Songs That REIGNING SOUND Taught Us - plus more PUNKS GOT SOUL

After the Memphis bands Compulsive Gamblers and Oblivians broke up, Greg Cartwright debuted a new group called Reigning Sound with a 2001 single featuring a Gene Clark cover ("Here Without You") on the A-side, and two Cartwright originals on the flip. This was followed by a full length album (Break Up... Break Down) which further defined the sound of Reigning Sound: garage punk energy with an appreciation for mid-sixties pop and soul, and a keen sense of Memphis musical history. 

Cartwright once stated in an interview that seeing Tav Falco's Panther Burns at the Antenna Club sparked a realization of what he wanted to accomplish as a songwriter and performer.

Between 2001 and 2021, Reigning Sound released seven studio albums, three live albums, and an odds & sods comp (Home For Orphans).  The band also backed Mary Weiss of The Shangri-Las on her Norton Records comeback album, Dangerous Game (2007).  All of these albums featured Cartwright's songwriting talent and soulful vocals.  Cartwright announced the end of Reigning Sound in 2022. 

There are cover songs scattered throughout the Reigning Sound discography, most of them "deep cuts" from the 1950's and 60's.  The most familiar song would likely be "Keep On Dancing", a soul cover that was a hit for Memphis garage rockers The Gentrys.  Today's set ends with a John Felice composition that first appeared on the Mary Weiss album. The Real Kids later recorded it for their 2014 comeback album).

While we're on the topic of garage rock, punk and soul, it seems like a good time to trot out Volume #7 in the blog series Punks Got Soul.  This one is packed with 28 great songs, with many moments of "why didn't I think of THAT one before?" while they were being compiled. One of those "aha!" moments happened when esteemed reader Guypinot recently mentioned Evie Sands (whose "I Can't Let Go" was covered by the Hollies and the Dickies).

ELSEWHERE ON THE BLOG: Songs The Dickes Taught Us, Songs The Panther Burns Taught Us, and many more!

BEST OF THE SINCEROS LIVE! - Power Pop/New Wave Perfection!

BEST OF THE SINCEROS LIVE!

THE SINCEROS signed with Epic Records in 1979, & put out their debut: The Sound Of Sunbathing.  It was hampered by a terrible album cover in the UK, but the US version’s cover is pretty cool.  Their first single: Take Me To Your Leader got a lot of airplay—peaking at #70 in Australia.  

Their second album was shelved in 1980—eventually getting reworked/re-recorded & released as Pet Rock in 1981--but the delay cost the band their momentum.  Both albums are great new wave/power pop showcases for their clever & catchy songwriting, & quirky, yet cohesive, playing. 

The Sinceros had so many songs with hit potential.  Other highlights are; I Still Miss You, Little White Lies, Disappearing, Are You Ready (A Mark Kjeldsen solo single that was also released as a single by The Sinceros) and the very Joe Jackson-sounding Worlds Apart which are all included here. 

Members went on to play in Squeeze, Eurogliders, The Teardrop Explodes, Procol Harum, Nick Lowe & The Impossible Birds, and in Van Morrison’s band.  

Drummer Bobby Irwin is probably the member I was most familiar with after the band broke up.  He played with everyone in Rockpile—one of my favorite bands.  The Sinceros backed LENE LOVICH on her Stateless album—which I consider to be a classic--& they backed Lene on her BE STIFF tour.

Mark Kjeldsen joined forces with the great Danny Adler.  I spotlighted Adler here: THE BEST OF DANNY ADLER Vol. 1 & I did a BEST OF THE SINCEROS studio work that can be found here: BEST OF THE SINCEROS.

Tracks on this live compilation are from shows at the legendary London venues The Hope & Anchor, & The Paris Theatre, and Boston’s Rat Club.  Some (most?) of them are from the wonderful BB Chronicles blog: BB Chronicles/Sinceros.  A tip of the hat to them!

