Saturday, December 11, 2010

The Mysterious Case of Jim Sullivan

Thanks to Tom Adler for telling me about this strange little story about a musician who was last seen 35 years ago in Santa Rosa, N.M.

The story of Jim Sullivan aired on NPR Thursday. He was a singer-songwriter (whose music, honestly, isn't the type of stuff I like). He had a bit part in Easy Rider, (the commune scene, according to his sister.) By early 1975 he'd decided to leave Los Angeles to try his luck in the Nashville music game.

Sullivan recorded an album called UFO  for a small label on which some top-notch L.A. studio cats -- members of The Wrecking Crew -- played. The title song of the album has caused some of his more mystical fans to speculate that perhaps his disappearance is connected to beings from beyond.

Matt Sullivan, no relation to Jim, is owner of the Light in the Attic record company, which last month re-released UFO. In the Aquarium Drunkard blog he wrote a lengthy piece about the singer after traveling to California and to Santa Rosa seeking clues about Jim Sullivan.
La Mesa Motel, Santa Rosa NM
Jim left Los Angeles in his Volkswagen Bug sometime between noon and 1 p.m. on March 4. In the early morning hours of March 5, he was pulled over outside Santa Rosa for swerving. He was taken to the local police station for a sobriety test, which he passed. He was swerving from fatigue caused by the taxing 15-hour drive. Jim checked into the La Mesa Motel, but police reports later indicated that the bed in his room was not slept in, and the key was found locked inside the room.
Jim Sullivan's VW was found on ranch property 26 miles southeast of Santa Rosa.

Jim Sullivan has never been seen again.

Matt Sullivan writes:
We know that after he checked into the La Mesa, Jim stopped by the liquor store, bought some vodka, and drove around town. Somehow he ended up at this ranch. ... When the police found Jim’s car it was locked and the engine was dead. A number of things were found in the car, including Jim’s wallet, guitar, clothes, reel-to-reel tapes, cassettes, silver appointment book, and a box of LP’s of Jim’s 1972 self-titled album on the Playboy label.
Matt Sullivan met with Guadalupe County Communicator publisher M.E. Sprengelmeyer and veteran Santa Rosa reporter Davy Delgado.

(Weird little bit of synchronicity: I don't know Sprengelmeyer personally, but he and I have mutual friends, and one of them is named Sullivan -- my former New Mexican colleague T.J. Sullivan. I don't think he's related to Jim or Matt Sullivan.)

Matt Sullivan writes:
For more than two years, search parties were regularly convened by a number of agencies – the New Mexico State Police, Santa Rosa police, and a number of volunteer groups.

What happened to Jim Sullivan probably never will be known. Just another bizarre unsolved case from New Mexico.



Photo of La Mesa motel by John Hartnup on FLICKR, Creative Commons license.

Friday, December 10, 2010

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, December 10, 2010
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org


OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
The Party's Over by Willie Nelson (for Dandy Don)
What Go Around Come Around by Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band
Tupelo County Jail by Webb Pierce
Birmingham Jail by Johnny Bond
Dirty Dog by Jimmie Revard & His Oklahoma Playboys
Your Friends Think I'm The Devil by The Imperial Rooster
Humpty Dumpty Heart by  Hank Thompson
A Fool Such As I by Marti Brom
I've Gotta Lotta Livin' To Do by Cornell Hurd

Ian Tyson Tribute Set
Wild Geese by Bill & Bonnie Hearne
Four Strong Winds by Neil Young with Nicolette Larson
Navajo Rug by Tom Russell
Summer Wages by David Bromberg

Is Santa Claus A Hippy  by Linda Cassady
Slaughter in a Winter Wonderland by Angry Johnny & The Killbillies
Feliz Navidad by  Billy Joe Shaver & Flaco Jimenez

TWISTED TALES FROM THE VINYL WASTELAND set

Beatin' on the Bars by The Travelin' Texans
The Voo-Doo Man by  Johnny Perry
Marijuana, The Devil Flower by Johnny Price
The Hep Old Frog  by  Jimmy Stayton 
Out In The Smokehouse Takin' A Bath by Leroy Pullins 
Excorcism by Tommy Scott & Scotty Lee
Jesus is My Pusher by Margie Singleton
Mother Trucker by Lloyd Hugo
The Girl on Death Row by Lee Hazelwood
Nudist Colony by Kirk Hansard

