At the Movies '72: "Vampire Circus"


Watch ABBA perform "People Need Love" April 20, 1972

Coming Up: Miles Out To Sea: The Roots Of British Power Pop 1969-1975


Out July 22  from Cherry Red's Grapefruit imprint.

Details:

While the early 70s musical landscape in Britain was largely dominated by introspective singer/songwriters, Bubblegum Pop and underground Rock bands, a handful of acts bravely continued to pursue the classic mid-60s group sound.

With the aid of increasingly sophisticated recording studios, they majored in crisp, muscular, hook-laden three-minute pop songs, bursting with chiming Rickenbacker guitars, irresistible choruses and Beatles/Beach Boys-inspired close harmonies.

A few (Slade, Pilot, the ill-starred Badfinger) found commercial success, but the likes of Starry Eyed And Laughing, Shape Of The Rain and Octopus proved to be the right bands at the wrong time – too late for the British Invasion that had swept America in the mid-60s, too early to hitch a ride on the late 70s Power Pop bandwagon.

‘Miles Out To Sea’ assembles the pick of these recordings, with household names and hit singles (including The First Class’s classic Beach Boys cop ‘Beach Baby’) joined by cult Power Pop names (Rockin’ Horse, Liverpool Echo, Pagliaro) obscure one-off 45s (Atlantis, Fresh Air, Big Star-soundalikes Rotten To The Core), cuts from privately-pressed or non-UK albums (Rusty, Shakane, Majority One, Ironbridge) and many unreleased-at-the-time tracks (including pre-Records band The Fabulous Ratbites From Hell and a previously- unissued demo by pre-Rusty act Sheephouse, who cut a collectable Decca single).

Featuring a clamshell box design that houses a lavishly-annotated and illustrated 48-page booklet, ‘Miles Out To Sea’ is a fascinating document of a musical genre that would only really be identified and cherished after the fact. File under Pure-Pop-For-Then-People.

Track Listing:

DISC ONE

1 MILES OUT TO SEA – Slade

2 JUST A SMILE (original single version) – Pilot

3 BIGGEST GOSSIP IN TOWN (single version) – Rockin’ Horse

4 SOME SING, SOME DANCE – Pagliaro

5 RAINCHILD – Octopus

6 I’LL BE THERE – Shape Of The Rain

7 GOING DOWN – Starry Eyed And Laughing

8 PLEASE, ELIZA – Shakanea

9 DON’T LET ME WAIT TOO LONG – Rotten To The Core

10 BLACK MOURNING BAND – Honeybus

11 YOU LIED ABOUT YOUR AGE – Bachdenkel

12 (WHAT’S SO FUNNY ‘BOUT) PEACE LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING – Brinsley Schwarz

