Sunshine, Lollipops & Rainbows ...and Dio

Hey it's still summertime right?



So there's no reason to turn down the Sunshine, Lollipops & Rainbows abounding out here on the edge of the interwebs is there?


I think that those three nouns will be our topics today...

So sunshine... that's easy...most people are familiar with it. I myself even see it on occasion.

Here's a few "sunny" tunes that explore this fascinating subject, or "Sol" music if you will

Jimi Hendrix - Sunshine Of Your Love

Super Furry Animals - Hello Sunshine

and here's one of those remix things, but done by a guy named sunshine...so I gues it still counts.



Fall Out Boy - Dance Dance ( Tommie Sunshine Mix)

While yer listening to those, let's read up on solar cooking ok?

Now note: that's an 11 page tome on the subject you can click through, all without leaving this site, if ya like...

As for me, i think sun dried tomato pesto is about the closest I'm getting to solar cooking this month...


and then we'll
get on to the lollipop portion of our day...

Note" in every leperchaun tale, The rainbow, always at the end...doh! no cheating...

Now ...Lollipops!!

Most folks only know Leslie as the girl who cried at her party because she wanted to, but that's not all there was to her...

She had her good days too, and dug Lollipops ...


Leslie Gore - Sunshine, Lollipops & Rainbows

The only other Lollipop tune I knows...well here it is

Mika - Lollipop


Speaking of lollipops...here's one that weighs 5 lbs and costs $35 bucks.

That's New York for ya I guess...

and see, you were patient... and ya know what you get?

the Rainbow!!!

more specifically Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow!

There's no question amongst heshers of a certain age that Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow was amongst the prime purveyors of bombastic rock in the 1970's into the early 80's.

With tiny elfen warrior Ronnie James Dio yelping up a storm out front, Cozy Powell pounding on the drums and Blackmore's guitar blistering away, it was a stoner's dream come true, and likely a nightmare for pissed off parents. I also imagine the sonic scenario could likely scare quite a few little sisters into David & Sean Cassidy if they heard this dreadful pagan thumping & wailing coming through the walls while they played Barbie Dolls.

The band emerged out of Deep Purple when Blackmore quit after a long rocky run, and legend has it was hanging with fellow disgruntled rocker Dio. They named their band not so much for mystical multicolored daytime hippie skies, but for the dive bar on Sunset next to the Roxy in LA frequented by lounging heavy metal musicians & their groupies.

The original lineup was

Ronnie James Dio (vocals)
Ritchie Blackmore (guitar)
Mickey Lee Soule (keyboards)
Jimmy Bain (bass)
Cozy Powell (drums)

In a minute we'll delve into their live album On Stage, but prior to this time period, they had put out their debut album called Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow in 1975. This was a more mellow affair compared to the ravaging excesses of their live show. Much more melodically inclined than the live sets, it stands as a sleeper to this day. But here's a track from that, before they decided to bump the bombast level up a serious notch for the cheap seats...

Rainbow - Catch The Rainbow


Now.. that's not exactly my cup of spittle either...

So inn the interest of properly anointing you young uns into the glory of Rainbow...I've carefully chosen some key tracks from a couple live albums they have available from their so-called "classic period" from 1975-1978 before Dio left to replace Ozzy in Black Sabbath.

First I'll highlight side one of the album "On Stage", recorded in 1976 in Japan.

It was a classic 70's gatefold double live LP, and has been ported onto one economical CD these days with some editing. It's available for less than $9 here

as it opens with the medieval themed "Kill The King", which features a sample from the Wizard of Oz at the beginning. So there ya have it... Dio & Blackmore were sampling long before any of those foolish electronica acts relied on it for their entire output. The boys use just the right amount of Dorothy before they just start shredding away, Dio basically showing why he's been one of the great voices in rock for decades. Blackmore in the meantime has built a mean musical machine, and this track shows a fierce well rehearsed combo, forging a liquid metal path for acts like Iron Maiden, Twisted Sister and countless others to slide into...

Rainbow - Kill The King

The next track is Man On The Silver Mountain, but in the album sequence, it's left as a 3 part medley of sorts, followed by a 4 minute blues jam and portion of another song called Starstruck. The whole darn file of track deux here is about 10 minutes / 15 megs and is basically a mini concert unto itself. I myself would be satisfied with these hits separated, but if the mighty Dio & Blackmore both want you to experience all three songs at once, who am I to argue?

Rainbow - Man On The Silver Mountain / Blues / Starstruck


The album was pretty much the same set the band would play at most engagements, with occasional shifts in order of songs. The set list for their first stateside show at The Beacon Theater in New York in Nov 1975 shows that during the December 1976 tour this album was recorded at in Japan wasn't all that much different from sets played a year earlier.



This was a band that liked to flaunt a bit o that "Majesty of Rock" that Spinal Tap aspired to, and you can pretty much be assured that Dio & Blackmore were twice as serious about this Dungeons & Dragons-esque stuff as posers like Nigel Tufnel & David St. Hubbins.

The audience there was obviously digging it, clapping along, but here from the 21st century vantage point, if you have a shortened attention span like myself, you might understand why punk rockers were ready to tear down some of these pompous rock conventions. Anyhow.. it certainly provides a time capsule of rock, and I doubt anyone will be replaying a Shins, or The Battles live tape in 2027 and raving about it quite like Rainbow fans do.

I myself being somewhat less under the spell, can become dizzy and amused reading the fawning reviews of diehard fans, but in the interest of explaining Dio's mysterious powers & Blackmore's fantastic six stringed spells I'll let the peanut gallery from across the web chime in & give you the hardcore 5 star run down ...


