The Fuzztones "Friends & Fiends" 2024***

As I may have mentioned, I've been a big Fuzztones fan since my teens, so when I saw this (unknown, to me) LP at Amoeba Records in LA, I had to grab it and fly it back home to The Netherlands. It didn't matter that all of the songs were covers, because this is what The Fuzztones have always done: dig up obscure 60's gems and infuse them with their own esseence, at times even improving on the originals. This is what they do on the first track here "Strange Mysterious Sound" originally by The Spike Drivers (1967), a ghostly psychedelic track reminiscent of The Doors with an Electric Prunes-like guitar solo. From here on, though, things get weird. In the liner notes, Rudi writes about the artists he loved growing up and how lucky he has been to meet and share a stage with some of them, but most of the collaborations included here are obviously not real. It's not clear whether the Fuzztones ever played with  81-year old Ann Margret on the same-named track of her Born To Be Wild LP, or -more probably- just laid down a backing track for her to sing over. But their working method for the rest of the album seems pretty obvious: they sample vocals from older recordings and paste them over their own instrumental versions. The results are invariably fun, but this reverse karaoke thing seems pointless. I mean, I like The Fuzztones' playing here, but I'd prefer to listen to Rudi sing these songs rather than old vocal samples. I tried to get information on the origin of the vocals, with little success; for example The Grass Roots' "Let's Live For Today" comes from a various artists LP utilizing 1997 re-recordings of Grassroots hits by original singer Rob Grill (R.I.P. 2011). The Fuzztones have played with Screaming Jay Hawkins (R.I.P. 2000) in the past, and even released a live mini-LP together in '85, but their versions of "I Put a Spell On You" and "What Good Is It" use a vocal from 1972, according to discogs. Oldies like "Mary Lou" (With Sonny Burgess, R.I.P. 2017) and "Ain't Got No Home" (With Clarence 'Frogman' Henry, R.I.P. 2024) deviate little from the originals, while Association's sunshine pop hit "Windy" adds a groovy organ bit. It's not clear whether the vocal belongs to original lead singer Larry Ramos Jr. (R.I.P. 2014) or the current line-up. I quite like how the Fuzztones rework Blue Cheer's proto-metal cover of "Summertime Blues" to incorporate their own riff from "In Heat". Not sure whether the vocal belongs to original singer Dickie Peterson (R.I.P. 2009). No such doubts for their dirty blues version of "Messin' With the Kid" (with Junior Wells, R.I.P. 1998) containing, I believe, another recycled Fuzztones riff which I can't quite place right now. "Kicks" featuring Mark Lindsay from Paul Revere & The Raiders. Lindsay (alive and kicking at 83) has shared a stage with The Fuzztones in the past, but the provenance of this specific vocal is unknown. Last but not least, the LP closes with a cover of "Can Your Pussy Do the Dog?" taken from a 2023 Cramps tribute LP - the two bands were friendly when they were both part of the New York CBGB scene, and I remember Rudi telling us during a gig that he got his guitar from The Cramps' Brian Gregory (R.I.P. 2001). Friends And Fiends is a limited release: 250 copies in "coke bottle green" colored vinyl, 500 (mine included) in orange. The cover artwork features skeletons and zombies of sixties rockers rising from their graves - a variation on a theme Rudi seems to love, which is in this case only too appropriate, what with so many voices from beyond the grave. I will not deny that it makes for an entertaining listen, but I think it's a big misstep from one of my favorite bands. I never thought that Rudi would stoop as low as Paul McCartney did when he used old Lennon vocal samples and presented them as a "collaboration" without his dead former bandmate's consent. I just hope that Rudi that he'll use his own voice next time, or at least duet with a living person.

**** for Strange Mysterious Sound, Summertime Blues (With Blue Cheer), I Put a Spell On You (With Screamin' Jay Hawkins), Messin' With the Kid (With Junior Wells)

*** for Let's Live for Today (With the Grass Roots), Born to Be Wild (With Ann-Margret), Kicks (With Mark Lindsay), Mary Lou (With Sonny Burgess), Windy (With the Association), Ain't Got No Home (With Clarence 'Frogman' Henry), What Good Is It? (With Screamin' Jay Hawkins), Can Your Pussy Do The Dog?