 

Reggae Paradise

As I still have a huge liking for roots style reggae I was wondering what happened last year and decided to take a digital deep dive.
To my pleasant surprise I found quite a few way above average tracks by familiar names such as Adrian Sherwood, Dub Syndicate, Fishbone, Manu Chao, Hollie Cook, Roots Radics, & Mark Stewart and a bunch by unknown artists: Chalart58 & Matah, Chancha Via Circuito ft. Leon Demaria, El Búho & Alex Serra, Iseo & Dodosound, Joe Yorke & Big Chip, Santa Fe Klan, Gambeat, Pachyman, Skaracha, Stick Figure, & Sumac Dub & Jardin Secret.

This 18 track compilation goes all across the globe and ranges from ambient dub to ska to electro borderline rhythms and everything in between, but don't worry, good vibes rule!

About the artists:

Chalart58 - Spanish DJ and musician from Barcelona, sound engineer at La Panchita Studios.
Matah - Spanish-based dub and reggae musician known for energetic, "rub-a-dub" style vocals, releasing music via La Panchita Records.

Chancha Vía Circuito - Producer, DJ/remixer and composer, from Greater Buenos Aires, Argentina, fusion of electronic music and cumbia is key factor of his music.

Leon Demaria - Reggae, Dub and Raggamuffin singer/musician of Argentinean origin based in Spain for almost two decades.
El Búho - British-born DJ and music producer, his music mixes Latin American folk rhythms with organic sounds, birdsong and downtempo electronica.

Alex Serra - Spanish musician and explorer from Barcelona, his music ranges from downtempo, soul, reggae, dub & more.

Gambeat - legendary French bassist of Radio Bemba Sound System and La Ventura, who has played with Manu Chao since 1994. He is a multifaceted artist: producer, artistic director, coach, musician, DJ, designer, and creator of his own clothing line.

Iseo & Dodosound - Spanish duo from Navarre , formed in 2014, composed of Dodosound (Alberto García Iriarte) and Iseo (Leire Villanueva López). Their style blends reggae and dub , and they have strong trip-hop influences.

Joe Yorke & Big Chip - UK reggae/rocksteady artists, Joe Yorke is a vocal talent, while Big Chip (Chip Huelin) is a producer/musician, with their work rooted in Jamaican sounds, featuring strong rhythms and dub elements.

Santa Fe Klan - Mexican singer-songwriter and rapper who featured on several songs which were highly certified by AMPROFON in Mexico.

Pachyman - Puerto Rican dedicated craftsman working in the lineage of dub reggae using vintage gear, constructing glorious walls of sound, and developing an intuitive understanding of the power of repetition. 

SKARACHA - Jamaican ska band, hailing from Kingston, this crack nine- piece unit of young bloods and seasoned professionals steps forward to revive the grand tradition of Jamaica’s ska originators, blending brand- new compositions with choice classics.

Stick Figure - American reggae and dub band founded in 2005. The group has released eight full-length albums and one instrumental album, all of which were written and produced by Scott Woodruff, the frontman and a self-taught multi-instrumentalist.

Sumac Dub - French trained violin player and compulsive traveler, enriched by multiple musical influences and largely influenced by the current electro dub scene.

Adrian Sherwood - Legendary English record producer & musician, best known for his On-U Sound label and his dub music, as well as for remixing a number of popular acts such as Coldcut, Depeche Mode, Sinéad O'Connor, Primal Scream or Skinny Puppy.

Dub Syndicate - On-U Sound's premier dub outfit and a name synonymous with the label from its inception. Emerging from the early Creation Rebel and centered around drummer Style Scott. Scott was also the rhythm force of The Roots Radics, the number one Jamaican session & live band for deep roots music.

Fishbone - California based band formed in 1979 in Los Angeles, who play a fusion of funk, metal, rock, reggae, ska, punk and soul.

Manu Chao - French-Spanish musician, songwriter, record producer and guitarist, founded the band Mano Negra in 1987, achieving considerable success, particularly in Europe. He became a solo artist after its breakup in 1995 and since then has toured regularly with his live band, Radio Bemba Sound System.

