Mojo Music Newsletter Vol 7 No5 June 2009
Here's what will be available during the next few weeks at Mojo.

Neil Young
Archives - Vol 1 (63-72)
CD Box: 8 Discs
DVD Box: 10 Discs

Woodstock:
Directors' Cut
DVD Box Set

Fillmore - The Last Days
Various Artists
DVD

OZ Beat Frenzy:
60's Garage Punk
Various Artists  
CD

When the legendary Fillmore West closed its doors in 1971, all of the biggest names in rock music showed up for the sendoff --in the five nights before the final curtain, everyone from the Grateful Dead to Santana graced the infamous stage for one last set. This long out of print 1972 documentary looks back at the Fillmore’s glory days, and underlines its importance to the musicians who created the "San Francisco Sound."and offers a portrait of its legendary promoter, Bill Graham. 

Features highlights from all five nights, including songs by the Grateful Dead ("Casey Jones," "Johnny B. Goode"); Santana ("Incident At Neshabur," "In A Silent Way"); Quicksilver Messenger Service ("Mojo," "Fresh Air"); Jefferson Airplane ("Volunteers"/"We Can Be Together"); along with performances by Cold Blood, Hot Tuna, and Lamb. Author and original Rolling Stone editor Ben Fong-Torres wrote the liner notes .

The Australian ‘60s garage-beat scene is hailed as one of the wildest on Earth, but for many years now there have only been a scant few Aussie beat reissues available. Most of the best compilations have been out of print for 10 or 20 years.
Finally, OZ Beat Frenzy has been unleashed for those who crave more! This CD is packed to capacity with 28 essential mid-60s Aussie killers, many of which have NEVER been reissued, been unavailable for decades, or never even issued in the first place!

A pile-driving passel of rarities awaits – including for the first time anywhere, an unreleased R&B raver by the heaviest of all ‘60s punk purveyors, the ELOIS! And dig early demos and the unknown flipouts of such stellar combos as the Moods, Rajahs, Breakaways, Ramrods and more … Comes with an amazing photo-packed 8-page foldout cover!

Bee Gees
Odessa
3 CD Deluxe Box

Off The Wall
Vols 1 & 2
2CD

Their 4th album was 1969 was recorded under acrimonious circumstances and was originally intended as a single lp but the original concept was abandoned and the resultant double now ranks alongside " Blonde On Blonde " and " The White Album " as the most important double LPs of the 60's. In many ways this is the group's equivalent to " Sgt Peppers ... ". 

Disc One of the Deluxe Edition features the original stereo mixes. Disc Two of the collection marks the U.S. debut of the original mono mixes of the original 17-song track listing (in 1969, the mono versions were released worldwide, but not in North America). Disc Three introduces 22 previously unissued tracks, including demos or alternate takes for all but one cut from Odessa, as well as two songs from the original sessions that weren't on the album .

Jim A.put out both these comps in the early 80's and managed to sell 50 copies of each LP at The Record Plant . Only 500 of each were originally pressed. At the time of their release the Pebbles series was pretty much the only way to discover 60's garage rarities.

Jim's comps pretty much set the benchmark for the avalanche of comps to follow. 36 absolute ball-tearers from California, Texas, New York , Florida, Kentucky, Ohio, Milwaukee & more. All tracks full of snotty vocals, fuzz guitar, cheesy organ & a snide sullen attitude . The most important cd reissues since the " Back From The Grave " series, only better .

Acid Dreams
Various Artists
CD

Sonic Youth
Life Is Music
A Tribute To John Peel
2 CD / 2 LP

This monster 60's Psychedelic / Garage comp was originally issued as a vinyl album edition of only 77 copies by the owner of a Berlin record store. 18 songs, some familiar but not in this sound quality. A blistering compilation of filthy garage riffs and greasy organ chords, pretty much as essential as the " Off The Wall " discs.