Wide Stance by Buddy
I'm Playin' It Cool by Neal Jones
Troubles by Tara Nivens & Moontree Sinqua
Xmas Ornament by The Defibulators
The Virginian by Neko Case
On A Christmas Day by C.W. Stoneking
One Endless Night by Jimmie Dale Gilmore
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets


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TERRELL'S TUNEUP: WHAT LURKS INSIDE THE RAY CHARLES VAULTS

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican 

December 10, 2010

So you thought Ray Charles died in 2004? To that I say, “But wait a minute!” — as Charles sometimes used to exclaim in the middle of a song. Here’s Rare Genius: The Undiscovered Masters, a brand-new collection of 10 Charles songs that sound like they could have been recorded this year.

Actually, some of the instrumental tracks on this album were recorded fairly recently. They’re built around vocal tracks discovered in the vaults of Charles’ recording studio.

Whenever I read about “lost” recordings uncovered “in the vaults,” I get this image of Indiana Jones making his way through some dank underground labyrinth protected by pygmy warriors and venomous reptiles beneath the streets of Beverly Hills.

Producer John Burk, who was at the helm for Charles’ last studio album, Genius Loves Company, probably wasn’t wearing a pith helmet or wielding a machete when he came across these forgotten tracks. But it had to be a rush for him.

The songs span the decades, going back to the 1970s. Some of them were basically finished and required no further work — such as the blues-drenched “It Hurts to Be in Love.” Some were just demos. Burk whipped them all into shape, calling in studio musicians to add final touches to some of the tunes.

By the end, he created a unified work that would have made Charles proud. Except maybe the song “I Don’t Want No One But You,” the sole clunker here, the album doesn’t sound overproduced, which can’t be said of all the records Charles made when he was alive.

I can’t imagine why “It Hurts to Be in Love” was never released. It sounds like a classic Charles tune, with a prominent bass and a big horn section that punctuates Charles’ vocals without overwhelming the song. There’s a lengthy fade-out as Charles plays with the tune, “crying” in falsetto, pleading, jiving, and generally having fun despite the “hurt” in the title.

Even more fun is the funky “I’m Gonna Keep on Singin’,” which also was a finished work. Charles begins with a simple command: “Y’all listen!” There’s some fine call and response with his lovely Raelettes and a spoken-word segment in which Charles talks to the creator of the universe:

“Friends, I told the Lord himself this morning, I said ‘Lord, you know I don’t mean a bit of harm in the world. ...’ ”

It reminds me of Charles’ old song “Understanding,” which also featured some spoken-word segments. There are some great instrumental solos here, too — vibes, sax, and trumpet.

Brother Ray also gets down and bluesy on the slow and soulful “There’ll Be Some Changes Made.” This is one that features overdubbing. Keb Mo’ plays guitar, but the standout is the organ work by Bobby Sparks.

Charles’ love for country music is well documented. It comes out on Rare Genius with “A Little Bitty Tear,” a Hank Cochran song that was a hit in the 1960s for Burl Ives. It’s sparsely produced, with Charles and his piano out front. “She’s Gone” sounds even more country: “The love affair is all over, but the heartaches just began.”

Charles does a duet with another biopic subject, Johnny Cash, on Kris Kristofferson’s “Why Me Lord?” which was produced in Nashville by Billy Sherrill (this one’s from the Sony Music vaults, which is guarded by different pygmies). I suspect it was recorded for a Cash album because Charles mainly sings background and plays some tasty electric piano.

Something tells me there’s a lot more treasure from the genius in those vaults, so don’t be surprised to see volumes two and three in the future. But as a die-hard fan, what I would like to see would be a collection of the raw tapes without new overdubs. Maybe call it “Ray Charles in the Rough.”

Also recommended:

*   What Goes Around Comes Around by The Diplomats of Solid Sound. Once again, The Diplomats prove that there’s more than corn in Iowa. Here’s a new crop of funky soul from Iowa City.

The Diplomats started out as an instrumental band. A few years ago they served as Andre Williams’ backup band on Aphrodisiac. Then with their 2008 album, Diplomats of Solid Sound Featuring the Diplomettes, female vocals became part of the Diplomatic mix. Two of the three Diplomettes — Sarah Cram and Katharine Ruestow — are back for this album. And so are the Brothers Basinger — sax dude David and keyboard guy Nate.

