The Art Gray Noizz Quintet - Live at 66th Congress, Friday 13th 2020 Cassette

Big Neck / Primitive Screwhead (2021)

With this one, I am halfway through the Primitive Screwhead/Big Neck live tapes that I have.  While I am saving a specific one for last that I am very confident will be my favorite, this tape by The Art Gray Noizz Quintent is at the top of my list at least until I get to that eighth tape.

I think the main reason I dig this tape the most right now is because I can't help but hear some Drive Like Jehu nods here and there.  Sure, the vocals are way different and there's saxophone and trombone players, but at its heart, I feel an embrace of dissonance and intricate chord progressions that give me those Jehu vibes that I like so much.

This is another band that I'm hearing for the first time as a live recording.  Not usually the most ideal way to dip your toes into listening to a new band, but luckily the sound quality of the record is pretty solid.  The vocals are a little echo-y, but the band sounds tight and has just a gigantically fully sound.  I'm definitely going to have to poke around and see what else this band has hanging around as my curiosity has certainly been piqued with this tape. 

The Art Gray Noizz Quintet - Live at 66th Congress, Friday 13th 2020:
https://bigneckrecords1.bandcamp.com/album/the-art-gray-noizz-quintet-live

King Kong vs. Godzilla 2xLP - From Godzilla: The Showa Era Soundtracks, 1954-1975 Box Set

Waxwork (2021) 

For the next several Fridays I'll be writing about an LP from the fantastic Godzilla Show Era soundtrack box set. Godzilla was such an important part of my childhood and the music was such a vital piece of that puzzle. Thrilled to finally have these on vinyl.

The first Godzilla film was a classic, the second felt like something of a rushed to market sequel.  After hibernating in ice for a few years, Toho came back with their third Godzilla movie, King Kong vs. Godzilla.  This movie is a triumph and is one of my very favorite Godzilla films.  While I adore the fight scenes where the two big boys go at it pro wrestling style, the plot and it's 'anything for a buck' TV/advertising subtext makes it way more than just a goofy kids movie.

Soundtrack-wise, we have the return of Akira Ifukube who rolls out an excellent score.  In particular, I've really been a fan of the Faro island music since I was a kid.  Some of those scenes maybe don't hold up in the best way sixty years later, but the music never fails to strike a chord.

I did have another version of this soundtrack on vinyl, but it cannot hold a candle to the beauty or the sound quality of what Waxwork  has released as part of this box set.  Another home run.

King Kong vs. Godzilla - "Main Title":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzZtOuOW3Og&ab_

Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - The Main Ingredient 2xLP - Clear Vinyl

Elektra / Get On Down (2016, Reissue)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

Like pretty much everyone on the planet in 1992, I really dug the first Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth album, Mecca and the Soul Brother.  Fueled by the omnipresent single "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)" you couldn't not be taken in by it if you were following hip hop at the time.  But not only that, it crossed over in a big way and is still pretty darn popular to this day.  I feel like I saw it in a wine commercial or something in the past few years.

For me, I kind of wore that song out and it was a bit overplayed in general.  It's good and that album is great, but that specific song isn't really something that I'm clamoring to hear on a daily basis anymore.  Their follow up, The Main Ingredient, came out two years later in 1994.  I have no memory of this album from back then. 1994 was definitely a transitional year for me when it comes to music, so it's possible I just didn't know it came out, but it's equally as possible that I hear a song or two and just wasn't as interested in it.  I don't really remember, but I picked it up recently after listening to a few of the songs online.

It's not quite as good as their debut.  The beats are top notch for sure and that's what really drives any hip hop record for me, but C.L. Smooth doesn't feel like he's bringing it quite as forcefully as he had two years earlier.  Not to say anything he's doing is bad, but it's very much a 'meets expectations' sort of performance.  Nothing all that special is going on vocally, but again, the beats elevate everything and make this a pretty enjoyable listen.

Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - The Main Ingredient:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kbHBrsTQ1JvU20N_Ft2a8H8NoNemeg07c

Werewolf Jones - Stroh Down - Live at Outer Limits Lounge 2019 Cassette

Big Neck / Primitive Screwheads (2021)

3rd live tape from the Big Neck folks, this time we've got Werewolf Jones.  If nothing else, I really dig the band name and the artwork, so it moved up to the next spot on the list as I attempt to catch up on all of these tapes.

We'll start out with the live show fidelity.  It's still not quite as clear as the Ar-Kaics one, but it is an easier listen that The Things tape from last week.  You can definitely hear the instrumentation very clearly and the vocals, while a bit quieter are still solidly audible.  If anything, I'd probably be less into this if the vocals were louder in the mix.

And that's probably the thing for me, musically.  I'm not really one who's super interested in the sort of singers that get really yell-y.  While the vocals do fit the punishing guitar riffs, it does slide a little too much into hardcore hollering for my personal taste.  But if nothing else, that guitar player really knows how to play fast.  It's pretty impressive even if it's not my favorite thing I've heard lately.

Werewolf Jones -  Stroh Down - Live at Outer Limits Lounge 2019:
https://bigneckrecords1.bandcamp.com/album/stroh-down-live-at-outer-limits-lounge-2019

Godzilla Raids Again LP - From Godzilla: The Showa Era Soundtracks, 1954-1975 Box Set

Waxwork (2021)

For the next several Fridays I'll be writing about an LP from the fantastic Godzilla Show Era soundtrack box set.  Godzilla was such an important part of my childhood and the music was such a vital piece of that puzzle.  Thrilled to finally have these on vinyl.

Godzilla Raids Again is the second Godzilla movie and to be honest isn't one that I've watched with the same kind of fervor as some of the other entries in the series.  It always struck me as being a little rushed and kind of out of place in a weird way.  I'm sure part of that was the fact that Ishiro Honda didn't direct it, but it just always felt a little lacking.  It did give us the introduction of the monster Anguirus though, so there is some value here.

The film lacks the usual Godzilla director Ishiro Honda, but also missing is the standard bearer for Godzilla film composition, Akira Ifukube.  Taking up the task for Raids Again is Masaru Sato.  While I don't think his score has the same sort of ominous foreboding that Ifukube is so adept at, the jaunty military pieces of this soundtrack are quite good.  The main title theme is also pretty triumphant and is probably the highlight of the album.

After getting through Godzilla Raids AGain is when the real classic Showa movies really start up for me.  Of course I love the first one as a serious, statement film, but once we hit the 60s things start getting wacky and very fun.

Godzilla Raids Again - "Main Title Theme":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IetONh8OJ_g&ab_

Hieroglyphics - Hiero Oldies Volume One LP

Hiero Imperium (2021, Reissue)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

My three favorite hip hop albums of all time came from the Hieroglyphics crew.  Souls of Mischief, Casual and Del The Funky Homosapien are amongst my favorite artists of all time.  Back in 1996, the original version of this compilation came out as a cassette only release.  I didn't pick one of those up for whatever reason.  I'm not even positive I knew it existed, to be honest.  Then in 2001, this came out on CD.  It didn't have as many tracks as the tape did, but it was much more widely available and it's when I got my copy.

Now, it's finally out on vinyl and even though it's missing the Souls of Mischief live on the radio appearance that is on the CD, this record is still pretty packed full of hits.  From what I gather most of these are tracks that predate the 1993 - 1994 onslaught of classic releases by the Hiero folks.  From a fidelity standpoint, these do have something of a rough and ready feel to them.  They're not super polished and there's some fuzz here and there, but the songs themselves are on point.

This is classic Hieroglyphics production and none of these songs would feel out of place on any of their golden era releases.  Everyone in the crew is represented and it's really cool to hear some of the Pep Love and Jay Biz songs as that's an album that was pumped as being the next one to hit after Extra Prolific, but it never happened (until an odds and ends CD that finally was released in the early 2000s.

