Fleetwood Mac "Then Play On" 1970*****

In 1970, Peter Green, then lead singer and guitarist for the Fleetwood Mac, was considered to be one of the best guitar players in the world. Nobody (not even Clapton, Page or Hendrix) was better - all you could say is that they were all equal but different. Green's version of the electric blues was usually sweeter than that of the aforementioned players - if you've never heard him, imagine a mix of Eric Clapton and Carlos Santana (It's no coincidence that Green's "Black Magic Woman" became Santana's signature tune). Fleetwood Mac's latest LP "Then Play On", was their most varied and well-realized collection thus far and they were out promoting it with concerts throughout Europe. After one such concert in Munich, Green was approached by members of a cult-ish commune and invited to a party where he was given a big amount of LSD. It's not as if they tricked him, he had dropped acid before and took it willingly. It was nevertheless the moment that derailed his life forever. Although other band members described the atmosphere at the party as nightmarish, he had some sort of epiphany and declared that the commune was where he belonged and would never leave it again. Soon his drug use escalated and his head was filled with voices. To escape the voices he gave away the money he earned from music and his guitars (one to Gary Moore, who later thanked him by recording a heartfelt tribute called Blues for Greeny) and he tried to disappear, getting odd jobs like grave digging. In his absence, the Fleetwood Mac who had in the meanwhile had several style and personnel changes, became one of the world's most successful acts. And every time they played his music royalties would accumulate, dredging up his past and causing the voices to resurface - so he decided to pay a visit to the accountant, point a gun at him, and demand that he never again sends him money. Crazy, you say? The doctors diagnosed him with drug-induced schizophrenia and ordered his release from jail (where he had finally found some quiet) and incarceration in a mental hospital where he was treated with repeated rounds of electroshock therapy. He was subsequently released to the care of his family and even made a comeback in the 90's. I was surprised then by how completely different his playing had become. Now that I read about the shock therapy, I wonder it had something to do with it: It is known to erase whole portions of one's brain, maybe his guitar playing was affected. In any case, we've still got his records - and "Then Play On" is certainly a delight! Danny Kirwan, his young  protégé whom he had employed as a third guitarist when he was just 17, had turned into a formidable player and songwriter in his own right. He contributes 5 songs here, of which the haunting ballad "Closing My Eyes" is an absolute highlight: romantic lyrics, sensitive vocal, lightly strummed guitar and a slowed-down waltz tempo point to the soft-rock style that would make the Mac pop stars in the ensuing years. Opener "Coming Your Way" features Green's famous guitar licks over excellent African-style drumming by Mick Fleetwood. "Fighting For Madge" is a blues-rock instrumental, "When You Say" another folk-ish ballad by Kirwan and "Show-Biz Blues" is the first blues song in the record, with stellar slide guitar that reminds me of Rory Gallagher (not surprisingly, Rory chose this song to cover for a Peter Green tribute album in the 90's). "Under Way" and "My Dream" are instrumentals aiming probably to duplicate the success of "Albatross" but the guitar isn't all that memorable and drums are a bit more intrusive. Green's further contributions include the atmospheric blues of "Before The Beginning" and bluesy hard rock of "One Sunny Day" and "Rattlesnake Shake" - all excellent. Kirwan's songs are slightly less impressive but undeniably beautiful, presaging the soft rock direction the band was to take soon: "Although The Sun Is Shining" is a sensitive, fragile ballad while "Without You" and "Like Crying" are slow blues with intricate solos. "Searching For Madge" is a psychedelic jam that rounds up the original U.K. pressing. The U.S. version omitted a few tracks to include the band's latest hit: both sides of the single "Oh Well - Pt.1" and "Pt.2" were joined in a single 9-minute piece, starting off with Pt.1's monster riff (I can't get enough of it, I've even chosen it for my ringtone), with the acoustic Pt.2 stuck to its end. "Oh Well" may be the definitive statement by early Mac, but we had to wait for 30+ years until the latest CD reissue separated the piece again to give it back its original form. And that's not all the good news: it includes another seminal hard rocker, "The Green Manalishi (With The Two Prong Crown)". I have no idea what the hell that means but who cares when it sounds that cool? It became a staple of Judas Priest's live show and is consequently more familiar to metal fans than those of Fleetwood Mac. The CD closes with another bonus track, "World In Harmony", a beautiful instrumental with nice interplay between the two guitarists. Despite everything that happened to Green after finishing the album, The Mac continued to make great music, true to the title of this record which they knicked from none other than the bard himself: "If music be the food of love, then play on" (Twelfth Night, 1602)

***** for Coming Your Way, Closing My Eyes,  Rattlesnake Shake, Oh Well - Pt. 1, The Green Manalishi (With The Two Prong Crown)

