The Way Podcast: Paul Revere & The Raiders "Revolution", The Rainy Daze "That Acapulco Gold"

On tonight's show, get your kicks from Bubblegum Proto-Punks Paul Revere & the Raiders. I played tracks from their excellent 1967 LP Revolution! where they were once again teamed up with producer Terry Melcher who gave the band a muscular but crystal clear sound. I also played songs from Denver Soulful/Psych Garage Rock outfit The Rainy Daze's one and only LP That Acapulco Gold. The link to stream the podcast is below the pics. Enjoy!

THE WAY 11/19/2012

The Way 11/8/2012: Every Mother's Son Back Vinyl, The Cyrkle "The Minx" OST

On tonights show I played my vinyl copy of Every Mother's Son's 2nd and final LP called Every Mother's Son's Back, which came out just six months after their first LP was released in early 1967. I played the entire album after showcasing a few tunes from their excellent bubblegum debut. Technical glitches around the 11 to 12 minute marks didnt allow me to play the first 2 tracks from Back so I used my .mp3 copies for those two tracks before I could get the turntables working again. But the sound quality is just as good and I was able to play the rest of the album from my vintage vinyl copy after the turntable fiasco (probably a bum cartridge).

After EMS I played select tracks from the Cyrkle's soundtrack to the X-rated 1969 film "The Minx". The album essentially constitutes as the 3rd Cyrkle LP after Red Rubber Ball and Neon. The soundtrack is performed and written entirely by the group and their trademark mellow soft-pop/psych sound remains very much intact. Links to stream or download the podcast are below the pictures, enjoy!

THE WAY 11/8/2012

The Way Podcast 11/1/2012: Simon & Garfunkel "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme" MONO MIX, plus rare Cyrkle Tracks

On tonight's show I played my vintage, rare vinyl record of Simon & Garfunkel's majestic 1966 folk-pop LP Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, in it's original mono format. The mix is significantly different from the more circulated stereo mix, the complexity of the instrumentation is more noticeable, the vocal harmonies are tighter and the bass levels are higher. All in all, it makes for a much better listening experience in my opinion, yet another record that benefits from that "punchiness" that only mono sound can provide. I played the entirety of the album, and I think most of you will be impressed with the sound quality as the vinyl copy I found is exceptionally clean.

I played some rare singles and B-Sides from the soft-pop group The Cyrkle after I finished playing the Simon & Garfunkel record. Not sure if any of these off-album singles had any chart success or if they were intended for a follow-up record to Neon but they are great songs. The link is below to stream the podcast, or right-click on the link and hit "save as..." to download as an .mp3. Enjoy.

The Way 11/1/2012

The Way Podcast: 10/26/2012 Return To Form; Jangle, Bubblegum, Garage and Psych

Tonight's episode was a welcome return to the original format of the show, playing my favorite obscurities from the Psychedelic Pop era of the 1960s. Tonight's set leaned heavily on jangly bubblegum acts like the Monkees' Headquarters (presented here in mono sourced from original vinyl), Every Mother's Son and early Grass Roots, Chicago garage-popsters like New Colony Six and the Cryan' Shames, and more psych oriented stuff from the Five American's Progressions. Links to download and stream the podcast are below the pics. Enjoy!

Part 1

Part 2

The Way Podcast, Oct. 4th: The Clash Mk. II; Out Of Control

In 1984, the newly reformed line-up of the Clash embarked on the now legendary "Out Of Control" tour. Gone was Mick Jones, the excessive stoned grooves, the arty electronic-dance-rock they had begun to pioneer. Strummer and co. vowed to get back to basics and play Punk Rock music.  The band featured two new guitar players, Nick Sheppard on lead and Vince White on rhythm. The Clash's most technically skilled drummer to date Pete Howard had replaced Terry Chimes in 1983 and remained in the group after the firing of Mick Jones. Although many dismissed this version of the Clash as a shell of the former line-up, the Clash Mk. II were a fantastic band in their own right. Strummer kept his promise to rid the band's sound of excess,  they played blazing fast, razor sharp Punk, with a somewhat "post-apocalyptic" edge that only the Reagan/Thatcher reign in the mid 80s could inspire.

The Clash Mk. II

On the show I play songs from the Clash II's early demos recorded in Winter of '83, tunes from their live tour in 1984 all the way to their only album statement, the vastly underrated electro-punk freakshow Cut the Crap (1985). No Mick? No problem. Listen here: The Way: October 4th

The Way Podcast 9/13: The Hired Hand OST Cut W/ Film Dialogue + Alex Cox's Straight To Hell OST Mash-Up

On this week's episode of the Way I explore Peter Fonda's directorial debut The Hired Hand (1971), a hallucinatory Western starring the aforementioned Fonda and the legendary Warren Oates, who gives one of his best ever performances. The two play best friends who give up their drifter ways to head back to Harry Colling's (Fonda) family ranch, which he had abandoned years ago. Although the story and acting are quite fine, it's the hypnotic cinematography and the haunting, hallucinatory film score composed by Bruce Langhorne that make the movie something special. The twisting, kaleidoscopic visuals coupled with the sparse score move the film along at a drifitng, stream-of-consciousness pace that is very striking. On the podcast, I play a mash-up of dialogue from the film played along side Langhorne's magnificent score.

The second half of the show is another western mash-up of dialogue of soundtrack and dialogue this time from Alex Cox's notorious 1987 cult western Straight to Hell. The film is almost the polar opposite of something like The Hired Hand. Gritty, plot-less, endlessly violent and noisy as hell, Straight to Hell was the result of director Alex Cox and his punk-rock buddies Joe Strummer, Elvis Costello, the Pogues, and others hanging out on old film sets in the desert in the south of Spain and shooting what has to be one of the most bizarre, yet entertaining movies I've ever seen. The soundtrack is excellent as well, think Ennio Morricone gone Punk. Major contributions from a group called Pray For Rain, who do soundtrack work exclusively, in particular for Cox's movies. The Pogues, Joe Strummer, Zander Schloss and Elvis Costello also contribute to the soundtrack as well. The mash-up was done improv, on the fly so the result is much like the movie, chaotic and noisy. Hope you enjoy it all the same though. The link to stream the episode is below, and you can right click and hit it "save as" to download as a .mp3.

The Way: September 13th, 2012

The Way Podcast: August 23rd, 2012; Outlaw Pop/Rock

On tonight's episode of the Way I play some of my favorite songs about "outlaws" (still on an Old West kick apparently). Songs range from the Byrd's "Pretty Boy Floyd" to Dylan's "Drifter's Escape", the Bobby Fuller Four's classic crime anthem "I Fought The Law" and Old West-Retropop from Harper's Bizarre. A rare Monkees outtake is also included with Michael Nesmith's somber country-rock ballad "Nine Times Blue". The music here is mostly acoustic and has a distinct rustic and pastoral quality. Most of the tunes were recorded from the early to mid sixties and not all are explicity about outlaws, but most of lyrics and music suggest characters, experiences and stories from dusty old Southwestern towns. Click the link below to listen to stream the podcast or right-click the link and press "save link as..." to download it in .mp3 format to your computer. The show starts in at about the 3 minute mark. Enjoy:

The Way: August 23rd