Puff — Go With You

from Puff (1969)

This is what happened when the Rockin’ Ramrods tuned in, turned on, and dropped out: Puff (as in the Magic Dragon). Beautiful Acid-Test-worthy psych-pop balladry.

I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say this track has the best organ sounds ever. (Sorry, Ray Manzarek) First, a chunky, gritty garage organ, then halfway through, hallelujah-worthy church pipes that’ll have you as blissed out as Jim Morrison riding the snake…

Roberto Carlos Lange — Way

from Vesicle Pisces (2011)

Here’s a quiet, thrilling piece of drone from Robert Carlos Lange, aka Helado Negro. A sort of rumbling electro-acoustic odyssey, glued together with pipe organ, a subtle pleasure for your ears. It’s also free for the taking at his bandcamp.

Roberto performs this Friday 12/23 at The Stone in NYC, as part of the dublab/Luaka Bop night of programming.

Stonewall Jackson — I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water

from Trouble and Me (1965)

This Country Sunday, a prison song from Stonewall Jackson, the hardcore honky tonker. (Not the Confederate general—though he’s named after him) The slinky guitar and garage organ in this tune are fantastic…

Carlos Guzman y Los Fabulosos Cuatro — El Tren

Carlos Guzman and his Fabulous Four came screaming out of the lower Rio Grande Valley in the mid 60s with electric guitars and garage organs blazing—revolutionizing the música tejana of the era by replacing the traditional 12-string bajo sexto and accordion with electrified instruments.

This track is an arrangement of Ray Charles’ 1966 track ‘The Train’ by Fabuloso Cuatro guitarist Ramiro “Snowball” de la Cruz (the nickname “Snowball” came from a fellow bandmade riffing on Cruz’s albinism).

Carlos Guzman y los Fabulosos Cuatro (that’s Ramiro with the sunglasses)

More on Tejano music in the book Tejano Proud and at OndaNet. Music via el fabuloso Supersonido and Los Sonidos del Nopal.

Causa Sui — Cinecittà

from Summer Sessions Vol. 2 (2009)

Just came across this group of crazy psychedelic rockers from Odense, Denmark—Causa Sui. This lovely tune sounds like a dusty outtake from some moonlit jam session, circa 1968, with the silvery organ conjuring up Cinecittà and the sounds of Nino Rota.

The one that follows on this LP, though, ‘Tropic of Capricorn,’ is an adrenaline IV. Twenty-three minutes of psychedelic insanity. Like you-just-got-out-of-the-show-and-your-ears-are-ringing-and-you’re-buzzing-about-that-fuckin-amazing-stuff-the-guitarist-did-with-his-whammy-bar-during-the-encore intense. Horns come in halfway through…verging into Stooges territory, before disintegrating into bleeps and cymbal taps.

For other stuff in the Iron Butterfly vein, check out their newest LPs, both released this year on El Paraiso Records: Pewt’r Sessions 1 and 2. Some tracks from Session 1 on myspace.

Kaleidoscope — P.S. Come Back

from Kaleidoscope (1969)

What could be more psychedelic than a kaleidoscope? Right. Not even a rainbow. That’s why every band in the 60s wanted to name themselves after a children’s toy—like LA’s psychedelic string band Kaleidoscope, or the London Kaleidoscope.

But here we have a lesser-known exemplar of that multicolored genre, and the one with the hardest-hitting rock’n’roll: the Mexican Kaleidoscope. To my ears, they’re the most timeless of the three, almost proto-punk at times, with a swagger in the vocals that sounds more Joey Ramone than flower child. It’s only the fuzzbox guitars and garage organs that key you in to the fact that these guys were hanging around Mexico City’s El Salvation Club, not CBGBs.

There’s a reason the vocals have that American-sounding jeer—because even though Kaleidoscope gigged a lot in Mexico City (and later Cuernavaca), none of them were actually from Mexico. That’s Frank Tirado, of Puerto Rico, on vocals. His countrymate Orly Vázquez covered bass, while Spanish transplant Pedrín García commanded electric guitar, and Rafael Cruz and Julio Arturo Fernández of the Dominican Republic handled drums and organ. They recorded the album in 1967 at Fabiola Studios in the Dominican Republic, before moving to Mexico together. The album wasn’t released until two years later by the Mexican label Orfeón, in a pressing of just 200 records. Thank god Germany’s Shadoks has reissued it—because you really need to give this Kaleidoscope a twist.

Lots of great interviews with the band (in Spanish) at Encontrando A The Kaleidoscope.

Bobby Bare — Drop Kick Me Jesus (Through the Goalposts of Life)

from The Winner and other Losers (1976)

Released on New Year’s Day, 1976, this is Bobby Bare’s ode to the star kicker in the sky, with lyrics by Paul Craft:

Drop-kick me, Jesus, through the goalposts of life,
End over end, neither left nor to right.
Straight through the heart of them righteous uprights
Drop-kick me, Jesus, through the goalposts of life.