**** for Show-Biz Blues, One Sunny Day, Although The Sun Is Shining, Like Crying, Before The Beginning, Oh Well - Pt. 2

*** for Fighting For Madge, When You Say, Without You, Searching For Madge, My Dream, World In Harmony

** for Under Way

The Delmonas "Do The Uncle Willy" 1989(comp)*****

I was visiting my best friend (from highschool and beyond) Anastasia and we got talking about all the cassette tapes we used to exchange between us and with other friends. Through them we discovered some artists that became later favourites and broadened each other's musical horizons - I'd record garage rock for her and she'd do the same for me with obscure indie bands. It was the only way to share music from our collections, since back then there were no MP3's and internet file sharing. Even then though, record companies were worried about piracy and added stickers to their LP's saying that "home taping is killing music" - when in truth it was the opposite: the more tapes I wrote, the more my friends would discover new groups and eventually buy their records. Stupid record companies! My own cassette collection perished for lack of space - a sad prelude to the tragic saga of the Great Vinyl Purge of 2004. But Anastasia kept hers and these are some of them - including tapes from the radio show she used to co-host on Rodon FM (Mystiries Istories) and also some of my compilations. If I had my Delmonas CD back in the 90's, some tracks would probably have found their way into the one I named Kostas and the Happy Hipsters Live! At The Christmas Ball 1963 (maybe the song "Heard About Him") or Attack Of The Flying Saucer (probably "Lie Detector"). Now we still sometimes write and exchange CD compilations but somehow they feel less personal, less handmade than those old cassettes or maybe the music just doesn't hit as hard as before - we're so saturated with it there's little room for life-changing new discoveries. OK, back to the Delmonas, the brainchild of a certain Mr. Billy Childish. According to his wikipedia page, Billy Childish "is an English painter, author, poet, photographer, film maker, singer and guitarist". I could add that he personifies the whole English garage scene and may possibly be the most prolific rock musician ever, as he's personally responsible for something like a 100 albums, released by a dozen different groups. One of the first was the rockabilly-influenced Milkshakes. A few of their EP's were released as the Milkboilers, who were actually the Milkshakes acting as a backing band for their respective girlfriends on vocals. For their first LP, they were renamed to The Delmonas - allegedly "taking their name from the word for a decorative handbag favored by women in the Klaipeda region of Lithuania". Probably a hoax - any Klaipedean visitors of the blog are kindly requested to verify the above allegation. Anyway, the Delmonas continued to make records, backed by the Milkshakes or by Childish's new group Thee Mighty Caesars. As TMC's were replaced by Thee Headcoats, the Delmonas morphed into the Headcoatees with the addition of new girlfriend Holly Golightly. We'll get back to them on another post. Now, all these don't sound very promising: They sound like the proverbial director casting his sexy yet talentless lover as the leading lady of his latest vanity project. Well, guess again: Liberated from the boys' need to act tough, they became a much more enjoyable proposition - tough Bo Diddley beat and Cramps riffs softened by Nancy Sinatra sass and Beatles-like harmonies. "Do the Uncle Willy" is a U.S. compilation of material either unreleased or previously only available in the U.K. It opens with the rave-up of "I Feel Alright" (almost a rewrite of "The Train Kept-A-Rolling"), followed by the breezy garage-pop of "Heard About Him" - imagine the Shangri-La's backed by The Yardbirds. "Carn't Sit Down" and Don and Dewey's '59 evergreen "Farmer John" are hi-energy Rock n' Roll, with lots of screaming a la Sonics. "I Feel Like Giving In" and "I Did Him Wrong" are near-perfect garage pop with groovy Zombies-like organ. Had they been released in the mid-60's they could have been hits like today's golden oldies. Basically every song on the record sounds like it came from the mid-60's Nuggets compilation. "Uncle Willy" and "I’ve Got Everything I Need" have that Chuck Berry/Rolling Stones feel while "Dangerous Charms" is more Bo Diddley. "Black Ludella" and "Jealousy" are driving garage rockers and "Lie Detector" is R&B instead of the punk of the familiar Headcoats version. On "That Boy Of Mine" they sound like a female version of the early Beatles, while the slow "Delmona, The Temptress Of Love" closes the CD with an oriental exotica flavour. If these were guys singing, they'd get 4*, but I'm always more generous around girls, so I'm giving them 5 - a perfect score! Enjoy their music, and if you're ever in Klaipeda get a Delmona handbag and mail me a photo of it...

***** for Heard About Him, Black Ludella, I Did Him Wrong

**** for I Feel Alright, Farmer John, Carn’t Sit Down, I Feel Like Giving In, Jealousy, Lie Detector

*** for Uncle Willy, Dangerous Charms, I’ve Got Everything I Need, That Boy Of Mine, Delmona  The Temptress Of Love

David Bowie "Pin Ups" 1973***

This is one of those albums I've bought twice. There's no other way to get his version of Jacques Brel's "Port Of Amsterdam" (at the time a B-side to the "Sorrow" single) - one of my favourite songs from the great Belgian troubadour. I love Bowie's sparse, acoustic delivery and the way he brings the lyrics to life - the English translation of the song is poetic and wonderfully decadent. It wasn't part of the original LP, but included as a bonus track in the 1990 Rykodisc reissue and cruelly pulled out for later editions. That whole remastering program from 1990 saw Bowie's albums augmented with rare bonus tracks, and most of them were real gems which remain unavailable since. I own most of the Rykodisc reissues either on LP or CD, which means I own a big chunk of Bowie's catalogue twice. "Pin Ups" is considered at best a curiosity in Bowie's catalogue - at worst, a useless distraction. For a singer-songwriter in the midst of a phenomenal creative streak, it doesn't make much sense to release an album of covers from mid-60's British R&B groups. Of course one can argue that, next to his other innovations, Bowie also discovered the tribute album. In his own words, he wanted to present some of his favourite songs that he thought were unfairly neglected by American audiences at their time. It was a weird exercise in nostalgia, as these songs were only 6 or 7 years old - not yet golden oldies by any standards. When they originally surfaced, Bowie was an aspiring R&B/pop singer working under the name Davy Jones. By 1973 he was probably rock's greatest star, certainly one of the most interesting artists around, and the leader of the glam rock movement. Recorded immediately after "Ziggy Stardust" and "Aladdin Sane", he's backed here also by the Spiders of Mars, the sole change being Aynsley Dunbar on drums. Which guarantees that, while rarely surpassing the originals, these versions don't lack punch. Actually, if a weak spot even exists, it'd be Bowie himself, whose voice is a bit too mannered for some of the rougher songs. Mick Ronson being the guitar god he is, covers from Pretty Things ("Rosalyn", "Don't Bring Me Down"), Yardbirds ("I Wish You Would", "Shapes of Things") and Who ("I Can't Explain","Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere") rock hard and are pretty exciting. They're mostly played in a straight, garage-y, manner. "Shapes of Things"is quite different from the original, with a more theatrical vocal delivery. prominent saxophone and keyboard. Ronson's guitar performance, at least, rivals Jeff Beck's original. "I Can't Explain" is also noticeably different, as it's played at a slower tempo. The change doesn't work in the song's favour. The Kinks' "Where Have All The Good Times Gone" is at least as enjoyable as the original while The Easybeats' "Friday On My Mind" misses something in the vocal department. Notice that the Easybeats were the only non-British band covered here: They're Australian, although none of its members were born there: They came from England, The Netherlands and Scotland (George Young, older brother of AC/DC's Angus and Malcolm). So I guess you can say the were at least part British, after all. Now, audiences in 1973 were very much familiar with Pink Floyd, but I doubt many of them had ever heard "See Emily Play", a Syd Barrett-penned single from 1967. Bowie's version utilises saxophone, wild piano and harpsichord, psychedelic guitars and classical strings - inventive and true to Barrett's spirit, if not to the song's original structure. Van Morrison's "Here Comes the Night" gives Bowie a chance to try his hand at soul while the Mojo's "Everything's Alright" is an upbeat soul/rock number a la Mitch Ryder. Finally, the album's lead single was paradoxically the slowest song, the Merseys' "Sorrow". On the other hand, it is the one most resembling 70's Bowie and such an obscurity that people would probably take it for an original composition. This reissue offers yet another rarity, a previously unreleased cover of "Growin' Up" by a then still unknown American artist called Bruce Springsteen. Say what you will about Bowie, there's no denying he's always had an eye for talent! Ultimately, "Pin Ups" is a pleasant album that finds itself in the awkward position of following up a string of masterpieces. It may nevertheless have been exactly what Bowie needed to shake himself free from the image of Ziggy Stardust and influence of glam rock and embark on the next stage of his career. 

