Rolling Stones "Flashpoint" 1991***

The latest Rolling Stones albums given away with Sunday's Real News is a live album from 1991. I would probably not have bought it otherwise, since I already have a bunch of those ("Get Your Ya Ya's Out" from 1969, "Live Licks" 2004. the acoustic "Stripped" from 1995, plus DVD's "Some Girls Live '78" and "Shine A Light" from 2007). As great as "Satisfaction" and "Brown Sugar" are, how many versions does one need? At the time, the album worked well as a souvenir of the record breaking Steel Wheels Tour. Thanks to the hit-laden tracklist, it can also function as a live Best-Of album. More than that, it is an irrefutable document of a great (maybe the greatest?) rock'n'roll band in its natural habitat: the stage. From the opening notes of "Start Me Up", it's evident that the band's 80's slump is behind them and that they've rediscovered their chemistry: Jagger sings with passion rather than just prancing up and down the stage as he sometimes did, Watts hits the drums harder than any time in memory and Wymann propels the band forward flawlessly (albeit for the last time) with his bass. Best of all, Richards' and Wood's intertwined guitars weave an amazing guitar tapestry - even on the disco "Miss You", which Richards claims to hate. It is, of course, Mick's tune and he really rips through it, improvising on spot and interacting with the audience as he goes. More good news: The Steel Wheels tracks "Sad Sad Sad", "Rock and a Hard Place" and "Can't Be Seen" really come alive in a live setting, surpassing their studio counterparts. Then they up the ante by skipping two decades and facing off against their younger selves: Can they match their Sixties heyday? Well, not quite. But, let's be fair: who the fuck can? The inclusion of "Ruby Tuesday" and "Factory Girl" are a nice surprise, as they're not often performed live. But the former's 60's whimsy and latter's sympathy-to-the working-class sentiment seem far removed from today's Stones. "You Can't Always Get What You Want" sounds a bit anaemic but gives Jagger the chance to sing along with the audience and adds to the overall live feel. Which leads us to an amazing sequence of 60's classics, beginning with "Little Red Rooster", a song they originally cut at the fabled Chicago Chess studios in 1965. It's played as it's meant to be played, in a real downhome blues style. Midway through the song, God (Remember the graffitis in London walls back in 1965?) just appears and puts in an amazing blues solo. And yet, the next song beats even that! A Spanish guitar intro gives way to galloping drums and all-time favourite "Paint It Black". After that, who should make an appearance but Lucifer himself? "Please allow me to introduce myself..." Jagger sings and he takes us back to 1968 with "Sympathy for the Devil" - It's as if not a single day has passed! "Brown Sugar" and "Jumpin' Jack Flash" also rock as hard as they ever did and "Satisfaction" is transformed into a soul dynamite with the horns playing the main riff instead of the guitar. Otis Redding's version springs to mind. Adding a couple of new studio recordings after a song sequence as strong as this was a bad idea, but someone must have thought he can hook in fans by including new, previously unreleased songs. Not that they're bad, per se: "High Wire" is The Stones' first political song since the 60's, a competent rocker against the (first) Gulf War, a sentiment I wholeheartedly applaud. If only it was recorded live and placed somewhere in the middle of the album... As it stands now, it sounds like an afterthought and completely out of place. "Sex Drive" is a funky dance number that would sound right at home in "Dirty Work". Hell, it'd be one of the album's highlights. But "Flashpoint" is a pure rock'n'roll record, so if you make a playlist of it, I'd urge you to leave "Sex Drive" out. Generally, this CD left me satisfied beyond my expectations. Still...Am I going to play it often? Don't think so. As good as these versions are, anytime I feel like listening to "Paint It Black" or "Jumping Jack Flash", I'll choose the studio version instead...

