Kan-Gu-Wa! Katanga! Chop Chop!

Just got these four new-ish comps via the generous & accommodating Mr. Lemon of San Francisco.  The tracks featured on these albums are mostly vocals, with a few instrumentals also included.  Below I've posted a four-track mix...one instro track from each album...for your listening pleasure.

KAN-GU-WA MIX

Tracks:

The Three Suns - Volcano
Jack La Forge - The Cleopatra Kick
Sandy Nelson - Chop Chop
Classie Ballou - Classie's Whip

Kan-Gu-Wa (info)
Ahbe Casabe (info)
Katanga (info)
Chop Chop! (info)

Lookey-Dookey! Sin Alley!

I had both of these comps on vinyl, back in the day, & both have stood up well to repeated listenings over the years.  LOOKEY-DOOKEY is a fine collection of grimy R & B howlers, while SIN ALLEY combines R & B with inspired Rockabilly lunacy.  Find 'em at the ROWFISHERMANROW blog.  Also...have a "lookey-dookey" at my Flickr page.  Flickr dropped a big site redesign bomb this week, and love it or hate it, I thought it was high time I updated my stuff posted there...

LOOKEY-DOOKEY!

SIN ALLEY Part One

"JRpopartz" on Flickr

More Frantic 45s

I've come to the conclusion that I need to spend more time working & less time blogging.  I'll continue to post here, only not so frequently.  Here's a bunch more YouTube 45s to keep you out of trouble until I get back...

The Music City Two In One - Snag Nasty

Moe Koffman - Funky Monkey

Willie Mitchell - Tails Out

Gerry Hayes - Soulgirl (Philly Dog)

The Monclairs - Sore Feet

Albert Collins - Do the Sissy

The Soul Runners - What Can I Say

Johnny (Spider) Martin Organ Quartet - Hicup's [sic]

Los Masters - Cissy Strut

Los Sudamericanos - El Trencito

Los Seims - Mister Acelerador

The Magnificents - Last Night

Larry Page Orch. - You Really Got Me

The Spacewalkers - Gemini, Go Baby Go!

The Ski Stompers - Blacksmith Blues

Bob Summers - Rattle Rhythm

The Valli Boys - Night Hawk

Little Miguel's Golden Five - Garlic Breath

Billy & the King Bees - Bango

Twangy Rebels - Lazy Rebel

The Fireballs - Chicken

Sammy Lowe & Orch. - Speak Up

The Rhythm Masters - Break-A-Way

The Upsetters - Jaywalking

Vinny & the Nitelites - Poppin' Popcorn

Doc Bagby - Cornbread

The Roller Coasters - Slap-Back

Mickey Lane - Dum Dee Dee Dum

The Hygrades - In the Jungle

Voodoo Exotica

Dust off that tiki bar!  Fire up the tiki torches!  Get a blaze going in that fire pit or barbecue, and load up the pu-pu platters…summertime is just around the corner!  It's not too early to start planning those warm weather "exotica" parties.  Music can be a huge part of creating the proper ambience, of course…but if you're sick and tired of the same old Martin Denny & Arthur Lyman LPs, there are alternatives.  I've blogged about this before, but may I suggest that you check out THE EXOTICA PROJECT once more…?  DJ "Little Danny" Shiman has posted one-hundred rare and exotic vintage 45s there for your listening pleasure.  It's worth returning for a fresh look every now & again because he often removes older tunes & replaces them with new ones.  Although I sincerely love this stuff, I personally favor the somewhat sleazier, more rock 'n' roll-oriented "mondo" music featured on the JUNGLE EXOTICA compilation (which is apparently still available via SMUTSHAKE CUPCAKE).  Crank it up, and let the virgin sacrifices begin!!!

Extra bonus: JUNGLE EXOTICA VOL. 2

The Hot Pearl Snatch

Here's an original painting based on the poster for THE HOT PEARL SNATCH (1966)...the film obviously inspired the identically titled song by The Cramps.  Apparently the original movie poster was a bit racy for public display, so they later painted some red bikinis over the girls' naughty bits!  I couldn't find a trailer for the film on YouTube (or anywhere else, for that matter), but I did dig up an interesting post at the TRASH VIDEO blog (which includes a few photos).  My original painting is available for purchase via my Comic Art Collective page.

THE HOT PEARL SNATCH (Trash Video)

The Cramps - The Hot Pearl Snatch (YouTube)

45s - Believe It or Not!