**** for Rosalyn, I Wish You Would, Sorrow, Don't Bring Me Down, Port of Amsterdam

*** for Here Comes the Night, See Emily Play, Everything's Alright, Shapes of Things, Anyway Anyhow Anywhere, Where Have All the Good Times Gone, Growin' Up

** for I Can't Explain, Friday on My Mind

The HotRats "Turn Ons" 2010***

Initially conceived as Brit-pop's answer to the Monkeys, Supergrass always seemed like fun guys, playing a kind of upbeat power-pop that, though hip to the times, was well schooled in classic rock and pop songwriting. In 2010, and with their main band disintegrating, singer/guitarist Gaz Coombes and drummer Danny Goffey decided to take time off and record a tribute album to their influences. As you may well imagine, those included the cream of rock and new wave songwriters. There are, nevertheless, two who are conspicuous by their absence: The Beatles and Rolling Stones. A bit of searching, though, reveals that covers of "Drive My Car" and "Under My Thumb" were recorded but kept out of the CD, maybe because they were too obvious. The Kinks are represented here by an outsider, Village Green's "Big Sky" played in a hard rock style reminiscent of The Who (another notable absentee). The Doors' "Crystal Ship" is marred by loud outbreaks. Guys, it's called the crystal ship because it's fragile. But lads are always prone to smash stuff, so that's somehow to be expected. One unexpected cover is The Beastie Boys' "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)" - a raucous rap-metal 80's classic that's a world away from Supergrass' smart power pop. They chose a whimsical acoustic approach that belies the lyrics, but it's great fun nevertheless. You can't not chuckle to a line like "Man, living at home is such a drag/ Now your mom threw away your best porno mag", regardless if it's sung with indignation or self-pity. Many songs are a bit more karaoke, meaning that the band just play their favourite songs without bothering for arrangements. They play well and are having fun with it, so the outcome isn't at all dismissable. "Queen Bitch", "Lovecats" and "Pump It Up" are slightly sped up while "Love Is The Drug" and the semi-acoustic "Damaged Goods" are funked-down (or whatever is the opposite of funked-up), but otherwise they're not radically different. Neither is the whimsical psychedelic pop of Syd Barrett's "Bike". Squeeze's "Up The Junction" is slowed down to a ballad and the Sex Pistols' "E.M.I." is played acoustically but thankfully retains its edge, sounding a bit like the Violent Femmes' acoustic folk-punk. I now realise I -unintentionally- left the first song for last. It's a rockin' version of Velvet Underground's "I Can't Stand It" - a garage-y take not far from the original, but an appropriately feel-good way to open the album anyway. For a low-key side project, this was quite enjoyable - I sang along to it while driving to the beach and everything. I daresay I like it better than most of Supergrass' CD's, though it's still far from essential listening. If you happens upon it, indulge yourselves...

**** for I Can't Stand It (Velvet Underground), (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)(Beastie Boys), "Damaged Goods (Gang of Four)

*** for Big Sky (Kinks), Love Is The Drug (Roxy music), Pump It Up (Elvis Costello), Lovecats (The Cure), Queen Bitch (David Bowie), E.M.I. (Sex Pistols), Up The Junction (Squeeze)

** for The Crystal Ship (Doors), Bike (Pink Floyd)  

Nashville Pussy "Let Them Eat Pussy" 1998****

Wow! What a title and what an album cover! Of course they've earned a place in my collection! Need the music be good too? Well, thankfully it is: If, of course, by good you mean loud, fun, fast and nasty. Its punk-metal-psychobilly hybrid steals from the Cramps, Ramones, Motorhead and AC/DC. The core group of former 9-Pound Hammer guitarist Blaine Cartwright (gruffy vocals, rhythm guitar) and wifey Ruyter Suys (smokin' lead guitar, tits) are joined here by Adam Neal (drums) and Corey Parks (bass, tits, tattoos). Corey and Ruyter are, of course, the two "classy" ladies on the cover.  The music is fast, high-octane rock'n'roll (the band goes through 12 songs in only 27 minutes), augmented by way over-the-top macho lyrics and a wild, sexed-up rollercoaster of a live show. All songs are originals except a cover of 60's R&B classic "First I Look At The Purse". Compared to garage/psychobilly bands like The Cramps or Reverend Horton Heat, the 60's influences are less pronounced with more of a 70's vibe, evident in the short and dirty hard rock solos. Opener Snake Eyes sounds like Motorhead while "You're Goin' Down" is equally fast but also features some nice rockabilly-ish soloing. "Go Motherfucker Go" adds the missing element: hooks! With the addition of a catchy chorus, it becomes obvious we've got a winner here. It sounds a lot like those Scandinavian kings of sleaze, Turbonegro. Not surprisingly, NP later added Turbonegro's "Age of Pamparius" to their repertory. "I'm The Man" further ups the ante with its AC/DC riff-ola and "philosophical" lyrics like "I'm the man/A real motherfucker/You ain't shit/Just another sucker". Cartwright looks the part with his redneck truck driver appearance and attitude but he's easily overshadowed by the powerful female presence in the band: Ruyter struts the stage Angus-style, albeit dressed in a leopard bra and leather pants while Corey looks like a leatherclad cowgirl dominatrix. Her presence is even more impressive thanks to her 1.95m height (it's in her genes: her brother, former NBA-er Cherokee Parks stands at 2.11m) and fire-breathing antics. The album continues on the same path with titles like "All Fucked Up" and "Eat My Dust" but, although the pace never lets up, you have to wait until the last track for the next highlight, the Grammy nominated "Fried Chicken and Coffee" - not surprisingly the longest and most metal-oriented track in the record. Dig those lyrics: "Fried chicken and coffee/Are keeping me mean/I'm wiping my ass/With Hustler magazine". Doesn't get more manly than that! Now NP may be kitschy as hell but that's why I like them. All that trashy sexuality would otherwise be plain bad taste, but taken as a joke you're free to enjoy it. Not that it'd matter, of course, if it wasn't for the music: fortunately they match attitude with passion and enough ability to make their albums worth listening. So I did get their next two CDs (offering more of the same) but gradually the novelty started to wear off. Not to mention that Corey left after the second album. A string of female bassists followed, of which the best known was Karen Cuda. She had the tits and tatts alright, but how can you replace such a fire-breathing powerhouse?