**** for Start Me Up, Miss You, Rock and a Hard Place, Little Red Rooster, Paint It Black  Sympathy for the Devil, Brown Sugar, Jumping Jack Flash, Satisfaction

*** for Sad Sad Sad, Ruby Tuesday, You Can't Always Get What You Want, Factory Girl, Can't Be Seen, Highwire, Sex Drive

** for (Intro) Continental Drift (0:27)

(¥) Vintage Trouble "The Bomb Shelter Sessions" 2010***

I spent last weekend in Paris and got to see AC/DC live for the first time. My professional opinion is that they won't be quitting anytime soon - but I'm a dentist, so what do I know? Vintage Trouble were one of the support groups, taking the stage after Frenchies No One Is Innocent, and I was both surprised and glad to see them. You see they had made quite an impression on me the first time around, when I saw them open for Who on their tour for the 40th anniversary of Quadrophenia. They had taken to the stage like a hurricane, singer Ty Taylor displaying all the energy and stage antics of a young James Brown, prancing up and down the stage, getting lost in the audience, spinning around himself while the band played really loud rock'n'roll. After the show, the most hotly wanted item in the souvenir stand wasn't any of The Who paraphernalia, but this (their only, so far) CD. Last weekend's performance was slightly less impressive, maybe due to he size of the huge Stade de France arena - or maybe it was the effect of my sitting too far from the stage. Compared to the live experience, their CD is a more pared-down affair, offering soulful retro R&B/Rock a la Animals, Faces, Otis Redding, Sam Cooke etc. Opener "Blues Hand Me Down" is the closest the album comes to capturing the band's manic onstage energy, sounding like MC5 jamming with Wilson Pickett or -to use a more modern analogy- like Detroit noisemakers the Dirtbombs. "Still and Always Will" has a Creedence choogle (whatever a choogle is) and "Nancy Lee" (released as a single) is a strong rocker - maybe Black Crowes would sound like that if they really were black. "You Better Believe It", Jezzebella" and "Total Strangers" are more blues-inspired classic rock of the Rolling Stones/Led Zeppelin school, complete with dirty rock guitar and the occasional blues harp. On the other end of the spectrum, the second single "Nobody Told Me" is sweet soul a la Al Green. Taylor's warm silky voice is further showcased on other ballads like "Gracefully", "Not Alright By Me" and "Run Outta You". What I can't figure out is how come the band wrote all these songs in a few months and recorded them in three days, yet despite all the intense touring they have yet to produce a follow up. I know they're not lazy 'cause I've seen them sweat their asses off on stage. Writer's block maybe?

Vintage Trouble at the Stade de France, Paris 23/05/2015 

**** for Blues Hand Me Down, Nancy Lee, Nobody Told Me, Jezzebella
*** for Still and Always Will, You Better Believe It, Total Strangers, Run Outta You

**for Gracefully, Not Alright By Me

Various Artists "Sixties Japanese Garage-Psych Sampler" 1987(comp)****

The weirdness factor here is off the charts!

First released on vinyl in 1987, this rare collection of the Japanese “group sounds” movement apparently achieved legendary status and only recently became available on Cd. Let us disregard the questionable aesthetic of the cover and focus on the music: What would you expect when buying a compilation of Japanese beat groups circa 1966-68? I, for one, was taken by surprise. Firstly, although the song titles are in English, most of the groups here sing in Japanese. Secondly, I expected a more pop oriented collection, when a lot of these numbers rival the wildest garage you’ll encounter in the “Back from the Grave” series. Even in the more melodic numbers the vocalist often suddenly freaks out and starts screaming. The guitarwork is amazing throughout, really wild with a lot of fuzz and reverb. Lots of Japanese Jeff Beck-wannabes turning the volume way up. "I'm Just a Mops" is a stand-out track which was already familiar to me since it’s been anthologised before. The Mops were considered the first real psychedelic band in Japan but this is a real slice of rebellious garage ala Stones/Standells. The Spiders were the most well known group of the era but the Japanese-language song included here is not that impressive. On the other hand, The Outcast were unknowns but their cover of "Long Tall Sally" is unforgettable: The singer screams his lungs off in what I think is supposed to be English but sounds more like he’s trying to scare someone away. If the villagers in The 7 samurai had this guy, they wouldn’t need to hire any mercenaries. The Beavers'"Why, Baby, Why?" with its mixed English/Japanese vocals is yet another highlight while the Tempters track is a moody Zombies-like number (although the movie version in the youtube clip below is noticeably faster). 

