D-Sides, Orphans, and Oddities

Some of the music is good. Some is ok. I leveraged my Korean friend's eloquence and polyglot acumen. If you like '70s Korean pop, and some strange covers of KC and the Sunshine Band in different languages, please have a listen.

The Joseph Consortium (1969) Sides 1 and 2. Written by Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice, this is the musical that everyone knows, recorded and played through a psychedelic prism. I've played this show on bass about a million times. It's almost identical to the version we all know. It's easy, it goes down nicely, and even the college shows I've played were tight like this. Wikipedia: Joseph was first presented as a 15-minute "pop cantata [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Chappell#Children]" atColet Court [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colet_Court]School in London in 1968, and was published byNovello [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novello_%26_Co]and recorded in an expanded form byDecca Records [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decca_Records] in 1969. (Ed: This is what you're hearing.) After the success of the next Lloyd Webber and Rice piece, Jesus Christ Superstar [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_Christ_Superstar], Joseph received amateur stage productions in the US beginning in 1970, and the first American release of the album was in 1971. The musical had its professional premiere, as a 35-minute musical, at the Haymarket ice rink during theEdinburgh International Festival [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edinburgh_International_Festival]in 1972. It was Part Two of Bible One, a Young Vic Theatre Company production presented by the National Theatre of Great Britain. While still undergoing various modifications and expansions, the musical was produced in theWest End [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_End_theatre]in 1973. In 1974, its full modern format was performed at theHaymarket Theatre [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haymarket_Theatre_(Leicester)]inLeicester [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leicester]and was also recorded that year. The musical was mounted onBroadway [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadway_theatre]in 1982. Several major revivals, national tours, and a1999 direct-to-video film [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_and_the_Amazing_Technicolor_Dreamcoat_(film)]starringDonny Osmond [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donny_Osmond]followed. A long treatise on Dorothy Moskowitz. Country Joe McDonald - Sexist Pig (1973) Country Joe McDonald - Colorado Town (1973) Steamin' Freeman - End of the Line (1975) Written by DM. Recorded live at Mooney's Pub Irish Pub, San Francisco, CA. Steamin' Freeman - Southland (1975) The drummer is Ginny Whitaker. She was credited as the drummer on the odd-ball hit "Pac-Man Fever". That band, Buckner and Garcia, had roots going back 17 years before that! Can you imagine struggling for decades and then striking oil based on a fad? Moskowitz and Fregulia - Guess I'll Say Goodbye To Lady Day (1979) Recorded live. Released on the Blue Koala label. Moskowitz and Fregulia - Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most (1979) Moskowitz and Fregulia - When We Were Cool (1979) The United States of America - Love Song For a Dead Che (1968) The United States of America - Hard Coming Love (1968) The United States of America - The American Way of Love (1968) Joe Byrd and the Field Hippies - Sing-Along Song (1969) Joe Byrd and the Field Hippies - Kaylani (1969)

The Blue Cats - Nowhere Man (196?) I'm gonna guess 1966 since this band released three albums of covers of their time plus some instrumental originals. Probably German studio guys bringing the Western hits of the day to their homeland. Diane and Annita - Groovey Kind of Love (1965) Fans (?) of this release propose that this might not even be the titular singers (who sound nothing like the voices on this recording) but actually the writers, Carol Bayer-Sager and Toni Wine. Annita Ray also recorded a one-off novelty single with Eden Ahbez, the writer of "Nature Boy," in 1956. It was titled "Frankie's Song" b/w "Elvis Presley Blues." Wikipedia: The melody is from the Rondo [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rondo]fromMuzio Clementi [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muzio_Clementi]'s Sonatina, Opus 36, No. 5. Even though Wine and Sager claim full songwriting credits, they mainly wrote the lyrics and just slightly modified Clementi's music. Bayer Sager originally pitched the song to pop starLesley Gore [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesley_Gore]in early 1965, but Gore's producer at the time,Shelby Singleton [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelby_Singleton], rejected it, as he found the word "groovy" too slangy. Gene Cotton - Let Your Love Flow (1975) The Undisputed Truth - Papa Was A Rollin' Stone (1972) This