various - Zetrospective

This is a late post. I blame the missus, who distracted me with her feminine wiles while I was in the middle of writing this up. Mea culpa: I am quite susceptible to feminine wiles.

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you might think that I came to ZE Records via no wave. I've written about James Chance multiple times over the years, and the tag has a number of entries associated with it (I should probably remove it from the Screamers' live set). And that's not a terrible assumption. However, it was David & Don Was's Was (Not Was) that poisoned my brain with their mutant disco and led me to the venerable downtown label. I wasn't aware of it at the time, but every time I heard the Waitresses during the holidays, or the DJ spinning "Mr. Softee" as part of a Friday, 5pm closing shift, I was getting introduced to the downtown sounds of ZE.

And this is why I like both types of music: hardcore and disco.

This two-CD set came out back in 1989, an early digital collection of ZE's five-year heyday. I'm not entirely certain where I found it, but I'm sure I plotzed when I found it on the shelf. The combined set was only available in Europe; each disc got its own release here in the States. The artwork on said 2CD set is a horrible merge of the American releases' covers; I've subbed in the vinyl cover below.

All this is to say, I got a good deal when I turned this up for a few bucks.

Discogs

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various artists - CMJ Presents Certain Damage! - Volume 3

Here's a look back to when people still thought the Red Hot Chili Peppers were edgy, when college rock meant you could loop Fields of the Nephilim, Robbie Robertson, and Kool Moe Dee together, and funk metal was the next big thing. Truth be told: I kept this because I found the cover art so goddamned charming. The Cabaret Voltaire song is pretty solid, Lion was on the "The Transformers: The Movie" soundtrack, and I'm not sure I'll ever get Bryan Ferry solo. 1987 was weird for music, man.

Discogs

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John Barry - The EMI Years Volume 3 (1962-1964)

We know why we're all here. And this third volume of Scamp's John Barry collection hands it to us right off the jump. It also bookends with Barry's collaboration with Duran Duran from 1985's "A View To A Kill". In between, it's a cavalcade of Barry's film score work, with a smattering of light music/pop/easy listening/however you care to label it. If you have the first two volumes, then what are you waiting for? You know what you want.

Discogs

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John Barry – The EMI Years Volume Two (1961)

In my less than expert opinion, this second volume of John Barry's EMI work is worth listening to for two reasons. The first is track #1 on this 28-song collection: the John Barry Seven's theme from "The Magnificent Seven." It's one of those pieces that evokes a setting and a time; in this case, the first time you watched John Sturges' adaptation of "The Seven Samurai". It was a pop hit in the UK, reaching No. 45 on the UK charts, and a really cool version of Elmer Bernstein's original score.

The second is that Volume Two presents Barry's first solo work, "Stringbeat", which proves why this fits well on the Scamp roster. It's killer mood music, edgier than most of the sonic wallpaper that fell under the broad category of "easy listening". If anything, to me, it's a precursor to Swinging London, something you can spin between Who and Desmond Dekker singles. It's outstanding cocktail music and if you don't dig it, I don't know what to do about you.

Discogs

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various artists - Hello Operator! The Songs Jack White Taught Us

The blog passed one million visitors sometime in the past week. It blows my mind that this could be anything other than a quixotic pursuit, that someone else gives a shit about a Mojo comp from ten years ago, or Chicago math rock from the 90s, or a Jackie Gleason comedy record, or a Baltimore punk band. But just like all things music, nothing truly dies. There's always a community, no matter how small, that still carries the flame, even when it comes to music blogs. So thanks, fellow traveler, for stopping by over the past 18 years.

As for this Mojo Monday's contribution; there's not much that surprised me here. I loved that Pentagram, fathers of doom that they are, make an appearance here, and the Henry And June track made me want to seek out even more. The rest is EXACTLY what I'd expect. That's hardly a bad thing. Otis, Son House, Johnny Cash, Blind Willies McTell & Johnson, Robert Johnson, Charley Jordan...it's a murderer's row of American country music. Throw in 1st wave psych and garage from Love, the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, and Sacramento's Public Nuisance, and cap it off with Mssr. White covering "Infidels"-era Zimmerman, and this is one to play front to back...full stop.

Discogs

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John Barry - The EMI Years Volume One (1957-1960)

It's pretty daunting to write about John Barry in light of his contributions to popular music, especially for a spud such as I. Far better writers have covered just about everything worth covering about the British composer/arranger, and all I can contribute is sharing this first volume of his pre-scoring work.

What appears here is Barry's rock 'n' roll and theme work, reflecting the earliest years of British rock. You can hear the last moments of light music in the first recordings of the John Barry Seven, how England first reacted to the likes of Duane Eddy in the JBS's cover of "Rebel Rouser", and Barry's first film theme work from "Beat Girl" and "Never Let Go", a pair of 1960 films featuring teen idol Adam Faith.