**** for Love Is My Life (The Golden Cups), Why, Baby, Why? (The Beavers), I'm Just a Mops (The Mops), Everything's Alright (Outcast)

*** for Tunnel to Heaven (The Dynamites), Long Tall Sally (Outcast), Chu! Chu! Chu! (The Carnabeats), Tell Me More (The Tempters), Burning, Burning (The Bunnys), Anything You Want (The Spiders), Please Please Trina (D'Swooners), Gloria (Fingers)

** for Lonely Highway (Zoo Nee Voo), Hey! Chance (instr)(The Bunnys)

Various Artists "URGH! A Music War The Album" 1981****

URGH! A MUSIC WAR is a music documentary, consisting of live performances in various places around 1980. It presented the multi-faceted post-punk musical reality and its soundtrack constantly leaps from one genre to the next. Let's look at the tracks one by one:

1.The Police – "Driven to Tears"*** Proof that, in his pre-millionnaire days, Sting led a tight rock band

2.Wall of Voodoo – "Back in Flesh"*** The Fall meet Captain Beefheart? Or America's answer to John Lydon's P.I.L? In any case, not likely to win many fans. After the song, the singer declares that "Show business is my life". Maybe he should try his hand at prestidigitation.

3.Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – "Enola Gay"***** The opening synths of this song is The Sound of New Wave to me. A perfect single and a great live performance.

4.Oingo Boingo – "Ain't This the Life"*** Danny Elfman's ska/jazz/punk alma matter. Always a weird one, he was bound to end up collaborating with Tim Burton! This one could have been in Corpse Bride, I can't help but picture dancing skeletons when I listen to it...

5.XTC – "Respectable Street"** New Wave with funk overtones. Not impressed with the live performance, though. C'mon XTC, you can do better than that...

6.Go Go's – "We Got the Beat"***. Never mind that popster Belinda Carlisle began her career here. The Go-Gos were a great girl group in the best 60's tradition

7.Klaus Nomi – "Total Eclipse"***** The voice! The wardrobe! The haircut! The make-up! Nomi certainly was one of a kind, with his operatic vocals, Kraftwerk synths and electric guitars. And this song is his zenith, recorded shortly before he regrettably became the first celebrity to die of AIDS...

8.Jools Holland – "Foolish I Know"*** Jazzy piano from former Squeeze pianist, soon to become a successful TV show host. 

9.Steel Pulse – "Ku Klux Klan"**** Top-Class Roots Reggae and antifa message from these Birmingham based Jamaicans

10.Devo – "Uncontrollable Urge"**** Better than expected - an energetic punk rock performance!

11.Echo and the Bunnymen – "The Puppet"**** A rough, full of angst performance by Ian McCullough - different than his usual croon. Interesting!

12.The Cramps – "Tear It Up"**** Inventors of psychobilly in all their psychotic majesty

13.Joan Jett & The Blackhearts – "Bad Reputation"*** Although already a rock veteran with the Runaways, Jett was still young enough to identify with punk's rebellion against the "hippy generation" of rock. This one sounds like a mix of the Beach Boys, Ramones and...Cyndi Lauper.

14.Pere Ubu – "Birdies"** These Art-Punks from Ohio were never big crowd pleasers, yet they receive an enthusiastic reception

15.Gary Numan – "Down in the Park"*** Kraftwerk-like synths and Joy Division detachment from an emblematic figure of New Wave.

16.The Fleshtones – "Shadow Line"*** Garage Soul party rockers, still going strong today.

17.Gang of Four – "He'd Send in the Army"*** Angular guitars, funky bass, socially conscious lyrics - that's what Go4 were always about, that's also what they deliver here.

18.999 – "Homicide"*** By 1980, the music press had officially declared Punk is Dead. 999 sang "I believe in Homicide" and proved it's alive and aggressive as ever. If you see them coming your way, better change sidewalk...

19.X – "Beyond and Back"**** LA's finest punks, whose  records were produced by the most un-punk-like Ray Manzarek. With Siouxsie lookalike Exene Cervenka on vocals and fiery rockabilly guitar licks courtesy of Billy Zoom.

