it's been awhile since my last post but I've been quite busy for the last weeks. So don't panic, I haven't given up. At least not yet. Nevertheless, I found some nice vintage releases that I thought would deserve to get a listen or two. No time to lose, no words to waste, here we go...
Udo Lindenberg - No Panic On The Titanic (1976) Tracklist:
1. The Conductor
2. Votan Wahnwitz
3. Nothing But a Vacuum
4. Daniel's Time Machine
5. It Was All So New
6. Rudi Ratlos
7. Elli Pyrelli
8. O Rhesus Negative
9. Look at It My Way
10.Johnny Controlletti
11.Jack
The project to take the best songs from Udo Lindenberg's German masterpiece trilogy Alles Klar auf der Andrea Doria, Ball Pompös, and Votan Wahnwitz, translate them to English, and try to conquer the Anglo-Saxon market was conceived in 1975 after the release of Votan Wahnwitz, but the actual record No Panic, the fruit of these attempts, was only released in 1977 in the U.S. and the U.K. Apart from the fact that it was a flop in both countries (Lindenberg's strength was his German lyrical backbone), it also divided his huge fan community in Germany. Some regarded this record as embarrassing and tasteless; others thought it was as exceptional and authentic as Lindenberg's other work. Be that as it may, this record is a quirky attempt to get a foot into a market Lindenberg wasn't destined for, and after decades it pays off to listen to these English songs and compare them with their German counterparts. Unlike the releases No Panic was based on, however, it is not a must-have in an album collection of German rock. For people interested in translation, it is definitely informative to see how Udo Lindenberg's relentlessly funny word games were transposed to English, and the record drew the attention of a limited English-speaking audience to this German rock icon. (Frank Eisenhuth, AMG)
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The "O" Band - Look To The Left 12" (1977)Tracklist:
1. Look To The Left, Look To The Right
2. A Smile Is Diamond
3. Fine White Wine
Here's the O-Band's last output, their '77 release "Look To The Left..". The O Band was rising out of the ashes of the "Parlour Band",releasing four albums during their heyday. The title track is a cover version from SPIRIT (well at least it is credited to be written by a certain Randy California) . The backside songs are ust as good as the first, with "A Smile Is Diamond" being the O Band's greatest success, making its way on the famous "Munich City Nights" Sampler series. Too bad the band called it quits shortly after the release of their fouth LP, "The Knife". Great songs, highly recommended!
Download here
Bob Seger - Smokin' O.P.s (1972)Tracklist:
| 1. Bo Diddley |
| 2. Love The One You're With |
| 3. If I Were A Carpenter |
| 4. Hummin' Bird |
| 5. Let It Rock |
| 6. Turn On Your Love Light |
| 7. James, Jesse |
| 8. Someday |
| 9. Heavy Music |
Bob Seger closed out his Capitol contract with Brand New Morning, a singer/songwriter album quite unlike anything he had yet released. Following its release he moved to the Detroit-based label Palladium and returned to hard-driving rock & roll with Smokin' O.P.'s, the polar opposite of Brand New Morning. According to legend, the title stands for "smoking other people's songs," which makes sense since this is a cover album that even covers Bob Seger & the Last Heard. In other words, it's nothing like the intimate, reflective, risky Brand New Morning, but that doesn't matter since it rocks so well and since it reveals that Seger isn't just a first-class bandleader and rock songwriter, but that he's a terrific interpreter of other writers' songs. Even well-worn tunes like "Bo Diddley" and "If I Were a Carpenter" get made fresh by internalizing the hooks, turning them into something fresh and original. That's also true of songs by such contemporaries as Stephen Stills ("Love the One You're With") and Leon Russell ("Humming Bird"), and he also breathes fire into blues and rock stalwarts like "Let It Rock," "Turn on Your Love Light," and "Jesse James." Smokin' O.P.'s closes out with two originals, one new (the fine, but not especially noteworthy "Someday") and one old (the perennial "Heavy Music"). Neither change the essential character of the album, which is just a really fun, hard-rocking record that bought Seger some time while reasserting the fact that he could really rock. He could -- and he could rock really well -- which is why Smokin' O.P.'s remains a lot of fun, even if it's a relatively minor work in Seger's canon. (Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG)
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I have some other albums to post, but my time is running short, so I'll be posting these later this week (or next) so stay tuned. If you like what you find here, leave a message.
Have fun,
evil