**** for Go Motherfucker Go, I'm The Man, Fried Chicken And Coffee

*** for Snake Eyes, You're Goin' Down, Johnny Hotrod, 5 Minutes To Live, Somebody Shoot Me, First Look At The Purse, Blowin' Smoke, Eat My Dust

** for All Fucked Up, 5 Minutes To Live

The Last Drive "Heavy Liquid" 2009****

It would be impossible to overstate Last Drive's importance in the Greek Alternative Rock scene. When they appeared in the 80's, Greek rock was quite marginalized. It had started well enough in the mid 60's with a few garage-pop groups, but its progress was cut short in the spring of 1967 by the military coup. The summer of '67 may have been the "Summer of Love" elsewhere, but not in Greece. Despite being U.S. puppets, the junta saw long-haired rockers as a threat to (their idea of) our proud national heritage. Rock was exiled from radio and only those within the radius of the American Armed Forces station would get to listen to e.g. Jimi Hendrix or Led Zeppelin. The return of democracy in '74 didn't immediately change things, as both  the Left and the Right rejected Rock (the former viewing it as a product capitalist decadence and the latter as an anti-establishment attack on traditional values). Bands, mostly playing in blues/classic rock style and singing in Greek, did emerge and had a (limited) appeal. But Last Drive were the first of a new underground rock scene with a contemporary sound and an international scope. While other rockers tried to adjust rock to Greek reality, L.D. acted as if our country was in the heart of Europe instead of its periphery, adopted English as their language and became players in the wider neo-psychedelic/garage scene (supporting and touring with the likes of The Cramps, Fuzztones, Dream Syndicate etc). With their fiery live shows and rock'n'roll attitude they pretty soon dominated the small Athenian rock scene and even had a respectable presence abroad, releasing records and touring internationally. For rockers of my generation, they had come to personify the whole scene. By the 90's they had drifted toward a grungier, heavier guitar sound that estranged older fans and when they finally broke up in 1994 it seemed like they were already a spent creative force. As the internet made music more readily available, Greece's Alternative Rock scene grew steadily but without a leader. Where 80's rockers had seriously tried to compete with the Clash, Cure or Joy Division, the new indie generation had smaller ambitions, often playing a kind of smart but twee pop. L.D. guitarist George Karanikolas recorded with a psychedelic/grunge band called Blackmail but was absent from the live circuit, occupied with managing his comic book store. Bassist Alex K joined an acoustic band called Earthbound, playing Calexico-style Americana - on their debut they even cover Cuban legends Buena Vista Social Club. They were good, but their low-key shows were a far cry from the Drive's fuzz-drenched garage rock. It seemed like the Last Drive were consigned to the past, a story the older of us would tell about the dawn of Greece's Alternative rock scene - of legendary bands and legendary clubs now extinct. A (one-off, initially) reunion gig changed all that: it was a huge success, with the Drive's musicianship and supreme confidence on stage making quite an impression on younger music lovers and creating a new generation of fans as well as rekindling older fans' interest. More concerts were added and, after a 15-year hiatus, an album of new material called Heavy Liquid appeared. It was very well received in the local music press and compared favorably with their classic releases. It picks up where they had left it off: high octane garage punk with the emphasis on the fast and fuzzy guitar sound. But the influence of Earthbound is also felt: bits of blues, country and desert rock crop up on the slower songs, creating a mystical voodoo americana soundscape in sync with the aesthetic of the album cover, designed by a Greek comic book artist. “A Glass of Broken Dreams” opens the CD with a psychedelic guitar intro but soon gets hijacked by the fantastic fuzz bass. Everything fits perfectly: the dirty guitar riff, oriental licks and catchy chorus - Alex and George trade lead vocals efficiently: they don't duet, they complete each other's phrases. “Magdalene” is a melodic garage rocker with intricate solos and an almost perfect chorus. “Headlong to the Edge” is a trippy, slow song with a stoner/desert rock feel and "Hang The Bone" points to a boogie/blues direction. The next 3 tracks are more familiar LD material: The rolling psychobilly of "Mountains" wouldn't be out of place in their debut and "Get Off My World" is a driving garage/surf rocker, complete with handclaps and vocal harmonies. "Pantherman" is yet another typical LD garage/surf punk song, which they fittingly dedicate to The Cramps' Lux Interior. "Hole In The Wall" sports a Southern blues/country sound and "Maureen" plays with the contrasts between its stout funky beat and surprisingly dreamy softly sung chorus. The atmospheric "Goldfish" may well be the closest they've ever came to a ballad and "Jack Of The Highway" alternates between acoustic folk and metallic stoner rock. The acoustic guitar in the quiet parts is one of the album's highlights. The CD closes with a 9 minute version of J. B. Lenoir's classic "Alabama Blues", performed in true Cream/Hendrix fashion. The howling harmonica is another nice touch in what is probably Last Drive's most varied and consistently good collection. Very few other bands have managed to mature without losing their original energy and evolve while retaining their distinctive characteristics. I hope their next release is a worthy successor to Heavy Liquid, just as it was a worthy successor to their classic albums - even if it takes them another 15 years...

