David Bixby

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Ode To Quetzalcoatl (which might be the best name for a record in the history of music) was originaly pressed on vinyl with a run of only 1,000 copies. David Bixby had recently "found God", but the drug addled folk singer was shunned by the conservative christians as well as the hippies (if only he'd wandered on to the set of Godspell). Eventually finding himself accepted by a cult, Bixby was asked to record this record to help fund them. Eventually he was disillusioned with the cult and managed to get out.

This is a deepy personal recording and there's a real eerie quality about it...plus you get awesome song titles like "Drug Song" and "666".

Q

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Saint Vitus

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Sad news yesterday that original Saint Vitus drummer Armando Acosta passed away at 58 years young. As a guitar player, I never pay a whole lot of attention to the drums of a band but I do notice when they are especially amazing (Mountain's Corky Laing and Melvin's Dale Crover come to mind). Armando Acosta was also that kind of drummer.

I didn't hear Saint Vitus 'till the end of 1986 when I got SST's great comp tape "Blasting Concept 2". For me, the stand-out track was Saint Vitus's "Look Behind You". In fact Dave Chandler's Wah pedal sound on that (especially the awesome audible clicking off of the pedal) is what made me buy a wah pedal of my own. I've never forgotten how to play that song and can't help but play it every time I hook up the crybaby.

This early 12" EP is on the CD reissue of Hallow's Victim, which is amazing and since I think all their stuff is finally in print again, you might as well skip the download and head straight to their store. Oh wait, you already own this I bet...

War is our Destiny

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Neil Merryweather

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You can read all about Neil Merryweather here, but let's talk about this record. It's in the top ten of best rock records ever made. I'm not stating an opinion, that is a fact. More consistent than pretty much anything from that era, it's also explosive fuzz guitar at it's peak. Turn it up and you can feel the heat of vintage transistors being over driven as guitars scream to 11.

Not sure how to describe this one...partly later Electric Prunes, a bit of Highway Robbery, and 100x heavier than Edgar Winter at his rockingest. It's hooky, raw and LOUD.

This is also one of those records that is SO good, I gotta say that you'll miss out if skip around like it's so easy to do these days of mp3 blogs and torrents. Even the slower songs will get stuck in your head and have incredibly well written guitar parts.

As of now there are 2 from private sellers on Amazon for 18 bucks each, so if you don't take my word for it, check it out here first then go order this Canadian masterpiece of epic rock.

Is it just me or do the verses of "You Know Where I'd Rather Be" sound like it could be from a newer Melvins song?

Star Rider, eh?

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Powder

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Wot's that you say? You like the 60s? You like the hip new rock beats coming from England like the Who and The Pretty Things? Well my friend, if you haven't listened to Powder's CD of mostly 1968 demos you're in for a groovy treat.
Powder were actually from San Mateo, a small town near San Francisco, and just a few train stops from Redwood City where I work. I couldn't find much info about any tours or label support, but after the short lived band broke up, Thomas and Richard Frost backed Sonny & Cher for a tour, then recorded a bunch of great (but very produced and sugary) pop tunes that you can get re-released here for a reasonable price.
In any case, ignore the reviews that say that these songs are just Who knockoffs...there are a couple semi-blatant riffs sure, but these guys definitely knew how to write great songs. I think you'll dig it.

Visualize

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The Dentists

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The Dentists were a band from South Eastern England who formed in 1984, and released this amazing record just a year later. Pure jangle bliss, with plenty of 60s garage and psychedelia influences somewhat similar to The Soft Boys at their lighter moments or maybe '60s tunesmiths The Action. Well, whatever they really sound like, it's damned good and this could be the first, true "Brit-Pop" record. If you lik pop, prepare to listen to this for the rest of the day.

Powdered Lobster Fiasco

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Embryo

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It's been a while since I've posted, so I thought I'd better come back with something really good. So, here's one of my favorite krautrock/prog albums of all time. In fact, wikipedia calles them "one of the most important German Krautrock bands of the 1970s".

What do they sound like? Some of the guitar reminds me of Hawkwind, some of the bass lines remind me of Goblin and then there's the world beat element that's a little like Mandrill, while "Marimbaroos" verges on Martin Denny space rock. OK, that's not super accurate but they're a hard band to pin down. If any of what I mention strikes a nerve though, you'll want to take a listen.

also, did you know there's also a documentary about their 1979 bus tour throughout India? It's called Vagabond's Band. Here's a preview. If you don't watch it, you're an idiot!

Oktoberfest

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Stitch

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OK, so I grabbed this off another blog a while back but I can't think of a better "obscure" metal 7" to start October with than this...not that I really tried mind you.

Anyway, for fuck's sake check these guys out. They were a Swedish band but this single sounds really NWOBHM. The A side, "Devil's Deal" is catchy as hell and features some pretty amazing lyrics too.

NWOSHM

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