version actually preceded the Grammy-winning version by The Temptations, and the two are pretty similar. The Undisputed Truth had their biggest hit with a song written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong as well, "Smiling Faces Sometimes", which was originally recorded by The Temptations! This is another trivia question you can ask your friend. Beau Williams - C'est La Vie (1984) Black Magic! - Miss Jessie (1970) Brian Wilson - Just Say No (1986) C.W. McCall - Kidnap America (1980) The Soul Searchers - We The People (1972) Roogalator - Cincinnatti Fatback (1976) Note the Stiff Records logo on the upper left corner. This was one of the first Stiff releases. Danny Adler was an American ex-pat living in England. This was the second version of Roogalator (formed in 1972), and as much as this track smokes, the band got virtually no support from the label, and constant personnel changes killed the group. Could you have hung on that long with an entire movement (that you helped start) bubbling under your feet, only to be ignored and ultimately ripped off? Cliff Bennett and his Band - Back In The U.S.S.R. (1968) Con-Funk-Shun - Clique (1974) Sesame Street - Cracks (1976) "Cracks" is an animated musical insert produced for Sesame Street in the 1970s. A young girl is unable to go outside to play because of the rain, and so she imagines the cracks in her wall form a camel. The camel takes her on an adventure through the wall where she meets a hen and a monkey, also made out of cracks. The voice is the one and only Dorothy Moskowitz, who I featured on a recent show. She is mostly known as the female voice of The United States of America. Debby Dobbins - How You Gonna Feel (1979) A selection from the one and only album by Don Thompson - Fanny Brown/Just Plain Funk/Night Ladies/Hang Loose (1977) God, I love this funk. From Dusty Groove [https://www.dustygroove.com/item/987563/Don-Thompson:Fanny-Brown]: The one and only album from drummer Don Thompson – a funky Brunswick classic from the 70s, and one of the most unique records we've ever heard from the label at the time! Don's got this style of singing that has a bit of a southern twang at times, but he works with grooves that are definitely northern in their orientation – served up in a range of styles that includes the funky drum break of the title cut, some mellow-stepping moments on a few other tunes, and the bouncing boogie that's really become the album's calling card over the years! There's loads of great bass work on most cuts, which really grounds that album alongside Don's drums – and titles include "Just Plain Funk", "Fanny Brown", "Lovin To The Bone", "Night Ladies (part 1 & 2)", and "Hang Loose". Donny Hathaway - The Ghetto (1970) His early records were expansive and unique, and his voice was second to none. He was every bit the equal of Stevie and Marvin, but you know him from his duets with Roberta Flack. Wikipedia: During the peak of his career, Hathaway began suffering from severe bouts of depression and exhibiting unusual behavior. In 1971, he was diagnosed withparanoid schizophrenia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranoid_schizophrenia]for which he was prescribed various medications. At one point, Hathaway was prescribed fourteen different medications that he was to take twice a day. After Hathaway was diagnosed and began taking medication, his mental state improved. However, Eulaulah Hathaway has said that her husband became less than diligent about following his prescription regimen when he began feeling better and often stopped taking his medications altogether. From 1973 to 1977, Hathaway's mental instability wreaked havoc on his life and career and required several hospitalizations. The effects of his depression and severe mood swings also drove a wedge in his and Flack's friendship; they did not reconcile for several years, and did not release additional music until the successful release of "The Closer I Get To You" in 1978. Flack and Hathaway then resumed studio recording to compose a second album of duets. You should investigate his discography, especially this stunning debut album, Everything Is Everything. He was brilliant. Donny Hathaway - To Be Young, Gifted, and Black (1970) Donnie Most - Rock Is Dead (1976) Enoch Light and the Light Brigade - Pick Up The Pieces (1975) John Miller on bass. Enoch Light and the Light Brigade - Puppet Man (1970) Fleetwood Mac - Sentimental Lady (1972) POACA will remember that Bob Welch rerecorded this with a more prominent Christine McVie backing vocal part. The singing members of Fleetwood Mac circa 1977-1980 could have crapped on a cracker and it would have gone gold. The Mothers of Invention - Help, I'm a Rock (Suite In Three Movements) I. Okay To Tap Dance II. In Memoriam, Edgard Varèse lll. It Can't Happen Here (1966) Ian Dury and the Blockheads - Reasons To Be Cheerful (Pt. 3) (1980) Kelly Gordon - He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother (1969) First version. Beautiful. Kid Creole and the Coconuts - Indiscreet (1983) Live. Goddammit, Carol Colman on bass. The Residents - Die In Terror (1980) Hoover Commercial with Brian Johnson of AC/DC on vocals. (1979) Carpenters - Suntory Pop Jingle (1977)

