Way back in August 1976, “Fast” Eddie Clarke (guitar), LemmyKilmister (bass and vocals) and Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor (drums) got together at the famous Manticore Studio in Fulham, England. That new, classic Motörhead lineup was recorded for the first time there, and now those recordings have been released nearly fifty years later.
Starting with an instrumental intro, the band wastes no time with “Leavin’ Here.” They put down a fast, heavy rocker that might make you quit your job or current relationship. The swaggering groove of “Vibrator” is matched well with Kilmister’s pub-punk vocals. “Help Keep Us on the Road” has Clarke’s guitar at the front and Kilmister’s vocals at the back.
“I’ll give you a chance to do the right thing,” Kilmister warns on “The Watcher.” Taylor’s drums are sharp on the track, as is Clarke’s solo. The new lineup’s take on “Motörhead” is as gritty and growling as you hope it will be. The album closes with two great instrumentals, “Witch Doctor” (with Clarke and Kilmister going bonkers) and “Iron Horse / Born to Lose,” and then alternate takes of “Leavin’ Here,” “Vibrator,” and “The Watcher.”
The LP version of The Manticore Tapes comes with a bonus recording a live show from 1977 in Birmingham that includes live versions of all the “Manticore” tracks as well as “Train Kept A-Rollin’,” “City Kids,” and “White Line Fever.”
This is an unearthed gem for not only fans of Motörhead and NWOBHM bands, but also metal, rock, and music historians.
The Curtom Story is a two-disc set of solid 1960s and 1970s soul and funk curated and created by the too-often overlooked Curtom label founded by none other than Curtis Mayfield. He’d been inspired by Sam Cooke, a producer of his own stuff, and knew that he could tell the stories he wanted to tell in the midst of the Vietnam War era Chicago. His label went through a couple iterations, “Windy C” and “Mayfield” before teaming up with Eddie Thomas to create “Curtom.” Mayfield was also about to leave his band, The Impressions, and launch a mega-solo career singing about stuff happening in his neighborhoods and black neighborhoods around the nation.
That started with his stunning soundtrack to 1972’s Superfly, so it’s appropriate that the compilation opens with the title track. Following it is the bad ass “Superpeople” by The Notations, from Curtom’s sublabel Gemigo. Following it are three more Mayfield cuts from the Superfly soundtrack, the sublimely groovy and starkly real “Pusherman,” the lush string section-led “Eddie Should Know Better,” and the bass-bombing “Freddie’s Dead.”
Jesse Anderson‘s “Readings in Astrology” speaks right to the hippie and New Age movements emerging in the 1960s, and his instrumental “Mighty Mighty” gets your attention right away. The Five Stairsteps were a band Mayfield discovered back in the Windy C days. They were wildly popular in the Chicago music scene, and it’s easy to hear why with tracks like “Don’t Change Your Love” (that bass line!), “Danger! She’s a Stranger,” and “Stay Close to Me.” The Fascinations warn, in soul-pop fashion, that “Girls Are out to Get You.” Where is happening? Inquiring minds want to know. Brooks Brothers‘ instrumental “Come See” is followed by Jamo Thomas & His Party Orchestra taking a fun jab at J. Edgar Hoover with “I Spy (for the FBI).”
The Fascinations, The Five Stairsteps, and Mayfield then return. First comes the gorgeous “Can’t Stay Away from You,” then the science fiction-flavored “Love’s Happening, and then the smooth “Give Me Your Love.” The 12″ single version of Linda Clifford‘s “Runaway Love” will be on your house music mixes from now on (and clearly inspired Jamiroquai). Leroy Hutson‘s “Never Know What You Can Do (Give It a Try)” sounds like a great blend of Earth, Wind & Fire, Parliament, and Chicago. Arnold Blair‘s “Trying to Get Next to You” is a foot-tapping soul jam. Hutson returns for the somewhat lounge “Lucky Fellow,” and Clifford comes back to finish the first disc with “I Can’t Let This Good Thing Get Away.”
Disc two starts off (and ends) with more Curtis Mayfield tracks. First up we have the gooey, groovy “Billy Jack” and then the bad-ass “Do Do Wap Is Strong in Here.” Leroy Hutson’s “Blackberry Jam” is a tasty jam indeed that you’ll want to spread on everything. Two great cuts from the legendary Mavis Staples are next – “Chocolate City” and “Koochie, Koochie, Koochie.” The 12″ version of Fred Wesley‘s “House Party” is a fun cut, and Linda Clifford comes back to encourage her sisters to set men straight (“‘Cause as long as you let them get away with it, they’re gonna do it.”) and “Don’t Give It Up.” Hutson’s “So Nice” is a cool jam for walking on rain-wet Chicago streets on an autumn night. Natural Four‘s “Free” asks “Why can’t we live in harmony?” through great harmonies by the band.
