IRS Demos / Session Outtakes Sun Studios Memphis, TN June 1977 soundboard recording (quality: VG+; sourced from IRS Records in-house cassette) 1-6: What's Behind the Mask? (various takes, false starts, alt. mixes) 7-9: Rock On the Moon (takes 1-3) 10: false start 11: Rock on the Moon (take 4) 12-14: Daddy Drives a UFO (takes 1 & 2 + false start)
Ardent Studios Memphis, TN October 1977 soundboard recordings (quality: VG-; sounds like a multi-generation tape source) 01 TV Set 02 Domino 03 Can't Hardly Stand It 04 Lonesome Town 05 I Was a Teenage Werewolf 06 Sunglasses after Dark 07 Human Fly 08 Love Me 09 Uranium Rock 10 The Way I Walk 11 Strychnine 12 Surfin' Bird 13 I'm Cramped ROB SEZ: I've covered quite a bit of the Alex Chilton / Big Star story over the years via many ROIOs. Now we bring you an odd little chapter that's not yet been featured: Alex producing The Cramps in 1977. Thanks to fanatical Cramps collectors, here are the (nearly) complete demos & studio outtakes from The Cramps' Chilton sessions in Memphis in 1977. (I left off a few duplicative takes of "What's Behind the Mask" — how many of those do we need to hear in one sitting, anyway??) The Chilton sessions led to the 1979 Gravest Hits EP & full-length Songs the Lord Taught Us, released in 1980. The Cramps aren't really my thing, but I can't deny there's a good bit of ghoulish, primal "rawk" fun to be found here. Enjoy. FLAC MP3@320 POST-DEADLINE BONUS: Here are 5 superior-sounding tracks (VG+) from the second set via an alternate source, plus artwork & photos. FLAC or MP3@320(poke around a bit to find even more...)
A seasonal song for the coming of autumn, and a sequel, after 41 years to my "Summer Sun" (Ork Records, 1977). With John Teer from Chatham County Line (fiddle & mandolin), Peter Holsapple (harmonies), Dan Davis (drums), Jason Foureman (acoustic bass). Thanks to Jeff Crawford for production assistance on this one!
ROB SEZ: In my recent Q & A with Chris, he said this song will appear onThe Great Escape, his forthcoming studio album, due later this year. Whether or not this version of "Greensboro Days" turns out to be the master take on the album, we'll just have to see. (In case you missed it, you can stream another new song by Chris at THIS earlier post.)
ROB SEZ: A huge thank-you goes to dB's Fan for the original share. The oldest of these are the final two Alex
Chilton tracks, accompanied by Chris and the rest of The Cossacks, probably 1977. “Tennis
Bum” is a better-known track from Peter’s Memphis sessions, recorded some time in 1978 at Sam Phillips’ studio with Richard Rosebrough. Most of the other
Peter tracks are thought to be from these sessions except for the 3 marked “ * ”.
Those are said to be from a later session in 1979 at Mitch Easter’s Drive-In
Studio in Winston-Salem, NC. Chris’ demos are dated 1982, but there’s no other
info. I can't imagine the Repercussion songs would have been demo’d in 1982 since the album was recorded in 1981. But I’m just passing on the info
I was given...
Peter visits London, 1981
Chris phones it in, just this once
A MAN CALLED LX Alex Chilton strumming away in someone's bedsit photo by S. Chernikowski
You DO own the most excellent Ride the Wild TomTom comp, don't you?
Whaddya mean, "No, I just haven't got around to buying that one yet"?!?
Congratulations to Peter on the release of his second proper solo album in 21 years! Game Day is receiving excellent reviews: 4 stars from AllMusic and No Depression calls it "a real gift". Read more reviews here & here. Interviews with Peter are here, here & here. Live gigs in N.C. and Los Angeles are scheduled, and other live shows may follow elsewhere (at last report, a certain Mr. Will Rigby is playing drums in the band). Peter is blogging again, so keep up with Game Day developments here.
PH - clearly psyched for Game Day
Sample Track from the new album: "Continental Drifters" —
a beautiful tribute to a great band
PH RELEASE NUMBER TWO COMING IN OCTOBER:
The Death of Rock
credited to Peter and ... Alex Chilton!
It's probably the last thing Peter & Omnivore Recordings want you to be thinking about right now. But this is a fan blog, so we're spilling the beans.
40 year-old recordings from Memphis, TN become an album. In 1978, Peter had relocated from N.C. to Memphis, hoping to collaborate with Big Star leaders Chris Bell and Alex Chilton. When Bell said he wasn't interested, Peter found a willing partner in Richard Rosebrough, local engineer, musician & friend of Big Star. Peter & Richard began recording sessions in the summer of 1978 at Sam Phillips' studio. Alex Chilton got involved a bit later (see below). I was tipped off to this release by eagle-eye Fantom, so all credit to him.