Underappreciated Live Gem - 5 stars!! - Submitted by kevino (Hunt Valley, MD, USA)

"On Stage" is absolutely one of the best live rock albums ever. What a shame so few people have heard it. Ritchie Blackmore's alternately blistering and melodic guitar solos, Ronnie James Dio's powerhouse vocals, and Cozy Powell's two-fisted, thunderous drumming combine to produce a set of killer performances. The album features Blackmore in his own band, with a free reign to arrange his way, and solo at will. His playing here is fiery and expressive. Epic fretboard explorations in "Catch The Rainbow" and Mistreated", sweet, delicate blues in the "Man On The Silver Mountain" medley, a beautiful intro to “Sixteenth Century Green sleeves” (as well as two great solos), and just plain shredding in "Kill The King" and "Still I'm Sad" (which features one of the most exciting, air guitar-inspiring solos ever recorded) - this is Ritchie at his best. This recording, made five years before the Black Sabbath album “Heaven And Hell” did it for a wider audience, also shows that Ronnie Dio is inarguably one of the finest rock singers ever. Clear, powerful vocals shine throughout. Cozy Powell, just the quintessential rock and roll drummer, drives these songs with a cannonade of percussive fury. Tony Carey’s unique organ and synthesizer sounds flesh the music out nicely. Check out his cool cadenza in “Still I’m sad”. This is very special music, of a type not heard before or after the vintage era of Rainbow (with Dio, 1975 - 1979). “On Stage” captures some great live evidence of this. Highly, highly recommended.

eMusic has uploaded a more recently released Rainbow collection of the same era that was recorded in Munich in 1977.

This album can also be bought as a DVD and has newely remastered sound, and a similar setlist for diehards to dwell on the subtleties. The DVD is only about $12 from this link and fans are raving about it.

All I know is it's not a short attention span release, considering that there's a 17 minute version of Catch The Rainbow and 14 minute epic treatment of Man On The Silver Mountain.

But here's a series of 5 star fan reviews from the eMusic & CD Universe websites:

CLASSIC! iTimbo1 from PA

Great show, with Dio in tow and the band playing in full force. Blackmore is at the peak of his powers.

AMAZING~~~ Sebastian from Hollywood, CA

WOW! Ritchie BlackmoreS guitar work is just amazing on this LP as are Ronnie James Dio's vocal work. The recording sound is excellent... Catch The Rainbow is just a totally amazing version. For ANY Dio fan this is a MUST have. ENJOY

5 stars!! Never knew a film existed of this Rainbow Lineup! - George (New York)

Amazing! Just Amazing! When it comes to vintage concerts on DVD, I use the Led Zeppelin DVD as a standard. As far as I am concerned this Rainbow DVD comes in at a very very close second! The video and sound is just top notch! I wonder how long this concert film had been sitting in the vaults because it should have been issued ages ago! The extras featuring a commentary slideshow, a new informative interview with Bob Daisley, and 3 videos from the Long Live Rock and Roll album are a great addition to this set. My DVD not only came with a booklet of informative liner notes and commentary, but with a miniature replication of an original tour program from that 1977 tour! Overall, the whole package is a MUST HAVE for all fans Rainbow, Dio, Deep Purple and even Black Sabbath-era Dio. I hope there is more to come from the vaults. No disappointments here at all!

5 stars - The DIO Years!! - by Steve c. (Tuson,AZ.)

Don't buy the CD! Buy the DVD and get the best of both worlds.This is the best I've heard RONNIE JAMES DIO sing on any of his live Cd's including BLACK SABBATH LIVE EVIL. But that's only my opinion a must for RAINBOW fans.

5 stars RAINBOWS RISING!! - Submitted by steve t. (BAKERSFIELD,CA.)

I've lost count how many times i watched this dvd since i bought it.This is one for us getting old RAINBOW FANS to show and tell the younger ones that this was a band!

Click below to download from eMusic the MP3s of
Rainbow in Munich !


or click here to purchase a brand new copy of the DVD on sale
for about $12.


Anyhow, check out the 30 second samples at eMusic if yer interested and grab yerself a trial membership...

A free trial gets ya 25 free DRM free Mp3 songs and ya can quit without paying, but if yer like me, you'll stick around for a cheap membership that starts at about $10 a month. It's a much better deal than anything I tunes offers, and each month you'll feast on several albums worth of legal tuneage .

Next time kids we might look into life after Dio... The 80's etc, including the darn near dreaded, yet fiscally frugal Joe Lynn Turner years.

But I doubt it, cause I've got a other stuff to do today, tomorrow & forever.

You might have to dig into that on yer own...

Wild Women & Duh Monday Mix

Other than waking up to the concept of Monday in general, veering into the mindless mainstream is one of my least favorite activities...


I hate the mainstream Hollywood movies with more violence than plot, the music with more studio chicanery than songs in it...


The news programming with no no news in it... It's like mainstream food, all sugar, fat & chemicals with no nutrients...

Last night I had a house guest over who wanted to watch hours of crap TV including Nancy Grace ranting about Lindsay Lohan's "problems"

My only problem with Lindsay Lohan is having to hear about her endlessly...

Like anyone should give a flying f*ck!!!

Then every once in awhile, I pay attention to the random mainstream radar just so I can know what everyone's obsessed with this week...

It might be American Idol contestants, or someone's rehab stint, or some athelete's problem/triumph/salary dispute...

one of the one's that popped up earlier this summer was Akon, and his supposed "controversy"


I'm highlighting an interesting new track from Akon today. You may remember we last saw our hero in a concert clip of him mounting, grinding and smackin' the ass of a young girl onstage in Trinidad. The resulting uproar stretched to the boardrooms of Verizon, who pulled a 2 million dollar sponsorship deal for Gwen Stefani's tour with Akon off the table in a NY minute.

Boycotts, and much bad press followed.
including this incident in June where he was clearly seen physically tossing a teen fan off the stage....

Well he's back with what his label & management are hoping is some damage control...

In what may be a first in the Hip Hop world, the artist actually begs forgiveness, and apologizes for all the trouble he's caused. Of course, he's not all about eating humble pie, and attempts to explain his side of the story. This includes the somewhat schizo effect as he also addresses his baby momma, and the nation, and while we're at it Gwen Stefani. He then puts responsibility for the nasty sex act he performed on stage at the girl's daddy for letting her out of the house. A wonderful attempt all in all to set himself up as a musical martyr. All within a tuneful 5 minutes.

We'll see if mainstream radio wants to get back on board the Akon train...