There are enough people out there who yearn for the arcane, the odd, the unsuccessful, the strange, and the historically overlooked to justify 200 podcast episodes of D-Sides, Orphans, and Oddities. This makes me happy, and the topics are inexhaustible. From the strange singles of Freddie Cannon and Lou Christie to the occasionally wonderful singles of Les Humphries Singers, Doris, Os Mutantes, to the strange paths to fame like The American Breed ("Bend Me Shape Me") evolving into Rufus, and then Chaka Kahn, and then "I Feel For You", her biggest hit, written by Prince, but the Kahn version was actually the 4th release and, had Patrice Rushen opted to try it (she turned it down), the 5th. A Prince song with Stevie Wonder playing harmonica over his own voice being sampled. To me, pop music is styles and the biggest records tend to be styles smooshed together. People like dangerous white music and safe black music. People like rap, but with a melodic vocal hook. While the Bee Gees were not a disco group, the Saturday Night Fever movie was a perfect petri dish. Combine Travolta's white-hot star power with the zeitgeist of Disco and the very odd recordings the Bee Gees were doing at that time. It was the success and the playing it safe in the movie's wake that doomed them. The Beatles were preternaturally gifted with a work ethic that would kill the musicians of today. But their fame was also born of withering luck. A producer and a manager (and record company) that didn't really know what they were supposed to do with these four tough guys. None of them tried to make The Beatles pick a lead singer, so, like their live act, all four would do it. Because they had the shocking temerity to say "Nope, we're not doing that song...", it was like saying to someone with a gun In your face, "Go ahead. We've come this far. You don't know WHAT we've seen. We see through you, over and over. In Germany. In Sweden. In Wales. We never said 'no' to a gig, no matter how much driving or begging or lack of sleep, and if the Reeperbahn couldn't stop us, what makes you think YOU will?" And their genuine love of Black music somehow broke the barriers for generations of singers, players, etc. Imagine that moment. You're in The Beatles, you've struggled and burned the roads up and played innumerable gigs, and sat, nose to nose, creating songs in your room that people would be singing and playing for 60 years hence. But now, the sessions begin, and the man in the tie wants you to record a "ringer". And you try it, but it doesn't really do anything. It's ok. But you have to decide. Play the game? Or risk this dude's red pen. Or show up with something better. And the guy with the tie has been through some shit as well. And he's tired of being relegated to 2nd string and he resents being put in a place where these four punks dare question his choice. Do better. I'm tired of this shit. And "Please Please Me" is as black a record as anything any band from England before them had tried. And that little phrase can be attributed to everything they tried after that. Because they proved it, in that ONE shot across the bow that would resonate for what will be eons, that your old choices for ringers, publishing company favors, Brill building production lines, plug-and-play Motown stuff, etc., were going to either fade or have to adapt. I stop my show pretty much at 1980 because that's when drum machines and synths became songwriting devices. I never liked Joy Division. I just don't get it. At that point, and with exceptions, sure, drum programming and synth programming made songwriting easy. That didn't make the songs any better. Just easier to make. Someone else can do that show. Anyhow, this is to say thank you to all the folks that have listened and downloaded. THIS show is me delivering a preamble and then playing 4 hours of music from past shows that I really like. Let's call this "Part 1" because the show, as I originally tried to put it together, lasted 10+ hours. So consider this show when you're on a long drive, doing work, making love to your woman, or man, or both, or none. So...... This is the setlist, but they’re not all ‘good songs’. Some are meant to show you the arcane nature of what I find most enjoyable. Song-poems (“The Beatle Boys”), artists coping with the end of their heyday (Gary Glitter) and ill-prepared for life after that, or artists way before they found their niche (The Gap Band). And, of course, groups I love like Rose Tattoo, The Free Design, and SAHB. Leo’s Sunshipp - Give Me The Sunshine (1978) The Free Design - My Very Own Angel (1969) GLS United - Rapper’s Deutsch (1980) Samples “Rapper’s Delight”, which samples “Good Times” by Chic, “Here Comes That Sound Again” by Love De-Luxe with Hawkin’s Discophonia (which i played on one of my previous shows), and a quote from the movie Five on the Black Hand Side, specifically, a scene in the barbershop