eMUSIC SEPTEMBER

* Undercover by West Hell 5. On my recent trip to Amsterdam, I planned to go to a party put on by The Amsterdam Beat Club at a Club called Paradisio. (I was alerted to this by fellow GaragePunk podcaster Suzanne of Rock 'n' Roll Rampage.)

One of the bands playing was West Hell 5, an instrumental group featuring sax, guitar and organ. They call their sound "Mod & Crime," which is inspired by "old spy-fi & crime-soundtracks, 60's groove jazz, Vegas Grind and early rhythm 'n blues." It's a cool, greasy sound.

And I like their album cover.

Most the tracks are original though they do cover The Man from U.N.C.L.E. theme and "Secret Agent Man" (though I still like Junior Brown's cover of that one the best.)

Long story short, I missed the show at Paradisio. For some reason I thought it was on Friday. It was on Thursday. At least I have this album.

* Live in the Red by Pussy Galore. Before he detonated the Blues Explosion, Jon Spencer was the frontman for this rocking little unit from Washington, D.C.

They reveled in crazy noise, but they were far more fartsy than artsy. Listen close enough and you can hear strains of rockabilly and Rolling Stones but all on distorted overdrive. (Don't listen too close or you'll blow an eardrum.) Every song they ever tackled was a party out of control.

This was Pussy's last concert, recorded at CBGB's in 1989. If there was any petty onstage bickering that night, they left it off this album. But Spencer and the boys don't sound like a group at the end of its rope here. They play their songs, more than half of which are from their greatest album Dial "M" for Motherfuckerwith pride and spirit.

* Memphis Heat by Memphis Slim & Canned Heat. One of Canned Heats most remembered records was the double album they did with John Lee Hooker, 1971's Hooker 'n' Heat. Far less known is this team-up with piano man Memphis Slim.

"I want everybody to know just who I am," Slim sings in the title song. "Me and the Canned Heat are gonna have a little jam." And indeed they did.

This collaboration includes two sets of sessions in Paris, (where Slim was living at the time) in 1970 -- Heat at its prime -- and 1973, which includes contributions from The Memphis Horns.

While the horns add an extra dimension, they represent a departure from the guitar-centric boogie usually associated with Canned Heat. Still, the interplay between Slim's piano and Henry Vestine's guitar makes this a treat for any blues fan.

Slim handled all the vocal responsibilities except on "Five Long Years." (I'm not sure who sang it. It doesn't sound like Slim or Bobby "The Bear" Hite, the band's lead singer during those years.)

The best tracks here are One of Slim's best-known songs, "Mother Earth" -- much more upbeat than other versions I've heard him do -- and "Paris" an snazzy little ode to his adopted home. (He moved there in 1962 and would die there in 1988.)

Now I've got to get my hands on Gates On the Heat, Canned Heat's album they did with Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown.

* Between the Ditches by The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band. You might think that a trio consisting of a crazy slide guitarist, his wife on the washboard and his cousin playing a bass drum and junkyard percussion might be little more than a fun little novelty act.

But those who have enjoyed the recordings and/or the live shows of The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band, know that this group from rural Indiana goes way beyond the novelty spectrum.

Sound familiar? Yes, I just reviewed this album in Terrell's Tuneup not long ago. Read the whole thing HERE

Plus:

3 Nancy Sinatra covers (I played these in my Nancy tribute in a recent Terrell's Sound World):

* "Lightning's Girl" by Lydia Lunch & 8-Eyed Spy
* "Some Velvet Morning" by Firewater
* "How Does That Grab You Darlin' " by Empress of Fur

All three are fine tributes in their own peculiar ways. But I still prefer Nancy's originals.

Rest Easy Grievous Angel: 39 Years Ago Today

Thirty nine years ago today, Gram Parsons died in Joshua Tree, California.

I was in Columbia, Mo. when I learned about it. It was during my first great hitchhiking trip across these United States. I'd been a fan since the first Flying Burrito Brothers album, Gilded Palace of Sin, a few years before.

I still get sad thinking of his death. I wish he was still around and I was reviewing his 34th album.

Here's a couple of grainy film clips of Gram singing with Emmylou Harris.

Fred Eaglesmith in NM

Canadian country rocker Fred Eaglesmith and his Traveling Steam Show are coming to the good old Mine Shaft Tavern in Madrid, N.M. on Sunday.

Eaglesmith also is appearing at Albuquerque's Low Spirits next Monday and, even though I don't really cover the Tucumcari music scene that much, he's playing there at the Pow Wow Inn Restaurant and Lizard Lounge this Friday night.