Paul McCartney "Back in the World-Live" 2003***

With the exception of the famous rooftop performance for the Let It Be film in '69, The Beatles stopped playing live pretty early in their career, in '66. Even before that, they struggled to be heard above the legions of screaming fans. Their small live legacy consists of some live-at-the-BBC-studio recordings, plus Live At The Hollywood Bowl and Live At The Star Club Hamburg - all displaying their early pop/rockabilly side. The relevant performances aren't bad, but nothing special either. Since the band broke up, John and Ringo have barely ever played any Beatles songs live, and George has stuck to his own compositions for the band. So it fell to Paul to keep the Lennon/McCartney songbook alive. Only, in this case the billing is reversed: instead of Lennon/McCartney, here the songwriting credit goes to McCartney/Lennon. According to Paul, he only reversed the credit on songs written by him (the songwriting team had agreed to share credit 50/50 regardless of each song's principal songwriter). For this specific live album, mostly culled from his 2002 US tour, two thirds of the setlist is comprised by Beatles songs. Which makes it probably the closest one can get to a true Beatles live album. Is this how they would sound like at the beginning of the 21st century? Who knows, really? Truth is, there are Beatles tribute bands out there which sound more than the original than Paul's band does. I can't tell if that's a good or a bad thing though. Would I prefer hearing Paul play with John, George, and Ringo impersonators? Honestly, probably yes. But that would have been a tribute band rather than Paul McCartney and his band. As it is, he doesn't get overly creative with the arrangements: songs either sound similar to the originals ("Hello, Goodbye", "All My Loving", "Fool On The Hill"), or starker ("We Can Work It Out", the ukulele version of George's "Something"). John's harmonies are notably absent at times. When harmonies are evident, as in "Getting Better" and "Hey Jude", they have a more soul/gospel feel. Then, of course, you have the classic McCartneyesque ballads ("Blackbird", "Yesterday", "Michelle") which were very stark and fragile to begin with. Somehow, these never sound great in a live setting. Orchestral arrangements on "Eleanor Rigby", "She's Leaving Home", and "The Long and Winding Road" are replicated; presumeably the orchestral parts are played on the synthesizer. Songs from Let It Be are among the best, with small differences adding to rather than subtracting from the song: some jazz piano on "The Long and Winding Road", sax on "Lady Madonna", an electric guitar solo on "Let It Be". The upbeat rockabilly-ish songs are loads of fun to listen to even if they don't deviate much from the originals ("Can't Buy Me Love", "Back in the U.S.S.R.", "I Saw Her Standing There"). The inclusion of a forgotten Beatles track ("Mother Nature's Son" from 1968's White Album) is a pleasant surprise. Three tracks taken from his then current solo LP Driving Rain ("Lonely Road", "Driving Rain", "Your Loving Flame") sound relatively weak among such company. Conversely, songs from 1973's Band On The Run ("Jet", "Let Me Roll It", "Band on the Run") still sound great. Other notable performances include the funky "Coming Up" (from McCartney II, 1980), "Maybe I'm Amazed" (from solo debut McCartney, 1970), and James Bond theme "Live and Let Die" (1973). There's also a poignant tribute to John Lennon composed shortly after his death ("Here Today" from Tug of War, 1982) while the CD closes majestically with "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band/The End". Back In The World is the international counterpart of 2002's Back In The US : it subtracts "C Moon" and "Freedom", replacing them with four tracks recorded in Mexico and Japan and uses a different performance of "Hey Jude", recorded in Mexico instead of New York. As a souvenir for Beatles fans, it's rather frustrating: on one hand, this is the closest one gets to listening to The Beatles live in the 21st century. On the other, it's disappointingly pedestrian. But who's to say that, had they stayed together and resumed performing, The Beatles would have been a great live band? Unfortunately, nothing except their crazy pre-fame Hamburg days points to that. Maybe it would have been better for McCartney to avoid comparisons altogether and stick to his solo stuff. But these songs deserve to be played live - and who's better equipped to do it than him?

**** for Hello Goodbye, Jet, Coming Up, Let Me Roll It, You Never Give Me Your Money/Carry That Weight, The Fool on the Hill, Eleanor Rigby, Here There and Everywhere, Michelle, Band on the Run, Back in the U.S.S.R., Maybe I'm Amazed, She's Leaving Home, Can't Buy Me Love, Live and Let Die, Let It Be, Hey Jude, The Long and Winding Road, Lady Madonna, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band/The End

*** for All My Loving, Getting Better, Lonely Road, Blackbird, Every Night, Mother Nature's Son, Here Today, Calico Skies, Let 'Em In, My Love, I Saw Her Standing There, Yesterday

** for Driving Rain, Your Loving Flame, We Can Work It Out, Something

The Smile "Wall of Eyes" 2024****

I read recently that Radiohead are touring Europe again; I honestly can't remember them ever playing in the NL in the 16 years I've been living here. Of course, maybe they did and it went by me, or I couldn't get tickets - otherwise I would have been there. Thankfully I did get to see them play live at Lycabettus theater in Athens some 25 years ago, around the time they escaped mainstream indie rock to delve into experimental electronic prog or whatever Kid A was. I just looked at the tour schedule and there aren't any NL dates planned. I don't know if I would go to their concert anyway, because of the boycott call by pro-Palestinian organisation Boycott, Divest and Sanctions (BDS). Musicians like Roger Waters and Brian Eno are on the forefront of that movement, others like Patti Smith, Serj Tankian, Rage Against The Machine etc. have been vocal in their support for BDS. On the other side of the argument there are also some artists I respect, including Radiohead and Nick Cave. In the recent past, they refused to join the boycott arguing that “playing in a country isn’t the same as endorsing its government”, or that one should not "punish" the citizens of a country for the acts of their government. They also cast reasonable doubts over the effectiveness of such measures: it took almost 30 years for the South African apartheid regime to fall, despite a successful boycott in culture, sports, etc. Of course, currently it goes deeper than apartheid: there's a recognized genocide under way, so the argument for a cultural boycott is way stronger now. Yet Johnny Greenwood of Radiohead and The Smile has spent part of 2024 and 2025 in Israel, collaborating with Israeli artist Dudu Tassa. Furthermore, according to BDS, Tassa "has repeatedly entertained genocidal Israeli forces in between these massacres of Palestinians in Gaza, willingly acting as a cultural ambassador for apartheid Israel". So Greenwood isn't just working with a random Israeli but a with supporter of IDF war criminals. Staying, I wager, politely silent while a few kilometers further, the IDF is involved in massacres. I myself am inclined to agree with BDS. I do think that by ignoring calls for boycott, artists are showing support, or at least, tolerance of the genocidal regime. Someone has to tell the Israeli people that shooting and starving children to death is not OK. And it can't be a perceived enemy. It has to be someone they love and respect, ideally one of their favorite artists. Issuing, as Thom Yorke did, a lukewarm statement condemning Netanyahu's "extremism" and asking for moderation by both sides (that is, the butchers and those trying to stop the slaughter) is a cop out, not brave resistance to peer pressure as Mr. Yorke wants us to think. 