As a kid I loved Ripley's Believe It or Not!  I had several paperback reprints of the original newspaper feature, and I read them over and over...so much weird, cool, and strange stuff out there in the world...it just took a guy like Robert Ripley to go out & find it, then share it with the rest of us.  Fishing for obscure 45s on YouTube can be sort of like that.  I never really know what I might dig up...frantic faux "exotica," wild ventures in heavy reverb/sound effects, or just plain great records which never attracted the attention they deserved.  Thanks to the many & various obsessive crate-diggers out there who share their fantastic finds on YouTube!

Black Zoo - Russ Faith & Orch.

Blutus (Le Lion) - Billy Nash

Baby Elephant Walk - Alan Parker

Giggle Wiggle - The Birds of Paradise

Jo Barbara - Fried Rice

Appletree Theatre - Lotus Flower

The Flying Carpet - Laguestra & his Orch.

The Shin-Diggers - The Mummy Walk

The Noose - The Executioners

The Spirits - Kaput

Prentiss McPhail - It's Uncle Willie Time

Fred Adison - Drive In and Twist

Kid Burbank - Madison Rocket

Bob Summers - Space Walkin'

The Westwoods - Limbo (The Land of Inbetween)

The Rangers - La Citta Sommersa

The Fabulous Imperials - Wierd [sic]

Louis Jackson - Fran's Mood

The Gallahads - Barracuda

Brunswick bowling promo - Hully Gully Bowling Ball

Japanese Monsters

Prints on glossy Kodak photo paper, 5" x 5" each.   Any two prints, only $12 (domestic shipping included).  Set of all 6 prints, just $32 (includes domestic shipping).  I accept PayPal.

GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS trailer (YouTube)

MOTHRA trailer (YouTube)

MOTHRA'S SONG (YouTube)

RODAN trailer (YouTube)

GAMERA trailer (YouTube)

GHIDRAH trailer (YouTube)

DESTROY ALL MONSTERS trailer (YouTube)

The Moons - GAMMERA (YouTube)

Lost Treasures

Del-Fi was a great record label, and this LOST TREASURES compilation is well worth repeated listenings.  Be on the lookout for the other fine Del-Fi comps: JUNGLE JIVE, POOL PARTY, BEACH PARTY, and HELLBOUND HOT RODS!  All include some swinging instrumentals.

DEL-FI LOST TREASURES! (via Fantastic Retrovision)

Dave "Baby" Cortez was a tremendous keyboard artist.  ACE Records (out of the UK) is a top notch reissue label, and this collection of Cortez's work is terrific...it also includes an informative booklet.

DAVE "BABY" CORTEZ: HAPPY ORGANS (& etc.) (via ROW FISHERMAN ROW)

45s Warped My Mind!

I developed a taste for oddball records early in life.  I have two older sisters who were both teenagers by the time I was old enough to use a turntable.  They left home when I was still quite young, but left behind some unusual 45s.  One of these was Jack Paar's "Blue Wiggle."  Paar, as you might already know, hosted THE TONIGHT SHOW from 1957 to 1962.  His early broadcast background included stints as a "humorous disc jockey" at various Midwest radio stations, and stand-up comedy on THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW.  With "Blue Wiggle" (1958) he seems to be poking fun at the "beatnik"-style poetry that was in vogue at the time.  My young friends & I thought the record was extremely weird & funny.  After this, I was always on the lookout for similarly unique & transcendent discs…

Jack Paar - Blue Wiggle

Another childhood favorite was "Suffocate," by Ralph Smedley & the Breathers, a parody of teenage rock 'n' roll dance crazes…instead of encouraging listeners to learn the twist or the frug, the singer instructs listeners to stop breathing: "You'll feel great when you suffocate!"  Some other kids in the neighborhood had the record, and once I'd heard it I knew I had to have it…I finally convinced them to sell it to me, and I still own it.  Both sides of this sick 45 are included on the REAL GONE GARBAGE compilation LP.  The flip side, "Drown," is equally demented.

Ralph Smedley & the Breathers - Suffocate

One day my mother came home from shopping downtown & brought me a box of "bargain" 45s.  Some retailer got the bright idea to buy up a bunch of unsold "cut-out" singles, package 10 or 12 of them randomly in a box, & sell it for 99 cents.  My box contained a record that permanently blew my mind: "Paralyzed," by the Legendary Stardust Cowboy.  At first, my friends & I couldn't believe that adult humans had actually gone to the trouble to record & release this little slice of insanity.  Nothing "The Ledge" has released since then matches the wild savagery displayed on this recording--flailing, pounding drums & unintelligible shrieking--this is like primal scream therapy, or something…

The Legendary Stardust Cowboy -  Paralyzed

Later on, I selected the Stardust Cowboy as my subject for the WFMU "Crackpots & Visionaries" card set.