Here's pre-release info recently posted at Amazon, iTunes & similar sites:
Peter Holsapple vs. Alex Chilton - The Death Of Rock
• Newly discovered recordings of early solo Peter Holsapple and Like Flies On Sherbert–era Alex Chilton
• Liner notes by Peter Holsapple and author/filmmaker, Robert Gordon
• Previously unseen photos from the collections of Peter Holsapple and Pat Rainer
It’s 1978 at Sam Phillips Recording Service in Memphis, TN. Peter Holsapple had rolled into town chasing the essence of Big Star. He hooked up with musician/ engineer/ friend-of-Big-Star, Richard Rosebrough after approaching, and being turned down by, Chris Bell who Holsapple had hoped might be interested in producing him. Together Richard and Peter started laying down tracks during the off hours at the studio. Chilton meanwhile, was knee deep in the making of Like Flies On Sherbert, also being tracked at Phillips. He told Peter, “I heard some of that stuff you’re working on with Richard . . . and it really sucks.” Alex promised to come by and show Peter “how it’s done.” The results? Alex’s tracks definitely line up with the chaos found on Flies, while several of Peter’s songs found homes on The dB’s albums (“Bad Reputation” and “We Were Happy There”) and on an album by The Troggs (“The Death Of Rock” retooled as “I’m In Control”), so not a loss at all. What we have in these newly discovered tapes, is a fascinating pivot point with both artists moving past each other headed in distinctly different directions. Chilton moved toward punk/psychobilly as he began playing with Tav Falco’s Panther Burns and produced The Cramps debut, Songs The Lord Taught Us within a few months of these recordings. Holsapple was off to New York to audition for The dB’s and enter the world of “sweet pop.” Liner notes by Peter Holsapple tell the story of these recordings firsthand and author/ filmmaker/ Memphian, Robert Gordon, helps pull the time and place into focus. Previously unseen photos included in the package are drawn from the collections of Peter Holsapple and Pat Rainer. Produced by Cheryl Pawelski with mastering by Mike Graves at Osiris Studio and Jeff Powell at Take Out Vinyl/Sam Phillips Recording Service in Memphis, who brings it all right back to where it started.
Track Listing:
1. Bad Reputation
2. Tennis Bum
3. House Is Not a Home
4. Marshall Law
5. We Were Happy There
6. Heart and Soul
7. The Death of Rock
8. Train Kept a Rollin'
9. Take Me Back
10. Hey Mona
11. Mind Your Manners (backing track)
12. Bad Reputation (backing track)
13. Tennis Bum (rehearsal)
14. O My Soul (instrumental rehearsal)
15. In the Street (instrumental rehearsal)
16. Baby I Love You (rehearsal)
17. The Death of Rock (rehearsal)
18. Someone's Gotta Shine Your Shoes (rehearsal)
19. Mind Your Manners (4-track version with vocals)
Notes: tracks 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 & 13 are credited to Alex Chilton; all others to Peter Holsapple (Apple Music & Apple iTunes list the same tracks in a different order)
DUE OUT Oct. 12, 2018 on Omnivore Recordings
Pre-order The Death of RockHERE (CD) and HERE (vinyl).
Go to Amazon & iTunes for digital download pre-orders; they come with an immediate download of the song "The Death of Rock" — which can also be downloaded separately.
ROB SEZ: This & a few other early Let's Active posts look weird because I was trying to figure out a non-HTML work around for the take-down notices automatically generated by certain record company 'bots. My fingers are crossed, but I'm guessing the take-downs won't be a problem going forward.
