[butters]

This really is very good and I've not even finished the first book yet.

Reading it myself and as you say it is rather good - can certainly see how it influenced Bukowski's work.

bluebrad

[andy popp]

Count me in as another Fante fan. You did us prouf there Houdini.

[Houdini]

I'm a foul-mouthed curr, but I know my books    grazie.

[Houdini]

BAD NEWS ~ Warriors of Ghengis Khan.



Just amazing.  More Bad News part 1 - 6 can also be found on the tube.  Don't forget, they played Castle Donnington.

[Jaspersharpe]

The Comic Strip did some good stuff but for me Bad News was the best by far. Truly hilarious. I must have seen it 100 times as a lad.

[Johnny Brown]

Been getting into Gene Clark recently. After being one of the creative forces in The Bryds he had a troubled solo career - his biggest LP No Other is probably the place to start:

On the basis of the quality of Clark's Byrds contributions, David Geffen signed him to Asylum Records in early 1974. Asylum was the home of the most prominent exponents of the singer-songwriter movement of the era and carried the kind of hip cachet that Clark hadn't experienced since his days with The Byrds. He retired to Mendocino and spent long periods at the picture window of his friend (and future co-writer and drummer) Andy Kandanes' cliff-top home with a notebook and acoustic guitar in hand, staring at the Pacific Ocean. Deeply affected by his visions, he composed numerous songs which would serve as the basis for his only Asylum LP, the aptly titled No Other. Produced by Thomas Jefferson Kaye with a vast array of session musicians and backing singers, the album was an amalgam of country rock, folk, gospel, soul and choral music with poetic, mystical lyrics but it was not well received by many contemporary critics who categorised it as an overproduced indulgence. Because No Other wasn't a conventional pop/rock opus, its chances of success were greatly minimised by Clark's relative obscurity. Furthermore, because it only consisted of eight tracks (the rumour that it was originally intended to be a double-album has been put to rest by Einarson's biography) produced at a cost of $100,000, an enraged Geffen berated Clark and Kaye. Shortly after, Clark assailed Geffen in public and the label refused further promotion of the album which then stalled in the charts at #144. On a more personal note, the singer's return to Los Angeles and his reversion to a hedonistic lifestyle resulted in the disintegration of his marriage.

Silver Raven

[Houdini]

http://mutant-sounds.blogspot.com/2008/02/michael-o-shea-stcd20011982usauk.html





" Here's one of the most obscure Wire related releases. This gem was released by Wire specialists WMO in 2001 and it's already out of stock. Music is eperimental folk ,was originaly released in 1982 (partially) and was produced by Gilbert & Lewis. Concerning Micael O' Shea:
"Michael O'Shea was an eccentric, maverick world musician. He was a virtuoso of the Mo Cara, a 17-string instrument he invented and built, on which he created hauntingly melodic works combining elements of Celtic and Asian musics. Although primarily a busker, in the early '80s he enjoyed a brief legitimacy, releasing one album and even opening for Ravi Shankar at London's Royal Festival Hall.
O'Shea was born in Northern Ireland in 1947 but grew up in the Irish Republic. Keen to see the world, he joined the British Army at 17. However, military life didn't suit him; he went AWOL for two years and was court-martialed. On release from jail, he moved to London where he gravitated toward the folk scene, mixing with musicians like Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger.
In the mid-'70s, he went to Bangladesh as a volunteer, returning with dysentery, hepatitis, and a sitar. While convalescing he learned to play the sitar and then busked around Europe and the Middle East. In France he traveled with an Algerian who played an instrument known as the zelochord. O'Shea hit on the idea of building a hybrid of a zelochord, a hammered dulcimer, and a sitar; the result was the Mo Cara (Gaelic for "my friend").
Back in London, O'Shea busked with the Mo Cara, the bizarre sight and sound of the instrument instantly attracting crowds. In early 1980, he was spotted by a talent scout for Ronnie Scott, who was fascinated by the Mo Cara's mix of East Asian, South Asian, and Irish sounds. Scott offered the Irishman a residency in his club's prestigious Downstairs Room and became his agent. This led to his opening for Ravi Shankar at the Royal Festival Hall and he even played on a Rick Wakeman project, although his contribution was subsequently discarded.
Despite encouraging signs, O'Shea's career did not take off and he returned to busking. While playing in Covent Garden, O'Shea was noticed by Tom Johnston, an early member of The The. Johnston introduced O'Shea to Wire's Bruce Gilbert and Graham Lewis, who asked him to record for their Dome label. Due to his previous disappointments, O'Shea was ambivalent about others' efforts to launch his career and was convinced that his music was best-suited to spontaneous street performance. An invitation to Blackwing Studio was nonetheless extended. A year later, he appeared unannounced, saying his horoscope augured well, and recorded the album.
In 1982, O'Shea worked with Tom Johnston and Matt Johnson on a projected album, but nothing came of it. Later that year, he collaborated on two tracks for John Denver Stanley's Content to Write in I Dine Weathercraft. In 1985, he played on the title track of Larry Cosgrave's Easter Island. (Material from the Stanley and Cosgrave projects appeared on the 2002 CD reissue of O'Shea's self-titled album.)
In the late '80s O'Shea became involved in the burgeoning rave scene and rarely performed. In December 1991, he was struck by a van in London and died two days later.
~ Wilson Neate, All Music Guide "