that predated the advent of Rudy Ray Moore’ Dolemite character by 2 years. Louis Armstrong - The Creator Has a Master Plan (1970) w/ Leon Thomas Rick Wakeman - I’m So Straight, I’m a Weirdo (1980) I just like playing this awful oddity from the keyboard player from Yes. This record defies description. But if you see the video on Youtube, look for a young Boy George. James Last - Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) (1971) From the album Voodoo-Party. Billy Preston - My Sweet Lord (1970) One of two albums he released on Apple Records. Rod Rogers (really, Rod Keith) and the Swinging Strings - The Beatle Boys (196?) The Gap Band - Magician’s Holiday (1974) Gary Glitter - A Little Boogie Woogie in the Back of My Mind (1977) The Free Design - There Is A Song (1972) I will never stop praising this wonderful group. Stuart Damon - Eros (1970) Dr. Alan Quartermaine from General Hospital had a brief singing career. The Millennium - There Is Nothing More To Say (1968) Lou Christie lifted this wonderful melody for his own “Canterbury Road" later that year.  From the film “Till [sic] Kingtom Comes”. XTC- Across This Antheap (1987) I never tire of this amazing track. It’s my show. Aerosmith -Nobody’s Fault (1976) I like Aerosmith’s ’70s albums very much. They were all loaded with hidden gems, and to me, “Nobody’s Fault” was just the most succinct example of a band that made consistently good/great albums. Frank Zappa - Andy (1980) A great, difficult tune (you try it with your band.) Recorded live in Buffalo. Annette Peacock - The Succubus (1979) The Red Shadow - Anything Good (1975) Carpenters - B’wana She No Home (1977) Bruford - Back To The Beginning (1978) Frank Sinatra - Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown (1974) Barry McGuire & The Doctor - South Of The Border (1970) I love this song. We are on the eve of destruction indeed. Might as well… Beach Boys - Rollin’ Up To Heaven (1972?) This is so insane, and especially from a major artist, that it defies categorization. Rose Tattoo - We Can’t Be Beaten (1982) Ferocious. Billy (Crash) Craddock - Knock Three Times (1971) Led Zeppelin - Black Dog (1972) Unbelievable live version from “How The West Was Won”. Listen to those bass drum tricks. Especially during the coda. I wish Robert Plant never smoked. A normal drummer would go crazy with fills. Bonham put them where they belonged, no more. He showed amazing restraint at times. You wouldn’t think so, but he was a grooving monster above all else. Black Oak Arkansas - Hot And Nasty (1971) Michael (Mick) Jackson - Blame It On The Boogie (1978) Bob & Earl - Harlem Shuffle (1969) The Kids From The Brady Bunch - Candy (Sugar Shoppe) (1972) So inappropriate that I wonder what the record company/TV show producers were thinking. Good song and a nice performance by the studio band. Bread - Everything I Own (1972) Carla Bley - Rawalpindi Blues (1972) Nick Mason - Do Ya? (1980) Liberace - Say Ciao (1970) Liberace puts it into words and music..."Never Say Goodbye, Say Ciao"...capturing the mood of Ciao Liqueur...the imported new liqueur with the elusive new taste. I can’t find another song that Liberace wrote himself. Crack The Sky - Surf City (Here Come The Sharks) (1975) Les Humphries Singers - Dancing Queen (1976) You can still hear Jimmy Bilsbury’s straining, smoky tenor in the choruses. “Having the time of your life…” Poor guy. Eddie Kendricks - Me 'N Rock 'N Roll Are Here To Stay (1974) Denny Greene - The Great Escape (1981) Ex-Sha Na Na member trying to break type like J Jocko tried a few years before. I love this. This is a dance mix of the original he did in 1977. Dennis Wilson - River Song (1977) Doris - Did You Give The World Some Love Today, Baby? (1970) No one knows who Doris is. I’d rather listen to her and this crazy Swedish band for a year before I ever give any time to Janis Joplin. Rotary Connection - Didn’t Want To Have To Do It (1967) Adriano Celentano - Prisencolinensinainciusol (1972) This is a wonderful remix of the original fluke hit. The Move - Do Ya (different version) (1971) Jeff Lynne - Doin’ That Crazy Thing (1977) Rick Nelson - Don’t Blame It On Your Wife (1968) Sha Na Na Anti-Drug PSA (197?) Doris - Beatmaker (1970) Dschinghis Khan - Rocking Son Of Dschinghis Khan (1979) Edith Head Fashion Prescription Emerson, Lake, and Palmer - Trilogy (1973) Utopia - Eternal Love (1976) Alix Dobkin - View Form Gay Head (1973) Fats Domino - Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except For Me and My Monkey (1968) John Farrar - Falling (1980) Creedence Clearwater Revival - Feelin’ Blue (1969) Laverne and Shirley - Five Years On (1976) Written by Michael McKean. His story is too long for me to get into. For POACA he was "Lenny" of Lenny and Squiggy. Or he was David St. Hubbins in Spinal Tap. Or he was Saul Goodman's brother in Better Call Saul. Genesis - Fly On A Windshield/Broadway Melody of 1974 (1974) Fonzie Impressionist Track (Aaaaay, Cool, Nerd, Sit On It) (1976) One of the weirdest things in my collection. Why does it exist? And then it repeats in reverse!!

