Juke Box Jury

Before we get to this month�s batch of obscurities, a few words about some fine records that might be getting airplay in your area, but, if they�re not, could if you call up and request them enough (remember: the only thing standing between us and great radio is numbskull deejays). On top is T. Rex�s �Hot Love� (Reprise 1006), five minutes of some of the most beautiful electrified music this unique group has made. It�s got everything - good rocking music, engaging lyrics, weird singing, and a long fade ending that, if it�s, a parody on �Hey Jude�, succeeds in turning that heavy exorcism into a joyous celebration. And don�t be put off by the idea of Johnny Rivers reviving �Sea Cruise� (United Artists UAS 50778). He treats the song with reverence, filling it with pumping pianos, honking saxes and an amazing impersonation of Frankie Ford�s voice. The only concession to modernity is a small horn section, but it�s employed unobtrusively, and doesn�t offend. No use buying this as long as the original is still available (on Oldies 45) but it�s good to have sounds like this on the old AM radio. And if you thought Norman Greenbaum was a one-shot sensation with �Spirit in the Sky�, wait till you hear �California Earthquake� (Reprise 1008). Perfect for AM, with its catchy refrain and the same compelling bass drone that supported his first hit. Can�t understand why it wasn�t an instant smash.

�Muhammed Ali� by Verne Harrell (Brunswick 55448)

Here�s a real oddity; a musical biography of a prizefighter. It�s a pleasant-sounding record, relaxed and soulful, with nice piano and horns. Verne Harrell has a good voice, kinda like Marvin Gaye�s, and the words are good too. If you�re looking for something to give Richard Meltzer for his birthday - this is it.

�Apeman�/�I Want You Back� by the Trinidad Tripoli Steelband (Warner Bros. 7476)

Van Dyke Parks is responsible for this totally demented record. He has taken one of those Caribbean steelbands, which sound strange enough to unaccustomed ears with their flat tones and their way of filling something between one and two dimensions of any space you hear them in, and given them Ray Davies� �Apeman�, a nutty jiving song to begin with. The result is a success, though not a sort of thing you�d want to listen to often. But it is, I think, closer to the real essence of the song than the Kinks� version. They have fun with the Jackson Five song on the back, too.

�Mighty Low�, Pts. 1 & 2 (Peachtree P-126)

Recorded in Atlahta, this is one of those rare blues records that seems unaffected by all the shuck that�s gone on in the last few years in an attempt to package blues for young white audiences. This is a great slow blues, with good harp and guitar, a bit understated at times but tasteful and mellow.

�Somebody Saw You�/�Shake a Hand� by Little Richard (Reprise 1005)

What is a song produced by Jerry Wexler and Tom Dowd in Miami doing on the flip side of an ordinary Reprise Little Richard single? Don�t ask me, but it sure is good. Faye Adams� old torch song is almost unrecognizable here. Richard is beginning to establish his new singing style, and this is one pf the best examples of what he can do, better than most of the songs on The Rill Thing. Request it from your local FM station and wait for the next album, which just may be tremendous.

�She Comes In Colors� by Fever Tree (Ampex X-11013)

Do you realize that Fever Tree has put out something like five or six albums in the last few years? Without ever being mentioned in Rolling Stone' of any other rock paper. I know next to nothing about them, though I 'think they�re from Texas. I just think it�s about time somebody mentioned them. Their rendition of this Arthur Lee song is adequate, nothing spectacular but good. Their last single �Nowadays .Clancy Can�t Even Sing� (on a different label, I note) was pretty good too. Maybe they�ll make a career of reviving 1966 songs. That would be kind of nifty.

�Love On Broadway� by Jerry Lee Lewis (Sun SI-1125)

For awhile now Sun�s been releasing their old unissued Jerry Lee Lewis songs, a couple at a time. So far they�ve been strictly country and this one (composed by rockabilly oldtimer Ronnie Self) is no exception. Which is fine cause Jerry�s one of the best country singers, but it would be a lot. finer if Sun would get around to some of the tremendous rock & roll still locked away in their vaults. Write and demand the release of �Flying Saucers Rock and Roll� immediately - that would be something to get really excited about.

�Memories of El Monte� by the Penguins (Original Sound OS-27)

Penned back in the early 60s by Frank Zappa and Ray Collins as a parody of the doo-wop vocal group sound, this recording by the Penguins of �Earth Angel� fame caught on and became a minor hit. Now. for arcane reasons of their own, Original Sound has re-released it for an anxious new generation of rock&rollers. And if you�re not glad they did you should be! It�s a great record, is all; full of heart-rending harmonies, nostlagic lyrics that invite us to recall those golden dances at El Monte,, impersonations of such immortal groups as the Shields (�You Cheated�), the Medallions (�The Letter�), Marvin and Johnny (�Cherry Pie�) and more. �If only they�d have/Those dances again/I�d know where to find you/And all my old friends .. .�r A beautiful record - gobble it up.

�Love Her Madly��/�(You Need Meat) Don�t Go No Further� by the . Doors (Elektra EKS-45726)

Astute readers will notice immediately that side B of this hit record does not appear on the new Doors album. Quite a shame — it�s one of the most unusual things they�ve done. For starters, Morrison does not do the vocal; it must be Manzarek or Krieger. Other than that, it�s an old Willie Dixon blues number containing some very tasty licks. Doors completists take note.

COMMEMORATIVE STAMP

Murdered

for his tongue and now engraved into Hell, the buffalo carries the monotony of his conquerers across the ruins of his huge freedom, carries letters into tcfwns that shit in rivers where he watered in herds as large as thunder. He comes across the plains like a slave who walks with the slow stagger that the beating of years of brutal work gives the body, towards the master�s house,

the buffalo

bringing America

letters from home

Steve Tyler