Follow the link.  The DL is there to be found.  I'm listening now.  Sublime, neo-folk.

[Houdini]

PS.   JB,   the Silver Raven track is ace.  Particularly impresed w/ the electric guitar.  Rippin' riffage.

[Johnny Brown]

Indeed. Even more impressive stuff on Some Misunderstanding (which has an amazing solo played on, I think, a bottleneck-wah-pedal combo) and Strength of Strings from the same album. Shame they're not on that site, if I had broadband I'd send you the album...

[andy popp]

Two amazing albums that fit the thread title perfectly

Bill Fay - Time of the Last Persecution


 There's a review here which sums it up pretty well  http://www.headheritage.co.uk/unsung/review/817
Check them out, you'll thank me.

Thank you indeed, the Bill Fay is great. Like the way I can't place it re; other artists/genres.

[Houdini]

 



Just the most amazing bass and guitar sounds ever.  The perfect band.

[Falling Down]

Two amazing albums that fit the thread title perfectly

Bill Fay - Time of the Last Persecution


 There's a review here which sums it up pretty well  http://www.headheritage.co.uk/unsung/review/817
Check them out, you'll thank me.

Thank you indeed, the Bill Fay is great. Like the way I can't place it re; other artists/genres.

I like the fact that the chorus of the first song starts with "He said my climbing rope is broken.."

[Houdini]

Yars.

All over GENE CLARK's ~ No Other, this morn.  This is great.  In the same way that GRATEFUL DEAD's ~ American Beauty LP is great; very similar (sonically) these two discs.

Particularly enjoying the lap-steel, pressing my country-buttons good.

[Johnny Brown]

Tell me about it. Over the last month this has been making strong moves towards my all-time top five album list. A genuine masterpiece, great voice, incredible guitar, lovely production.

Will have to check out the dead if its similar.

[Houdini]

Last week was Scott Walker (ex-Walker Brothers) week. 



Recluse; polymath; Man From W.T.F?  Escapologist; Avant Gardist par excellence; Genius (easily).  I have prepared an essential release file (his four tracks from The Walker Bros., Nite Flights LP ~ Tilt (solo) LP ~ The Drift (solo) LP.  Alas no Climate of Hunter LP as I've yet to find online).

He's the guy who sang The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore back in '67 (?) who you probably haven't heard of since.  Not the easiest of listening experiences (except Nite Flights) but certainly worthwhile.

As ever w/ sendspace - best in the AM or off-peak times.