Wow, it's been some time since I went off topic waxing political like that. Ι really did start writing with nothing but the presentation of this CD in my mind, but stream of consciousness brought me to the Gaza genocide topic. I guess it never completely leaves me, a sense of disgust for Western hypocrisy and the pampering of "our" war criminals. One expects it from the likes of Trump, but not from "sensitive" and "progressive" souls like Yorke.

Anyway, I may disagree with Mr. Yorke and Mr. Greenwood's artwashing of Israel, but I wouldn't put them in a box together with active supporters of Netanyahu's actions, so I'm not about to stop listening to their music. It would have been a pity to do so, when it's as interesting as their recent collaboration with drummer Tom Skinner (ex-Sons of Kemet) in The Smile. The three of them started playing together during the COVID-19 pandemic, releasing their debut A Light for Attracting Attention in 2022. The inactivity in the Radiohead front, combined with the appearance of this second Smile album, must have worried Radiohead fans - I'm sure they welcomed the announcement of this mini European tour with sighs of relief. But even if Radiohead's absence from recordings continues, The Smile have provided us with a great alternative: Thom Yorke's fragile falsetto and Greenwood's symphonic ambition and electric guitar outbursts, together with their willingness to experiment, are the main features of Radiohead's music anyway. Skinner brings a jazz-informed elasticity with complex, feel free-flowing rhythms, and constant time changes. "Wall of Eyes" opens the album with a soft bossanova beat and atmospheric strings. It's almost too pretty, so The Smile purposefully destroy the melody by adding some dissonant notes during the last half minute. "Teleharmonic" has a hypnotic quality with woozy synths and inventive drumming, while "Read the Room" is more tense with spiky post punk guitar and fluctuating speed and volume. "Under Our Pillows" shows the band's kraut rock obsessions: I liked its motorik beat, the electronic bleeps and Tangerine Dream-like synth coda not so much. In contrast "Friend of a Friend" is almost Beatlesy melodic, featuring nice piano, soft vocals and lush strings culminating in "A Day In The Life"- like crescendo. In contrast to the sweet music, the lyrics are an attack to corrupt politicians and their business friends using the pandemic for personal profit. "I Quit" is another atmospheric piece with a sampled guitar loop and cinematic strings. "Bending Hectic" is an 8-minute epic: an orchestral ballad with soft fingerpicked guitar for 5,5 minutes, it then ups the tension with screeching guitar and sinister strings. "You Know Me!" closes the album with Yorke's familiar falsetto, clanging piano and swirling strings. All in all, Wall of Eyes comes across a lot like a new Radiohead album - with a twist. Which tells you all you really need to know about it.

**** for Wall of Eyes, Teleharmonic,  Read the Room, Friend of a Friend, I Quit, Bending Hectic

*** for Under Our Pillows, You Know Me!

Paris Record Stores

Ten years ago, I wrote my first report on a city's record store scene (London) for this blog, and teased about offering some pointers to record-loving visitors to Paris. Although I've visited the city a few times in the intervening years, it's only now that I can make good on my promise. On our latest visit, we lodged for the first time in the Montparnasse, at a hotel that used to count painter Paul Gauguin and writer André Breton among its permanent guests. Don't get the wrong idea, it wasn't a particularly luxurious place. Just typical of the neighborhood; every other place displays a plaque about a famous writer or artist that lived there - in the early 1900's it probably boasted the greatest collection of talent in history since classical-era Athens. A very lively area, too, full of bars and restaurants that were open until late, and a large number of theaters and music halls. Not many record stores though, apart from the local Fnac branch. Most Europeans are familiar with those, but in case you're not it is a chain of department stores that mostly caters to your entertainment needs; so you'll find a lot of books, records, CDs and DVDs as well as games, laptops, mobile phones, TVs etc. The one on Rue de Rennes 136 is fairly big with a wide selection in vinyl (French and international, including jazz, rock and metal as well as pop and K-pop). As always, the biggest concentration of record stores and book stores is near the student areas, of which there is none more famous than the Quartier Latin. I remember, during my first visit to the city, having spent hours at the Gibert Joseph at the Boulevard Saint-Michel. It's nominally a bookstore, or chain thereof, but its music department consists of two floors of ample square footage full of LPs and CDs. French chanson, jazz, world music, rock, pop, rap and funk are all well represented, and there's even a corner of Japanese vinyl (10-40€). New LPs cost mostly 23-35€, and used ones 6-20€. It's not the best place for used vinyl, but the variety of used CDs (3-9) is really huge. There are also many offers on new CDs (prog, metal, rap etc), for 6,99€ or less. 20 years ago I spent hours looking for bargain CDs both new and used; they had to escort me to the cash desk at closing time. 