Akon - Sorry, Blame It on Me




Some lyrical excerpts, for those who can't bear to download & listen:

As life goes on I’m starting to learn more and more about responsibility
I realize everything I do is affecting the people around me
So I want to take this time out and apologize for things I have done
And things that have not occurred yet
And the things they don’t want to take responsibility for



I’m sorry for the wrong things that I’ve done
I’m sorry I’m not always there for my son
I’m sorry for the fact that I am not aware
That you can’t sleep at night when I am not there


(Bridge)

I’m sorry that it took so long to see
They were dead wrong trying to put it on me
I’m sorry that it took so long to speak
But I was on tour with Gwen Stefani
I’m sorry for the hand that she was dealt
For the embarrassment that she felt
Just a little young girl trying to have fun
Her daddy should never let her out that young
I’m sorry for Club Zen getting shut down
I hope they manage better next time around
How was I to know she was underage
Enter 21 you know the club they say
Why doesn’t anybody wanna take blame
For rising back out disgracing my name
I’m just a singer trying to entertain
Because I love my fans I’ll take that blame
Even though the blame’s on you (3x)
I’ll take that blame from you

I've seen the Akon video that caused the uproar, as i'm sure many have, and the guy's tasteless & retarded dance moves more resembled the acts of a depraved rapist, but it wasn't as horrific as watching a news report from Iraq.

I never saw Verizon step up and complain about any of the activities of our soldiers overseas who've been involved with rapes or other even more heinous acts. Go figger...

Instead ... Like Akon, or followers of christianity, muslims in general, and the whole wide world of pickled penis brand misogyny.

I think we should just always blame women...

those damn wild women...

Always tempting men with their infernal ways...

Alien Sex Fiend - Wild Woman

also available on



Shane MacGowan - That Woman's Got Me Drinking





Minor Threat - Bitch

Cheap Trick - Scent Of A Woman

From the album Special One available at



An I Tunes only version is also available at I Tunes as well



Iron & Wine - Woman King

From



Brian Hyland - Gypsy Woman

From



Bedouin Soundclash - Waiting for My Ruca





NWA - A Bitch is A Bitch


from




anyhow

to continue on the bad women theme...check out this trailer for a 60's film I found at Easy Dreamer's site that exposes this problem in a very thorough manner. It's basically the 60's sexploitation equivalent of a "Fair & Balanced", scientific survey of a relevant and important gender issue confronting modern times...

Sexploitation "trailer"
Uploaded by gregwallace

that's all fer now...

just wanted to get the Monday Mix up...

I have...

and now I must move on to other tasks

hope ya enjoy da tunes...

Media Mayhem & Water Music

Just in case you missed it Friday, in the rush to cover an inane police chase around Phoenix, two TV helicopters collided in mid air. Two pilots & two reporters were killed, and a park in Suburban Phoenix was turned into a messy charred memorial.

Another fine example of the benefits of mainstream television news, racing to tell viewers a typically sensationalized, yet inconsequential story that likely ended the same as every other lame police pursuit: flat tires, crushed metal & deferred dumb ass dreams.


The Ethiopians - Everything Crash
Better Quality versions of this Ethiopians track here at Emusic as a DRM free MP3!

Then while news of the copter crash trickled across the mediascape, word comes from Ohio of a stunt pilot whose death was witnessed by thousands of bored midwesterners gathered at an air show. Now you can ad, yourself to that tally, and enjoy this next classic American media snuff film clip courtesy AP...

Headlines abounded earlier this month when it became apparent aged Oaksterdam mayor Ron Dellums and his administration of mysterious task forces somehow failed to check the calendar and order up the traditional July 4th Fireworks show at Jack London Square.

Instead the celebration was to be postponed until tonight, July 28th for some reason, perhaps simply to prove that in Oakland, the terrorists win or something. Well...uh, hold your bong hits folks, and guess what...

The "re-scheduled" fireworks are now canceled following new concerns that the endangered California brown pelican would be totally bummed. The announcement that slipped out on Friday, was oblique, but paid some much needed lip service to not disrupting the breeding and roosting birds.

But fear not dudes, a "friendly alternative" laser show has been substituted at 9pm tonight ..way to go dudes...Think I'll skip the Portfest World Music and Jazz Festival...

Watch the mainstream media look to spin this next newsy nugget out of proportion...

Yurns out that some African-American campaign volunteer for Barack Obama has had a past run in with the law. Iowa police were only to happy to arrest the young man who was fleeing an aggravated battery warrant.

What's surprising about this next story, is not that Pepsi has been repackaging the same tap water they put in softdrinks, as a "premium bottled water", but that people seemed so unaware that this is a common practice.

If you'd like more background on America's billion bottles a week obsession with bottled H2O, listen to this On Point radio program from WBUR Boston's NPR station ...

WBUR - On Point - The Bottled Water Obsession



Or just peruse a quickly assembled "Water Music" section...

Including such item s like the bubbling electronica track by El Farouki, known as "Green Aqua"...

Download "Green Aqua" (mp3)
from "Lost Moments"
by El Farouki
Night Drive Music

• Buy at iTunes Music Store
• Buy at eMusic
• Stream from Rhapsody
• Buy at Napster

More On This Album



or perhaps you'd prefer Watermelon Slim, an Oklahoma bluesman offering up this track for download...

"Black Water" (mp3)
from his new album "The Wheel Man"
by Watermelon Slim
Northern Blues

• Buy at iTunes Music Store
• Buy at Amazon.com
• Buy at eMusic

More On This Album



or how about this classic track from the Sweetheart of The Rodeo album from The Byrds...known as You Don't Miss Your Water

The Byrds - You Don't Miss Your Water

Or perhaps you've heard of the raucous rock band known as the Riverboat Gamblers... offering ya upa healthy blast of "Ice Water".

Download "Ice Water" (mp3)
from "Something to Crow About"
by Riverboat Gamblers
Gearhead Records

• Buy at iTunes Music Store
• Buy at Napster
• Stream from Rhapsody

More On This Album




How about Lou Rawls who has many version available of the song I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water, so picking & choosing is hard, so we'll go with this one featuring Les McCann

Lou Rawls with Les McCann - I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water


Find more Les McCann
& Lou Rawls
at eMusic.

---

or have you ever heard of McKinley Morganfield?

perhaps you'd know him better as Muddy Waters...



Muddy Waters - Hoochie Coochie Man (Live)

Download "Hoochie Coochie Man" (mp3)
from "The Lost Tapes"
by Muddy Waters
Blind Pig Records

More On This Album






Anyhow, I'm gonna split from the water kick... and just mention it's not often ya get yer soul music fix via Finland, but Nicole Willis found her backing band there... and ya know what?

it works...

Download a sample of some modern soul sounds from Seattle's Light In The Attic label... and then, if ya dig it, seek out more on yer fave download stores & services...

