Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Bill Dolan and Primitive Sound System at D.C.'s Tavern spinning from 9PM - 2AM Thurs Jan 7th

Hello Y'all,
Welcome to 2010. So there is no better way to start out the new year than with playing some of my favorites that I have collected throughout 2009. This was one of the best years (at least that I can remember) for finding quality records. Some of the spots that I did really well at have not gone cold yet and I look forward to making them regular stops. Hearing records that are thirty, forty of fifty years old for the first time is just as exciting as discovering a new band. Maybe this is what keeps me constantly diggin' the crates and hoping to turn up new things. As always there was no real focus to what I filled my boxes with. I am not looking for any one particular record or genre, I am only hoping to hear as much music as possible before that isn't possible. I listen to as many records as I possibly can (in whatever amount of time I may have) and hope to be able to afford the ones I like. Some days I had hours and hours to dive into dusty, dirty piles of records and at other times only minutes but I always came up with gold. Sometimes dropping the needle on a really crappy record is just as much fun as finding the one great one buried deep in piles and stacks of junk. I must say, Pop Vocals of the 40's and 50's and Country music supplied me with some of the the biggest laughs this past year. Country song writers have no filter what-so-ever when it comes to subject matter or singing styles. The best of these finds came in the way of songs I had difficulty even categorizing like Dynamite, Inc.'s version of "Walkin' The Dog" or "I Need You So Bad" by Allan. I am always drawn to instrumentals and this year was filled with them. There was Al Caiola doing the "Mod Squad," theme or a few from James Bond numbers, "Chicken Pot Pie" by Ken Jones and funky monsters like "Do it Good" by Brother Soul. New releases were equally impressive including the out of this world Garage Monster known as The Wau Y Los Arrrghs!!! and the psychotic duo Batman & Robin, the Prog instrumental genius behind Mr. Chop, Anthony Joseph & The Spasm Band and the super group Lord Newborn & The Magic Skulls and Johnny Trunk. And of course I have to mention "Hot Wheels, Cold Beer, Big Titties" by the powerful Punk trio known simply as, Blower. This song easily got more play than any other record and deservedly so.

Sadly I don't get to write about half of the records I want to since there is only so many hours in the day. Sometimes the record I most want to write about gets left in a pile as I go on, and on and on about something horribly brilliant like Dynamite, Inc. doing their best with Rufus Thomas' "Walkin' The Dog." Definitely an "A" for effort for what amounted to a "B" movie result at best. Don't get me wrong I couldn't turn away and have listened to it about a thousand times. One of the years best releases was the soundtrack to the perfectly crafted "Black Dynamite" film. These guys proved that in a world where EVERYTHING is a remake that doesn't mean it has to suck. When you are skillful, studied and respectful you can't miss. An even bigger surprise was unearthing eight copies of the song sampled throughout the film and edited to be the theme. Sir Charles Hughes' sparkling, Lounge Funk masterpiece, "Your Kiss Sho-Nuf Dy-No-Mite" is brilliant whether on the soundtrack or on its own.

I was also able to help a friend sell his entire record collection. He no longer had the space for them and he transferred most of what he wanted to digital. (By-the-way that sentence alone still pains me.) It was a very focused collection representing a musically knowledgeable listener who bought records from the 70's through the 00's. He demanded that my brother and I go through the collection and take what we wanted before contacting some buyers. I only took about two backpacks worth of records. Some were replacement copies for records I had sold as my tastes changed or needed to thin the herd for other spatial or financial reasons. It is so incredible to have certain records back after all these years. Other records I couldn't afford when they were originally released like the Chess Box Sets that came out in the 80's. I smiled from ear to ear as I unearthed Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters from the rows and rows of records. Bo Diddley has always been, and is hands down, one of my favorite musicians, performers, writers, characters, etc, etc. I listen to the box set daily and it brings me great pleasure. Wow do I love listening to music.

- pat.

Primitive Sound System
VINYL RULES!
"Audio Visual Triumphs and Disasters" - http://primitivesoundsystem.blogspot.com

Bill Dolan and Primitive Sound System - Thursday January 7th - 9PM to Closing
D.C.'s Tavern
505 8th Street
Between Jefferson and Madison
BACK IN BACK
Hoboken, New Jersey
PH: 201-792-5550
http://www.dcstavern.com
http://myspace.com/dcstavern

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Some of the BEST digs of 2009... according to me... and only culled from records I have purchased. No, no, no I bet your record is great, I just haven't heard it yet... It is impossible to list the best records but these all jumped off the turntable and smacked me up side the head...

[In no particular order EXCEPT the number one spot]

Blower - Dressed To Chill ep - "Hot Wheels, Cold Beer, Big Titties" b/w "Holidays In The Sun" (cat. BLOWER-666)
The Fantastics! - "Soul Child" b/w "Soul Sucka" (Freestyle cat. FSR7-051)
The Showmen Inc. - "The Tramp PT. i & II" (Now Records cat. N-3)
Dynamite, Inc. featuring Angelo Del - "Walkin' The Dog" (Lucifer Records cat. 104)
The Sun - "Soul Sync" (United Artists Records cat. UA 50568)
Chili Peppers - "Chicken Scratch" (GWP Records cat. GWP 511 (Promotion Copy / Not For Sale))
The Jive Turkeys - "Straight Fire" b/w "Thumpin" (Colemine cat. CLMN-101)
Fast 3 - "Paper Bag" b/w "Pig Feet N' Greens" (Soul Grocery cat. SG45001 (Soul Grocery a division of Soul Cookers dedicated to Soul Jazz)
James Moore - "Feet" b/w "Cool" (Soft Records cat. S-1014)
Batman and Robin - "My Hero Power Is My Mustache," "Wonder What To Do? UH! I Have The BAT-BELT!" b/w "Be My Little Cat!" "Unable To Speak After Drinking UH! Whiskey!" (Bachelor cat. BR-27 June 2009)
Small Faces - "Grow Your Own" (Decca cat. F 12317)
Brother Soul - "Cookies" b/w "Do it Good" (Leo Mini cat. LS - 105)
Maurice McKennies and The Champions - "Sock-A-Poo-Poo '69, Part I & II" (Black and Proud Records (Dist. By Atco) cat. 45-10000 (Whit Lbl Promo))
Allan - "I Need You So Bad" (Vocal b/w instrumental) (Thimble Records cat. TS - 002 (Promotion Copy)
Qualitons - "Plutonium" b/w "One Man Song" (Tramp cat. TR 1018)
Nolan - "I Like What You Give" b/w Somebody's Cryin" (Lizard cat. 1008)
Joe Quijano And His Orchestra - Joe Quijano Shing-a-Ling (Cesta Records cat. CE-3000)
A Happening at Cinelli's Arranged by Hank Juray / Conducted by Norman Yablon (Cougar Records cat. ST 1000)
Bo Diddley - The Chess Box - 45 Songs; 3 Record Set; Including A 24 Page Booklet (Chess / MCA Records cat. CH3-19502)
Buddy Terry - "Babylon (From The Awareness Suite) b/w Stealin' Gold" (Mainstream cat. MRL 5511 (D.J. Copy Not For Sale))
Binky Griptite - "The Stroll" b/w "The Stroll Pt. 2" (Daptone Records cat. DAP-1043)
Mr. Chop - Lightworks (Now Again / Stones Throw / Fatbeats cat. NA 5040)
Gizelle Smith - Gizelle Smith & The Mighty Mocambos
Anthony Joseph & The Spasm Band - Bird Head Son
Lord Newborn & The Magic Skulls
Johnny Trunk
etc,
etc,
etc....