I'm super psyched to have this on vinyl and I sure hope there are plans for Volume Two to eventually be released.  And it would be cool for them to put out that Pep Love & Jay Biz CD on vinyl as well.

Hieroglyphics - Hiero Oldies Volume One:

https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_ml2Z5W1H-BKOSJ5SIc0CZP9gPLbttn08c

The Things - Live at Temple Bar, Centre Dublin, May 24, 2004 Cassette

Big Neck (2021)

Working my way through the pile of live tapes that Big Neck sent over.  Today we have The Things and a show recorded back in 2004.  The Things are another band that I'm not really familiar with but it makes me wonder how that band name was still available in the early 2000s.  On Discogs, they are The Things (2), so I guess they had a somewhat early claim to the name if nothing else.

Sound quality-wise, this tape isn't anywhere near as clear as last week's Ar-Kaics one.  This is a bit more rough and ready, sounding like it might have just been someone in the crowd with a recorder.  It's not bad or unlistenable, but it does kind of cement my feeling that hearing a band via a live album as your first exposure to them isn't really ideal.

I do like it though.  There's a creepy organ going on and the general sound of the band is very similar to one of the great Canadian bands of the new millennium, Sedatives.  The Things are a little bit more in debt to a garage rock sound that Sedatives, but both are chasing hooks in a Wipers sort of way.  

The Things -  Live at Temple Bar, Centre Dublin, May 24, 2004:
https://bigneckrecords1.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-temple-bar-centre-dublin-may-24-2004

Godzilla - From Godzilla: The Showa Era Soundtracks, 1954-1975 Box Set

Waxwork (2021)

When I reviewed the Weird Al box set I wrote an individual post about each record, rather than try to summarize the whole set at once.  That seemed to work out for me OK, so I'm going to try that same method when writing about this fabulous Godzilla box set.  I'm going to tackle each soundtrack on Fridays for the next many weeks.  If you come to this site to read about rock and roll, you're probably going to be cranky for a bit.  Apologies for that.

This box set contains the soundtrack score for each of the fifteen Showa era Godzilla movies.  This is the original run of films that spanned 1954 to 1975.  For me, these are great films and total staples of my childhood.  I was thrilled when this box set was announced and couldn't be happier with what Waxwork pulled off.

In addition to each of the LPs with killer art, there's a Godzilla slipmat, a twelve by twelve art print and this killer box.  The fist album in this set is, of course, the soundtrack for the original Godzilla from 1954.  

I actually did have a vinyl version of this specific soundtrack already as it was released by Death Waltz a few years ago.  While the track listing is worded slightly different, it's pretty much the same.  This Waxwork version sounds incredible and is presented in mono, as it should be.  This score is excellent with the highlight for me always being the main title theme.  Even as a kid, I found this particular melody so weirdly empowering and it always got me pumped up.

That first movie is also an all time classic.  I didn't get to see the original Japanese version until I was in my twenties.  When I was a kid, the US version was something I had on VHS and enjoyed, but didn't watch as much as some of the others.  As an older fellow, I learned to really appreciate the beauty and powerful message of the original Japanese movie.  I highly recommend seeking that out if you've never had a chance to see it. 

Godzilla - "Main Title Theme":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JqE9At56mU&ab_

The Coup - Genocide & Juice LP

Armabillion (2021, Reissue)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

The Coup is one of the many golden era bands that I discovered way after the fact.  I got really into their debut record Kill My Landlord and had been looking for a copy of their 1994 follow up, Genocide & Juice.  When it was originally released on Wild Pitch, there was only a white sleeve, censored/promo version pressed.  While not ideal, I was keeping an eye out for a copy, but even a sub par version of that often sold for collector prices that I wasn't really willing to pay.