One of my favorites here is “Back Off” — a protest song of sorts, though I don’t think telling the cops or the military to “back off” is necessarily effective. Then there’s “Gimme One More Chance,” which features some soul violin by guest Diplomat Hannah Drollinger, doing her best to sound like Don “Sugarcane” Harris.

The title song has a blaxploitation-movie-soundtrack feel, with punchy horn riffs, while “Can’t Wait for Your Love,” subtitled “Pistol Allen,” is apparently an ode, in spirit at least, to the late Motown drummer Richard “Pistol” Allen. It sounds almost like a lost Martha and the Vandellas tune, embellished with sweet, almost otherworldly chimes.

Thursday, December 09, 2010

Jim Morrison Pardoned

Here in New Mexico we still don't know what Gov. Bill Richardson is going to do with Billy the Kid, but down in Florida outgoing Gov. Charlie Crist today pardoned Jim Morrison for his 1969 (settle down, Beavis) indecent-exposure conviction.

From the Associated Press:

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – This is the end for 40-year-old convictions that left Jim Morrison marked with what today would be considered sex-offender status. Florida's Clemency Board, egged on by departing Gov. Charlie Crist, pardoned The Doors' long-dead singer Thursday on indecent exposure and profanity charges stemming from a wild concert.


Some people who were at the Miami show March 1, 1969, insist even today that he exposed himself, though others in the audience and Morrison's bandmates contend he was just teasing the crowd and only pretended to do the deed. Crist, tuned in to the controversy by a Doors fan, said there was enough doubt about what happened at the Dinner Key Auditorium to justify a pardon.


The board, which consists of Crist and a three-member Cabinet, voted unanimously to pardon Morrison as they granted several other pardons Thursday. At the hearing, the governor called the convictions a "blot" on the record of an accomplished artist for "something he may or may not have done."

Jackie Gleason, who organized a "Rally for Decency" prompted by the Morrison arrest, couldn't be reached for comment. Like Morrison, he's dead.

So now that this issue is done with, how about a "Pardon Sid Vicious" movement?

Wednesday, December 08, 2010

My Favorite Oklahoma Christmas Song

As a native Oklahoman, nothing says Christmas more than the commercial for B.C. Clark's, a jewelry store. The jingle for the ad has been stuck in my head for -- I'm not kidding -- 50 years or so. Maybe longer. The store has run various spots with the same jingle since 1956!

Here's one I found on YouTube:



And here's a version sung on the Jay Leno show by Megan Mullally, who played Karen, the slutty, pill-popping assistant on Will and Grace. She was raised in Oklahoma City (and this proves it.)

Tuesday, December 07, 2010

PROTO RAP FROM THE '60s

I searched, but I couldn't find Sen. Everett Dirksen's "Gallant Men," but Sammy was a find!





Sunday, December 05, 2010

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, December 5, 2010
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

Webcasting!
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
There But for the Grace of God Go I by The Gories
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark by The Sonics
Bend Over, I'll Drive by The Cramps
Dog Food by Iggy Pop
Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love) by  The Swingin' Medallions
What Goes Around Comes Around by The Diplomats of Solid Sound
Thunder Thighs by Andre Williams with the Diplomats of Solid Sound
Soul Struttin' by The Fleshtones 
Sausage Balls by The Polkaholics

Preacher by Blue Cheer
Sifu Bruce Lee by Sexton Ming
Call Girl by M!ho Wada
Brown Trash by Tandoori Knights
Insane Asylum by Willie Dixon & Koko Taylor
Stumblin' Man by Tad
Red Rose Tea by The Marquis Chimps
Christmas in Las Vegas by Richard Cheese

Space Jeeps by The Scrams
Charlie Laine Ate My Brain by The Ruiners
Wild About You Baby by Hound Dog Taylor
Scratch My Back by The Flamin' Groovies
Cheap Shot by Monkeyshines 
Monkey Suit by The Plasmatics
Little Girl by The Hollywood Sinners
Christmas Boogie by Canned Heat with Alvin & The Chipmunks

Punk Rock Casualty by The Subway Surfers
Luck Be a Lady Tonight by Frank Sinatra
Why Hurt Flesh  by Kid Congo Powers
Good Morning Little School Girl by Chuck Berry
Stop Pulling And Pushing Me by Richie Havens
I'm Gonna Keep Singin' by Ray Charles
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

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eMusic December

Last month eMusic made a deal with another of the major labels -- Universal. In doing so, they lost several independent labels, including Matador and Merge.