Close to the Sorbonne university, on Rue des écoles 40, one can find Crocodisc, one of the most famous Parisian record shops, supposedly good for used records and CDs in all styles of music. Alas when I visited, it was closed for the summer vacation. According to their website, the shop carries both collectors' items and sale bins with records as cheap as 1€. On number 26, one can find the local branch of French music/film chain O'CD. Lots of DVDs, as well as LPs (new 10-35€, used 5-15€) and CDs (5-10€).  Here in the Netherlands, La Dame Blanche signifies a dessert with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce. But in Paris, it is the name of a charming record store, situated between the Pantheon and the École polytechnique (47 Rue de la Montagne Ste Geneviève). Both the shop and the street are highly instagrammable; which is not to say that the records aren't interesting. It just has a small rock selection; it's far better when it comes to classical, jazz, and French music. Most (used) LPs cost 5-10€, while the shop also sells CDs and cassettes. Leaving the Left Bank behind, you can cross the Seine and walk past the Notre Dame and Hotel De Ville to find a pedestrian street (Rue de la Verrerie). On your left, on number 66 there's Lucky Records - a veritable shrine to Madonna (the singer, not the mother of Jesus for whom a shrine would be more appropriate). Her whole discography seems to be here, be it rare singles, EPs or bootlegs. Other pop divas are also well represented, e.g. Mylène Farmer, Tailor Swift, and Lady Gaga. Also a few random CDs starting from 3€. A bit further, I was surprised to see a chain I was familiar with from Japan: Book-Off mostly deals in used books, including English and Japanese ones, as well as manga and other comics, pokemon cards, board games, and of course vinyl records and CDs.

Close to the Châtelet metro station, there's a shop called Monster Melodies. It has, I think, an unfairly low rating in Google. Sure, it's not cheap and neither is it browse-friendly, but it must be heaven for collectors: rare classic rock, psychedelia, and early punk/new wave records. Mostly original pressings, prices upwards of 30€. At the next corner (47 Rue Saint-Honoré) there's Parallèles, another great shop focusing on music and books. A big selection of music books, LPs (chanson, jazz, blues & rock, a few new around 25€ and lots of used ones starting from 3€) and CDs (used, mostly 6€). A bit to the north, there's a shopping mall (Westfield Forum Des Halles) containing another Fnac (good variety, many offers). Closeby there's another O'CD branch; compared to the one near Sorbonne, this had a better selection on vinyl (used and new LPs on offer 5-15€) and CD (under 10€) in all genres: Rock, rap, reggae, funk, jazz and French music. I also passed by another small record shop (at 187 rue St Denis) with the intriguing name Maquis Megastore. (the maquis were WW2 French partisans). It looked as if they'd gone out of business but Google says it's temporarily closed, so I thought I'd mention it here.

   

Big Smile Bazaar, at 6 Rue du Ponceau, is a small but sophisticated shop, specializing in used vinyl. All styles, but especially good for Funk, jazz, African and oriental music. LPs typically cost 20-30€ but there are also some offers for 5€. Superfly Records (53 Rue Notre Dame de Nazareth) also deals in used records almost exclusively. As suggested by the name, there are many funk, disco, and hip hop records for sale. Also Jazz, Afro, Latin, and rock. Now, this round took me almost a whole day. I'm not complaining, I love walking around Paris, and any itinerary that takes you past the Sorbonne, the Pantheon, Notre Dame, Hotel De Ville, and The Louvre is worth it. Not to mention the Seine, the banks of which at the time (late July) were converted to a plage, complete with imported sand, chaise longs, and beach bars. But, as I said, the day I had dedicated to record hunting was drawing to a close, and I still hadn't visited one of my prime targets: Born Bad Records is both a shop and a label dedicated to scuzzy rock'n'roll and reissuing rare 60's - 70's French rock (ye-ye, psych, punk, exotica etc). I'm very much into all these genres, so I turned towards the Bastille to check out this shop. Predictably, I wasn't disappointed. It's not huge but it has a very deep selection of garage, rockabilly, punk, and blues. Some CDs (8-15€) but mostly vinyl, both LPs (around 20€, some offers 5-10€) and 45s. Patate Records (57 Rue de Charonne) is another specialty shop: they only do reggae music, but they do it well. The last shop I visited that day was Plastic Soul (93 Av. Ledru Rollin). Not very browse-friendly, but the reviews say that the owner is very helpful. As I wasn't looking for something in particular, I didn't initiate a conversation with him - plus, I always hesitate to do that because my French is terrible, and not everybody speaks English. Although I was pleasantly surprised to realize that Anglophony has progressed in strides in France during the last few years. Time restrictions meant I missed some famous record stores in the area: Betino’s Records (32 Rue Saint-Sebastian) is supposedly a must. They specialize in house, soul, disco, jazz, Latin and African, and mostly sell new vinyl. Listen! lies a few meters from famous live venue Le Bataclan, and apparently has "a great selection of original pressings...soul, disco...obscure pop, prog, and psychedelic". Synchrophone Records and Techno Import, both Rue des Taillandiers, are well regarded by electronic music fans, but that's not my thing so I passed them by. Heartbeat Vinyl (26 Rue Godefroy Cavaignac) advertises itself as a "specialist on all quality music, including soul, rock, jazz, world, and techno". Le Silence de la Rue is a historic record store mentioned in many guides, but Google lists it as "temporarily closed". If, at that point, I had decided to head towards Père-Lachaise cemetery to pay a visit to my dear departed friend Jim Morrison, I might have passed by a couple more well regarded record stores: Music Fear Satan (4 Bis Rue Richard Lenoir) focuses on metal LPs and CDs, while Souffle Continu (22 Rue Gerbier) seem to be the place for eclectic finds "from jazz improv to harsh noise, indie rock to black metal". Finally, another place I missed in the region (23 Rue du Roi de Sicile) was Rock'n'Roll Voltage. Which is too bad, since this shop is dedicated to Hard Rock and Metal, which I really enjoy listening to. On the other hand, customers on google often complain about the prices.