Nicole Wills & Soul Investigators - If This Ain't Love ( Don't Know What Is)

Download "If This Ain't Love (Don't Know What Is)" (mp3)
from "Keep Reachin' Up"
by Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators
Light In The Attic

• Buy at iTunes Music Store
• Buy at eMusic
• Stream from Rhapsody

More On This Album




and that's all for now folks...

if you seek more entertainment, patrol the archives...

Vinyl Vortex - Culinary Confusion - Groovin High

Lately over the past few summer weeks, I've been trying to get a grip on my music collection vinyl, CD, strictly digital and combinations thereof...

I've invested in back uo drives for storage, started trading discs on LaLa, and trying to get some old vinyl into the mp3 realm as well...

I've got USB cords criss-crossing the living room from turntable to pooter and whatnot...stacks of LPs about, CDs and whatnot...

and then I got interrupted...

Instead of burying my head into the headphones, I had a few old friends unexpectedly drop by the ol' homestead...

So I made time to ignore that pile of vinyl for a spell...

Had to play maybe a few games of pinball, finish some beers...

As fer the malty beverages, the remnants are pictured above, including English made Cherry Ale, some beers from all over Northern California, and even one brew from Portland Maine.

Last night's food intake was also uncentralized, but included some delectable treats, and even some huitalacoche & cotija tacos...

The sweet portion of the evening's food service included special sundae's at sunset served in the garden, made with a freshly picked berry reduction sauce I whipped up, topped over local ice cream...



Now fer yer eclectic musical mayhem for today that hopefully matches my stomach's creatively confused but somewhat satiated contents...

First up, in honor of the blackend corn smut on corn masa tortilla experience...

Let's go South of The Border...sorta

You'll hear the troubled trumpeter Chet Baker, and some LA session dudes attempt to cash in at Liberty records on the Tijuana Brass fever unleashed by Herb Alpert & Jerry Moss over at A&M in the mid 60's...

Despite it's predecessor being called a "A Taste Of Tequila", this followups' disposable cheesy quality actually was put together by some highly regarded professionals. Including folks like Jack Nitszche who is doing arrangements, on this tune, a Latin-lite instrumental version of Nancy Sinatra's hit of that summer "Boots"...

Mariachi Brass ( feat Chet Baker ) - These Boots Are Made For Walkin'

If that's not exciting enough, how about another from this album... a true 60's maestro-piece written by Sonny Bono fer yer loungey liquored up listening pleasure.

Mariachi Brass ( feat Chet Baker ) - Bang Bang , My Baby Shot Me Down

Continuing in the quasi international mode, let's hang with Black Francis of the Pixies who has a new solo album out soon...

It's called Bluefinger, and nope it's not name after that Steve Martin & Eddie Murphy flick... I think that one's called Bowfinger actually.

Maybe it's called Bluefinger because he had a "Curse of Lono" type experience and put his hand in an airplane toilet chasing after a lost object.

If you don't know what a "Curse of Lono" type experience is, brush up on your Hunter S Thompson, who was by far my favorite travel writer.


Anyway, regarding ol' Black francis i.e Frank Black's upcoming Bluefinger CD is that there is probably some sort of travel theme. I deduce this without too much thought since. on this track, Mr. Black Francis goes off on a poppy tale that namedrops several German cities, and bemoans a certain woman who took all the money and left the fat boy there to die...

jeez...what's the "DEAL" with that?

Black Francis - She Took all The Money

Speaking of Germany...where incidentally some of my relatives emigrated from many moons ago...

How about a certain German interpolation of a fave San Francisco tune?

Here's Gerd Konig doing his Deutsche version of a song that Tony Bennett pretty much has the English language patent on...

Gerd Konig - I Left My Heart in San Francisco

anyhow...

It's getting late/early or whatnot and I've got to get out of this post...

and that leaves me with this track here also recorded in Europe...

at the Blue Note Cafe in Paris to be precise...

a classic lively Jazz thang from the early 1960's...

and one that need's no lyrics to speak it's mind...

Bud Powell - Groovin' High

The great & groundbreaking ESP label is reissuing this in the near future I understand...

so do look it up if you wanna acquaint yer bad self with some boppin tunes ....

Download "Groovin' High" (mp3)
from "Live At the Blue Note Cafe, Paris 1961"
by Bud Powell
ESP Disk

More On This Album

Big Spotlight on: Little Esther Phillips

Awhile back I reacquainted myself with the soul singing sensation known as Little Esther or later on as simply Esther Phillips...

Not that I was acquainted much with her in the first place, but she was sort of on my radar, although I occasionally probably confused her in my mind with Little Eva.

For Little Eva, that former babysitter for songwriters Carole King and Gerry Goffin, Eva's ride pretty much starts & stops at "The Locomotion". While Little Esther manages to grow up and get caught up in a bigger, meaner & much funkier world with far more transportation options. From Jump Blues to Disco, the girl saw some things on her journey through the showbiz canyons, mighty mountains and lonesome valleys...

Little Esther Phillips debut as a recording artist occurred when band leader Johnny Otis discovered her circa 1949 singing in an L.A talent show, and soon she was 14 hitting the R&B charts after Otis hooked her up with the Bihari's Modern label. Then it was onto Savoy, and despite little regional R&B hits here and there, she was dropped and recorded for numerous other labels like Federal, Regent, and even Decca.

Here is a side she released on a one off single for the Warwick label in 1961, a possibly self reflective sorta number called Wild Child.

Esther Phillips - Wild Child


Here's another track she did on a single in 1964 for Atlantic, it was written by a future Disco king, a talented and hustlin' young Howard University grad named Van McCoy.

Esther Phillips - Something's You Never Get Used To

Of course Esther's Atlantic version didn't get far, but Irma Thomas recorded it soon after, while Cilla Black had a hit in the UK with it, and stateside The Supremes took it up the charts in 1968 on Motown.

Oh Well...

Here's Esther recorded live doing an old 50's hit called "Misery" excerpted from a 1970 tv special taped with Johnny Otis in Los Angeles that attempted to recreate the atmosphere at his old Barrelhouse Club where a 13 year old Esther first strolled into his life.

Of course, no longer a teenager, one can hear the great vocalists' many years of living on the road in her voice on this track as well...

Esther Phillips - Misery ( live 1970 w/ Johnny Otis)


She bounced around from label to label in the mid sixties including Lennox, and Roulette, but finally emerged, a road weary chanteuse on the Kudu label for a 5 album run in the early to mid-'70s. For me, her undoubtable Pièce de résistance and landmark of that period must be the 1972 release "From A Whisper To A Scream". It was a collection recorded in a chilly New York winter just prior to the holidays, and named for an Allen Toussaint composition within.

