A psych-folk jam from 1970, the funk is so woozy on this track it's liable to make you seasick just sitting still. Enter Susan Christie's "Paint A Lady," rescued from obscurity by Finders Keepers Records in 2006. Deemed too commercially far out for its time, one can now draw a through line between this and, say, the work of late 70s Joni Mitchell (become a member or log in.
Having kicked heroin after years of teen-idol stardom as the leader of the Belmonts, Dion released "Daddy Rollin' (In Your Arms)" in 1968 as the b-side to "Abraham, Martin and John." The underlying vibe of the tune was described by Dion as "(the song) can be a love song or it can be about drugs. I recorded it in the back of a bowling alley with a bunch of Jamaicans. We were banging on cardboard boxes. I had . . .
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
A slinky outlier in a collection of straight up funk bangers from the golden coast, The 4th Coming's "Cruising Down The Street" is an aural ride through the region after dark. Another great addition to a super-strong series: California Funk: Rare 45's From The Golden State.
MP3: The 4th Coming :: Cruising Down The Street
---------------------
+ Download become a member or log in.
Aside from scouring various and sundry bins at used vinyl fairs (with a fat bankroll) Top Drawer's "Song Of A Sinner" can most readily be found on a compilation Now-Again Records released last year entitled Forge Your Own Chains. Like become a member or log in.
Beach Boys fans: A year and half ago the Rising Storm's Brendan McGrath put together a compilation of some of his favorite cuts from the latter day Beach Boys records. He called it Beach Bros, and as compilations of this variety go, it did just as intended, re-stoking my interest in some of the Boys lesser known '70s material. Last week McGrath sent me its follow-up entitled: Beach Bros 2 aka "10 Big Ones" or "Carl's 2nd Chance." I have yet to dig in, but couldn't pass up this opportunity to share the first volume below. Endless summer, indeed.
Download: The Beach Boys :: Beach Bros (A Compilation)
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
No Jacket Required returns this Friday at the Grandstar in Chinatown with a triple bill of The Warlocks, Summer Darling, and our friends New Mexico (formerly Apes of Wrath). Come hang. Bonus treats: there’s free Firefly Vodka from 8-10pm, so, you know, go nuts.
We’re giving away three pairs of tickets to AD readers. To land a pair, leave your name and a valid email address in the comments. Winners notified via email. Look for AD’s No Jacket Required bills the first and third Fridays of every month at the Grandstar on Broadway. $5 advance, $10 at the door.
Purchase: Advance Tickets
943 N. Broadway (Chinatown) Los Angeles, CA — Doors at 8:00
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
Our weekly two hour show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 26 (SIRIUS), and channel 43 (XM), can now be heard twice, every Friday - Noon EST with an encore broadcast at Midnight EST.
Oliver Wang, of Soul Sides, is my guest today during the second hour of the show. If missed missed it, be sure and download the sounds of Wang's gospel/soul mixtape here.
SIRIUS 153: Jean Michel Bernard . . .
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
Airing the Admiral Radley session today during the first hour of the show. For those of you sans satellite radio I've upped the tracks below. These were cut, live, in March in Austin during SXSW -- aka, the public unveiling of the Grandaddy/Earlimart union. As always, thanks to our friends at The Ship.
MP3: Admiral Radley :: I Heart California (AD Session)
MP3: become a member or log in.
Welcome to the latest mixtape installment in which I highlight some of my favorite voices online and beyond. Today we catch up with DJ O-Dub, aka Oliver Wang of Soul Sides. Since the series began in February Soul Sides has been at the top of my short list. Wang's taste and knowledge in soul, r&b, funk and hip hop is unrivaled. Below, O-Dub has cooked up an hour long medley of gospel/funk guaranteed to save your soul. In short, you need this tape . . .
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
Several years ago our pal Duke, over at You Set The Scene, turned us on to the unearthed/reissued Billy Nicholls LP Would You Believe. With the caveat that, unlike so many other 'lost masterpieces,' this was an album that actually delivered on the promise of the hyperbole. I took note and he was right. Hailed as "the British . . .
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
"Slivadiv" from Back Door's eponymous, super funky, 1972 LP. Just try and not break into "Stand Together."
MP3: Back Door :: Slivadiv
---------------------
+ Download Back Door free via eMusic’s 35 free MP3 no risk trial offer . . .
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
As Record Collector magazine once noted, the Sea-Ders (who hailed from Beirut, Lebanon) took a decidedly different tack when approaching this thing that is rock & roll. Instead of spiraling into over the top eastern-flavored otherness (like so many of their peers at the time) the Sea-Ders, having landed in London and signed to Decca in 1967, embraced a more primal, early Kinks-esque, approach to their songwriting. Coming from Beirut their take on the genre was already unique . . .
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
A friend passed the reissue of Gabor Szabo's Jazz Raga off to me at a bar just as the summer began to kick in here in Los Angeles. Unlike much of the country, the season here is a creeper---coming on slowly, all hazy, unpredictable and noir like something out of a Thomas Pynchon novel. As CDs often do, Raga ended up living in my car's deck for the next six weeks. Released in 1967 the collection is a weird stew of . . .
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
A sound that at once invokes the 70s art pop of Todd Rundgren, the pastoral folk of Heron and, at times, the vocal phrasings of Nina Simone, the twelve songs John Grant presents on Queen Of Denmark wholly create a world unto itself.
His first release since leaving the Czars, Queen of Denmark finds Grant's . . .
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
We should respect any band’s willingness to record and properly market an album at its own pace, but with that schedule comes a much higher expectation, and nowadays, a completely different music environment altogether. So how does Autolux fit into all of this after six years without a release? I have no clue, but we're about to find out. It’s almost impossible to tell what fans in general truly desire anymore other than the infatuation of newness and nostalgia, or at least being vaguely associated with both while . . .
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.