H E R E

[Houdini]

MOONDOG ~ Eponymous LP 1956



Quite a character was Moondog: a far-out artist in any era nevermind 50's America.  Check it out.

[andy popp]

I'm going with the retro feel. Forget Jeff, here's his dad.

[Houdini]

Been listening to this slice of freakout jazzrock of late.  It's really good. There are some tremendous grooves and jams going on here.  Obviously you've got to be that way inclined to listen to this (leave those narrowminds at the door, please). 



TOTO BLANKE ~ Spider's Dance LP (Germany 1975)  (@ 256)

Background

[GCW]

Uncle Billy, Between the Wars.  (Only video I could find, sorry).
Whilst I love "A New England" it has eclipsed his other anthems too much.

[Houdini]

Death's 1990 classic, "Spiritual Healing".

It's not typical bashing-the-snare, cookie monster vocals, but it is intense. Musically, leads abound, and Chuck Schuldiner's virtuosity takes the genre to a new level. Everything has a point, and the songs are focused and concise. I heavily recommend this to anyone who thinks metal is just a one trick pony, you'll be in for a surprise.


HERE @ 320

Now I might be shit at rock climbing, but I know a thing or two about metal.  Get some.

[Houdini]

Reminds me of my early scum-rock outfit, Thin Lash . . .   

DEEP WOUND ~ Almost Complete 2006



Now here’s an interesting one – a collection of highschool recordings from none other than Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis in full-on hardcore mode with his early band Deep Wound. According to the liner notes, Deep Wound were hugely influential to the UKs grindcore scene popularised by Napalm Death among others and across the twenty seven tracks on ‘Almost Complete’ it’s easy to hear why. Although the band was influenced by the US hardcore of the early 80s, their raw edge gave them something slightly different, no doubt accentuated by the fact the band were so young. There’s an energy, a passion and a naivety to these short bursts of punk rock, and the grittiness of the recordings only serves to enhance that. Compiled from two 7”s and a demo cassette we can hear the development of the band from their early, badly recorded sessions to the proto-metal assault of their later work. Of course we know now that Mascis would go on to bigger and brighter things, but this work has stood the test of time and sounds as head mashing now as it no doubt did at the time. ‘Almost Complete’ is a devastating collection of work and is important for anyone with a passion for early hardcore and of course grindcore (come on, show yourselves!).

[Houdini]

GENE MARSHALL ~ Jimmy Carter Says Yes

Awesomely neglected.

[Houdini]

Would be far too easy to put this in the Guitar Noise thread, for 'tis a mammoth-style masterpiece.

Japan's ZENI GEVA ~ Freedom Bondage (Albini recording for Alternative Tentacles) 1995.



Zeni Geva's sound has been variously described as noise rock, math rock, death metal, thrash metal, sludge metal, doom metal and industrial metal. Though it does indeed encompass the power chords, growled vocals, and sonic brutality of heavy metal*  , the music has a rhythmic complexity (with some songs, for example, being in 13/8 meter), and has extreme dynamics that makes the math rock label an appropriate one. Null's commanding vocal delivery and powerful presence makes him a captivating frontman.

It is a perfect LP (of its type) instantly identifiable as Japanese (even w/ out vocals) .  I've spent the last 15 years trying w/ out success to see this band live . . .

(* I'd say progressive psychedelic rock myself . . . )

[Houdini]

I should add by way of further selling this outrageous LP to you (for free) that some traditional instruments and organ are used in the recording and serve to make this an even more astonishing (in a traditional Japanese way).

[duncan]

ZENI GEVA ~ Freedom Bondage (Albini recording for Alternative Tentacles) 1995.

I'm sure this has been recommended here before which prompted me to buy it.  It's well worth a further plug, a very fine racket indeed. 

Back to page 5 and German Romanticism for a moment, anyone with a liking for Bruckner or Richard Strauss should try Franz Schmidt's 4th Symphony.  The last of the great line?

It possibly doesn't count as a neglected masterpiece in Houdini-land, but it should be much better known in Anglophone countries.