The Five Stairsteps return with the lovely “World of Fantasy,” and, speaking of lovely, June Conquest‘s “All I Need” is just that with lyrics like “There’s nothing that I couldn’t do with a love inspired by you.” Marvin Smith‘s “Who Will Do Your Running Now?”, meanwhile, is a takedown of a lover who’s done him wrong. The horn section on Major Lance‘s “Little Young Lover” is top-notch. The Five Stairsteps’ “Your Love Has Changed Me” is a story of how our idea of love changes as we age.
Jesse Anderson comes back for the hopeful “Let Me Back In,” The Impressions return for the snappy beat-filled “First Impressions,” and Mayfield ends with compilation with “Tripping Out” – a song that oozes funk and groove.
There isn’t a bad track on this. Don’t hesitate to get it if you can find it.
Numero Group announces the release of Hüsker Dü’s 1985: The Miracle Year, a live 4 LP box set, out November 7th. Witness the transcendent Minneapolis punk trio tearing into the most incendiary year of its existence, captured live on stage at First Avenue in perhaps the highest fidelity recordings of the band’s lauded SST era. 1985: The Miracle Year includes Beau Sorenson’s restoration of an entire January 30, 1985 set, plus 20 extra live tracks from the year’s touring schedule, and a deluxe booklet detailing twelve months of history-making Hüsker Dü. Along with today’s announcement, four songs from the box set are available to stream now. Titled Jan. 30, First Ave Pt. 2, the collection features “The Girl Who Lives On Heaven Hill,” “I Apologize,” “If I Told You” and “Folklore.” What is the sound of a legend being written?
Looking at 1985 through the dynamic lens of independent DIY music, mid-decade, there was a year-long succession of leaps by Hüsker Dü, each building on the powerful and undeniable sprint from the scrappy punk institution SST to the artistic empathy of Warner Bros. As observers began to catch on, testimonials came from many quarters, including the New York Times, which recognized the band as “the best to have emerged from the hardcore scene.” Consistent with such praise, Hüsker Dü revealed a heightened creative pace rarely, if ever, seen in any musical era. Before or since. After blowing the doors off the burgeoning alt-rock movement with Zen Arcadethe previous July, the band dropped New Day Rising just six months later on January 14, 1985, and then never stopped chasing the Hidden Beach sunrise that adorned that album’s cover.
On January 30, 1985, Minneapolis reached -11° at show time, marking 19 points of mercilessly dropped mercury from the day’s 8° apex. The 1500 attendees inside First Avenue, however, wouldn’t be needing so much as a T-shirt, let alone the nearest fiberfill parka: from the first blinding moments of “New Day Rising,” it was clear that Bob Mould, Grant Hart, and Greg Nortonhad arrived intent on setting every molecule in the room alight. Their setlist displayed a night-long cascade of fireballs chosen from Everything Falls Apart, Metal Circus, Zen Arcade, and New Day Rising, and five new songs that would reappear later on Flip Your Wig. They also made several nods to the band’s rock forbears, with a ballistic take on The Byrds’ “Eight Miles High,” a turbulent spin on The Beatles’ “Helter Skelter” featuring Soul Asylum’s Dave Pirner, a pop-punk remake of “Ticket To Ride, ” and closing with their signature cover of Sonny Curtis’s Mary Tyler Moore theme “Love Is All Around.”
Considering the late-January 2011 house fire that consumed a precious portion of the Hüsker Dü archive, it has to be reckoned as a kind of subordinate miracle that the 1985 First Avenue tapes survived at all. They deliver peak Dü at full gallop through already beloved material, still years shy of fully cementing their status as a blueprint for the alternative rock skyscraper to come. This box set celebrates these tapes, strikingly perhaps the highest fidelity Hüsker Dü recordings ever produced during the band’s lauded SST years. “When I think of that time,” Greg comments, “it was three guys doing what they loved, having fun, and basically showing other people that you can be true to yourself, true to your music, and not have to bow down to fashion or expectations to make something really great.”
1985: The Miracle Year Tracklist: Minnesota Miracle SIDE A 1. New Day Rising 2. It’s Not Funny Anymore 3. Everything Falls Apart 4. The Girl Who Lives On Heaven Hill 5. I Apologize 6. If I Told You 7. Folklore
SIDE B 1. Every Everything 2. Makes No Sense At All 3. Terms Of Psychic Warfare 4. Powerline 5. Books About UFOs 6. Broken Home, Broken Heart 7. Diane
SIDE C 1. Hate Paper Doll 2. Green Eyes 3. Divide And Conquer 4. Pink Turns To Blue 5. Eight Miles High
SIDE D 1. Out On A Limb 2. Helter Skelter 3. Ticket To Ride 4. Love Is All Around
More Miracles SIDE E 1. Don’t Want To Know If You’re Lonely 2. I Don’t Know For Sure 3. Hardly Getting Over It 4. Sorry Somehow 5. Eiffel Tower High
SIDE F 1. What’s Going On 2. Private Plane 3. Celebrated Summer 4. All Work And No Play
SIDE G 1. Keep Hanging On 2. Find Me 3. Flexible Flyer 4. Sunshine Superman 5. In A Free Land 6. Somewhere
SIDE H 1. Flip Your Wig 2. Never Talking To You Again 3. Chartered Trips 4. The Wit And The Wisdom 5. Misty Modern Days
Golden Shower of Hits is a vicious, snotty and vibrant collection of tracks that highlight Circle Jerks’ insane punk chops, and their penchant for anti-authorianism, nihilism and a good ol ‘time. They’ve teamed up again with renowned archival label Trust Records for its re-release – marking the first time that its original tapes have been touched in 40 years.