Actually despite the two Toussaint compositions on the album, the disc leads off with a stark, emotionally raw & strikingly done track from a Harlem based musician named Gil Scott Heron, a song called "Home Is Where The Hatred Is"...

This beautifully bleak track really scrapes the emotional barrel, and leaves the listener agape, wallowing in a beatific agony as we eavesdrop on Esther singing an all too true sorrowful tale of love, addiction, inevitable betrayal and the disturbing ever present aftermath.

This particular take on this song is truly one of the greatest musical interpretations of the dark side of life, and unlike many tunes by artists that attempt to paint such stylized portraits, Esther's is amazingly personal & real without ever being cloy, preachy, aggrandizing or awkward. One can tell she is familiar in some way with the subject matter, as it resonates quietly in a confessional, fragile and vulnerable wave over the listener.

It was after all the early 70's, with Vietnam still raging and Nixon poised to win re-election by any means necessary, while America's inner cities were slipping ever further into a horrific period of neglect & decline. Heroin was plentiful, coming into the country through various means, some of which we now know was shipped in body bags from the South East Asia. Esther herself had been dabbling in the drug since the early 1950's, long before the early 70's urban epidemic.

Esther Phillips - Home Is Where The Hatred Is


The arrangements were made and conducted by ex-James Brown sideman Pee Wee Ellis, and he has an excellent cast to work with. Amongst the players are stellar guitarists Eric Gale & Cornell Dupree. Bernard Purdie & Airto Moreira handle the rhythm sections percussive side of the things, playing against Gordon Edwards subtle but deeply grooved bass lines. Richard Tee mans the keys, saxophonists galore including including Hank Crawford on Alto Sax who is oined by full orchestral style string sections working in tandem with the affair. The album had some 9 violinists working on it, along with another half dozen folks on harp, violas, cellos etc.

This is one richly steeped audio stew, captured to tape by the peerless Rudy Van Gelder at his personal studio for Creed Taylor's Kudu label circa December 1971.

In 1972 when Esther lost the Grammy she was up for to the so-called "Queen Of Soul" Aretha Franklin, the modest Franklin actually presented the trophy to Phillips, saying she really should have won it instead.

Enjoy another selection from the "From A Whisper To A Scream" album and tell me you can't hear "it". Here's another Allen Toussaint composition, a little bit lighter fare than the title cut.

Esther Phillips - Sweet Touch of Love

Sadly, Esther is no longer with us.

After the Kudu period, she went and worked with Atlantic again, doing some material with The Dixie Flyers under ol' Tom Dowd in Miami. She managed to get a few diva-esque numbers recorded during the late 70's disco era, but later stints on Mercury and other lesser known labels did not chart outside the dance circuit, or amount to much cash. Esther continued to struggle with drink & drugs, and eventually her frazzled liver & kidneys gave out.

The southern girl born Esther Mae Jones the 23rd of December 1935 in Galveston, Texas died 23 years ago on August 7th 1984 at U. C. L. A. Harbor Medical Center in Carson, Ca.

R.I.P Little Esther

Vagaries of Lil Mike's Vinyl Vortex

I was going through some old records today and thought I'd post a few...

It's a bit of a pain to get these babies converted from flat licorice pizzas into fancy bundles of 1's & 0's so I hope ya can appreciate some of them...

Prince has a new disc out, but I ain't got it yet...

I do have this one he produced back in 1985 though...

Andre Cymone was Prince's childhood pal, and both their fathers were musicians, so naturally they started a band together in high school. Andre continued to play with Prince in the late 70's and very early 80's...before splitting off on his own circa 1981.

He didn't get far, at least not sound wise as this track shows...I myself can barely tell their voices apart...

Go figger...

Here's Andre's biggest chart attack, before he mysteriously disappeared into the audio ether. Anyhow, this was the edit version written & produced by the purple one off the Columbia Records 12" single from his circa 1985 album Andre Cymone ( aka AC ).

It's my understanding that all of Andre's solo recordings are out of print, so here's a small head start if you wanna seek some out...

Andre Cymone - The Dance Electric



This next song is a classic example of 70's soul with a message music. It was actually the B-Side to a 1974 single from a bigger hit the Chi-Lites were having at the time, but it still managed to get recognized and hit #63 on the US Charts. It follows in the tradition of their other big protest song "(For God's Sake) Give More Power to the People".

The Ch-Lites were from Chicago, ( Get IT?) and were basically lead by Eugene Record, and the version that recorded this track in their 70's peak included Robert Lester, Clarence Johnson Marshall Thompson, and Willie Kensey. It was one of 11 top 10 R&B hist they had between 71-75.

I know you can pick up a much less muddy sounding version on several of their greatest hits CD collections, it's even in the I-Tunes store...

But this is the black vinyl 45 rpm slab from the UK pressing I have, and it's what you get, in all it's funkily EQ'd, ripped & crackled glory...

Fans of Jay Z may recognize the intro which is sampled at the beginning of Jay Z's so called farewell album a couple anos back where his mother talks about the little Sean Carter...

The Chi-Lites - "There Will Never Be Any Peace (Until God Is Seated At The Conference Table)"

And one last bit of rubbish...

Here are two cuts from the late great Steve Marriott, a bloke who starred as Oliver on the english stage as a child, and grew up to be a big bad boogie woogie rock n roll star. Humble Pie started when Marriott quit the Small Faces after he tried to add Peter Frampton to the group in late 1968.


By 1969, Marriott had woodshedded his new project at his country cottage, and they were developing a bluesy hippie folk blend replete with caftans & lotsa then fashionable hashy sounding hookless hookah inspired jams. Marriott settled on a lineup featuring Frampton whom he'd plucked out of The Herd, Greg Ridley from Spooky Tooth, and young lad named Jerry Shirley from some less lucky combos called Valkryie and Apostolic Intervention.

Within a few years Frampton would have quit, but the band had taken off in America on the concert circuit, and were literally flying high via their own private jet plane filled with black female back up singers & piles of expensive South American powders. They'd have a good run, for a few years...and become one of the early seventies top stateside concert draws. Their live albums were generally better received than their studio works, and the band began known for really stretching out, and doing lotsa crowd pleasing elongated covers of their personal faves rather than waste time churning out their own crap...


