Today ARC was featured in the NY Times, in the NY/Regional section, with a nice story by David Gonzales. There were two electronic versions, and these featured cover art and sound files – you can go to here 2 hear.
I was asked to dig through the ARChive for some unusual things I liked, and ignored new things that the Times might have reviewed. But they didn’t publish my comments or the discography to the story, so here goes…
Anna Domino
“Land Of My Dreams” on East and West (Les Disques Du Crepuscule, Belgium, TWI 187, 12″, vinyl disc Ep, 1984) This is an early effort. Equally swell is Anna’s take on the American folksong via her latest band, Snakefarm.
Big Miller
“Did You Ever Hear the Blues?” on Did You Ever Hear the Blues?”, (United Artists, USA, YAS 6047, 12″, 33.3, LP, 1959) Big = Clarence Horatio, a Kansas City Blues shouter, doing a pile of songs penned by Langston Hughes.
Twilight Zoners
“Twister” on Zerø Zerø Øne (ZIP (Zoners In Plastic) Records, UK, 7” 45 rpm, Ep, 1979).
We have 12 different handmade Xerox covers of this DIY crackly UK single out of the 45 different ones crafted, the whole run was 1000 copies. Vocals in the background by my pal, Tilly Tilson. Gordon/Glen is still rockin’ here.
Admiral Dele Abiodun And His Top Hitters
(Olumo, Nigeria, Orps 79, 12″, vinyl disc Lp, 1978)
Out on a limb here, but this is the greatest side of Juju music ever recorded. And it is the only one I know of that about ¾ through shifts into a Fela-esque Afrobeat layered in psychedelic guitar ecstasy. Here’s that bit of this 19 min. masterpiece.
Avengers
“The American in Me” on the Avengers EP (White Noise, USA, WNR 002, 12″, 45 rpm vinyl disc, Ep, 1979) Raw SF punk + vocalist Penelope Houston. Only a snippet here as we had no rights.
Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong, Rosemary Clooney and the Hi-Lo’s
“Music to Shave By” (Auravision/Columbia, USA, 6” paper/flexidisk, 33rpm, 196?)
Back of the disc says “ This is the first Hi-Fi recording ever to be included in a national magazine,” probably Life. This is cloying music at the service of industry, and Bing, by the way, once started a paper ad record business. There’s a great webthing on paper + flexies, hosted by WFMU, @ http://www.wfmu.org/MACrec/
The Buddah Box
I found this in a religious store, between a Buddhist and Hindu temple in the Little India section of Singapore. Chips deliver a lively series of religious chants and songs, in a variety of languages, in endless repetition – change partners by slapping a top button. Works on batteries too, as you never know when your chant challenged.
Los York’s
“No Puedo Amar” on El Viaje: 1966-1974 (Munster, Spain, MR 285, 12″, vinyl disc-2Lp, 2008)
Out of Lima Peru, this quintet personified the organ loving Latino rock, when you could actually hear the electronic click triggering the sound. Wonderful stuff, called garage now, part of the lovingly resurrected South and Central American obscurities by Spain based Munster Records.