I spent most of the next day walking around the Montmartre: I joined a walking tour, and visited a museum as well as the area's last surviving vineyard; well, that's not exactly true: that empty lot used to be a vineyard back in the 19th century when the area was full of them, but the vines were, of course, all long dead. Recently, the mayor of the 18th arrondissement decided to revive it as a tribute to that long gone era. The new vine varieties were chosen for sturdiness rather than taste, which as a result doesn't make for a great wine, but the profits from the small amounts produced go to local charities, so people buy it anyway to support the good causes. Well, one can fill pages upon pages writing about Montmartre: the cabarets, painters, revolutionaries, singers, movie locations, the good restaurants and the tourist traps. But that's not our subject here, so let's go back to record stores. At the foot of the hill (32 Rue des Trois Frères) I found a rather charming shop called The Mixtape. Small-ish, with a good vinyl collection, especially in indie rock. New LPs 25-35€ used ones 10-30€. The shop also sells T shirts and music-related souvenirs. I was familiar with Balades Sonores (8 Rue Pierre Picard) from their Brussels branch. The Parisian one (the mothership, so to speak) is way bigger. Although it initially gives off a chaotic vibe, the records are well catalogued per genre and browsing is easy. There are sections for rock, indie, funk, rap, world music etc. New LPs 25-35€, a few used ones 15-20€. Also on sale are music books and a few CDs. To the south of Montmartre (114 Rue du Faubourg Poissonnière) I visited one last record store called Ground Zero. Only vinyl (indie, rock, rap and jazz). New 25-35€, used 14-20€. Had I exited Monmartre to the north, I might have come across Exodisc (70 Rue du Mont-Cenis): records, cassettes, and CDs spanning rock, reggae, jazz, soul and more. A bit further north (9 Rue André Messager), another shop with good reviews is Dizonord. It's billed as an "alternative record shop / cultural café". New and used records as well as books, toys, coffee and drinks.

So, that was my report on Parisian record stores. It's always nice to visit Paris, and it's only a 3-hour train ride from my home in Delft, so I hope to be able to go back soon and fill in the gaps. Now I need to sit down and write my report on the Tokyo vinyl scene while I still remember my trip there last April. Until then, if Japan's your thing, you can check out my piece on Kyoto, which was our next stop during the same trip.

Téléphone "Enregistrements Originaux" 1977-1980 (1982 comp)****

So, it was a gap of exactly 40 years between hearing of Téléphone for the first time and buying a record by them, which I finally did last week after a trip to Paris - I have a tradition of getting records by local rock bands in every country I visit. The first time I heard of them was in the summer of 1985 during the first (and possibly best) Greek rock festival Rock In Athens. Which triggers a trip into memory lane; so if you're only want to read about the album, skip the red letters. The festival was part of the celebrations of European Capital of Culture, a new institution conceived by Greek minister of culture, former movie star Melina Mercouri and her French counterpart Jack Lange. As such, it was co-organized by the Greek Ministry of Culture with the help of a French concert promoter - which accounts for the inclusion of Téléphone in a line-up that also included The Clash, The Cure, Depeche Mode, The Stranglers, Talk Talk, Culture Club, and Nina Hagen: all New Wave bands either on the rise or at the height of their powers - with the exception of Téléphone, and of The Clash for whom it was the last concert ever. It could never have happened without the support of a progressive like Melina; the governing left-of-center Socialist party wasn't any different to the others when it came to its relation to underground youth movements. In the same year, the first punk LP by Stress was censored, and on November a 15-year old youth was shot by riot police in the aftermath of a big demonstration. Rock concerts of the time invariably ended up in riots and tear gas, and Rock In Athens was no exception. Another dark moment of the festival was the reception Culture Club got: they were booed and pelted with plastic bottles by homophobic members of the audience. Apparently Boy George's parting words to them were: "If I wasn't a nice lady I would have shown you my arse." At the time I was too young to attend the festival, but I followed the relevant news closely. Music writers were ecstatic but mainstream press was mostly derisive. I used to get the Sunday edition of Rizospastis (the official newspaper of the Communist party) for its extensive cultural insert, and was shocked by their vehemently anti-rock coverage; I distinctly remember reading that by inviting a band called The Stranglers, one glorifies violence and anti-social behavior, misguiding and corrupting youths. I was taken aback, because to me the communists were the good guys: they had formed the popular liberation army against the Nazis, fought against the colonels' dictatorship, and were at the forefront of the workers' rights and peace movements. Anyway, things would change pretty soon; in 1987 the KNE (Communist Youth) festival featured a reggae artist (Maxi Priest) for the first time. Unfortunately though, I missed it. You see, I was invited to the event by a girl called Julia who was also my high school's student council president. At some point, she introduced me to a slightly older guy who I suppose was her instructor. He starting giving me the speech: similar to that of insurance salesmen, only he wasn't selling anything, he was trying to get me to join KNE. That kept me busy for an hour, after which the rest of our company came back from the music stage at the other end of the festival grounds, raving about Maxi Priest and his band. I was so mad at Julia for luring me in like that and making me miss the show, you can bet I never spoke to her again! Anyway, rock wasn't the capitalist devil anymore. As I've written in a previous post, next year's KNE festival featured Ten Years After. Of course I went with a different company, a bunch of longhairs who weren't into politics, just rock. That also happened to be my first real rock concert.