**** for A Glass Of Broken Dreams, Magdalene, Get Off My World, Pantherman, Goldfish  

*** for Headlong To The Edge, Hang The Bone, Mountains, Hole In The Wall, Maureen, Jack Of The Highway, Alabama Blues

The Tossers "On a Fine Spring Evening" 2008***

For a few days now I've been driving to- and fro- Marathon Beach with only one CD in the car: my homemade 2015 summer holiday compilation. It usually takes me an hour to cover the distance of 40+km: I begin with dense traffic from the busy Athens centre and, as soon as I'm out of the city, I have to follow a narrow road full of curves that climbs up and then descends a mountain. This route, incidentally, is known as the Athens Classic Marathon, and people actually run it on purpose every year. It was initiated during the first (modern) Olympic Games in 1896, to commemorate ancient runner Phidippides, who ran the same distance to deliver news of Athens' victory over the Persian invaders. The story of the Marathon battle is very exciting and worth reading about. One thrilling account of it can be found in Tom Holland's "Persian Fire", while a wildly inaccurate version of it was presented in the film "300: Rise of an Empire". It's surreal to think that the sandy beach with the calm waters where we now swim and chill on the sunbeds drinking ice-cold cafe frappe, was the site of an epic bloodshed that probably determined the shape of the modern world as well as the ancient one. Anyway, here's what I was getting at: listening to the same CD every day on the way can be quite boring. Radio is no option, as the reception on the mountain is really bad. So yesterday I made a detour along the way, stopped at the Athens Mall and picked up a few CD's from the special offers section. The Tossers' "One Fine Evening" was one of them. Hadn't heard of the band before, but I saw they played Celtic punk and I was in the mood for something along those lines. An internet search revealed that the Tossers have actually been around for quite some time - longer than the more famous bands of the genre like the Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly. They come from Chicago, not Ireland, but they carry the Irish tradition proudly. They rely on traditional instruments like mandolin, violin and tin whistle, so the "punk" prefix is justified only by the speed and ferocity of their playing. Opener "Katie at the Races" is case in point, a raucous punk rocker if I've heard one, but a traditional Irish melody and instrumentation nevertheless. On "Teehans" and "The Unfamous Paula Spencer" they come accross a bit like the poor man's Pogues, the singer making a fairly good Shane McGowan impression but lacking his soul & passion. That said, I actually enjoyed listening to them. Great violin work by Becca Manthe, too! "The Rocky Road to Dublin" is a 19th Century nugget that's been previously recorded by The Dubliners, Pogues and even the Chieftains with The Rolling Stones. So it's interesting to see how the Tossers fare with it, and indeed they pass the mark by playing it straight instead of punking it up like the Dropkick Murphys did. "Whiskey Makes Me Crazy", on the other hand, is a celtic-punk dynamite played at full speed. "St. Stephen's Day" is a drunken ballad (again The Pogues come to mind) and "221B/The Sneaky Pries (The Gloria Scott)" is a two part instrumental consisting of a whiny violin intro and a fast Irish jig - the most traditional tune until now. "Terry Obradaigh", "Breandan O Beachain" and "Get Back" are fast and punky while "A Fine Lass You Are" is a very loud and noisy ballad - if that's not a contradiction in terms. These songs all sound very drunk and rowdy and make me wonder if they're supposed to be sung and heard in a state of alcoholic intoxication and whether there's some true in the stereotype of  constantly drunk Irishmen expressing themselves by singing loudly and sentimentally - how the English must scoff! "The Humors of Glandart/Ingenish/On the Fly" is the second -very well played- instrumental and "Hunger Strike/Harmony" a boring, over-long ballad. "Mercy" is a sympathetic short acapella song that closes the album on a fine note. Overall this wasn't such an impressive album, but it makes the car ride to the beach more pleasant, and my girlfriend likes it - so I'll give it 3 stars!

**** for Katie at the Races

*** for Teehans, The Unfamous Paula Spencer, The Rocky Road to Dublin, Whiskey Makes Me Crazy, A Fine Lass You Are, 221B/The Sneaky Pries (The Gloria Scott), Breandan O Beachain, The Humors of Glandart/Ingenish/On the Fly, Mercy

** for St. Stephen's Day, Terry Obradaigh, Get Back, Hunger Strike/Harmony

Tav Falco & The Panther Burns "Shadow Dancer" 1995***

I've written about Tav Falco before: much more than a psychobilly singer, he's a writer, dancer, actor, photographer and all-around renaissance man. He came to rock after witnessing the extreme live show of The Cramps, in which he recognized something of Antonin Artaud's theatre of cruelty. Next to the primitive energy of The Cramps and boorish hooliganism of The Meteors, Tav Falco's Panther Burns expressed psychobilly's stylish artistic side, approaching each concert as a theatrical performance. While still spontaneous and lo-fi in true punk spirit, they gradually softened their sound and included various musical styles like jazz, tango, country and blues. With the exception of their their latest, "Conjurations...", their albums are mostly comprised by covers. Their choice of songs here displays impeccable taste and wide musical knowledge. He touches on rockabilly (Wanda Jackson's "Funnel of Love"). jazz/lounge (Dean Martin's "Sway", Tommy Dorsey's "Music Maestro Please"), rhythm n' blues (Jimmy Witherspoon's "Lotus Blossom", Bobby Bland's "I'll Take Care of You") and 60's pop (the Honeycombs' "Have I the Right?" and Dion's "Born to Cry"). He even applies himself to two of his self-confessed all-time favourite Italian retro pop hits: Little Tony Ciacci's upbeat ye-ye "Cuando Vedrai la Mia Raggazza" and dramatic ballad "Guarda Che Luna" (by Fred Buscaglione). He does admirably well on the Italian songs - or maybe I only think so because I'm not familiar with the originals. The band is certainly proficient enough (this album's players include veterans Alex Chilton and Jim Dickinson as well as Jim Sclavunos from The Cramps and Nick Cave's Bad Seeds), but Falco's singing ability is quite limited. Attitude and confidence serve him well in "Funnel of Love", but he comes up short when faced with classics like "Sway" and "I'll Take Care Of You". Generally, while his covers are well chosen and performed, they neither improve on the originals nor add an extra dimension to them. His own compositions are more interesting, flirting as they do with tango ("Born Too Late", "Shadow Dancer") and cinematic Morricone-esque balladry ("Love's Last Warning"). Supposedly they're from a movie called "Shadow Dancer" but I can't tell if it's a real film or a hoax. In any case, a pleasant but inessential album. 