Then, last year, Armabillion records pressed the full, uncensored album on 180 gram vinyl.  Unfortunately, it was limited to 275 copies and sold out super quick.  I found out about it a couple of hours after the preorder went up and it was already gone.  So, long story short, I did end up having to pay aftermarket prices and probably overpaid for this.  But, at least it's a great sounding, uncut version.

The record itself is equally as great as The Coup's debut.  Really strong beats and production that I believe was also augmented with live instrumentation giving the album a full, bass heavy sound.  The lyrics are left of center and are often focused on economic and social issues.  Much like their debut, the lyrics never come across as preachy or condescending.  It's delivered in a matter of fact manner, while still working within the context of a song that's designed to keep your head nodding.  It reminds me a lot of what KRS-One and Boogie Down Productions were doing.  Not that the groups really sound alike, but their method of blending information and entertainment are equally successful.

The Coup - Genocide & Juice:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mOovTXUM8TZPPGfsjDPMnJzbDSgtKejec

The Ar-Kaics - Live In The Shit Cassette

Big Neck (2021)

I'm going to start the new year off by trying to blast through a pile of tapes that have built up over here.  Big Neck records sent over a bunch of tapes featuring live sets by several bands.  I think I have eighth of them in total, so we'll start with this one by the Ar-Kaics.

I'm not familiar with the Ar-Kaics and I'm always a bit leery of hearing a band for the first time via a live album as live albums aren't usually my thing on the best of occasions.  That being said I was pleasantly surprised by how clear the recording is on this tape and how good the band sounds.  There's a bit more "oh yeah!" hollering going on than I typically would engage in if I were at a show.  But the Ar-Kaics have a stomping garage sound that makes me understand the desire to do some rock and roll shouting.

The set list is nine songs long and clocks in a bit under a half an hour, but there's no wasted moments here.  The band barrels from one song to the next, tighter than a very tight thing.  After listening to this tape, I'm pretty curious about what the band's studio records sound like.  I may need to take a moment on their Bandcamp page to poke around a bit.

The Ar-Kaics - Live In The Shit:
https://thearkaics.bandcamp.com/album/live-in-the-shit-2

The Drolls - That Puget Sound LP - Blue Vinyl

Snappy Little Numbers (2022)

Merry New Year.  When I start writing about records each January, it’s rare that I’m not playing catch up on records from the prior year or discussing records I got for Christmas.  We’ll get to those, but amazingly enough, the first write up of 2022 is about a record that’s coming out in 2022. Today in fact. It’s The Drolls.

I have to start by pointing out that Denny and Josh were in Sicko and Julie was in Chinchilla.  Sicko is one of my all time favorite bands, which makes Denny one of my all time favorite songwriters. Now, several decades after the last Sicko album, we get a full length album from The Drolls. No surprise…it’s excellent.

While I wouldn’t The Drolls sound exactly like the Denny Sicko songs, I can't imagine anyone not liking this if they did like Sicko.  If these songs came out on a theoretical fifth Sicko album a couple of years after You Are Not The Boss of Me, I don't think I would have batted an eyelash.  These really feel like the direction Denny was already starting to go on that last Sicko album.  It's kind of a stupid thing to say, but all I really want to get across is that these sound like Denny songs.  Maybe a little bit more melodic, although the pace is still very upbeat and fun. Oddly enough, the slowest thing on this album is probably a redone version of an old Sicko song (“Rehashed: Rehashed”).

Everything on here is just great.  From the second that the opening ripper "Getting Old" takes off, through the chunky guitar riffs of "Worse Things" to what is probably my personal favorite, "Bad Ear."  And oh yes, I am for sure giving extra points for the reference to the title of one of my top three Sicko songs.  2021 wasn't the best for music though there was a late blast of great records that saved the year.  If this Drolls record is a sign of what's to come in 2022, this is going to be a hell of a year for new music.  Had it come out in 2021, there's a good chance That Puget Sound would have topped my album list last year.  Here's to 2022.

The Drolls - That Puget Sound:
https://snappylittlenumbers.bandcamp.com/album/that-puget-sound