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Next up! June 13th High N' Heavy, Death Pesos, Heavy
Hands & Beacon Project at Club Bohemia.
A heavy rock n roll show featuring:
High n' Heavy
Death Pesos
Heavy Hands
Beacon Project
event page
https://www.facebook.com/events/396149330967984/
FRIDAY JUNE 14TH, 2019
GLiDER, The Stigmatics, The Cazbats, Mad Painter @Club Boho 6/14
https://www.facebook.com/events/1128345014027348/
https://www.facebook.com/events/348062459396751/
Earle Mankey worked with Sparks and the Dickies, and the type of understanding necessary to translate sounds from those experimental groups is a plus on Mondo Deco, from the original Quick. As with the other major Kim Fowley and Mankey discovery, the Runaways, this band was released on Mercury in 1976, and it is one of the best examples of fun new wave to escape unscathed from all the hype. Unfortunately, it failed to sell in big numbers, but the album is terrific, a real underground gem. Guitarist Steven Hufsteter writes impressive and energetic pop; "Hillary" and "No No Girl" are two excellent examples. The Runaways should have cut "Anybody" -- it could have been their breakout hit. With its tight bassline and perfect hollow underground rock drums, Mondo Deco has lots of treats hidden among its ten tunes. Vocalist Danny Wilde sounds like a hybrid of Nick Gilder and the Sweet, and this music should have been all over the radio. Where the New York Dolls and the Runaways had limitations inherent in their concepts (notice how quickly Joan Jett rose up the charts once she figured that out), the Quick have all the elements that should have opened doors denied to the comical blitz of the Dickies and the quirky insanity of Sparks. What Mankey did to the Pop on Arista was unforgivable -- he mutated them beyond recognition, homogenizing the best elements of what didn't need modification. The Quick, on the other hand, strike that balance missing from other bands, something that would deny the Dickies, for example, airplay on Top 40. The cover of the Four Seasons' "Rag Doll" is fun, but it is their rendition of the Beatles' "It Won't Be Long," which leads off the album, that should have been a number one smash. The cover photo of the five bandmembers eating ice cream cones is a bit too contrived, but the back-cover image of a youthful underground Raspberries works. This is Eric Carmen if he played alternative rock -- and it is one of Fowley's best moments next to his work with the Modern Lovers. ~ Joe Viglione
JOE VIGLIONE REVIEWS THE VELVETEEN
AFTER HOURS
AllMusic Review by Joe Viglione [-]
Velveteen is a duo featuring Sal Maida -- who played
bass for Roxy Music, Milk & Cookies, Golden/Carillo, and Cherrie
Currie, among others -- and vocalist Lisa Burns, once produced by Craig
Leon when he had Willie Alexander & the Boom Boom Band up at
Suntreader Studios recording in Vermont. The Boom Boom Band backed up
Lisa Burns on a 1978 self-titled MCA records release during those
sessions, performing material by Moon Martin, Jackie DeShannon, and the
Box Tops. Five years later she changes styles from rock to dance. The
black-and-white cover of this six-song Velveteen release on Atlantic
entitled Afterhours has Maida with the obligatory sunglasses and Burns
looking like a new wave chanteuse. They look smart, they look the part,
and had the record sounded like the Velvet Underground meets Roxy Music
as the title and image suggest, it may have made more of a splash.
"Nightline" is the best song here, strong hook and crystal clear
production, it's just that the Linn drums make for monotonous rock &
roll and their sound dominates a recording which half rocks. It's good
dance music -- material Sal Maida was familiar with having recorded on
Gary Private's "Lonely Hearts," but the project may have been better
served had Milk & Cookies re-formed to back up Burns the way Willie
"Loco" Alexander's band did in the '70s. "Nothing to Do" slinks around
in a nice and evil way, but had the wild abandon of a rock group
interrupted the precision, the record would beg repeated spins.
"Preoccupied" is the closest thing to rock, the Seeds' eternal "Pushin'
too Hard" riff convoluted in a world where it -- and these musicians --
didn't really belong: the dance world. "Wild Rain" and "Get Wild" are
the alleged obsession with uncontrolled emotion, a promise unfulfilled.
If only the 1978 Lisa Burns disc had the production values she and Maida
give this release -- much more precise and on target than Craig Leon's
sparse underproduction. Lisa Burns has an appealing voice and style, and
what she needed was a long-term record deal. Too bad "Nightline" wasn't
a Top 40 smash; it's so hard watching important artists climb the
mountaintop only to be abandoned at the summit. Lisa Burns falls into
that category.