These words have inspired scholarly interpretation, believe it or not. And Bobby Bare has said Bill Clinton has chalked this up as one of his favorite tunes. Whether or not that’s true, I’m quite certain it’s the only living specimen of the Christian-Football-Waltz genre.

This isn’t, however, the only of Bare’s religious songs. Another, ‘Your Credit Card Won’t Get You Into Heaven,’ is an organ-backed dirge with lyrics by the one and only Shel Silverstein. Seek Bobby Bare, and you shall find a country goldmine. Happy Country Sunday ya’ll…

Chris Abrahams — There He Reclined

from Play Scar (2010)

I’ve been waiting for a good night to post this. It’s best listened to under cover of darkness, lying on your back, zeroing in on each note… starry sky optional. The organ swells, the keys chirp like electronic crickets… the piano speaks the cut up language of keyboard crossed with motherboard.

I came across this blissed-out track on Jimmy’s Dying Songs Best of 2010, over at dublab. Check it out. Lots more wonderful music there…

Delicate Steve — Butterfly

from Wondervisions (2011)

Three of my favorite recent releases, Nightlands’ “Forget the Mantra,” Dustin Wong’s “Infinite Love” and Delicate Steve’s “Wondervisions” are the product of a singular vision: genius guitar guy surrounded by reams of pedals, especially the loop pedal. (In fact, Dustin and Steve are mutual admirers.) And these guys are coaxing some astonishing epics from those humble bedroom tools.

This is one of them, from Delicate Steve’s new release on David Byrne’s Luaka Bop label, carefully constructed with majestic, on-mountain-high guitar strums, a sweet Harrisonesque lead, and heavy-hitting drums and church organ that send it fluttering up to guitar heaven.

Steve has a sweet Daytrotter sesh out. And he’s on tour now with Akron/Family, so try to catch him. In NYC Sat March 5th at Bowery Ballroom.

myspace / bandcamp

The Crazy World of Arthur Brown — Fire

live on Top of the Pops (BBC) 1968

The fact that this freakish nonsense was beaming into the living rooms of millions of British homes over a Thursday night TV dinner is just fabulous to imagine. And to Alice Cooper and Kiss I say — this explains a LOT, boys.

You absolutely CANNOT miss the dance routine about three quarters of the way through.

Moon Mullican — I’m Just One Tear Away

from Sings I’ll Sail My Ship Alone/Sings Mister Honky Tonk Man

It’s Country Sunday ladies and gents, this time with Aubrey “Moon” Mullican, the key-poundin’, drink-rattlin’, honky tonkin’ rockabilly man from east Texas.

Legend has it that Moon’s father, being a religious man, bought a pump organ for his daughters for the princely sum of $20, so they could play in church. But Moon commandeered the instrument, having already learned some blues from Joe Jones, a sharecropper on the family farm. By the age of 14 he was playing piano in local honky tonks and at 16 ran away, spending his nights playing in brothels.

While touring Florida in 1949, he met Hank Williams and the two became fast friends. Hank convinced the Opry to have Mullican on, and several years later the two wrote ‘Jambalaya’ together on a paper bag.

By the time the 60s rolled around, Moon’s health was starting to fail, and he collapsed of a heart attack at a 1962 concert in Kansas City. Sometime following that he recorded this tune for Spar Records as a b-side to Honky Tonk Man, among others like “I Ain’t No Beatle (But I Want To Hold Your Hand).” Classic.

He died New Year’s Day 1967.

Los Strwck — La Doctoriza

from La Doctoriza (1970)

Another incredible left-field pick from Mining the Audio Motherlode. This time, it’s the sounds of Guadalajara in the 60s — psychedelic cumbia beat with garage organ and a wicked fuzz guitar that kind of explodes out of nowhere on this innocent sounding tune. It will hit you upside the head. Here’s the great writeup from Waxidermy, too funny:

For the last 15 years I have been trying to find out what Los Strwck translates to in English to no avail. I suspect it loosely means “Mariachi Fuzz Box”. I found this LP in East L.A. in the early 90s and it’s dropped many a jaw over the last 15 years. The tunes start innocently enough, sounding like a band that might walk in to the local Mexican Restaurant on any given Friday night, hoping for tips from half drunk patrons. But the guitarist has a surprise in store. He is ELECTRIFIED……and he has a fuzz box, and you can bet he’s gonna use it Amigo. I’d pay big bucks to have seen the faces on those unsuspecting diners as chainsaw sounds lurched out and strangled them mid-enchilada. This band has other LP’s….lots of other LP’s….but none of them sound like this. Grab some chips and the hottest of hot sauces and enjoy.

The fuzz master in question, Carlos Robles, was 20 years old at the time of these electric wailings, and he actually posted to Waxidermy, saying he’s glad people are still digging his tunes today. Grab a vinyl rip at Sangrepesada: Rescatando el Rock Mexicano.

Jimmy McGriff & Lucky Thompson — Freedom Suite Part One

from Friday the 13th, Cook County Jail

Saturday music… the unbeatable Jimmy McGriff working his way through a nice slow track with rhythm builds. Happy convicts, for sure. Enjoy. Get the full album here.