Mark Stewart - English singer, songwriter, artist and producer from Bristol, founding member of The Pop Group, and went on to front many different projects for On-U Sound and Mute Records.

The Roots Radics - Legendary Jamaican band, whose genesis traces back to Morris "Blacker" Wellington's band, the Morwells, a group that featured future Roots Radics members Errol 'Flabba Holt' Carter on bass and Eric 'Bingi Bunny' Lamont on guitar. Named the Roots Rock Band (mostly on Sky High related productions), and Lawes Rockers, before, in late 1979, the band became the Roots Radics. 

THE SINS Discography: SoCal Punk 1982-87

Here’s something I haven’t seen anywhere else online:  the complete discography (as far as I know) of California punk band The Sins.  I first heard them on the Sudden Death compilation LP (1982), which I bought because Redd Kross was on it.  Impressed by The Sins’ songs, I mail ordered their 7” EP Mood Music (which now sells for three figures).  The songs were short and fast, with violent and antisocial lyrics, but you could tell The Sins had something more than the average hardcore band.  The EP ends with “Skin Walk” (a bluesy riff that reminded me of “Shake Appeal”) and “525” (a 12 bar train song that Chuck Berry could have written). 

The Sins appeared on the Version Sound tape Try A Dull Knife (1983), Kevin Seconds’ compilation LP Another Shot For Bracken (1986) and the Bad Compilation Tapes release Experience The Freedom Of Total Control (1987).  In 1986, Kevin Seconds also released The Sins’ album Beginning From The End.  

At some point in the late 80's The Sins broke up, but Tony Fate (guitar) and Randy Stain (drums) recruited a new singer and bassist for a new band, The Grey Spikes.  Their self-released 1990 cassette (Sex & Hate) was issued on CD in Japan.  Several singles and compilation appearances followed on Tony’s record label (Vital Gesture), and a second Grey Spikes CD (Year Zero) appeared in 1997.

Meanwhile, Tony produced an LP for The Rosethorns (singer Lisa Kekaula and her husband Bob Vennum).  The Rosethorns became The Bellrays, and Tony produced their 1990 debut and 1992’s In The Light Of The Sun.  

Tony Fate joined The Bellrays as guitarist for Let It Blast (1996).  Bob Vennum switched from guitar to bass.  Ten of the 16 songs on Let It Blast were written by Tony.  He wrote all but one of the songs on Grand Fury (2000), and the majority of the originals on Raw Collection (2002), The Red, White & Black (2003), Merry Christmas From The BellRays (2005), and Have A Little Faith (2006).  

Tony left the Bellrays sometime before the recording of Hard Sweet And Sticky (released in 2008), but he continued to play with Bob Vennum in the instrumental band The Black Widows (who released three studio albums and a live set between 2001 and 2016).  Tony joined reunited SoCal punk band Symbol Six in 2011.   His current project is The Rat Brigade.  

Anyway, here’s an hour of music from The Sins, including their EP, LP and compilation tracks.  Most of it sounds (to me) less like hardcore and more like first wave bands such as The Saints and The Heartbreakers.  “Sins Prayer”, “Born To Plagarize” (sic), and “Deadly Morning Rain” have some interesting “free” and improvisational elements.  Tony lists jazz, blues and soul musicians among his influences in this bio.  These aren’t my vinyl rips; I only compiled them.  Thank you to the original rippers and uploaders who shared the music of The Sins!

ELSEWHERE ON THE BLOG: more Lisa Kekaula!

PEZBAND Live At The Big Kumquat 1979 POWER POP LEGENDS on their home turf!

 

PEZBAND Live At The Big Kumquat 1979 

This HOMEMADE LIVE album by power pop legends PEZBAND was sourced from an imperfect YouTube video that I fixed & edited into tracks.  I’ve done nothing else to it sonically, as it’s a wonderful document of a working band cranking out another great show in a long line of great shows.  The set list is solid, as is the sound, & the playing.  It was recorded near where the band formed, in Oak Park IL.