They also changed their pricing structure. It's in dollars and sense now instead of credits. The prices also slightly increased -- 49 cents for most tracks. Plus, eMusic no longer allows you to download for free tracks you've already paid for. (So be sure to back up your digital music collection!)

That's all bad news. But the good news is a lot of the cool labels -- Norton, Crypt, In the Red, Voodoo Rhythm, Bloodshot, etc are still there. And there's still lots of good deals on albums, especially on the older stuff. And it's till cheaper than either iTunes or Amazon.

Here's what I've downloaded from eMusic in the last month:

* The Wild Man by Hasil Adkins. This was the Haze's sophomore Hunch album in the late '80s. Back in 1986, Billy Miller and Miriam Linna  decided to launch a record company to unleash this West Virginia backwoods one-man-band's early recordings --  which go back to the 1950s. That compilation, Out to Hunch was the birth of  Norton Record.  For The Wild Man, they let him loose in a studio for a fresh bunch of recordings.

And happily, the result was pure Punchy Wunchy Wickey Wackey Woo. Most of the tracks are just Adkins singing, playing guitar and playing the bass drum with his foot -- though on a few cuts he's aided, minimally, by various members of the A-Bones. Nobody gets their head cut off here, but it's still a lot of fun.

In addition to his own crazed tunes -- "Chicken Flop," "Big Red Satellite" and "Wild, Wild Friday Night" are classic -- Adkins also performs several tunes by the likes of The Carter Family, Carl Perkins, Jimmie Rodgers and Merle Haggard (a slow and heartfelt "Turning Off a Memory"). But my favorite cover here is a hunchin' take on Jumpin' Gene Simmons' Halloween classic "Haunted House."


* Live In Hollywood '91 by Lavern Baker. The first time I heard the song "Bumble Bee," performed by the under-rated British Invasion group, The Searchers, I thought it was a real bitchen song.

The first time I heard it done by LaVerne Baker, I nearly covered my head for fear of getting stung.

Baker was one of the most powerful R&B performers of the 1950s and early '60s. She's best known for her hit "Jim Dandy" and the follow-up "Jim Dandy Got Married" (I forgive her for accidentally spawning Black Oak, Arkansas), but for my money Baker's best was the song about that bumble bee (an evil bumble bee!)

Baker was on the comeback trail by the time she recorded this live album in 1991, six years before her death. Past her prime for sure, and her band lacked that first-generation R&B urgency. And yes, there's too many easy-listening standards like "That's My Desire" and "What a Difference a Day Makes Here" (though LaVern injects a lot of soul into these chestnuts). But still, it's a good listen. "Tomorrow Night," which she recorded in the '50s, (I'm most familiar with Elvis' version) is full of irresistible emotion, as is is her 1959 hit  "I Cried a Tear."

But my favorite one here has to be the grand finale, the  Lieber & Stoller novelty classic, "Saved,"
 the Salvation Army spoof, which was a title cut of a Baker album in 1961. "I used to cuss, i used to fuss/I used to cuss and fuss and boogie all night long!" she sings. Elvis did this song on his '68 "comeback special," The Band covered it on Moondog Matinee and , yes, I used to do it in my cheesy nightclub act in the '70s and '80s. But nobody did it like LaVern.


Hey Hey, We're The Gories!
* Outta Here by The Gories. This 1992 album was the last album for this Detroit trio, whose stature and reputation continued to grow long after the group broke up. (They started doing reunion shows a couple of years ago. I saw them in New York last summer -- that's where I snapped the picture to the left.)

With Mick Collins (who later formed The Dirtbombs) and Dan Kroha on guitars and vocals and Peggy O'Neil bashing the drums, The Gories billed themselves as "punk blues. Along with their originals, they covered blues and R&B classics in their minimalist, primitive style.

One of my favorites here is "Great Big Idol With the Golden Head," which Leiber & Stoller wrote for The Coasters. They also do a tune called "Crawdad," which basically is a rewrite of Bo Diddley's "Bo Diddley."

But best of all on this record is "There But For the Grace of God Go I," which came from a late '70s New York disco group called Machine. The song is a story of a couple of immigrants who try hard to protect their baby daughter. But by the time she's 16 she's running wild and ends up running away. The Gories cut it down to its basics and it sounds even more urgent the original.

You gotta give The Gories credit: They gave it their all to the very end. Though they were ready to break up by the time this was recorded, this definitely does not have the feel of some contractual obligation product or document.