20.Magazine – "Model Worker"** A stellar New Wave band, but I think they underperform here.

21.Skafish – "Sign of the Cross"*** The only band I hadn't heard before. Based on their name I would have guessed they played ska music, but they surprised me with their hardcore punk, almost metal, attack and anti-religious lyrics. They obviously weren't trying to make any friends. Gotta respect them for that!

All in all, URGH! is a perfect snapshot of the scattered musical landscape after the punk attack on the musical industry, catching the fleeting moment of free music expression before the industry took the upper hand again, limiting artistic liberties with "professional" productions, lifeless digital sound and made-for-MTV videos. The film offers more goodies not included in the soundtrack, such as performances by Dead Kennedys, UB40, Surf Punks, Members, Alleycats, Au Pairs etc. Watch it on the big screen or low-resolution VHS, for the full period effect...

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion "Acme-Plus" 1998***

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion is a punk-blues trio comprised by singer-guitarist Jon Spencer, second guitarist Judah Bauer and drummer Russell Simins. "Acme" was their 6th album in 7 years and saw new elements introduced in their sound: Next to funk and garage rock, they now embraced hip hop and electronica. To spice-up their sound, they employed many guests and remixers and amassed enough material to fill two albums, called "Acme" and "Acme Plus", released one year apart and containing alternate mixes from the same sessions. Partly recorded live in Steve Albini's studio and partly reworked and remixed beyond recognition, both are a bit hodge-podge. They have nevertheless many high points, opener "Wait A Minute" being one of them, with its trademark Elvis-meets-James Brown vocals, dirty Stonesy guitar & ghostly theremin. Moby guests on bass, percussion and the mixing desk. "Get Down Lover" is a noisy garage piece with soul horns and "Confused", "Not Yet" and "Leave Me Alone So I Can Rock Again" wired funk. "Magical Colours (31 Flavours)" is a psychedelic soul ballad, probably the softest and most melodic track JSBX ever wrote. Its single counterpart made the Top-100 in the UK. "Get Old" and "T.A.T.B. (For The Saints And Sinners Remix)" remind me of Moby's electronica/blues experimentations. "Bacon" sports Blaxploitation strings, loud guitars and more theremin. "Blue Green Olga (Rmx)" is the most electronic song here, but something in the vocal and organ curiously reminds me of the Doors. "Heavy" combines hip hop with Barry White soul and "Lap Dance" gives them the chance to cooperate with horny 60's legend Andre Williams. "Right Place, Wrong Time" is the one that started it all, a killer cover of the Dr. John classic recorded for the "Scream 2" soundtrack. The remix included here has some rapping that doesn't add to the original, but at least doesn't ruin it either. "Electricity" is the punkiest song (think MC5 meet The Clash) and "New Year" and "Chowder" recall The White Stripes' mix of hard rock, blues and garage - Just don't forget: JSBX were there first! "Hell" is manic rockabilly and "I Wanna Make It Alright (Zebra Ranch)" is the closest JSBX get to justify their Blues prefix. The CD closes with a hilarious ad for the "Acme" album. According to it "Judah Bauer plays his guitar with such fiery passion that it makes grown men weep, Russell Simins has grown women showering him with panties and condoms, and Jon Spencer was voted sexiest man alive three years in a row by Gentleman’s Quarterly". Well, I don't know about that but you can quote me on this: Jon Spencer hasn't failed me yet. He makes great records, has a hot wife and he's a really confident and enjoyable live performer. If he comes your way, don't miss him!