Humble Pie weren't too precious to kick out versions of Graham Gouldman's "For Your Love", The Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Women", Johnny Kidd and the Pirates' "Shakin' All Over", Ray Charles "Hallelujah I Love Her So" or how about a 1969 setlist staple, their 21 minute Night Trippin' version of Dr. John's "I Walk on Gilded Splinters".

That's not to say they didn't have hits of their own ( check out "Thirt days In The Hole", "I Don't Need No Doctor", or "Stone Cold Fever" for a taste of their own awesome barrelhouse bang ups).

But what you'll hear next is the formative stages, with their tender English roots still dangling before they'd truly gotten Humble Pie off the ground, and prior to the hard living Marriott ending up burnt out with Humble Pie basically disbanded by 1975.

This is from their hopeful, somewhat less assured & vaguely obscured 1969 debut single for Andrew Loog Oldham's Immediate label...

 

Enjoy the snappin, cracklin & poppin from a crusty 38 year old dutch pressing that I scored in a likely now defunct Savannah Georgia clothing/record shop called Cha Cha Chiffon's a few years back...

We'll start with the naughty themed B-side called Wrist Job, a song that was never originally part of any official Humble Pie albums until later on after it was compiled into Greatest Hits type collections when Immediate went bankrupt...

Humble Pie - Wrist Job

Here's the "hit"

Small Faces - Natural Born Bugie

Anyhow... if ya like the Humble Pie stuff, lemme know in da comments and I'll do a bit more in depth look back and include some rare Small Faces, Humble Pie and even some later stuff from Marriott before his untimely 1991 death by housefire in the same cottage where Humble Pie had first started.

But these will have to suffice for now...

Gotta Go...

I'll have more music & tall tales in the coming daze of course...

but, check the archives if yer bored, there's over 400 some entries in here...

Fate, Porn Kings, Preacher's Wives, Dive Bars & Dueling Saxophones

Of Story of Fate, Porn Kings, Preacher's Wives, Dive Bars & Dueling Saxophones



I just got back from a sojurn around the Napa Valley wine country where I tend to drink more beer than grape juice, and made a stop for Margaritas in Vallejo at an artist friend's pad whose now exiled from his former life in the Mission.

Upon returning, I saw that manic mascara matron Tammy Faye died, a woman you can either ignore, deride mercilessly, or empathize & adore...

and i suppose I'm guilty of all of the above...

She went from being married & in cahoots with preacher sleaze Jim Bakker, and then while he rotted in prison, she hooked up with his still solvent best friend...

Last time I saw her, it was in the same room as John Waters & Jello Biafra, and I guess that says something there...

This 30 second video obit can hardly tell a teensy bit of her tale...

Apparently poor lil Tammy faye had withered to just 65 lbs and was ravaged by the colon cancer that had been killing her for close to ten years. She shocked viewers with an appearance on Larry King just days before her passing.



R.I.P Tammy Faye, here's a tune that's sorta unrelated... but whatever...

Tammy Faye Starlite - Highway 69 ( from the album Used country Female )


It's been a week since I posted and i just thought I'd toss up some more tunes quickly, since it's late at night and in the morning I have to go to a wake/party in honor of...

a patron of the arts / a porn king / political rabble rouser/ redneck rebel / fratricidal white trash scrapper...

and last of a breed...

It's a long story, and I hope you'll understand if I don't have a ton of time to go into a million details...

While the media have their own spin to sell ya, let's just say this guy's life was twice as dramatic as Tammy Faye's, and hardly can be encapsulated as easily as this piece here attmpts to do...

Anyhow...

he always knew how to throw a helluva party, I've been to quite a few, and found we had similar taste in clothes...once we were both sporting the same shirt...

I can only wonder where that photo is...

Here's some tunes...

I'm generally not a big fan of Clapton, but this song captured to tape by the late Tom Dowd is such an overwhelming & passionate piece of work I'm gonna lead with it...

It's simply one of the greatest most frenetic recordings of the 70's, or any era...and really can't be stopped...it rips, it tears, wounds & heals...and is as fiercely rocky as life & love itself...

I dedicate it to our two late friends... who had seemingly little in common but actually felt some all too similar sensations of both joy & strife in their lives I'm sure...

All under the public eye... the nastiest gaze of all

Derek & The Dominos - Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad ( from Layla )



Another guy who I noticed died recently but received very little fanfare in the media was Boots Randolph. He was king of the sax in the 1960's, a regular on Hee-Haw and put out dozens of albums, as well as numerous stints as a studio session man in Nashville and elsewhere.

Here is Boots randolph with New Orleans legend Al Hirt goofing on a version of Dueling Banjos from the movie Deliverence... done well ... you guessed it... for saxophones.

Boots Randolph - Dueling Saxophones ( with Al Hirt from "Country Boots")

At least it seems these dead folks lived into their 60's... heck, Boots made it all the way to 80 before he caved in to the grim reaper.

I certainly seemed to know a lot of folks that didn't get all the way around the bend in life, many who died unnecessarily young it seemed...

Jim Carroll Band - People Who Died ( 1994 remix from Basketball Diaries OST)

The other night was my birthday, and other than a relatively quiet dinner at an Italian restaurant in North Beach, and a modicum of bar hopping, the latter portion of the evening into the wee hours was spent cavorting around the joint mentioned in this song by some old pals of mine I first met some 20 years ago...

Steelpole Bathtub - The 500 Club ( from "Scars from Falling Down")

I do believe the activity in question involved an attempt to become exactly what late great Specialty records recording artist Mr. Jimmy Liggins refers to in the tune below...

Jimmy Liggins - Drunk


Upon reflecting that I actually managed to survive through a lot of nonsense to get to this sort of anti climactic point in life, I'll toss in some songs that seem sorta appropo into this mini mix ...

Cheap Trick - I Never Had A Lot To Lose
( from "Lap Of Luxury")


Although the one precious thing we all have to lose .. is our loved ones...

Somebody pretty darn special to me is moving to New Orleans next month, and it's not necessarily their choice, or in their ultimate best interest as far as I can tell... and it's definitely a heartbreaker...

In a melancholy time such as this, an instrumental from Nawlins' own piano playing legend Allen Toussaint makes sense...


Allen Toussaint - Cast Your Fate To The Wind ( from "A Whisper to A Scream")

see y'all next time...