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MARE WINNINGHAM
https://www.allmusic.com/album/what-might-be-mw0000678801
AllMusic Review by Joe Viglione [-]
What Might Be is an extraordinary track by film star Mare Winningham. Loreena McKinnit and Natalie Merchant share the delicate and precise style that Winningham
puts into her voice and music. Bill Mapel co-wrote the lyrics to the
title track, and it is the only song not composed entirely by Mare. Sid Page's
violin brings the determination of "What Might Be" to a frenzy toward
its conclusion, a song that works in so many ways, and more present than
"Take My Word For It," which opens the album like a counterpoint to the
work of Dan Fogelberg. "Well It's Gone" goes in another direction, folk music from a cabana in some film of Mare's
perhaps, very light and friendly on the ears, cool backing vocals slide
in unexpectedly to enhance this piece. Despite her fame, these 12 songs
from the early '90s show a maturity and grasp of musical communication
that demands radio attention and a wider audience. "If I Wanted"
beautifully combines Winningham's acoustic rhythm guitar, Robert Carradine's acoustic lead guitar, Joel Hamilton's acoustic bass to good effect, but it's Mare's use of chords that endears the tune to the listener, her voice taking an early Judy Collins kind of turn. "Train Song" has that naive arrogance of early Janis Ian,
"Far Away From Me" helps the album parachute to a gentle landing. This
is an exceptional effort by a tremendously talented, multifaceted
artist.
_________________________________________________________________
Dana Gillespie Weren't Born a Man
Dana Gillespie produced this excellent album along with Robin Cable, the engineer who failed to properly produce Boston band Private Lightning. If only he had procured some of the direct sounds evident on Weren't Born a Man. David Bowie and Mick Ronson produced the Gillespie original, "Mother Don't Be Frightened," along with a version of Bowie's "Andy Warhol." The inclusion of Rick Wakeman, Rolling Stones sax player Bobby Keyes, and Elton John percussionist Ray Cooper adds to the festivities, but it is Gillespie who shines through as a genuine artist. "All Cut Up on You" is a song to covet; Gillespie's definitive vocal and lyrics get right to the point. She changes hats with "Eternal Showman," where she's as tender as Mare Winningham, emotive as Grace Slick. The album shifts moods, and the musicians seem to enjoy the transitions. Where Lou Reed's Berlin album was a dense nightmare, Gillespie showcases her artistry in a more subtle and musical way. "All Gone" could have been the inspiration for Paul Simon's "Still Crazy After All These Years." With lines like "Can't drink the same holy water," it concludes the album on a pretty but down note, just as it started with the Marianne Faithfull-styled "Stardom Road Parts I & II." That seven-minute track could have been written about all the artists signed to Mainman, the company that managed Gillespie. As Lulu sang on her minor hit "I Could Never Miss You," Gillespie comes right to the point that she's "Backed a Loser." This album is more about despair than optimism, though she keeps her head above water while the aforementioned Berlin dragged everything down in its undertow. Majestic in her despair, it is the title track, with its sexual ambiguity, that is the most poignant. It seems to be a love song to a woman who wants her, and who is everything Gillespie wishes her men could be. "I lost my teddy bear/He just vanished in the fog/You love like a lady/You walk like a sailor/It's so sad/You weren't born a man." It's so sad that this excellent album didn't make bigger waves.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/werent-born-a-man-mw0000849980
_________________________________________________________________
Dana Gillespie Weren't Born a Man
Dana Gillespie produced this excellent album along with Robin Cable, the engineer who failed to properly produce Boston band Private Lightning. If only he had procured some of the direct sounds evident on Weren't Born a Man. David Bowie and Mick Ronson produced the Gillespie original, "Mother Don't Be Frightened," along with a version of Bowie's "Andy Warhol." The inclusion of Rick Wakeman, Rolling Stones sax player Bobby Keyes, and Elton John percussionist Ray Cooper adds to the festivities, but it is Gillespie who shines through as a genuine artist. "All Cut Up on You" is a song to covet; Gillespie's definitive vocal and lyrics get right to the point. She changes hats with "Eternal Showman," where she's as tender as Mare Winningham, emotive as Grace Slick. The album shifts moods, and the musicians seem to enjoy the transitions. Where Lou Reed's Berlin album was a dense nightmare, Gillespie showcases her artistry in a more subtle and musical way. "All Gone" could have been the inspiration for Paul Simon's "Still Crazy After All These Years." With lines like "Can't drink the same holy water," it concludes the album on a pretty but down note, just as it started with the Marianne Faithfull-styled "Stardom Road Parts I & II." That seven-minute track could have been written about all the artists signed to Mainman, the company that managed Gillespie. As Lulu sang on her minor hit "I Could Never Miss You," Gillespie comes right to the point that she's "Backed a Loser." This album is more about despair than optimism, though she keeps her head above water while the aforementioned Berlin dragged everything down in its undertow. Majestic in her despair, it is the title track, with its sexual ambiguity, that is the most poignant. It seems to be a love song to a woman who wants her, and who is everything Gillespie wishes her men could be. "I lost my teddy bear/He just vanished in the fog/You love like a lady/You walk like a sailor/It's so sad/You weren't born a man." It's so sad that this excellent album didn't make bigger waves.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/werent-born-a-man-mw0000849980
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https://allerlei2013riffmaster.wordpress.com/2015/01/10/dana-gillespie-werent-born-a-man-1973/
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