**** for Funnel of Love, Quando Vedrai la Mia Ragazza, Born Too Late

*** for Invocation of the Shadow Dancer, Sway, Love's Last Warning, Born to Cry, Guarda Che Luna     

** for Lotus Blossom, I'll Take Care of You, Have I the Right?, Music Maestro Please!, Shadow Dancer (reprise)

Various Artists "Desperate Rock'N'Roll'' 1950s(orig) 2006(comp)***

The "Desperate Rock'n'Roll" comps of the '80's were central in rekindling interest in wild and obscure rockabilly, in the wake of the psychobilly explosion of the time (see:Cramps, Meteors, Guana Batz etc). Around 20 of them were released until they fell out of print, being independent releases of dubious legality. Apparently, they're back. Doubtlessly that return was sparked by EU copyright directives stipulating that recordings older than 50 years become copyright-free - In 2011 it was extended to 70 years, but that does not affect recordings that have passed to public domain already. This led to the release of an over-abundance of overlapping low budget jazz, folk and rockabilly compilations. The relation of this particular one to the older "Desperate R'n'R" series is unclear as the tracklist does not correspond to the one given by discogs.com for the original LP or CD comps. A few tracks here did appear in "Desperate...vol.1" and the cover in volume 3. You'll be thinking you know most of these songs, but you'll be mistaken: many of those are shameless rip-offs of contemporary hits by Elvis, Eddie Cochran, Little Richard etc. A few of those are gigantic rockers on their own right: Mel Smith's "Pretty Plaid Skirt" is a wild bongo-driven monster that naturally caught The Cramps' ear. Stormy Gale's "Flipsville" proves that girls can rock as hard as boys - incidentally, I tried to find some information on these artists and all I came out with were bios of a British comedian and of a former porn-star  The name of Johnny Winter is also familiar. Could the wild R&B "Voodoo Twist" belong to the famous albino blues-rocker from Texas? He must have still been in high school at the time, but so was Ritchie Valens. I say it's him alright. If so, he was already a pretty good guitarist. The music is mostly pure rockabilly, but there are forays into other areas as well: Hillbilly country (Deacon & The Rock 'N' Rollers, Don Bishop, Eddie Cleary), instrumentals (The Swanks, "Lemon Lime" by The Tempests), comedy (Sputnik Monroe), R&B (Winter, Roy Kildaire, Teddy Reynolds). Tony Shepperd's "Zach (Zack)" has a bit of an exotica flavour and "Rockin' In The Jungle" (by artist unknown) sounds like a precursor to the Cramps, both thematically and musically. More early psychobilly is dispensed by Bobby Wall ("Baby It's Too Much") and the Musical Linn Twins ("Rockin' Out The Blues"). If wild rock'n'roll is your thing and you're willing to explore the dark corners of the genre, this is a CD for you...

**** for Pretty Plaid Skirt (Mel Smith), Why Not (Grover Cleveland), Flipsville (Stormy Gale), Zach (Tony Shepperd), What About It (Roy Kildaire), Oh Babe (Lester Robinson), Rockin' Rochester U.S.A (The Tempests), Puppy Dogs (Teddy Reynolds), Voodoo Twist (Johnny Winter), Rockin' In The Jungle (Unknown),

*** for Rockin' Out The Blues (Musical Linn Twins), Nothing But Money (Jessie Knight), Ghost Train (The Swanks), The Worryin' Kind (Merv Benton), Call Your Daddy Baby (Kenny McKenna), Got Something For You Baby (PIinky & Jim Jenkins), Nightmare (Don Bishop), Baby It's Too Much (Bobby Wall), Raise Some San (Jay Nelson), Lemon Lime (The Tempests), I Don't Care (Eddie Cleary)

** for I Don't Wanna Leave (Deacon & The Rock 'N' Rollers), Rock On (Johnny Rebb), Corvette Baby (Bob Cass & His Corvettes), Sputnik Hires A Band (Sputnik Monroe)

Jethro Tull "A Passion Play" 1973***

Among fans and critics alike, no other Jethro Tull album creates more controversy than "A Passion Play". To be honest, opinion isn't all that divided: critics, at least, all agree it's pompous shite (somehow, the medieval form sounds more appropriate than just plain shit). Fans often defend its complexity and argue that the band undermine any notions of pomposity by injecting it with healthy doses of surrealist humour, although all agree that this mix of English folk, classical music, jazz and rock is somewhat difficult to digest. Serving it all up in one piece (or two sides of vinyl) makes it nigh-on impossible to swallow. Which is why I had so far abstained from acquiring it. It took the recent appearance of a Steven Wilson remix to change my mind. The Porcupine Tree mastermind's remixes of classic prog albums (especially in 5:1 surround form) have won heaps of praise but what tipped the scales for me was his decision to divide the album into 15 "songs" - although few of them can actually be described as such. Now even those of us with a short attention span can enjoy "A Passion Play". Bandleader Ian Anderson's first mischief was his work's title, the word "passion" in classical music usually referring to the passion of Christ. But, although this play deals with Heaven & Hell, its take on the afterlife is distinctly different from the official Christian version. After an instrumental intro, track 2 ("The Silver Cord") has the protagonist Ronnie Pilgrim watch his own funeral, in ghostly form. The song is a ballad in the familiar JT prog-folk style, giving way to an acoustic instrumental interlude ("Re-Assuring Tune"), a complex prog piece ("Memory Bank") and a more hard rock one ("Best Friends"). "Critique Oblique" is a strong prog-rocker which survived from sessions for an aborted album at the Château d'Hérouville studio. In storytelling terms, these songs account for Purgatory and Judgement. "Forest Dance" (a nice baroque-prog piece) sees Ronnie Pilgrim pass the test and get admitted to Heaven. But it's interrupted, to the dismay of Tull fans, by a completely unrelated Monty Python-esque story about a "hare who lost his spectacles", narrated in a silly voice. A short film of the story was made and projected during the band's concerts of the time. Trying to describe it is pointless. You just have to see it:

The second part sees Ronnie experiencing Heaven and Hell and rejecting them both, to finally get in line for reincarnation. Musically it is, to my ears, more accessible, with songs like "Flight From Lucifer" and "Magus Perde" sounding like the familiar Jethro Tull of the Aqualung period. Saxophone solos (most notably in "The Foot Of Our Stairs") make for a nice addition to the Tull sound, as do some flamenco flourishes in "Overseer Overture". Two short pieces (acoustic instrumental "10.08 to Paddington" and the literally titled "Epilogue") round up the record. My final verdict is that "A Passion Play" isn't all that bad. Taken in small morsels rather than swallowed whole, it can be quite enjoyable. The new remix, which properly highlights the musicians' inspired playing, almost compensates for the absence of recognisable song structures. On the other hand, there can be no excuse for including the silly rabbit story and placing it in the middle of the album. JT fans circulate their own versions of the album on youtube with that piece edited out - probably a better way to enjoy this work...

**** for Critique Oblique, Flight From Lucifer, Magus Perde

*** for The Silver Cord, Re-Assuring Tune Memory Bank Best Friends, Forest Dance #1, Forest Dance #2, The Foot Of Our Stairs, Overseer Overture, 10.08 to Paddington, 

** for Lifebeats /Prelude, The Story Of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles, Epilogue

Maraveyas Ilegal "Ston Kipo tou Megarou" 2014****

I just returned to Athens from vacations in Tinos, a beautiful island in the Aegean archipelago. Serendipity had it that one of my favourite Greek performers was there at the same time, touring the islands like so many artists do in the summertime (islanders are then promptly forgotten for the next 10 months and remembered again come next July). Kostis Maraveyas and his band the Ilegal played an open theatre at the tiny mountain village of Koumaros in Tinos on the 4th of August, drawing a big crowd from throughout the island - including tourists from around the world, most of whom had never heard of Maraveyas before. People filled all the stands, some sat on the rocks around the small amphitheatre and some watched the whole show standing up. A couple next to me sat on an anthill, with unpleasant results for everyone around. Yet we all had a great time, singing and dancing along to the songs. The singer played his heart out, interacting with the audience and often telling amusing stories about the songs. Now,I've followed Maraveyas from his first concerts with Ilegal (early 2007, I think) until I left Greece, in December 2009. Last time I saw him before I left, he was playing at the garden of the Agricultural School, in a festival organised by a small Marxist party. In music and politics, Maraveyas is very similar to Manu Chao, as he stands politically very much to the left and often makes that apparent in his songs, but never gets preachy or depressing, always focusing on giving his audience a good time. Which is why he had old villagers, small children and German tourists happily clapping and dancing along to his music in Koumaros and why in the last years he's often appeared on TV and shared the stage with some of the most popular Greek singers. He's now made 4 CD's with Ilegal, the latest being this one, a live recording "from the Mansion's Garden". The Mansion of Music in Athens (a non-profit cultural space ran by one of the country's oligarchs) contains a big concert hall and various other structures but this concert was advertised as a picnic with music in the mansion's garden, much more appropriately for this kind of music - an upbeat mix of Greek folk, Latin music and retro swing.

Maraveyas Ilegal at the open theatre in Koumaros, Tinos 4/5/2015

This double CD contains live versions of almost all of Maraveyas' hits and constitutes a great introduction to the artist. At 27 tracks, it's a bit too long for a track-to-track presentation, so I'll only confine myself to the highlights: The album opens with "Diktator Des Marktes" sporting a ska/punk tone and uncharacteristically angry anti-troika lyrics: "This here is no Amsterdam/ this is no Berlin/ mores here have changed/ your past I will erase/ Down with your head!/ No more of your mess!/ Stop saying they lied/ Stop saying you're a victim/ Just work, slave, work!/ Money is your crime/ Don't seek God/ Don't ask who's to blame/ just walk straight without looking or I'll turn on the siren...". A lighter song with a similar subject follows: "Welcome to Greece" celebrates (or mocks?) the Greeks' carefree attitude in the face of the financial crisis "Have a nice holiday/ lie under the sun on the hot sand/ and don't worry about debt-filled tomorrow". Now that he's established the party atmosphere, he continues in Italian with "O’ Sarracino" (a 1958 hit for Renato Carosone) and English with "I'm Going Away". His own accordion-led "Pare Chroma" is played as a medley with "Clandestino", a staple from the early days when Ilegal were actually a more multicultural mix, true to their name. "Kato apo ton pato" (under the bottom) is a multilingual call for revolution, immediately followed by a swinging take on the classic rebetiko "Partides" by bouzouki legend Manolis Chiotis. Another 50's Greek folk hit "O Minas ehei ennia" aka "Mia zoi tin ehoume" (we only live once) gives way for his own "Den zitao polla" (i don't ask for much) about a girl that only shows her love at night or when she's drunk. Girl trouble is a recurrent theme here, most notably on the infectious "Lola". Disc 2 opens with a bit of syrtaki introducing a ballad lamenting the state of modern Greece ("Tsalapatas" - You tread on me). Maraveyas' international side is further evidenced by a couple of tango songs, "Rue Madame" and "El Tango Del Rio-Antirrio" and another Italian song, "Fila me akoma" (Jovanotti's "Baciami ancora" with translated Greek lyrics). Retro music hall number "Na to pareis to koritsi" (You have to marry the girl) is played in an upbeat jazz manouche style, dispensing laughs and good humour, while the album ends among cheers with ballad "Den Stamato" (I'm not stopping). Listening to this CD again after the Tinos concert brought a smile to my face because it took me back to the jovial mood of that night, but under any circumstances it's a fun record, brimming with positive energy. I do believe you'll be able to enjoy it, even if you don't speak Greek. 