PLUS

* The seven songs I didn't already have from Evol. by Sonic Youth. This was Sonic Youth back in 1986, back before hardly anyone knew them. Back before hardly anyone else was trying to sound like them. No Wave had already crested and Grunge was waiting to be born.

But still there was Sonic Youth exploring those strange darkened corridors of sound.

Highlights of Evol include "Shadow of a Doubt," which might be Kim Gordon's sexiest vocal ever; "In the Kingdom #19," in which the lyrics, which tell of a car crash, are spoken by Lee Ranaldo, reminding me of The Velvet Underground's "The Gift"; and the 7-minute excursion "Expressway to Yr Skull," that sounds like folk-rock played by Neptunians.



*Seven tracks from  A Night on the Town With the Rat Pack by Frank, Dino & Sammy.

How can you not love these guys? This might not be rock 'n' roll, but the power, swagger and humor of these monsters shares a lot of common ground with the rock beast.


I'm not sure what the circumstances of this album are -- not even when it was recorded. (As for the where -- there's references to Chicago as well as St. Louis, so you have to assume these performances were taken from more than one night on the town.)
 
There's plenty of good old-fashioned fucking around here, ("What kind of fool am I," sings Sammy as he begins his famous hit. "You're a schmuck!" Sinatra answers.) But when they get ready to rare back and sing a song, their talent is unmatched. And the Count Basie band plays on at least several of these numbers.

I spent the last of my month's allotment on songs from this album. I'll pick up the remaining 31 tracks when my account refreshes.

Friday, December 03, 2010

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, December 3, 2010
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Wild Wild Friday Night by Hasil Adkins
Corn Money by The Defibulators
Love Me by The Phantom
A Pinhead Will Survive by Rev. Billy C. Wirtz
Little Dog Blues by Mel Price
Eatin' Fish and Drinkin' Sterno by The Imperial Rooster
I Think I'm Gonna Kill Myself  by  Buddy Knox
Burn Burn Burn by Ronny Elliott
Christmas Mornin' by Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks

In the Nuthouse Now by Angry Johnny & GTO
That Mink On Her Back by  Hank Penny
Crack and Similac by Misery Jackals
Sally's Got a Wooden Leg by  Sons Of  The West
 Hang Man by Halden Wofford & The Hi Beams
Sneaky Pete by  Sonny Fisher
Man in the Bottom of the Well by Bill Kirchen with Elvis Costello
I'm Gonna Love the Glenn Beck Out of You by Jim Terr
Shootin' Snowmen by Angry Johnny & The Killbillies

Hot Dog by Rosie Flores
Diddy Boppin' And Motor Mouthin' by Clara Dean
Blues Keep Calling by Marti Brom
The Devil, My Conscience & I by Billy Barton
Deep in the Heart of Texas by Andy Anderson
Suffer to Sing the Blues by David Bromberg
Welcome Touch Of Death by Billy Hunt
Lookin' For Somebody to Kill by Kell Robertson
Stop, Look and Listen by Patsy Cline
Yakov the Polka Reindeer by The Polkaholics

Lucille by The Beat Farmers
I Pity the Poor Immigrant by Richie Havens
Must Be the Whiskey by Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez
Just Call Me Me Steven I'm Leavin' by Cornell Hurd
Samson by Greg Brown
The Lost Cause by Legendary Shack Shakers

CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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TERRELL'S TUNEUP: A Special Birthday Wish

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican 
December 3, 2010

From the days of Motown, through the proto-punk era of the MC5, going into the garage-rock ’90s with The Gories and The Detroit Cobras, and culminating commercially with The White Stripes, the city of Detroit has been a dependable breeding ground for rock ’n’ roll.

A band called The Ruiners does nothing to ruin the reputation of the Motor City. In fact, the group’s new album, Happy Birthday Bitch, fits into the city’s proud tradition.

Fronted by Rick Ruiner, aka Rick Lappin (a recent feature in the Detroit Press referred to him as the group’s “singer/stuntman”) and Russian-born singer Nina Friday (that’s her on the cover), the band has a reputation for “setting things on fire, stripping down onstage, and occasionally winding up behind bars” (That’s from Chicago music critic Jim DeRogatis.)

This record just explodes with powerful rockers. “Fix That Broken Halo,” which starts off with a roaring “yeee haw!” from Friday, features crazy locomotive drumming over some wild slide guitar. “Charlie Laine Ate My Brain” is an ode to a real-live porn star. (Reportedly, there have been talks about the actress doing a video for the song.)