"Is it good, dude?" you might ask. Well, this isn't get the spins from me that the second and third volumes will. But there's parts contained herein that are definitely worth revisiting, which is exactly what I'd expect from a legendary composer like Barry.

Discogs

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various artists - A389 Summer 06

Let's take it back 20 years to the summer of 2006. I was in my second year of my first marriage, living in the southwest corner of Baltimore County. And while I was separated by location and duty from my scene, I tried to stay up to date with what was happening. On a fleetingly short visit to Reptilian, I snagged this sampler, a collection showing off what was coming from the relatively-new label A389 Recordings.

"Tough guy hardcore" (whatever that means) wasn't ever really my bag. But label owner Dom played in Slumlords with my friend Doug, and had just started Pulling Teeth with fellow CCASer Mike, so I was willing to give it a shot. Plus...free, you know? And what you see is what you get here. It's unpolished (meant in a strictly positive sense) hardcore, suited more for the basement than the Warped Tour. There's good representation from Canadian HC bands, an Integrity/Ringworm-related project, and a healthy dose of what Baltimore was doing at the time. It was a honest snapshot of what was in the books over the first 12 releases from a label that's now up to A389-182. And today it makes me wish I'd picked up that Gut Instinct discography when it came out.

Discogs

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various artists - The Roots Of Fleetwood Mac: Mojo Presents 15 Classic Tracks That Inspired The Mac

This one showed up as part of a Discogs "buy a bunch of $2-$3 CDs from a single seller" order a few weeks ago. How am I going to turn down picking up a Mojo comp for a few bucks when I'm already buying a bunch of 90s and 00s punk/HC/indie? And this one had a ton of cool blues tracks, some early rock & roll, even a Kingston Trio cut. So I threw it in the basket and BAM!, here I am presenting it to you.

But that cover...PHEW! It reminds me of how off-putting I've always found the "Tusk" cover to be. It was only in the writing of this blog post that I discovered Vigon Nahas Vigon were nominated for a Grammy for their design. VNV were only together for a few years, but they also did a ton of work making covers for ABC Impulse!, repackaging the 60s Impulse! catalog into compilations that, ultimately, ended up in the young Ape's collection. But I digress.

It's never not going to be fascinating to me how a pair of English blues fans ended up pivoting after losing most of their band, emigrating to the States, picking up a pair of country rockers along the way, and made one of the biggest selling records of all time. Is this comp going to give you any greater insight how they ended up writing "The Chain" or "Rihannon"? Probably not, but it's a good way to get Elmore James and Fabian onto the same disc.

Discogs

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various artists - The Sound Gallery Volume One

There's a dude over at Twilight Zone who's been posting KPM 1000 Series records the past few weeks, and they're all top notch. Thus it was serendipitous that this week's entry in the Scamp chronicles is their first compilation, "The Sound Gallery Volume One". It draws from KPM's gigantic library music collection, while being filled out with sounds from EMI's Studio Two imprint and United Artists. For the uninitiated, go immediately to the Alan Hawkshaw and Mandingo tracks.

These are quintessentially 70s sounds, and if they inspire you to dress like Serpico, well, I can't be held responsible.

Discogs

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various artists - No Alternative

If the blog count is to be believed, this is post #750. Pretty good for an amateur writer with a stuttering memory and shit taste in music. It's a real testament to my "never-say-die, never-think-things-through, never-consider-irrelevance" attitude towards life.

"No Alternative" came out shortly after my 16th birthday and is one of the few Columbia House acquisitions I've managed to hold onto. And why not? It was the first Red Hot benefit I picked up, initially for the Beastie Boys and Nirvana tracks. It was my introduction to Pavement, Uncle Tupelo, and Patti Smith. Who could ever part with such a momentous, influential release?

Now that it's been 30+ years that I've owned this, it's a lot easier to look back and pick up on things I missed as a teenager. I didn't know that Urge Overkill were covering Marvin Gaye or that the Goo Goo Dolls were covering the Stones. I definitely didn't know that Bob Mould was the guy from Sugar back then (I did know that Sugar were good). I hadn't yet put together that the leader of the Breeders used to be married to John Murphy. And could I have imagined that the guy from Buffalo Tom would eventually become a troubadour in Stars Hollow, or that I'd eventually associate the singer of Smashing Pumpkins more with pro wrestling than alt.rock? I know all these things and more now, the benefit of age and a greatly expanded record collection. To think: maybe if I hadn't snagged this one all that time ago, I might not have taken this path to the music and the misery.  And you wouldn't have gotten two hundred ninety-two words about it all.

(Postscript: the Sarah McLachlan and Matthew Sweet tracks still swing.)