All Stars, Amigos & Mutantes & My Usual Meandering

Groovy greetings and happy mid july to you...

I last posted up here over the July 4th weekend... and have dutifully returned with some new things to add to my random rants...

last weekend i managed to catch a few minutes of the "live earth" event, but had heard almost nil about it until it was half over...

if you want to spend 60 seconds reviewing it...it should suffice, as this snarky MTV news blip does

Here's a sonic submission that's circulating from one of the world's most well known acts that can sell in the mighty mega millions for some reason, mostly marketing I suppose ...

I gotta at least give Madonna credit for sharing the international spotlite with Ukranian gypsys flavored punkers Gogol Bordello on stage...

Here's Madge doing her costom crafted Live Earthy tune Hey You... only prob is it ain't super catchy, maybe Madonna has been working more on her upcoming documentary about Malawi, the country she recently had a controversial adoption experience in than her music...

you decide:

Madonna - Hey You


Also last week, San Francisco where I live was invaded by Major League Baseball's All Star game hoopla...and I, being in the event logistics biz was part of it as well...

I was involved in distributing approx 50,000 free samples of a well known soft drink company's products in collectable & not so collectable bottles and cans. In fact I got so involved, I barely escaped getting my foot crushed by an 800 lb palate of cans while loading a forklift during the game in fact...

The night before the game, the event company I helped co-found was also involved in providing some glam & glitter to Barry Bonds' & rapper/Def Jam CEO Jay-Z's party at a South of Market club we do work for...

Barry is standing on our EventMagic red carpet in this video...

it was last used for this event...

 

anyhow... that situation kept me busy and away from the web and now I return to hoist some music up the bandwidth yer way

First up... speaking of All Stars... here's a video i shot and edited with some pals of our pals the Long Beach Dub All Stars awhile back in 2001...

They were out and about promoting their then brand new Dreamworks release Wonders of The World in a concert we shot live in San Francisco 9/15/2001 at the late great Maritime Hall venue.




Hey I know, lemme drop in some tracks from a boisterous band I'll be catching later today...

Some Brazilian wunderkinds of 40 years back, that being Os Mutantes...It's mainly down ro the two Dias brothers who are obviously older these days, but still having a good time and spreading fresh psychedelic sounds across the planet. I saw 'em last year at The Fillmore, and today's gig is outdoors...and will no doubt be much well lit, likely crowded, and perhaps even livelier...

So I better finish this post so I can get out the door to the Stern Grove Festival in time ...

We'll start with a lo fi sorta soundtrack clip from a Brazilian tv show back in 1969 with Gilberto Gil along for the ride...

Os Mutantes - Domingo No Parque

Here's a better quality audio track from their official greatest hits collection released above the equator on David Byrne's Luaka Bop. This is a real crowd pleaser and gets into that psychedelic mood nicely, I believe the loose translation of the title is "I Feel A Little Spaced Out"...

Os Mutantes - Ando Meio Desligado

And lastly from Os Mutantes here's a remixed version of a fave, can't quite recall when and where I grabbed this...but I believe it's an "unauthorized" remix by English Mash maestro Jools MF...

Os Mutantes - Umbabarauma

Opening the show will be fellow Luaka Bop act Los Amigos Invisibles from Venezuela...

just to be fair...I'll drop a couple of their jazzy-delic latinized tracks in here for ya...

Los Amigos Invisbles - Las Lycras del Avila

Los Amigos Invisibles - Diablo

Download "Las Lycras del Avila" (mp3)
from "The New Sound of the Venezuelan Gozadera"
by Los Amigos Invisibles
Luaka Bop

• Buy at Napster
• Stream from Rhapsody

More On This Album

Download "Diablo" (mp3)
from "The Venezuelan Zinga Son Vol. 1"
by Los Amigos Invisibles
Luaka Bop

• Buy at Napster
• Stream from Rhapsody

More On This Album

Looks like Prince may not get the chart push he's hoped for this weekend when his album is released as part of a promotion in the UK's Daily Mail newspaper.

Sure enough, the disc will be tacked onto the cover of the sunday paper and move well over 2 million copies... only that he'll not be included as a sale on the popcharts. The latest on this promo ploy below...

me I'm fairly behind the Prince times... have lotsa of his older stuff, scored 3121 within a few weeks of it's release last time around, but just got a copy of 2004's Musicology last week...

Here's a track from some classic Prince from a live show in Stockholm circa 1986 while I wait to taste the latest offering landing on Brit doorsteps today...


Prince - I Would Die 4 U

Happy B Day Uh-Merikkka

Uh...

Headed out to participate in some of the usual the hoopla surrounding our country's annual July 4th birthday bash...

In honor of this empirical achievement I thought I'd post some tunes that are uniquely, uh, uh, I guess... Uh-Merican.

here's a crowd pleaser you may be familiar with... I hear it went down well with a few hundred thousand folks gathered at Max Yasgur's farm outside Saugerties New York one August morning in 1969 anyway...

Not sure it's what Francis Scott Key had in mind originally...but it'll do.

Jimi Hendrix - Star Spangled Banner

Here's a true American hero of that era in my opinion, Mr. Abbie Hoffman.

Like Hendrix, he also appeared onstage at Woodstock that same weekend, although he was beaten over the head by Pete Townsend with a guitar when he felt Abbie's blabbering was detracting from the music & cutting into the Who's set time...

Here's Abbie singing God Bless America from his album Wake Up America...

Abbie Hoffman - God Bless America

here's one featuring the ranting of one New Yorker by the name of John S Hall, who brought you the unlikely 90's MTV hit Detachable Penis...

I was surprised to find that this Cd is still available... and ya can buy it for less than $11 right at this link

King Missile III - America Kicks Ass

Here's a song that came along later & sorta expands on that theme, albeit in an even more heroic & metallic manner...


Here's from the uber powerful theme from the animated action adventure flick Team America : World Police...

Team America: World Police - America F*ck Yeah!


F*CK YEAH!

McDonalds, F*CK YEAH!
Wal-Mart, F*CK YEAH!
The Gap, F*CK YEAH!
Baseball, F*CK YEAH!
NFL, F*CK, YEAH!
Rock and roll, F*CK YEAH!
The Internet, F*CK YEAH!
Slavery, F*CK YEAH!

F*CK YEAH!