PEZBAND were still commercially viable in 1979, but their association with NJ’s Passport Records was nearing its end.  The label (formed by JEM & SIRE Records) went under completely in 1988.  

They rose to prominence again due to the resurgence of power pop that came from the INTERNATIONAL POP OVERTHROW weekenders & attendant albums, & RHINO’s wonderful DIY: Come Out & Play-American Power Pop 1975-1978 compilation (that included two of their songs; Stop! Wait A Minute, & Baby, It's Cold Outside).  They say the cream always rises to the top, but no one said it would be in such a tall bucket!  

Here’s more on the group from the band’s bio:  Pezband has shared the stage with Blondie, Fleetwood Mac, Supertramp, The Ramones, KISS, Cheap Trick, The Police, AC/DC, & Wishbone Ash, among others.  Pezband’s sound recalls classic British Invasion era bands like the Beatles, The Who, Jeff Beck, Yardbirds, and Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac fused with a New Wave sensibility (Cars, Jam, Blondie, Knack).

At the time of this energetic club date, PEZBAND consisted of Mimi Betinis on guitar, lead vocals, Tommy Gawenda on guitar, Mike Gorman on bass, vocals & Mick Rain on drums, vocals.  Betinis’ vocals are almost without echo, & he really delivers, as does guitarist Gawenda who I’d say is from the “close enough for rock & roll school” of guitar playing.  His enthusiasm, fantastic tone, and tasteful volume drives the band.  He plays with complete confidence—as if every bum note he hits is exactly what he intended to play.  I’d say he’s the reason Richard Cromelin of The LA Times described their music as combining “melodic pop, reflecting the McCartney side of the Beatles, with a hard, controlled attack powered by solid chording and squealing Who-like overtones.

All Music Guide’s John Dougan wrote: “Pezband play power-pop with a minimum of bullshit, and a maximum of exuberance and energy. With such great, great songs, Pezband should be huge.”

I couldn’t agree more.  They are one of my favorites, right alongside The Spongetones, The Nerves, The Paul Collins Beat, The Plimsouls, & The Smithereens.

Sparks - Collaborations Don't Work, Do They?!

Brothers Ron and Russell Mael from Los Angeles, USA, have been making diverse music since 1969 under various incarnations of Sparks.

Known for their quirky songwriting, their music has evolved through glam rock, synth-pop, new wave, and art pop, keeping them relevant and influential for over five decades.

Bands like Depeche Mode, New Order, and The Human League have cited Sparks as a key influence.

Listening to Spark’s golden oldie “This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us” recently it became very clear where Queen got their ideas for “Bohemian Rhapsody” from…

The first time I got aware of the ‘phenomenon’ called Sparks must have been in 1974 when they had a couple of TV appearances on the Dutch TV music program TOP POP.

If I remember correctly my whole family was watching their performance of ‘Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth’ and afterwards everyone agreed that it was quite weird, both musically and (perhaps even more) visually!

I certainly didn't feel any urge to run to a record shop and buy their singles and albums.

However over the years I kept 'bumping' into them and slowly but surely began to appreciate their work.

Also more than a few blogs were singing their praises which began to make more and more sense…

Any band that comes up with songs like “Your Call’s Very Important To Us. Please Hold.”, “Dick Around”, “I Can’t Believe That You Would Fall for All the Crap in This Song”, and “(Baby, Baby) Can I Invade Your Country”, already deserve an award for being cooler than cool.

Since then I have seen Sparks twice, in Utrecht (2023) and earlier this month in Hong Kong, both excellent shows, no such thing as going through the motions at all!

By now they've released an astonishing number of albums, 26 if I'm not mistaken, and there's a similar huge amount of compilations, unreal...

This begs a question though, what are Sparks doing here at JOKONKY?

Well, this was triggered by their last performance at Clockenflap where I hoped they'd join Franz Ferdinand on stage for at least 1 song, but alas, no such luck.

Reason is that they'd recorded a whole album together as FFS in 2015, which wasn't bad either.