The announcement of Golden Shower of Hits’ deluxe reissue comes just in time – today marks frontman / punk icon Keith Morris’ 70th birthday! Fans will have the chance to celebrate alongside the Circle Jerks with their return to the Hollywood Palladium tomorrow night, Friday, September 19, in Los Angeles. The show promises to be an unforgettable night honoring his legacy and the enduring power of punk. Joining them on this special night are Ceremony, Rocket From the Crypt, and Negative Approach — a lineup as ferocious as the occasion demands. Attending fans will also have access to two special exclusives available only at the Palladium show: A limited-edition 7-inch single of “When the Sh*t Hits the Fan”, (limited to 300 copies) and a limited-edition birthday poster, (500 copies) designed and signed collaboratively by Morris and Shepard Fairey (Obey Giant). Tickets and more info are here.
The audio for Golden Shower of Hit’s deluxe reissue was remastered from the original analog tapes by Pete Lyman at Infrasonic Sound in Nashville and restored and digitized by Dan Johnson at Audio Archiving Services. In addition to the vastly improved sound, this version also features a few different variants and updated artwork which has been given a modern touch by Bryan Ray Turcotte from Kill Your Idols Studio and features unseen photos by legendary photographer Glen E. Friedman.
By 1983, Circle Jerks had already established themselves as one of the most crucial hardcore punk bands– not only in their native Los Angeles, but worldwide. Their seminal debut Group Sex (1980) and the massive follow-up Wild in the Streets(1982) had been unleashed on the public along with extensive touring. The remaining original lineup of Keith Morris (Black Flag, later of OFF!), Greg Hetson (Redd Kross, later of Bad Religion), and Roger Rogerson would soon create another landmark hardcore punk release with their follow up, the masterful Golden Shower of Hits.
Golden Shower of Hits was initially released on July 21,1983 via LAX Records, a label owned by producer Jerry Goldstein best known as manager for Sly Stone and The Plugz, as well as the producer for WAR and The Strangeloves. Clocking in under 28 minutes, the album featured eleven new tracks and the infamous title track, a medley that, like the Paul Revere & the Raiders and Jackie Shannon covers found on the previous LP, completely reinvented the originals into a twisted take on AM radio pop favorites. A pair of tracks, “Coup d’État” and a version of “When the Sh*t Hits the Fan” made their way onto the soundtrack for the midnight movie Repo Man, and is forever cemented into that oddball slab of cinematic genius. “‘Golden Shower of Hits’ was recorded after Lucky Lehrer decided he was going to go to law school, so John Ingram filled in after being recruited by Roger Rogerson,” recalls Morris. “We pretty much recorded live on the sound stage. And the really fun part of that scenario was that our engineer had worked with the Grateful Dead– which at the time was odd.”
Upon release, Golden Shower of Hits became just as its moniker inferred– a modern classic that added to Circle Jerks’ already formidable legacy. And more than 42 years later, that legacy’s already long tail stretches further and wider with the release of this meticulously crafted reissue– cementing the LP’s importance in not only punk history, but the cultural zeitgeist as well. “I’d say that this is a cornerstone in the Circle Jerks discography,” says Morris. “When it comes to our setlist, we’re playing at least seven of these songs live. I think that’s a statement in itself. The title track is probably one of the most ridiculous things that we ever recorded.”
Circle Jerks Live Dates: Oct 02: Portland, OR – Roseland Theater Oct 03: Tacoma, WA – Temple Theatre Oct 05: Bend, OR – Volcanic Theatre Pub Oct 06: Boise, ID – Knitting Factory Oct 08: Salt Lake City, UT – The Depot Oct 10: Grand Junction, CO – Mesa Theater Oct 11: Boulder, CO – Boulder Theatre Oct 13: Kansas City, MO – Madrid Theater Oct 14: Oklahoma City, OK – Tower Theater Oct 15: Little Rock, AR – The Hall Oct 17: Dallas, TX – House of Blues Oct 18: San Antonio, TX – Paper Tiger