As for Téléphone, I hadn't heard of them prior to 1985 - or since. At the time, their inclusion in Rock In Athens lineup ensured some coverage by Greek state radio and TV (not that we had any other kind). I wasn't impressed by what sounded to my ears as second rate New Wave, and that was the impression I had of them, until recently. Then I heard people mention them as "The French Rolling Stones" and thought maybe I should give them another chance - it's been after all 40 years, and my musical taste has evolved. So when I found this limited yellow vinyl reissue at a Paris record shop, I told myself it' do as a souvenir from our latest Paris trip. This compilation was initially released in 1982, and contains tracks from three LPs released between 1977 and 1980. Their eponymous debut (1977) almost justifies their reputation: "Hygiaphone" is pure Chuck Berry rockabilly, "Dans Ton Lit" sounds more like New York Dolls, and "Flipper" is a 6-minute long funk rocker. "Téléphomme" starts off as a bluesy ballad, but after 3 minutes turns into a hard rocker reminiscent of Rory Gallagher. From Crache Ton Venin ("Spit Your Venom", 1979) we also get four tracks, or is it five? "Ne Me Regarde Pas / Regarde Moi" consist a single track in the LP tracklist, but were split for the 7' single and are presented here apart: the former is power pop reminiscent of The Knack or Sniff'n The Tears, the latter an aggressive hard rocker. "Fait Divers" is rousing pub rock, while "J'suis parti de chez mes parents" is another straight-up rock'n'roller, and "Tu Vas Me Manquer" is among the best punk/funk hybrids not written by Ian Dury. The original vinyl LP had a transparent plastic outer sleeve; when it was removed, the inner sleeve revealed that the band had posed in the nude - the clothes were only painted over the naked photos on the outer sleeve! Judging from the tracks included here, Au Cœur De La Nuit (1980) is far less aggressive: "Le Silence" is acoustic blues, while "Laisse Tomber" is a more electric take on blues and soul. "Pourquoi N'Essaies-Tu Pas?", on the other hand, rocks as hard as their older stuff - a bit like Some Girls-era Stones, actually. The song selection for this compilation provides a good balance between rock, blues, punk and funk. 12 tracks, 6 on every side, is also a good number for a vinyl LP. It's not the ultimate Best-Of, though, as it omits some of their more popular singles ("Anna", "Metro C'est Trop", "La Bombe Humaine", "Argent Trop Cher") in favor of album-only tracks. What counts, nevertheless, isn't what's missing but what's there - and, based on that, this is one hot piece of Francophone rock'n'roll! There's been a limited reissue on yellow vinyl last year, but original copies are easy, and cheap enough, to find online.

**** for Hygiaphone, Dans Ton Lit, Fait Divers, Tu Vas Me Manquer, Téléphomme, Laisse Tomber, Flipper

*** for Ne Me Regarde Pas, Regarde-Moi, Le Silence, J'Suis Parti De Chez Mes Parents, Pourquoi N'Essaies-Tu Pas?

Kyoto Record Stores

As you may know, I make a habit of mapping out the record store situation in every city I visit, at least to the extend permitted by the length of my visit. I did spent enough time in Kyoto to visit most of its record shops (as well as many food markets, Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, Zen gardens, tea houses, and.. and...) BUT unfortunately most of my notes were erased. Either by a malicious note-eating virus or by a clumsy swipe of my fingers on my mobile screen. I figured nevertheless that it wouldn't be right to bypass Kyoto because it is an amazing town which you must visit if you can; and may I make a suggestion? in tourist guides you'll find a multitude of historic and cultural sites -mostly temples- and you'll want to visit them all because they all look gorgeous in the photos (and up-close, too, make no mistake) but you'll wear yourself out if you try. Choose three or four temples and diversify your experience by spending more time in the food market, the "geisha district" Gion with its quaint wooden houses, visit the Arashiyama bamboo forest, the informative and entertaining Samurai and Ninja museum, and of course as many record stores as you can. I'm telling you, Japanese record stores are a whole other level. So let me try to piece together a guide to Kyoto's record stores using the photos I took with my mobile and whatever memories still linger on 3 months after the fact:

A great thing about it is that most record stores are bundled within walking distance to each other, pretty close to the famous Nishiki Market. You may want to start from Kyoto-Kawaramachi Station; here, you'll find the local Tower Records branch on the 9th Floor of the Kawaramachi OPA department store - it was weird for me at first, but one gets used to it: record stores in Japan are very rarely storefront businesses, instead you'll find them either situated within shopping malls, or more often in apartments within office or even residential buildings. Now this branch of Tower Records may not be as massive as, say, the 8-story one in Shibuya Tokyo (I'll tell you more about it on another post) but it's still quite big by the criteria of 2025. Lots and lots of new LPs (¥ 4000-7000) and CDs (¥1500-3000). That's not nearly as expensive as it looks; at the time of my visit ¥1000 was worth roughly €6 or $7. Now, these prices are inclusive tax but there's a neat little trick you'll want to take advantage of; overseas travelers may have the tax deducted from their purchases provided they don't make use of them while they're on Japanese soil - just google it, it's a bit too complicated to explain here. Most record stores will not provide that service, but Tower Records does. Since you're there, you simply must visit the local Book Off store at the 8th floor - it's a used books chain but also carries 1000s of used CDs (¥330-1300), relatively few vinyls but an unbelievable variety of manga comics. 

