I realize that this is not new territory, so I'll try not to feature anything that has already appeared on compilation series like "Nuggets," "Back From The Grave," "Wavy Gravy," "Las Vegas Grind," "Jungle Exotica," "Songs The Cramps Taught Us," "Lux and Ivy's Favorites," and rare surf collections. To increase the level of difficulty, I'm also trying to avoid songs /albums that are currently being featured by such music blog compadres as Office Naps, Surfadelic, The Devil's Music, and Titty-Shakers. That still leaves plenty, as I delve into regions other trash collectors might overlook - comedy albums that might have one good dirty song amidst the stand-up stuff, film soundtracks (see the Kenyon Hopkins track below) or easy-listening albums (e.g.: Enoch Light, Lester Lanin) that throw in one sleazy rocker, international releases that have only recently hit our shores, even recording off video for film songs never released on record. And there are still 45s that have not yet been comped. This collection is a sampler, a little taste of some of the varia-tease of sleazy-listening musics that we'll be exploring in the coming weeks and months. Aren't you happy that there really was a band called the Four Finks?
The name of this collection and the artwork come from an old nudie magazine spread (if you'll pardon the term, boom-tish!) featuring model/singer Bonnie Logan.
Lowbrow vol.1: Sweet Beat
Alternate Link (courtesy of super-swell reader Soylent White Trash)
1. Official Warning (from "Blood Feast")
2 Rusty Warren - Do It Now [song extracted from a track-less comedy album by that "Bounce Your Boobies" gal]
3 Billy Mure - Supersonic
4 from "Porno Holocaust"
5 Willie Tomlin - Stroke My Yoke [I am fairly certain that this naughty R'n'B singer was not related to Lily Tomlin]
6 De Maskers - The Saint [mid-'60s Dutch band]
7 "Triple Terror Show" ad
8 The Four Finks - Rock-o-Nails
9 Ron Haydock and the Boppers - Rat Pfink [from the soundtrack to "Rat Pfink a Boo Boo" by the great Z-movie director Ray Dennis Steckler; this really is one of my favorite rockabilly songs]
10 The Deuce Coupes - Starter's Nightmare [anonymous studio cats on a "budget" label album; you'll be hearing plenty of those]
11 Scatman Crothers - Transfusion [Oh! happy day, when I found this 45 in a Las Vegas thrift store - the great comic actor covered the classic Nervous Norvous car-crash novelty song?! Wow, who knew - I probably skipped merrily about the shop holding it up: "look what I got!"]
12 Bill Black's Combo - The Wheel [Black was Elvis' original bassist]
13 "Mark of the Devil" ad
14 Lester Lanin - Guitar Boogie Twist
15 "fourteen Baby"
16 Enoch Light - The Gang at the Green Grotto
17 "Superchick" ad
18 Barbara Stanwyck - Take It Off The E String [predating our post-WWII time frame for this one, recorded off the video of the film "Lady of Burlesque"]
19 Ricky Vale And His Surfers - Soul Full of Surfin
20 B. Brock and the Sultans - 30 Lb. Beetle [another budget label mystery; one of a few mp3s found on this collection that I've had on a hard-drive for ages; I might be able to get a better quality - maybe - were I to try digitizing the album with my latest music software; it really is excellent trad-surf, despite the ridiculous Beatles cash-in angle]
21 "Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde" ad
22 Los Saicos - Demolicion [teen garage-punk from Peru (!?) from an excellent recent reissue]
23 Sil Austin - Fallout
Lookit! The song titles are now telling a story:
24 Jerry Colonna - Hey Barmaid!!
25 Don Carson and the Casuals - Yes Master
26 The Daddy Os - Got a Match
27 Lonnie Duvall - Cigarettes [this short-lived soul singer was backed by Booker T & The MGs, no less, on this 45]
28 The Three Suns - Tequila
29 The Vagabonds - Walkin' And Talkin
30 Billy Mure - Drums of India [exotic rock remake of the old standard "Song of India"]
31 Brother Theodore - Horror of the Blood Monsters
32 Kenyon Hopkins - Let Me Out [from the soundtrack to "The Fugitive Kind" 1960; is that Pere Ubu's David Thomas on vox?]
33 The Vox Poppers - The Last Drag
Thanks to Count Otto Black for the international nuggets - plenty more of those to come.