One of that album's songs is “Collaborations Don't Work”, which got me thinking as Sparks have done all kinds of collaborations, and successfully too!

I started digging into their oeuvre and found plenty of 'team’ work evidence, both on their own albums (Annette Soundtrack, Indiscreet, & In Outer Space) and as guest performers on other artist/group albums (Gemma Ray, Gorillaz, Les Rita Mitsouko, Max Richter, Orbital, Pizzicato Five, SebastiAn, Simple Minds, Todd Rundgren, & Yoko Ono).

This resulted in a brand new JOKONKY special: Collaborations Don't Work, Do They?

As you will hear, collaborations can work sometimes, enjoy!

JERRY LEE LEWIS Live & Rare with MICKEY GILLEY, CARL PERKINS & JOHNNY CASH!

JERRY LEE LEWIS Live & Rare!

Readers would be surprised how many LPs I have—and I have more by JERRY LEE LEWIS than any other solo artist.  I love the unpredictability of JLL’s live performances, so I also have a lot of radio shows & boots from which the tracks on LIVE & RARE were taken.

There are tracks recorded in locales from Los Angeles to Pasadena (Texas).  JERRY LEE manages to “play nice” in the family friendly environments of Knott’s Berry Farm, and Neil Young’s Bridge School Benefit, but he cuts loose in a big way in Nashville.  The Grand Ol’ Opry lifted his ban on the condition that Jerry play his country hits, only to have The Killer perform one of the most raucous versions of Rockin’ My Life Away I’ve encountered.  Jerry Lee was always at his best when he was giving someone the finger, breaking the rules, or burning something to the ground, & JLL’s wreckless abandon inspires longtime guitarist Kenny Lovelace to play one of the best solos I’ve heard from him.

I’m as enthralled by his stage patter & the asides directed at bandmembers as I am his music.  During Blue Suede Shoes he says on mic that: “Drummer lost a little beat, but don’t worry, he’s hip enough, he’ll catch up!”

And Jerry didn’t always restrict himself to the truth in his intros & outros.  He restarts Blue Suede Shoes, saying: “Carl Perkins wrote it, Carl Perkins sang it along with a bunch of others… Elvis did NOT have that record first, CARL PERKINS had the record… and he sold three million records on it.  Elvis Presley recorded the record when Carl was laying in the hospital nearly dead, from a wreck…  I think he tried to steal it from him... I’m just telling’ ya what Carl said, I ain’t got nothin’ to do with it!”

Along the way he made stops in Alabama, London, & Bridlington (wherever that is) and there are a few tracks that even I don't remember where they were recorded.  There’s even a rock medley of Matchbox/Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On/Blue Suede Shoes performed with his old friends CARL PERKINS & JOHNNY CASH.  Ladies & gentlemen, please welcome: The Three Quarters Of A Million Dollar Trio!

The Elvis History Blog includes this passage on the famous MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET pairing of Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, & Elvis Presley:  Jerry Lee & Elvis took turns singing. When Lewis sang a bit of “Crazy Arms,” Elvis said, “The wrong man’s been settin’ here at this piano.” Jerry Lee responded, “Well, I been wantin’ to tell you that. Scoot over!” In Robert Johnson’s newspaper article the next day, Elvis praised Jerry Lee. “That boy can go,” he said. “I think he has a great future ahead of him. He has a different style, and the way he plays piano just gets inside me.” (http://www.elvis-history-blog.com/elvis-jerry-lee-lewis.html)

If Jerry Lee can be believed, just before Elvis went into the army, a decision many felt might end his reign as The King Of Rock & Roll, Presley handed it all over to him, telling Lewis to “Take it.  Take it all.”  True or not, what is true, is that more than any other artist,  JLL was poised to do so.

I accidentally left the logo off, but it's Another Stinky Production, & I'm tellin' ya every fan of JERRY LEE LEWIS needs this compilation.  In the words of The Ferriday Fireball: “If I tell you it’s gonna rain, you'd better bring your umbrella!”