Jerk" (Dance Along Records cat. P-6088)
"Uncle Festers Blues" (Hoctor Records (Division of Dance Records, Inc.) cat. H-2783)
The Pastel Six - "Bandido" (Zen Records cat. 102)
The Sunglows - "Happy Hippo" (Sunglow Record Company cat. SG 107)
The Dave Clark Five - "Glad All Over" (Epic cat. 5-9656 (w/ pic sleeve))
Tommy Roe - "Jam Up Jelly Tight" b/w "Moontalk" (abc RECORDS cat. 45-11247)
Devo another fine product of The De-Evolution Band - "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" b/w "Sloppy (I Saw My Baby Getting" (Booji Boy Records cat. 75677)
Mongo Santamaria - "Hot Dog" b/w "Chili Beans" (Columbia cat. 4-44653)
Jimmy Brown - "Funky Funky Boogaloo" (A-Bet cat. 9426)
One-Der-Ful Band - "Honey In The Be-Bo" (One-der-ful! cat. 3264)
Scott Bros. Orch. - "A Hunk O' Funk" (Toddlin Town Records cat. 125)
The Globetrotters - "Everybody Needs Love" (Kirshner cat. 63-5016)
The Combinations - "Bump Ball!" (Rca Victor cat. 47-9482)
Little Eva - "Let's Turkey Trot" (Dimension cat. 1006)
Jackie Lee - "The Duck" (Mirwood Records cat. 5502)
Calvin Arnold - "Lovely Way To Go" b/w "Scoobie Do" (Venture Records cat. VE-610)
5ive Style - "Waiting On The Eclipse" (Sub Pop cat. SP 271)
Stereolab - "Heavy Denim" (Duophonic UHF Disks cat. D-UHF-D07)