Discogs

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various artists - San Diego Is Burning

The timing of this posting is apt, because for 10 years of my life, I would spend this specific week in San Diego, working Nerd Prom. They may call it San Diego ComicCon, the official name might be ComicCon International, but, for a decade, I would fly in from the East Coast to meet with vendors and licensors, talk toys, and dream of sneaking out to the Casbah for a few hours while the rest of the city focused on superheroes. They were heady days, full of far too much drinking, far too little sleep, occasional brushes with A-listers and D-listers, and very mild weather. I always thought it would be a nice place to live if I weren't already embedded in Baltimore, then Atlanta, then Seattle.

I snagged this one as part of a larger Discogs order last year, a dollar CD featuring the Black Heart Procession, the Dropscience, and Kill Me Tomorrow. Like so many other scene surveys, the results can be hit or miss. I'm always going to give No Knife a spin, and the Champagne Kiss track was a very pleasant surprise upon first listen. This mostly reminds me of my years of an upperclassman in college, booking shows in between student films and term papers. I see a name like Goodbye Blue Monday and it immediately triggers a memory of an email from a booking agent, looking for a mid-week opening on a bill. The memory, like this comp, is not unpleasant.

Discogs

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Walter Wanderly - Samba Swing!

The Brazilian pianist/organist Walter Wanderley had already released something like 15 full-lengths by the time he moved to the United States and signed to Verve Records in 1965. Verve would release another six records by Wanderley between 1966 and 1968, including a co-headlining slot with Astrid Gilberto, a collaboration with guitarist Luiz Henrique, and a small group LP as the Walter Wanderley Trio. The other three records were produced by Creed Taylor, engineered by Rudy Van Gelder, and make up catalog number SCP 9704-2, third in the list of Scamp releases.

And it's fan-freakin'-tastic. I've always had a soft spot for any bossa nova, MPB, or samba music, all of which still turn up reliably in thrift store bins. But I've never come across any of these Wanderley Verve releases, so it's nice to have some of it compiled here. It's not quite on the level of "Getz/Gilberto", but its material deserves to be reissued more than once every 30 years. Bonus notes: this reissue was digitally mastered by Alan Douches, who's engineered an MFT of hardcore, metal, emo, and punk over the years.

Discogs

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various artists - Dylan's Scene: The Sound Of Greenwich Village

This is one of those good "liner notes"-type compilations where you're guaranteed to learn about your favorite artist's favorite artists. In this case, the boundary is the coffeehouses of early 60s New York City. And only a fool would try to deny the greatness of the artists contained herein. John Lee Hooker and Allen Ginsberg bookend this 15-track CD. In between, there's a range of primal music, from various blues artists to English traditional music to folk music of the day. I'll always co-sign Karen Dalton and Pete Seeger, and encourage you to look into Bukka White's catalog if you've not done so before.

It's hot outside. Slap this on and find yourself a shady spot to just listen this week.

Discogs

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various artists - Mojo Presents: Studio One Selecter (The Originals)

There's still a lot of ink that could be spilled about Studio One and its heart, Coxsone Dodd. After all, do we music lovers elevate his name to the status of Berry Gordy, Jerry Moss, Jac Holzman, or Moses Asch? We should; Dodd gathered the legends for 20+ years and put them on wax, shared it all with the world to experience.

This sampler, assembled by Soul Jazz Records head Stuart Baker for Mojo back in 2005, eschews a lot of the expected hits ("Simmer Down" excepted) for a survey that spans the progression of JA music. Starting with the Skatalites and Delroy Wilson in 1964, moving to Jackie Mittoo and rocksteady, pop reggae with Lloyd Williams, then dub, roots, deejay, and lovers rock. It's a pretty grand spin any time of the year, but now, in late June, on the second-longest day of the year, I think it's perfection over 49 minutes.

Discogs

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Re-up: various artists - S-ssy Man Blues (25 Authentic Straight & Gay Blues & Jazz Vocals)

Note: originally posted in 2022. This one got flagged as spam, so I'm tweaking the title to see if I can get it republished.

What's everyone been up to the past month? I've been listening to this...a lot.

Just a shit ton of country blues and ragtime, all guaranteed to rile up the church goers and white folks, on account that these all have to do with fukkin'. It's a great collection of recordings from 100 years ago, with a pretty fun Milton Knight cover. What grips my mind is how one might title this today, seeing how "s-ssy" is now pretty universally considered a derogatory word. Maybe this just wouldn't exist in 2026, which sucks, because representation matters.

Anyway, enjoy the blues.

Discogs

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various artists - The Copulatin' Blues Compact Disc (22 Blues And Jazz Classics)

You know, they don't just make compilations about fuckin' any more. I blame Trump.