**** for Wait A Minute, Magical Colors (31 Flavors), Blue Green Olga (Remix), Right Place  Wrong Time

*** for Get Down Lover, Confused, Not Yet, Bacon, Heavy (Remix), Leave Me Alone So I Can Rock Again, Electricity, New Year, Chowder, T.A.T.B. (For The Saints And Sinners Remix), Hell, I Wanna Make It All Right (Zebra Ranch), Ad for "Acme"

** for Get Old, Lap Dance, Soul Trance

Stephen Stills "Stephen Stills" 1970****

Stephen Stills' eponymous album was his solo debut after stints in Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash (& Young). Judging from the cover, it seems to be a naked affair - an intimate record featuring just Stills and his acoustic guitar. Well, guess again: This is one of the most star-studded albums of rock. Guests include all of CS&N (not just Crosby and Nash, the support players as well), Ringo Starr on drums, John Sebastian, "Mama" Cass Elliot and Rita Coolidge on backing vocals, Booker T Jones on organ, and no less than Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix on guitar. Opener "Love the One You're With" mixes excellent vocal harmonies with Latin percussion and it remains his biggest hit. "Do For The Others" is a delicate folk ballad and "Church (Part of Someone)" a richly orchestrated gospel/soul number. "Old Times Good Times" brings him together with Jimi Hendrix. Stills moves to the organ and lets Hendrix handle the guitar parts alone. Need I remark he totally shreds it? Tragically, he was already dead by the time the album hit the stores, which is why it circulated with a dedication "to James Marshall Hendrix". The bluesy "Go Back Home" finds Stills exchanging licks with another guitar legend, Eric Clapton. Check the live video below, where he plays all the guitar parts alone - you'll see that Stills himself was no slouch when it came to electric guitar (He was ranked #28 in Rolling Stone Magazine's 2003 list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time")."Sit Yourself Down" was the second single of the album and notable for its great backing vocals. "To A Flame" is a psychedelic folk ballad with an elegant string section. "Black Queen" is the simplest production on the album, a blues-folk number with masterful acoustic guitar accompaniment and "Cherokee" is a soul rocker with jazzy flute and sax passages, while "We Are Not Helpless" is an optimistic and uplifting answer to former bandmate Neil Young's desperate "Helpless". The album was very successful (reached #3 of the charts and is included in many an all-time-best-albums list) but Stills wasn't destined for a great solo career and will mostly be remembered as a member of Crosby Stills and Nash (& Young) and for his various collaborative efforts (Manassas, the Stills/Bloomfield/Kooper "super session" etc).

**** for Love the One You're With, Do for the Others,Old Times Good Times, Go Back Home, To a Flame

*** for Church (Part of Someone), Sit Yourself Down, Black Queen, Cherokee, We Are Not Helpless

Buffalo "Dead Forever" 1972***

For those who thought Australia's only contribution to hard rock was AC/DC I present...Buffalo! An unfairly overlooked band at the time, labeled after the fact "proto-metal" and often favourably compared to Black Sabbath. But although they can, and often do, play slow and heavy a la Sabbath, Buffalo were more diverse, with blues and progressive elements. A curious feature of this, their debut, was the presence of two lead vocalists, the bluesier Dave Tice and more high pitched-voiced Alan Milano (who was later to depart from the group). Who knows, maybe Blackmore was copying Buffalo when he casted in Deep Purple Mk.III two lead singers as different to each other as Coverdale and Hughes. The album opens with a Floydian dreamy section before plunging into hard rock territory with "Leader", its message being that politicians are untrustworthy and that the only leader worth following is yourself. "Suzie Sunshine" is boogie rock with bluesy slide guitar and "Pay My Dues" is a Blues Image cover. It starts off with spacey guitar effects and transforms halfway into a heavy blues somewhat reminiscent of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac. Free's "I'm A Mover" is a 10 minute jam sporting slow Sabbath-y riffs and a long experimental middle section. Great guitar work, but the real highlight of the song is the vocal interaction between the two singers, with Milano letting off screams to rival Judas Priest's Rob Halford. "Ballad of Irving Fink" and "Bean Stew" have a Southern Rock feel, reminiscent of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Steppenwolf (the latter). "Forest Rain" is a moody psychedelic ballad with a sturdy Tice vocal and the album reaches its climax with "Dead Forever", a metallic boogie every bit as heavy as anything produced by Black Sabbath in their prime. Alas, the only video available is truncated and only featuring one of the two singers (Tice). Nevertheless, it's good to have a visual...

**** for I'm A Mover, Forest Rain, Dead Forever

*** for Leader, Suzie Sunshine, Pay My Dues, Ballad Of Irving Fink, Bean Stew