Starbucks, F*CK YEAH!
Disney world, F*CK YEAH!
Porno, F*CK YEAH!
Valium, F*CK YEAH!
Reeboks, F*CK YEAH!
Fake Tits, F*CK YEAH!
Sushi, F*CK YEAH!
Taco Bell, F*CK YEAH!
Rodeos, F*CK YEAH!
Bed bath and beyond (F*ck yeah, F*ck yeah)

Liberty, F*CK YEAH!
White Slips, F*CK YEAH!
The Alamo, F*CK YEAH!
Band-aids, F*CK YEAH!
Las Vegas, F*CK YEAH!
Christmas, F*CK YEAH!
Immigrants, F*CK YEAH!
Popeye, F*CK YEAH!
Democrats, F*CK YEAH!
Republicans (republicans)
(f*ck yeah, f*ck yeah)
Sportsmanship
Books

Buy It Here:

That's some patriotic plus poetry there & I doubt any of these other tunes will compare... but since i ain't done yet... like any good Uh-merican...I'll keep going at it...like a Sizzler buffet...

Here's a few more contemporary numbers so I don't seem like such a tri-cornered hat wearing old fogey...

First Up in the continuing saga of a random look at the current century's songwriting contributions to the patriotic pantheon...

It's Mr. Zigaboo Modeliste... He's the original drummer from New Orleans' legendary instrumental combo The Meters... Zig is now a current Oakland CA resident and he knows a thing a or too about second line style funky music...

i've enjoyed numerous evenings singing along & sweating my ass off while in awe of his prowess behind a drum kit...

He's amongst my fave musicians I've ever had the good fortune to see and here Zig is joined on this celebratory track of what he enjoys about the American Way by old Meters collaborator Ivan Neville...

from Zig's most recent album "On The Right Track" ( also on sale at I Tunes here

Zigaboo Modeliste w/ Ivan Neville - The American Way

I suggest you bone up on the Zigaboo in your collection, since chances are you likely have some alreay, perhaps without even knowing it. He's played on hit records backing Paul McCartney, Robert Palmer, Keith Richard, Dr. John, Lee Dorsey, Harry Connick Jr, etc in addition to being one of the most sampled drummers of all time. For example his breaks turn up on Amerie's 1 Thing, and numerous hip hop sides including cuts from Cypress Hill, EPMD, Public Enemy, Queen Latifah, Run DMC, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, NWA, Salt n' Pepa, Naughty by Nature, A Tribe Called Quest, Beastie Boys and others.

I'll see ya'll at Zigaboo.com...

I don't know exactly where this next track originates from, other than they are definitely riding a Grand Funk sample of We're An American Band...so I guess it's all right with me...

I had the gatefold LP version of the original, released in 1973, one of the first 100,000 pressed on virgin gold vinyl. I have no idea were that copy is today, the one with the band nude sitting on a haybale on the inside...

bet it's worth a few bucks...

It was my first known exposure to pre-bicentennial era beefcake...

Which brings us here to the track by Crazy Girl...

This is apparently a British group, on Punk Elvis records no less...but I'll give em honorary Uh-merican status today...sorta like Tony Blair.

Crazy Girl - Kick Yo Booty w/ Grand Funk

On the International political front I will turn to one of the more under rated pundits...

That being the tri state area's own Vic Ruggerio of The Slackers

The Slackers last album Peculiar recorded in a unique cross continental fashion featured this appropo commentary called International War Criminal

The Slackers - International War Criminal

That album was preceded in 2004 by the hard to find International War Criminal EP which lead off with this even more pointed & vigorously raw track....

The Slackers - Propaganda

that above mentioned EP is available at I Tunes here

or on a real CD for around $13 at this link

One of my fave hip hop figures to emerge out of the East Bay ghettos is Mr. T Kash, who put out this album last year on Guerilla Funk...

In part due to the danger here on the streets of the hoods here in the Bay Area, he's since moved his family towards Sacramento but he's still a voice to be reckoned with.

That's a topic addressed in this next track which happens to lead off the CD known as "Turf War Syndrome". It's a problem that continues, sadly, unabated...with the streets of Oakland and San Francisco both providing ample space for blood shed over the past weekend...

The Bay Area, has erupted into a veritable bloodbath this weekend, beyond the usual coroner's schedule at least. In fact there's been so many reports of stupid shootings, sick stabbings, turf wars and moronic mayhem it's hard to keep the chronology & chaos differentiated.

Some of the San Francisco incidents:

Two kids aged 15 & 16 are found dead by the side of the street at Fitch Street and Innes Avenue in HP.

A 19 year old stabbed to death at Washington Sq Park in North Beach.

A 32 year old resident of Stockton was found dead at 16th & 7th Street.

A dispute in a barbershop at Fulton & Divisidero erupts into gunfire, and a stray bullet hits a man in his car, who is believed to be ok at this point, the suspect dispersed into a nearby apartment complex on Grove.

In San Francisco, the SFPD apparently aware of a street situation last night somehow attempted to clear the street, but left, and after failing to fully disperse a crowd gathered at Third Street and Silver Avenue, a woman was soon dead in a hail of drive by gunfire.

and I don't know how far we wanna go back in time, but way back on Thursday night, a 19 year old suspected local drug dealer was shot in the leg late on the 1900 block of Grove.

Read on to keep up with the East Bay's own weekend bloodbath:


While San Francisco certainly had it's own problems, there were two shootings on Saturday within hours on the same stretch of Fairfax Ave in Oakland that left two men in their 20's dead.

Oakland continued it's spate of violence, with a fatality at 77th Avenue and MacArthur Boulevard, and another man at Friday in the 9400 block of Plymouth Street.

In Richmond a 24 year old man was pronounced dead at Ninth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. and a 21-year-old man who was shot in the back was in stable condition at a local hospital.


T - K.A.S.H - American Nightmare

Download "American Nightmare" (mp3)
from "Turf War Syndrome"
by T-K.A.S.H.
Guerrilla Funk Recordings

• Buy at iTunes Music Store
• Buy at eMusic
• Stream from Rhapsody

More On This Album



here's something from some other the local terrorists...deep in the belly of a place known as the Yay Area...

In keeping with his urban uber guerilla image, Messy Marv recently released his opus "Music for tha Taliban"...then I hear went to jail for awhile...

here's an older effort...

Messy Marv (Bullys Wit Fullys) - So Hood w/ Clyde Carson + EA-Ski

and that concludes our American offerings for now...

now go out & buy some music, and be careful with those fireworks...and guns too!