Starting from as little as ¥110, they make for a fine and cheap souvenir, because what says "Japan" better than Manga? Even if one doesn't speak the language they're nice to browse through for the art - Just check them out well if you're buying them as presents for your friends' kids, because the artwork is often naughtier than one would expect, even for titles that seem to be targeted to the younger teens. Just a few meters further, on the 4th floor of the Takashimaya Shopping Center you'll find Face Records, which is a much more stylish affair. Important Note: in Japan there is No Ground Floor - or, rather, the ground floor is called the 1st Floor, the floor above it is the 2nd Floor, etc. Face carries (mostly used) vinyl, as well as some hi-fi equipment. You'll find Rock, Pop, Jazz, and J-Pop LPs, mostly under ¥2000. For the adventurous, there's a  special offers corner (mostly J-Pop) at ¥100 - that's $0.67(!) for a random vinyl souvenir of your Japanese trip. At the opposite side of the street, inside a gallery connected to the market, there's a shop called Take.J (Ishizumi Shinkyogoku Building 3F, 563 Nakanomachi). Go up the stairs to the 3rd floor and you'll come across a cramped apartment full of CDs (only ¥500-1000). Very good for Rock and Metal, also Soul and J-Pop. And this is the last time I'll be that specific in my descriptions since my notes from here on were erased. 

Nearby, you'll find a shop called Banana Records. I don't remember much about it, except that it's directly above a camera shop (Camera no Naniwa Kyoto Store, 372 Narabutsucho). Here is what internet sources say "A wide selection of LPs, CDs, and EPs across various genres, including rock and jazz. Also small accessories like bags, second-hand clothing, cassettes". Confusingly, it's another shop in the neighborhood that uses the banana logo: Joe's Garage (Fusaya Building 2F, 572 Obiyamach) You'll see the banana sign at street level; then you need to go up the stairs through a place full of bric-a-brac called "chacharhy💗"; only then you'll find the record shop. Decent prices, as I remember, and a wide selection - especially in the field of classic rock.

I can't say I remember any details from my visit to Toradra Record (3rd floor YOGI Building, 456-6 Matsugaedacho) but this is how they describe themselves "Our store always has approximately 5,000 LPs and 3,000 CDs for sale. We handle and sell all genres, focusing on rock and jazz, as well as J.pop, soul, blues, reggae, world music, club music, hip hop, soundtracks, and classical music". Art Rock No.1 is at the 7th floor of an apartment building (Assorti Kawaramachi Nijo Building, 374 Ichinofunairicho). A nice collection of 70s-80s rock, jazz, and J-pop vinyl, and decent prices. Another record store perched high (6th floor) is Jet Set Records. This should be of interest to DJs as it carries more dance/funk/jazz, along with the usual rock stuff. Then to another apartment building (Morris Building 2F, 485 Kami-Honnoji-mae-cho) which hosts not one but 2 record stores: 100000t on the 2nd floor and Workshop Records on the 3rd. The former was a bit messy, while the latter had a nice selection of classic rock, jazz, soul, and j-pop records and CDs, all properly catalogued.

Another shop I really liked was Happy Jack. It's on the 3rd floor of a shopping center (Tobee Building 302, 224 Eiraku-cho). Not so big, but had all the things I like; especially 60s/70s rock, garage, psychedelia, soul, jazz, and j-pop of course. Nice prices also. Of course not all record stores are hidden in apartment buildings - these next ones were in the galleries in the market. First, and for me best, was Supermilk Records (495 Nakasuji-cho). At first glance it didn't look like much, but I found some super cool Japanese punk and metal records between ¥300-1000. Also a nice selection of jazz, soul and rap. Now I know I took photos of it, but I can't find them in my mobile anymore - as if the disappearing notes weren't bad enough, now photos go missing too?

 

There were two more stores with an actual storefront: Jeugia is an entertainment store selling vinyl, CD, DVD and other stuff, and Shimizuya which had mostly J-pop CDs and DVDs. I didn't find anything of interest in any of them, and neither did I find something at the last Kyoto record shop I visited, Poco A Poco, an underground shop situated at one of the shopping galleries (Daishinville B1F, Dori Sanjo, Teramachi). Now these are all the record stores I visited in Kyoto, but by no means all of them. This source lists 48 record stores in the city, though I wouldn't know whether it's up to date. Anyway, 48 is a bit too much for most of us, so by cross-checking the previous list with other internet sources and crossing out those inconveniently located, I arrived at this additional list of shops that I haven't personally visited but seem to be worth your attention: First one is Parallax Records, on the next corner to Happy Jack (Shin-kyogoku uta-no Koji Building 2F, 407-1 Sakuranomachi) and specialized in noise/experimental/electronic music, mostly on CD. Hitozoku (above the Morikawa tobacco store, 271-4 Kitakurumaya-cho) specializes in electronic and world music vinyl, mostly used. Vivrant (Teramachi Ayanokoji Building 4th Floor, Teianmaenocho 586) offers "a wide selection of used LPs/45's specializing in Soul, Funk, Disco, Rare Groove, Jazz, Hip Hop etc". Black Ark (Kawara-machi Kaikan 202, 253-1 Ichinomachi) focuses solely on reggae music, used vinyl mostly. Vinyl 7 (492 Shimohonnouji -mae -cho, near Jet Set) seems to specialize in funk and disco. Still in the neighborhood (ION Building 2F, 340-1, Daimonji-machi) one can find Prototype Records (google reviews describe it as "a cool little spot with a decent but limited collection" but also praise its "impressive reggae and jazz section"). Poohyokocho (370-1 Kameyacho) seems to focus on folk and country and Hard Bop on jazz (of course). Its address is Tkaragaike Building 1F-3 ,474 Kami-Honnoji-mae-cho, apparently it's "tucked away in a nondescript building, requiring a small sign at knee height to locate". Unfortunately (or not) Kyoto doesn't have the equivalent of Tokyo's Disk Union which is, like, the Mecca of 2nd hand record stores - you'll have to go to Osaka for the closest branch; it'll take you all of 14 minutes with the shinkansen bullet train. And, let's face it, you're going to Osaka anyway. If not to stay, then at least for a daytrip, as I did. Not enough time for record hunting. But enough to visit the Shogun castle, built by Toyotomi in the 16th Century - way before he switched to making airconditioners and the like. And to eat takoyaki, of course. Basically, I stopped at every food stand and sampled everything I could, all over Japan, and especially in Osaka. It was worth it.