Here's a sample of the man's music:

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, Sept. 16, 2012 
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(at)ksfr.org

 OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
What's the Matter Now by The Oblivians
Astral by The Rockin' Guys
Bloody Mary by King Salami & The Cumberland 3
Some Other Guy by The Hentchmen
Magic Touch by The Plimsouls
Heebie Jeebies by The Gun Club
I'm Gonna Dig Up Howlin' Wolf by Mojo Nixon & Skid Roper
Like a Pill by The Nevermores
Mr. Kicks by Oscar Brown, Jr.

Goddamn I'm Good by Bob Log III
Black Mini by Doo-Rag
Jack Rabbit by Jawbone
Come Back by Dex Romweber
Keep on Rubbing by Captain Beefheart
Duck for the Oysters by Malcom McLaren
TV Set by The Cramps
Bhang Bhang, I'm a Burnout by Dum Dum Girls
When I Were Young by Memphis Slim & Canned Heat

Semi Pseudo Sort of Plan by Mission of Burma
Urban Lifestyle by Pere Ubu
Lee Van Cleef by Primus
Blood Rush to Your Head by Dennis Most
My Disease by Found Dead in Trunk
Electrik Fool by Troy Gregory with The Glow in the Dark Monsters
Meet Mr. Fork by The Night Beats
In the City by The Enthusiasts
Too Much Paranoias by Devo

Romero Had Juliette by Lou Reed
The House as a Giant Bong by The Dirtbombs
Lockdown Blues by The Angel Babies
Invisible Girl by The King Khan & BBQ Show
Down Deep Underground by Stan Ridgway
Babe You Turn Me On by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

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THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, Sept. 14, 2012 
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM 
Webcasting! 
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time 
Host: Steve Terrell 
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org

 OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Working Man Blues by Merle Haggard
Blackland Farm by Sleepy LaBeef
Another Bender Might Break Me by Hellbound Glory
Move It! by T. Tex Edwards
Hard Luck by Pearls Mahone
Yeah Yeah by Rosie Flores
Slippin' Out, Sneakin' In by Big Sandy & The Fly Rite Trio
Blue Eyed Elaine by Ernest Tubb

It's the Law by Bob Log III
Smells Like Low Tide by Molly Gene One-Whoaman Band
Shut the Screen by The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band
It'll Be Me by Janis Martin
Thunder on the Mountain by Wanda Jackson
It's Been So Long by Webb Pierce
Mean Kind of Blues by Rachel Brooke
Mama Don't Like Music by Smiley Burnette
Poon Tang by Deke Dekerson with The Treniers

Driving Back in Time by Ronny Elliott
Angel Along the Tracks by The Dirt Daubers
Cold Cold Eyes by Slim Cessna's Auto Club
Poison Sugar by Holy Modal Rounders
The Trouble WIth Girls by The Stumbleweeds
Roly Poly by The Pine Valley Cosmonauts with Brett Sparks
I Can't Find the Doorknob by Jimmy & Johnny
Barrel House Bessie by Johnny Bond
Trucker From Tennessee by Link Davis
Duck For the Oysters by Malcom McLaren

Give Your Love to Me by The World Famous Headliners
I Ain't Drunk by Whitey Morgan
Little Bitty Slip by James "Slim" Chance
Black Annie by The Carolina Chocolate Drops
Sweet Thang! by J. Michael Combs
Goodnight Irene by Stevie Tombstone
That Loving You Feeling Again by Roy Orbison & Emmylou Harris
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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The Blues Explosion is Back!

I didn't even realize that the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion was working on a new album.

But I'll be a dog -- according to Rolling Stone online, they've completed a new record called Meat and Bone, the group's first album in eight years.

"Recorded on Sly Stone's own "Riot" Flickinger console at the Key Club Studio in Benton Harbor, Michigan, the crunchy new LP finds Spencer, Judah Bauer and Russel Simins returning to their scuzzy blues basics ... 

And you can listen to the whole thing HERE.

Bob Log III to Roll Into Santa Fe

There's a free (!) show at the Santa Fe Railyard Park this Saturday (Sept. 15). The headliners are The Heartless Bastards. They're ok, but I'm far more excited about the opener, Bob Log III.

For those unaware of Mr. Log, he's a one-man band from Arizona who plays a mean slide guitar, bass drum to accompany his distorted vocals. (He wears a motorcycle helmet on stage.) His sound is so primitive he makes the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion sound like the New York Philharmonic. He's been on two of my favorite labels -- the original Fat Possum Records back when it was the most exciting blues label around and, more recently Voodoo Rhythm, the Swiss company that released his latest album My Shit is Perfect in 2009. (Birdman Records later released it in the U.S.)

I've never seen his solo act, but back in the '90s I saw him with his old band Doo Rag at a Lollapalooza. I was impressed.

The show starts at 6 p.m. in the Railyard.

Check out the Bob Log video below -- and, just for the hell of it, some Doo Rag below that.