13 WHEN WILL I BE LOVED – Dave Edmunds

14 NIGHTINGALE CRESCENT – Unicorn

15 BRIGHTON ROCK – Rusty

16 YOU MADE ME STAND UP STRAIGHTER – Byzantium

17 BICYCLE DRIVER – Neil Harrison

18 TRY ME – The Tremeloes

19 PEPPERMINT TWIST – Sweet

20 SHE WROTE ME A LETTER – Marmalade

21 LOVE’S MADE A FOOL OF YOU – Raw Holly

22 STRANGE AFFAIR – Help Yourself

23 LET YOUR LOVE GO – Paintbox

24 WHERE I BELONG – Gerry Rafferty

25 FRESH AS A DAISY – Ragamuffin


DISC TWO

1 KNOW ONE KNOWS – Badfinger

2 CHINATOWN – The Move

3 GIRL ON THE TRAIN – Liverpool Echo

4 LONELY NORMAN – Jimmy Campbell

5 FORGET HER – Nimbo

6 GET BACK HOME – Majority One

7 DANGEROUS BACON – Stackridge

8 GO AS YOU PLEASE – Stealers Wheel

9 SECOND TIME AROUND – Keith Riley

10 CHAMPION THE UNDERDOG – Sutherland Brothers and Quiver 11 ALRIGHT MA! – Stray

12 I AIN’T GOT TIME – Atlantis

13 SOMETIMES I WONDER – Sheridan and Rick Price

14 SO YOUNG AND IN LOVE – Bo’ Flyers

15 SOMETHING’S GOING ON – Ducks Deluxe

16 ORDINARY BOY – Small Wonder

17 LEAVIN’ ‘OME – The Hammersmith Gorillas

18 ZURICH 17 (BE MY BABY)- Hollywood Brats

19 GIRLFRIEND – Octopus

20 HOLE IN THE SKY* – Sheephouse

21 MONEY MAKES THE WORLD – Billy Bates

22 SPARKLE – The Fabulous Ratbites From Hell

23 THE RING OF TRUTH – Bachdenkel

24 IN A HAND OR FACE – The Who

25 ROLLING HOME AGAIN – Budgie


DISC THREE

1 THIS MAN HE WEEPS TONIGHT – The Kinks

2 DON’T YOU EVER THINK I CRY? – Rockin’ Horse

3 WE’RE NOT THEIR BOYS – Shape Of The Rain

4 LET ME TELL YOU – Fickle Pickle

5 BABY (I GOTTA GO) – Simon Turner

6 SMILE (MY SMILER’S SMILE) – Liverpool Express

7 I DON’T NEED YOU ANY MORE – Penny Arcade

8 IT TAKES TOO LONG – Fresh Air

9 WHEN YOU DANCE I CAN REALLY LOVE – Shakane

10 ANNABELLA – Billy Kinsley

11 SALLY WORKS NIGHTS – Liverpool Echo

12 STAY AT HOME – Rusty

13 CHIMES OF FREEDOM – Starry Eyed And Laughing

14 BACK ROOM – Ironbridge

15 NO MATTER WHAT – Black Label

16 GOOD LOVE CHILD – Barclay James Harvest

17 LITTLE BABY WON’T YOU PLEASE COME HOME, HONEY-CHILD WON’T YOU JUST ALLOW ME ONE MORE CHANCE, PLEASE – P. C. Kent

18 SO SAD (NO LOVE OF HIS OWN) – Iain Matthews

19 JEWEL – Wolfe

20 WALKING THE SILVER HAY -Airbus

21 MAYBE TOMORROW – Angel Pavement

22 BEACH BABY – The First Class

23 FROM ME AND FROM YOU – Keith Riley

24 I DON’T WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND – Rupert Holmes

*previously unreleased

Ads '72: Samsonite - We Make Travel a Little Easier

Hot Trax '72: Rolling Stones! Neil Young! Fanny! Carpenters! More!

New songs on the charts 50 years ago this week.

The Rolling Stones - Tumbling Dice

Neil Young - Old Man

Carpenters - It's Going to Take Some Time

The Allman Brothers Band - Ain't Wastin' Time No More

Grand Funk Railroad - Upsetter

Fanny - Ain't That Peculiar

Engelbert Humperdinck - Too Beautiful to Last

Al Martino - Speak Softly Love (Love Theme from "The Godfather"

Mouth and MacNeal - How Do You Do?

Beverly Bremers - We're Free

Tom Jones - The Young New Mexican Puppeteer

At the Movies '72: "Five Fingers of Death"


Pre-order Now: Marvel Legends Black Panther Action Figures

Click the links to pre-order from Amazon.








New Music Friday Playlist: Wilco! Ty Segall! Norah Jones!


Picks of the week:

So long, Neal Adams


Very sad news: Pioneering and iconic comics artist Neal Adams, best known for bringing Batman back to his grim and spooky roots in the 1970s, died this week at age 80. We will put together a suitable tribute(s), showcasing his groundbreaking art, soon.

In the meantime, some details from the Hollywood Reporter:

Adams jolted the world of comic books in the late 1960s and early ’70s with his toned and sinewy take on heroes, first at DC with a character named Deadman, then at Marvel with X-Men and The Avengers and then with his most lasting influence, Batman.

During his Batman run, Adams and writer Dennis O’Neil brought a revolutionary change to the hero and the comics, delivering realism, kineticism and a sense of menace to their storytelling in the wake of the campy Adam West-starring ’60s ABC series and years of the hero being aimed at kiddie readers.

...Adams, also with O’Neil, came up with a then-controversial turn for Green Lantern/Green Arrow, tackling social issues such as drug addiction, racism and overpopulation and creating the Green Lantern hero, Jon Stewart, who became one of DC’s first Black icons. Their 1971 two-part story “Snowbirds Don’t Fly” remains a watermark in the evolution to more mature readers.

...Adams also worked tirelessly to promote better working conditions and, radically at the time, creators’ rights, especially for their work. He early on recognized the value of creators and was a thorn in the side of publishers, demanding compensation for himself and others when their characters were adapted off the page.

...He also proved to be a champion of two writer-artists who laid the foundation for DC, Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. When he learned of their plight — one inciting factor was hearing that they could not attend a Broadway musical featuring the Man of Steel — he led a lobbying effort that eventually led to greater recognition for the pair, a creator tag in comics and other media that continues to this day, plus a pension.

Ads '72: Honda Coupe

 


Watch Fanny Perform "Ain't That Peculiar," 1972

New Music Out Today: Pink Floyd, Mingus, Norah Jones and more!

Our choices this week. Click the links to order from Amazon.







Watch Little Jimmy Osmond perform "Long Haired Lover From Liverpool," 1972

Pop Culture Roundup: Barbie! Batman! Totoro! More!


ITEM! The first official image of Margot Robbie from the live-action Barbie film has been released.

ITEM! A stage production of "My Neighbor, Totoro"is planned by the Royal Shakespeare Company. 

ITEM! Shocker: Robert Pattison will be back in a sequel to "The Batman."

ITEM! Wonder Woman reportedly has a cameo in the upcoming "Shazam!" sequel.

ITEM! German electronic music pioneer Klaus Schulze died this week at age 74.

Ads '72: Harley Outperformers

 


Pre-order Now: Marvel Legends "Thor: Love and Thunder" Action Figures!

Click the links to pre-order from Amazon.