The most influential band of the last 30 years finally break the shackles of their close to 20 year association with major label Geffen / Universal and return to independent label Matador and deliver their latest opus. Your choice - Heavy 180gram 2 LP set or CD. Vinyl is very limited, one pressing only.

Now Lookie Here!
Spotlight on Blues & R'n B

Johnny Guitar Watson :
"The sure-nuff King"

One of the heavy hitters on the West Coast blues scene during the fifties and a real survivor to boot, Watson was much more than just a guitarist. Etta James no less, confessed a couple of years back to picking up his vocal style while still a teen when the two of them were on the road with Johnny Otis."I got everything from Johnny…He was my main model…He was the baddest and the best…The man was a master musician. He could call out charts; he could write a beautiful melody or a nasty groove at the drop of a hat; he could lay on the harmonies and he could come up with a whole sound. They call Elvis the King; but the sure-nuff King was Johnny Guitar Watson"

Born Feb 3, 1935 in Houston, Texas, Johnny was given a guitar at age 11 by his preacher grandfather on the condition he wouldn't play the 'Devil's music' and in Johnny's words: "That was the first thing I did." Leaving Houston for Los Angeles at the tender age of 15, he played piano (his main instrument at this stage) with Chuck Higgins' band when the saxophonist cut "Motorhead Baby" for Combo in '52…and sang on it too.

Signed to King subsidiary Federal in '53 (and still on piano at first) the following year saw him cut the scorching platter that is "Space Guitar". He's not quite 17 and this instrumental is just sonically way ahead of its time. If you're not already familiar with it, you've just gotta check this baby out!

Still in '54 and after seeing the Nicholas Ray film "Johnny Guitar" he adopted the stage-name that he wore so well throughout his entire career. He affected a swaggering, though humourous on-stage personality, indulging in flashy outfits, a slick pompadour and wild theatrics. "I used to play the guitar standing on my hands…I had a 150 foot cord and I could get on top of the auditorium…those things that Hendrix was doing, I started that shit…". For what its worth, they'd both played with Little Richard and could well have picked up some moves from him…

To get back to the mid fifties though, Johnny served up some of the toughest upbeat blues of the day for the Bihari brothers RPM label with "Hot Little Mama", "Too Tired", "Oh Baby" and "Three Hours Past Midnight" to name a few. And though he'd cut a demo of the song at RPM, the first released version of his best-known tune "Gangster of Love" came out in 1957 on Keen. He would re-cut it in the early 60's for King (and yet again in the '70's) too…And I don't think I'd be too far out to suggest that many of us first came across the tune via the Steve Miller Bands' psychedelic-blues classic "Sailor" album from '68. I STILL like that one...

Watson cut one album for Chess, "The Blues Soul of Johnny Guitar Watson", a jazz outing that found him back at the piano in a trio setting; the year 1964. There's a Fats Waller tribute LP from around this time and also a successful tour of Great Britain with old pal Larry Williams.

As the popularity of blues declined and soul sounds came in, our hero (after a few wilderness years) returned as a funkster: groovy afro, big hats, gold teeth, fly suits and lotsa jewelry. And of course he pulled it off, modifying the music accordingly, slicking up his already urbane blues style with tasty horn arrangements, plenty of fat bass lines and wah-wah guitar licks. The 1976 release "Ain't That a Bitch" his first for DJM heralded Johnny's new funk era with plenty of nifty guitar work and just about the best batch of songs he ever cooked up. If you're into 70's funk, this and "A Real Mother For Ya" from '77 are the way to go. Both albums went gold so he knew what he was doing. I should mention too that he played on Frank Zappa's 1975 LP "One Size Fits All" as well as "Them or Us", "Thing-Fish" (both from '84) and "Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention" (1985). (Frank was a long-time fan having cited "Three Hours Past Midnight" as the reason he picked up a guitar in the first place!)

Two recently published books (Peter Guralnick's "Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke" (2005) and Vincent Bakker's "The Gangster of Love" (2009) reveal Johnny not only dressed like one, he WAS actually a pimp (at least one and off) as well as a performer. His 1976 comeback LP was financed with illicit earnings. He reportedly felt 'ambivalent' about prostituting women, even though it 'paid better' than music.