A Flock of Seagulls - Telecommunication (1981) EP Released before their debut album. Produced by Bill Nelson. A Flock of Seagulls - It's Not Me Talking (1981) Bill Nelson - Love Without Fears (1982) Be Bop Deluxe - New Precision (1978) Be Bop Deluxe was like The Stranglers in a way. They rarely settled on one style. They started in a kind of glam/new wave hybrid aesthetic and moved to prog and the like. The difference was that Bill Nelson was an amazing guitarist, which (thankfully) distinguished them from the punk zeitgeist that was to soon dominate the UK charts. So they rarely made fools of themselves and stopped when their bass player's visa expired instead of trudging on and on. Always interesting, good lyrics, and overall horribly underrated. I hope you like my little sampling of their overlooked discography. Be Bop Deluxe - Ships In The Night (1976) Be Bop Deluxe - Jet Silver And The Dolls Of Venus (1974) Strontium 90 - Electron Romance (1977) Wikipedia: Strontium 90 was the name of a short-lived 1977 British band with membersMike Howlett [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Howlett](lead bass, vocals),Sting [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sting_(musician)](bass, vocals),Stewart Copeland [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stewart_Copeland](drums), andAndy Summers [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Summers](guitar). The band is most notable for introducing Summers to Sting and Copeland, as this trio would go on to massive success asThe Police [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Police]. The band was formed in mid-1977 by Howlett after he quitGong [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gong_(band)]and recruited Sting and Summers to participate in a new project.Chris Cutler [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Cutler]was unavailable to play drums, so Sting brought along Copeland, with whom he had been playing in an early lineup of The Police. I've played Gong on this show a few times. Gong was the band that briefly featured Bill Bruford (after Yes and King Crimson)and Dave Stewart who went on to form Bruford with Alan Holdsworth and Jeff Berlin. One of the finest prog ensembles ever. If you like quirky, other-worldly prog, don't find Can funny and wish Incredible String Band had a better line-up, go listen to Gong. Mike Howlett was a fine bassist but wasn't integral to Gong's original sound. Strontium 90 - New World Blues (1977) Strontium 90 - Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic (1977) Public Zone - Naive (1977)Peter Godwin, Duncan Brown, and Sean Lyons were members of Metro. The band briefly changed their name to Public Zone and released this single with Stewart Copeland who played drums on both tracks Curved Air - Desiree (1976) Stuart Copeland on drums. Copeland was romantically involved with Curved Air vocalist Sonja Kristina beginning in 1974, and they were married from 1982 to 1991. Copeland adopted Kristina's son Sven from a prior relationship, and they had two more sons together, Jordan and Scott. I came THIS close to interviewing Stuart Copeland when he was in town last time. I would have asked him about Sonja, Klark Kent, and not much more. Curved Air - Juno (1976) Last Exit - Savage Beast (1975) Sting on vocals. Last Exit - Fool In Love (1975) Last Exit - Carrion Prince (1975) Tim Rose - Second Avenue (1975) What a nice song. Andy Summers plays guitar. I played this over and over when I found it. Kevin Lamb - Last Farewell (1973)Andy Summers on guitar. Joan Armatrading - Stepping Out (1975)Andy Summers on guitar. Eric Burdon and the Animals - Colored Rain (1968)Andy Summers on guitar. Dantalian's Chariot - Soma (Parts 1 & 2) (1967)Andy Summers on guitar. Dantalian's Chariot - World War Three (1967) Dantalian's Chariot - Madman Running Through The Fields (1967)