“Sugar Buzz” is a sweet crunching ode to a young lady enjoying treats at Dairy Queen, while “Suburban Cop” is a high-charged, hopped-up insult to law enforcement (“Hey, cop, congratulations, you just found my crotch!”).

If The Ruiners were better known, politicians across the country would be calling for their heads.

And while it’s a fine little rock ’n’ roll tune, do yourself a favor, guys, and don’t play the title song for your wife or sweetheart on her birthday.

Also recommended:


* The Scrams. One day last year, I was listening to a show by a fellow GaragePunk podcaster (RadiOblivion’s Michael Kaiser, who lives in Tennessee), and he announced a fun, rocking, heavy-on-the-Farfisa band called The Scrams from “Steve Terrell’s backyard in New Mexico.”

I went out and checked — they weren’t there. He was lying.

But later I found out that The Scrams were only some 60 miles away, in Albuquerque. Just recently The Scrams released a full-length, self titled album that fulfills the promise of the songs on the first 7-inch EP they released last year.

They’ve only been around for less than two years, and they call their sound “warehouse rock.” Started by guitarist Juan Carlos Rodriguez and drummer Nate Daly, other Scrams include singer Joseph Cardillo, Farfisa-nut Daniel Eiland, and bassist Matthew Vanek.

All tracks, from the opening shout of “1,2,3,4,” on “Exiles” to the weird sonic blast that follows “Cry, Cry Cry (In the U.S.A.)” — it sounds like backward masking — is raw garage joy. The first tune that grabbed me was “La Llorona,” a song about a local girl. She murdered her children and is now doomed to eternally wandering the arroyos as a wailing ghost. The Scrams pay her spooky justice.

There’s a song called “Chimp Necropsy,” which may or may not be about those poor medical-experiment chimps in Alamogordo. I can’t make out the lyrics here to save my life. I’m not sure what “Goat Throat” is about, either. Maybe The Scrams are trying to warn the world about some sort of human-animal hybrid.

Whatever, it’s an irresistible little tune with just a hint of ’60s-style soul. “Space Jeeps” is a science-fiction adventure, while “Cry, Cry Cry” almost sounds like The Fleshtones mangling Dion & The Belmonts’ “Teenager in Love.”

I’d be proud to have The Scrams in my backyard. If you want a hard copy of the CD, you’ll have to buy it from The Scrams. You can download the MP3 version for free at www.thescrams.com.


* Curry Up: It’s The Tandoori Knights by The Tandoori Knights Canadian rockabilly Bloodshot Bill might be the logical person to step in and heal the rift between King Khan and BBQ (Mark Sultan), who split up earlier this year after a disastrous Asian/Australian tour.


After all, just this year Bloodshot Bill has released records with both — recording as The Ding-Dongs with Sultan and as The Tandoori Knights with Khan. Maybe he can instigate the melding of the two — a trio to be known as “The Tandoori Dongs.”


If I had to choose between the two, Tandoori Knights would get my nod. It’s got the same spirit of lo-fi rockabilly zaniness as The Ding-Dongs, but there’s also a flavor of East Indian exotica. (Both Knights are Indian. Arish Khan is of East Indian heritage, while Bloodshot Bill is Native American. And both were born in an exotic foreign country called Canada.)

“Pretty Please,” which opens the album, kicks off with a slow, slinky slide guitar. It sounds like a crude ditty beginning for what could, but never quite does, blossom into a huge Bollywood ballad. Other diamonds here include the rocking “Dress On,” a takeoff on Mitch Ryder’s “Devil in a Blue Dress” and “Big Belly Giant,” which features a dangerous sax and a chicken-lickin’ guitar while the Tandooris sing “eeny meenie miney moe.”

But my favorite is the sour-grapes dismissal of America’s oldest teenager on the song “Bandstand.” The boys protest in the refrain, “They won’t let Tandooris play on the Bandstand!” Come on, Dick, let ’em on the show! I don’t care if American Band did go off the air more than 20 years ago.

Consumer warning! I notice that a new copy of this CD is available for $23 and change from Amazon. But you can get it for $10 on the Norton Records site.


TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

  Sunday, March 24, 2024 KSFR, Santa Fe, NM, 101.1 FM  Webcasting! 10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time Host: Steve Terrell E...