The Rusty Nail Sunderland, MA soundboard recording (quality: VG++; very impressive recording, 4+ decades old!) 01 Talk to Me 02 Call Him Off Rogers 03 That’s Neat That’s Nice 04 Two Sides to Every Story 05 I Want to Know 06 Dig 07 There’s No Looking Back 08 Music, Music, Music / Rockin' in Rhythm 09 Let Me Tell You ‘Bout My Girl 10 Mr. Pennington 11 Holy Cow 12 Gonna Have to Ball 13 Mona 14 Who Put the Garlic In the Glue? 15 Get Rhythm 16 Sorry Charlie 17 You Got It 18 Get On the Right Track Baby 19 Queen Talk 20 Bye Bye Love The Surrey Rosendale, N.Y. Feb. 2, 1980 soundboard recording (quality: VG+) DISC 1 01 Shake, Rattle, Roll 02 This Old House
TERRY ADAMS:captain of the NRBQ ship
03 Things We Like to Do 04 Right String, Wrong Yo-Yo 05 I know You Like It 06 Music Goes Round 07 Don't She Look Good 08 Just to Hold My Hand 09 It's Not So Hard 10 Everybody's Smokin' 11 Bargains 12 Green Lights 13 I Wanna Show You 14 Petticoat Junction 15 All By Myself 16 I Want You to Feel Good Too 17 Rats In My Room DISC 2 01 Bye Ya 02 Let the Good times Roll 03 Who Put the Garlic In the Glue? 04 Daddy's Gonna Tell You No Lies 05 RC Cola & a Moon Pie 06 That's Neat That's Nice 07 Wacky Tobacky 08 Never Take the Place of You 09 Ridin' In My Car 10 Ain't It Alright? 11 Wooly Bully 12 Flat Foot Flewzy 13 1972 14 Cecelia 15 Good Lovin' 16 Every Day Will Be Like a Holiday 17 Honey Hush 18 Accentuate the Positive 19 song intro 20 All Night Long 21 Good Night ROB SEZ: In case anyone thinks Repercussion has turned into a "re-post only" blog, let today's post stand as a corrective. At least once a month, I will continue to post new material that hasn't appeared here before. Even if you're not currently a fan of NRBQ, this would be a good one to try if you're curious about this great American band — still in business 50 years after its founding. REPERCUSSION: NRBQ has direct and indirect ties to The dB's. In his recent book A Spy In the House of Loud, Chris Stamey says NRBQ was "one of our favorite bands" that played with "irresistible verve and superior musicianship." Chris adds, "looking back, I think the dB's 'punk roots' at the time [ie, the late 1970s and early 1980s] were actually NRBQ and Richard Thompson as well as Television." Years later, Chris enlisted NRBQ founder/leader/vocalist/keyboard virtuoso Terry Adams to play on his 1991 solo album Fireworks. And as blog reader Pablo pointed out, both bands were signed to Bearsville Records at the time of the label's demise in the 1980s. FLAC (artwork for both shows is included) MP3@320FIXED FILE SET with NEW LINK
Will often ends up in the center of these old group shots, looking very cool.
Stephanie Chernikowski photo
The Ritz NYC 1981-06-12
Newly-unearthed photos of dB's live gig: Hope & Anchor, 1981
London gig photos by R. Plews (see more photos & read story HERE)
01 Big Brown Eyes
02 I Feel Good (Today)
03 We Should Be In Bed
04 Dynamite
05 Cycles Per Second
06 Death Garage
07 If and When
OGWT London 1981-07-03
08 Cycles Per Second
09 pH Factor
10 Big Brown Eyes
The dB's:
Chris Stamey
Will Rigby
Gene Holder
Peter Holsapple
ROB SEZ:It wasn’t hard to pick the first music post for the blog. I’m guessing 1981 was a very cool time to be in The dB’s. The debut album was out, receiving rave reviews, and the band played hip places like The Ritz in NYC and at "The Old Grey Whistle Test" in London. The 1981 Ritz set is one of the few soundboard recordings in The dB’s ROIO canon. You can judge for yourself, of course, but I think the guys are firing on all cylinders. The OGWT tracks are fun to listen to, but even more fun to watch. Find ‘em on YouTube. BIG THANKS to the original tapers & sharers, especially lilpanda for superior versions of the NYC tracks. I first saw these online at the late, lamented NargoTheBort's Deviant Subculture blog. FLAC(OGWT tracks = MP3)
Repercussion blog followers may want to know about a big, permanent
change in direction at the blog, starting this week.
Since starting dB's Repercussion in 2012, the blog has been a labor of love. This means I have to squeeze it in between work & family commitments. My work load is growing & changing right now, which means something has to give.
STARTING IMMEDIATELY, YOU WILL NOTICE 3 CHANGES
1) Posts will be no more than once per week, usually on Fridays. The bottom of the "ASH Tuesday" barrel has been scraped, and there's no more to share. I bid the ASH Tuesday posts a fond farewell, with my sincere thanks to Don, Mick and the rest of the ASH crew. It was great while it lasted.
2) I'm returning to the original focus of the blog: The dB's, Let's Active, their various band members & associates, and artists they chose/choose to collaborate with. From now on, there will be no more posts unrelated to the above in some way, shape or form.
3) Re-posts with lossless links. Half or more of the posts from now on will be re-posts with links to FLAC files. The arrival of faster upload speeds in my town and Dropbox's generous storage allowance mean I can start to share FLAC versions of many dB's, Let's Active (etc.) posts. Some of my source material was lossy, so I won't be able to do this with everything here — but there will be a lot.
IRS Demos / Session Outtakes
October 1977