These sort of compilations of early 20th century American music are a real gateway to me. Collecting and preserving early jazz & blues is probably boomers' greatest contribution to pop culture, even if, in the course of putting these sort of records together, they probably avoided paying the appropriate royalties to the artists. Hey, what can you do? Cultural appropriation and exploitation wasn't a thing back in 1976!

But enough of the shit talk. Bring on the Alberta Hunter! Give me more Sidney Bechet! I celebrate Lucille Bogan and Tampa Red! The theme is unimportant (albeit amusing); the art's the thing, and I'm way into this thing.

Discogs

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various artists - Mojo Presents: The Dreamers (15 Tracks Of Kate Bush-Inspired Dream Pop)

I don't have the October 2014 issue around which to contextualize the claim, but can one truly say this collection is Kate Bush-inspired? This stretches the definition of what "dream pop" is, and I always found Kate Bush (who I love...don't get me wrong) to be more akin to Peter Gabriel on the art rock tip, so I'm casting a gimlet eye towards the title. But there's a Wye Oak song here, and one by Julie Holter, and I can always skip over The War On Drugs, so I guess I'll just throw this one out to you, my people, and wish you not only a happy Mojo Monday, but a solemn Memorial Day.

Discogs

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various artists - Fort Reno Benefit Compilation

As summer approaches, I start thinking about outdoor shows. And that's because I spent my formative years driving down I-95 to DC to dodge summer thunderstorms to watch punk rock outside in the dusk of the capitol, on the site of a Civil War fort in Northwest.

There have been shows held at Fort Reno since 1968, but, for me, it was a great way to see Fugazi every year for free. Not that $5 was ever a burden, but it was nice applying that fiver towards making the 3-hour round trip to the historic park. I saw some amazing sets from the DC quartet, and got introduced to a ton of the younger bands from the Metro. A lot of them appeared on this 1997 benefit compilation for the music series, put out by Resin Records. Resin was run by Carlton from the Better Automatic, who put out 16 records over six years, all of which I own and most of which I still view favorably. The big names here are the Dismemberment Plan, Chisel, and Trans Am. Corm was John Davis' pre-Q & Not U band; the Impossible Five put out a single LP on Gern Blandsten and were outstanding when I saw them at the park in '97. I never got to see Smart Went Crazy live, but "Con Art" remains my favorite underheard record on Dischord.

Like all great compilations, this one is a curated snapshot of a scene. Some of these performers went on to bigger things; some of the bands were only heard here. But listening to this (Jesus) 29 years later immediately brings back a Discman velcroed to the dash, stickiness briefly interrupted by gentle winds atop the highest natural point in WDC, and pilgrimages to hear something new and brilliant. That's a great feeling. 

Discogs

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various artists - Made In Britain: Mojo Presents The Sound Of A New England 1977-1983

"I don't want to change the world/I'm not looking for a new England/I'm just looking for another girl." What a perfect chorus. What a great song.

And this freebie, tacked onto the cover of September 2005's cover of Mojo Magazine, is chock full of songs like the Billy Bragg classic quoted above. Some, like "Too Much Pressure" or "The Modern World", are ones I've known by heart since long before this comp landed in my hands. Then there's deeper cuts, like the cuts from the Ruts and Soft Cell compiled here, that I came to when I finally landed myself copies of the full-lengths they originally appeared on. Then there's music from Alien Sex Fiend and the Meteors, who I'd never in a million years buy a record by. Yet, here, I found it all pretty compelling, which, knock ME over with a feather. Also, there's a Pop Rivets cut present. I probably should be a bigger Billy Childish fan.

The point? Ah, yes, the point. The point is that this 21-year-old is jam packed with pretty amazing 40+ year old songs, all of which where created by people who were in their early 20s, and probably just wanted to get laid and make music (not necessarily in that order). And that's pretty awesome for this old man. Just keep writing, keep chopping...you'll get there soon enough.

Discogs

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various artists - Insound Tour Support Collection Vol. No. One

It seems weird that I've only written about the Insound Tour Support series once, for how many of them I ended up with and how many times they got me onboard with a band or an artist. The Kind Of Like Spitting release, in particular, is the thing that got me listening to Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, and Leon Redbone. I heard the Canyon EP before I saw them live, even though they were based in DC and were dudes from emo bands playing Neil Young-style country rock...a genre engineered to grab my early-20s interest.

A lot of this is now hitting the quarter century mark, which explains why the original records are being revisited (s/o to Numero Group and Solid Brass for their ongoing reissue programs). So I thought it was a good opportunity to finally post this one up. It compiles a fair amount of the bands who appeared in Volumes 1-19. And like a lot of what I share here, it's a good snapshot of indie rock in the years around 9/11. Bright Eyes, Ida, and the Faint are the biggest names here, although relistening to this makes me wish I had held onto my copies of the Lion compilation EP and the Very Secretary release.

Discogs

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