The 1980's with the shooting death of his friend Larry Williams (and slightly loosing the plot on drugs) kept him out of the spotlight for a while: "I got caught up with the wrong people doing the wrong things" he was quoted as saying by the New York Times.

"Bow Wow" his 1994 album for Al Bell's Bellmark label brought Johnny more visibility and chart success than he had ever known. The album received a Grammy nomination, and reissues of past glories showered him with critical acclaim.

Johnny Guitar Watson died on stage May 17, 1996, while on tour in Yokohama, Japan. According to eyewitness reports he collapsed mid guitar solo. His last words apparently were "Ain't that a bitch".  Lee

Selected Discography

West Coast Guitar Killers Vol 1 and Vol 2Untouchable ! Classic 1959 - 1968 Recordings
Hot Just Like TNT - Best Of His Early Years
Space Guitar   (Proper)
The Funk Anthology   (Shout Factory)

The Mojo Playlist

Willie Dixon - Dixonary
Steve Earle - Townes Deluxe Edition
Nick Lowe - Quiet Please
Eric Clapton / Stevie Winwood - Live From Madison Square Garden
Canned Heat - Boogie House Tapes Volume 3 Funkadelic - Free Your Ass & Your Mind Will Follow 
Leon Russell & The Shelter People 
Mott The Hoople - At The BBC 
The Remains - Self Titled 
Jimi Hendrix - Live At The Fillmore East

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Nev's Nuggets

The Bluesmen of the
Muddy Waters Chicago Blues Band
Vols 1 and 2 (2 CDs)

Spivey Records was a specialist blues record label founded by blues singer Victoria Spivey and jazz historian / producer Len Kunstadt. Lately, I've been doing some deep trawlin' and come up with a couple of pearlers. Just when you thought you had heard all the Muddy Waters and associated sidemen recordings, along comes a couple of ball tearers on Spivey's own label which only ever released 16 LPs.

Here we have 2 releases on the label, the first recorded in 1966 and the second in 1968. All the obvious sidemen are on board :

Otis Spann, George Smith, Luther Johnson, Samuel Lawhorn with Victoria on vocals on several tracks.

Both are so freakin' good and I was completely blown away to the point of giving them the Mojo bow down. Along with the Complete Cobra Singles collection, quite simply the blues reissues of the year so far. Complete with crankin' guitar grinds, lazy piano solos and sloppy vocals courtesy of Otis. Essential for all fans of Chicago blues. Rating : The Mojo Hand. 
Nev

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Frank's Fave Rave

Black Merda - Black Merda

We were playing this last Thursday evening and it nearly caused a riot. We had everyone in the room fighting over the 5 copies in stock. Back in stock in quantity and here's why you really need to own it. Released in 1967 on Chess Records , think Jimi Hendrix / Funkadelic / Parliament. This album is so Black in sound and sentiment.

The following sums it up perfectly:
" Their debut album blends elements of hard rock, blues, soul, folk, and embryonic funk with a tough and uncompromising political consciousness that makes the disc at once a product of its time and not quite like anything else around back in the day.

Grinding poverty, racism, political and social inequality, the ongoing nightmare of Vietnam, the growing schism between youth culture and the establishment, and the absence of any easy answers to the dilemmas of a nation spinning out of control dominate songs such as "Reality," "Ashamed," and "That's the Way It Goes," and the grim but wholly appropriate fable of "I Don't Want to Die" ends this album as if a lid were being slammed shut on a coffin.

Black Merda anticipates the grim consciousness-raising session of Sly & The Family Stone's " There's A Riot Goin' On ", which wouldn't arrive in stores until much later after this album. "
Frank

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Got Vinyl Records To Sell?

Need to sell some of your vinyl records?
We are always buying - either email: info@mojomusic.com.au
or else phone us at (02) 9262-4999.

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