***** for Welcome To Greece, O Minas ehei ennia-Den zitao polla

**** for Diktator Des Marktes, I'm Going Away, Pare Chroma-Clandestino, Partides, Lola, Rue Madame, Na To Pareis To Koritsi

*** for O Sarracino, Ase Me Na Mpo, To Kalokairi Efyge, Kato Apo Ton Pato, Pes Mou Mia Leksi, Sto Kalo, Arkei Na Eimaste Mazi, Tsalapatas, Kyriaki Ekdromi, Pou Na Vro Mia Na Sou Moiazei, Dyo gynaikes, Trelo apo Hara, De Stamato

** for Feugo, Stin Kataigida, El Tango Del Rio-Antirrio, Fila Me Akoma, Pote Ksana Mazi

Area "Arbeit Macht Frei" 1973*****

Two weeks ago I visited Italy for the first time, specifically the beautiful Verona and even more wonderful Venice. Next to the magnificent architecture, I greatly enjoyed the cuisine and I'm not talking about any gourmet restaurants either. I had the best pizza of my life at Verona's unassuming pizzeria Salvatore (tip: If you're ever there, don't order from the English menu - the Italian one has at least twice the variety). As for the best (fresh) pasta, it was actually served in a box (like the Chinese ones) on a street corner in Venice. My Italian musical escapades included Don Giovanni in the Arena di Verona and Ute Lemper's Last Tango in Berlin performance in the fabulous Teatro la Fenice in Venice. Maybe I'll get the chance to describe them in a relevant post. Now, in the weeks prior to my visit, my homeland Greece was always in the news due to its economic suffocation and arduous negotiations with the EU and ECB to loosen the financial noose around its neck. The negotiations ended with the Greek government succumbing to Germany's demands for even more cruel austerity rules for the country's poor in return for another bank rescue and the dubious honour of staying in the monetary union. I know I've mentioned these events before, but I repeat myself in order to thank the Italian people for their spontaneous manifestations of support again and again, upon hearing of our nationality - Premier Tsipras and his fight against German-imposed austerity rules in the EU are apparently very popular in Italy. Coincidentally, while waiting in Verona for the train to Venice, I was killing time in a bookstore hosting a public presentation of a pro-SyRizA book and a conversation of the author with a sizable and deeply absorbed audience. Not speaking the language I didn't understand a word, but I nevertheless stayed in the store, spent some time in its small music department and came away with a few interesting Italian rock CD's, of which I'll now present one.

I have gradually developed a lot of respect for the Italian progressive rock scene of the 70's. It took me a long time to familiarise myself with it as it's marginalised, probably because of the language. Once I did, I discovered a treasure trove of beautiful and original music, often incorporating jazz or symphonic elements. Next to the more "famous" PFM and Le Orme, Area were one of the greatest and more wildly innovative groups of that generation. I've had a compilation of their music for years (issued with the Greek "Jazz and Τζαζ" magazine) which I've always found a challenging but rewarding listen, so in that Verona bookstore I jumped at the chance of adding their debut album in my collection. Area's music can be described as progressive rock or jazz-rock fusion. One dominant element is the saxophone, which is probably why the bands that they mostly remind me of are Soft Machine and Van Der Graaf Generator. But what sets them apart is their singer. Greek-born Demetrio Stratos possesses one of rock's most extraordinary voices, which he bends and stretches at will, using it as an instrument. The only parallel I can think of is Lorca-era Tim Buckley. The lyrics are in Italian and often politically charged: the early 70's in Italy were a time of political instability and extremes, with the terrorist activity of Brigate Rosse on the left and of (lesser known but even deadlier) neo-fascist organisations on the right. Area's position was very clearly on the left: posing on the record's back cover with a hammer and sickle (not the flag, but the actual tools) should give some idea of their allegiance, the fact that one of them is wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf, another. The stunning opener "Luglio, Agosto, Settembre (Nero)" directly addresses the Palestinian struggle: The title references Black September (either the organisation or the 1970 incidents in Jordan). It opens with an emotive female voice in Arabic pleading for peace, to which singer chillingly answers "It's not my fault if your reality forces me to fight your conspiracy of silence...It's not my fault if your reality forces me to make war with humanity". A very risqué lyric, that could be interpreted as justifying terrorism. I see it as a cry for justice as a requisite for peace. The music lives up to the lyrics, very intense with a recurrent theme inspired by Greek folk music and a chaotic free jazz middle section, out of which order re-emerges slowly with the players working harmoniously together once again. The next song title is once again a shocker: "Arbeit Macht Frei" (Work makes you free) was a nazi slogan that hang above the entrance of Auschwitz and other concentration camps. Area make the connection between their inmates and modern working class. The music is jazzy and experimental, starting off with a drum solo and letting the sax dominate afterwards. Halfway through, the vocals appear and song settles into a funky groove. "Consapavolezza" is a prog/jazz track with many tempo changes, acrobatic vocals and and a beautiful pastoral mid-section. "Le labbra del tempo" is another complex track with many changes. Electronic keyboard and bells distinguish it a bit from the other tracks, but my favorite part is the heavier sound employed in the last minute. "240 Chilometri Da Smirne" is a great jazz instrumental. I take the title to be an oblique reference to the plight of the Greek and Armenian refugees who survived the 1922 massacre at Smyrna/Izmir. My grandmother fled the burning city as a child, with nothing but the clothes on her back (several of her family were not so lucky). Maybe Stratos had a similar family history and 240km was the distance his family had to cross to get to safety. Closing track "L'abbattimento dello Zeppelin" is wildly experimental but some people (not me) cite it as the favorite. The song's roots lie in an incident during which Area were compelled by a club owner to play Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love". They responded with their own variation of the song, upon which they were shown the (exit) door. There is some nice electric guitar and organ, but any other similarities to "Whole Lotta Love" are probably limited to its chaotic middle section. If you like prog rock and jazz fusion you'd do well to discover Area, one of the most interesting groups of the 70's and Stratos, a unique vocalist.

***** for  Luglio, Agosto, Settembre (Nero)

**** for Arbeit Macht Frei, Consapevolezza, 240 Chilometri Da Smirne

*** for Le Labbra Del Tempo, L'Abbattimento Dello Zeppelin