Shakin' Street "Shakin' Street" 1980****

Shakin' Street were formed in Paris in the mid-60s by guitarist Eric Lévi and singer Fabienne Shine. Fabienne was born in Tunisia, moving to France as a child, like so many of the "pieds noirs" did after the countries of the Maghreb gained independence. Soon she embarked on a "career" as a model, actress, and singer. I use the word "career" in brackets, since her biggest claim to fame pre-Shakin' Street seems to be appearing as a... female tree in Roger Vadim’s Barbarella, and joining Led Zeppelin's entourage. Apparently she dated Jimmy Page, and followed the band on tour, not as a groupie but as a fellow musician - according to her bio, at least. Page and Plant encouraged her to form her own band, which she soon did. She must have thought "what do they have that I do not?" and not come up with the obvious answer "one is a virtuoso guitarist and the other has an exceptional voice". Well, Fabienne didn't have a great voice but what she had was a shit-ton of attitude - and sometimes, certainly around the time that punk broke out, that's way more important. Her singing style actually reminds me of a more shouty Patti Smith. Soon, Shakin' Street found themselves at the epicenter of a musical revolution, appearing on the second European punk festival at Mont-de-Marsan (1977) alongside The Clash, Police, Eddie & The Hot Rods, Damned, and Lou Reed, among others. A little-heard LP called Vampire Rock followed. Fabienne somehow managed to get Blue Öyster Cult's Sandy Pearlman to listen to it; he liked it, and that led to a recording deal with Columbia Records and a relocation to San Francisco. More importantly, when it turned out that original lead guitarist Armik Tigrane had sold his guitar to buy heroin, Pearlman arranged for the perfect substitution: Ross "the Boss" Friedman, formerly of punk/hard rockers Dictators. Together they recorded this well-received album, and started gathering a live following, even securing a place in the historic Black and Blue tour, which was co-headlined by Black Sabbath and Blue Öyster Cult. Ross Friedman must have made quite an impression on that tour, because when Ronnie James Dio -then the lead singer for Black Sabbath- was asked to recommend a guitarist for this new heavy metal band called Manowar, Ross "the Boss" was top of his list. The loss of the lead guitarist curtailed Shakin' Street's progress, and pretty soon the rest of the band also went their separate ways. The music on this album isn't easy to categorize; there are elements of punk, heavy metal, new wave, power pop, and AOR. If I had to choose one label, that would be "High Energy Rock'n'roll", as befits a band named after a song by MC5. "No Compromise" makes for a strong opener, a galloping garage rocker with powerful vocals and a short but sweet solo. "Solid As A Rock" and "No Time To Loose" are also fast rockers, with a somewhat more radio friendly chorus, and backing vocals repeating the title creating a nice hook for the songs. "Soul Dealer" is a somewhat slower, with a nice repeated riff, Patti Smith-like vocal delivery, and a B.Ö.C.- like solo by Ross the Boss. Nice percussion bit at the end, too. "Susie Wong" is a poppier new wave number. It's a good song, but it highlights Fabienne's vocal limitations; she's an energetic singer who can shout and scream as well as anyone in the louder songs, but not a great fit for the melodic ones. Really, depending on your taste, her voice can be an asset or a liability. "Generation X" introduces itself with a classic boogie guitar riff followed by Fabienne's bloodcurdling screams. The guitars remind me of Ronnie Montrose while the lyrics seem to reference The Who's "My Generation". "So Fine" has a Sixties swing to it, think The Ramones covering The Ronettes or Beach Boys. "I Want To Box You" starts off as aggressively as the title suggests; generally the trick with the backing vocalists repeating the song title ("box you!") works well - but here it sounds out of place - like a disco chorus on a Motörhead rocker. Certainly it's the heaviest track here, with Ross the Boss going wild on guitar. All in all, this is a wild rock and roll album, not quite garage punk nor heavy metal but something in between. It's very much up my alley, but it's not without its flaws: firstly, as I mentioned earlier, Fabienne isn't the best singer; her passion and conviction shine through, but her voice and technique leave something to be desired. Secondly, it's the songs: while they're energetic, and catchy enough to stick to your brain for a while, they're not particularly original or remarkable. Still, a fun album to play loud, and easy to get hold of, in vinyl at least (not so much on CD). Next time you find a cheap copy at a record fair, don't pass it by.

P.S. The band reunited in 2004 and have been intermittently active since then - or at least were, until 2019. I couldn't find any signs of activity since. Eric Lévi sat out the reunions, focusing on film music and his successful new age project, +eRa+.

**** for No Compromise, Solid As A Rock, No Time To Loose, Soul Dealer, Generation X, I Want To Box You

*** for Susie Wong, Every Man Every Woman Is A Star, So Fine