Rough Mix

How 'bout a couple alternate mixes from Worcester's finest alt-country combo
Little Big Wheel.

from the Home sessions:
bitter circle
need

little big wheel.net
little big wheel Myspace

Soul Patrol

The reason you don't remember Dave Pirner's soul/jazz/funk solo debut is because you didn't buy it. Nobody did. Except me, I just found it in the $2.99 bin. Hey it's not that bad. I've already listened to it twice which is more than I can say for Candy From A Stranger. I own that fiasco on vinyl but I don't think I ever listened to it. What made the lead singer of Soul Asylum think he was an actual "soul" singer anyway. Was it because someone actually liked their cover of Sexual Healing? I sure didn't. Here's a couple of tunes in case you're interested. The first was the single, I think (don't ask me why I know this), and it features Billy Preston on keys. The second song sounds like Prince.
never recover
364

go ahead buy it!
or buy this instead

In Other Words

this is a promotional interview for Chris Mars'
excellent out of print solo debut Horseshoes And Hand Grenades .

in other words

I'm A Smoker, I'm A Poseur, I'm A...

Keith Smokes, Steve Miller Rips Stones

From Scotsman.com:
The city council has confirmed it is investigating reports that Richards smoked throughout the gig at Hampden Park on Friday, which was attended by 50,000 fans.
Richards, who has twice been charged for hard drugs offences, could be fined £50 if he is found to have contravened the ban, which was introduced earlier this year to combat the effects of passive smoking.
One fan said: "I was quite near the back, but I could see that Keith Richards had something white in his mouth and there was smoke coming from his mouth.
"He kept smoking through the set, so it wasn't just for effect. He had it in his mouth while he was playing."
A spokesman for the anti-smoking charity ASH Scotland said: "We welcome that Glasgow City Council is taking its responsibility to enforce the ban seriously.
"We realise also though, that Keith Richards did hurt his head recently and might not have been fully compus mentis."
From the Boston Herald:
"The Rolling Stones are posers," the 62-year-old [Steve Miller] said. "When you go see the Rolling Stones, most of it is Mick Jagger bouncing around onstage. Flabby arms, pasty white skin, shaking his 65-year-old ass (he's 63). I've seen the Rolling Stones and you can't take your eyes off Mick because he's so weird. He's bouncing around like a drag queen. They don't really have to do that. The music is really good, but it's not about the music."

Out There On The Cape

Cape Cod. What an interesting place. All these strange little shops designed to take your money away. Public beaches. Parked ourselves next to this guy with a Red Hot Chili Peppers tatoo which was strange because I had brought the autobiography of Anthony Kiedis with me to read. The Rush tatoo beside it scared me a little, then he started doing push-ups on the beach. Enough of that, I should have kicked sand in his face. Met a senior editor from Rolling Stone magazine outside a local record store, talked about the New York Dolls, NRBQ, and Derek Trucks. Thanks for the recommendation, sorry for bugging you. Very nice guy, excellent writer. Cape radio still playing What A Fool Believes and Moonlight Feels Right. Provincetown same as it ever was, a walk on the wild side for my kid. Great weather, perfect in fact. Didn't find much music, a vinyl re-issue of the MC5's Back In The USA, The Who's new Wire & Glass EP and Songlines by Derek Trucks .
american ruse
endless wire
volunteered slavery

Keybored

(Cape Cod was great and I'll write more about it later, for now here's a pre-written filler post)

this is a cover of the Stooges' Real Cool Time recorded during the "keyboard years".

real cool time

Cape Bound

Going to the Cape, home of the Incredible Casuals (26 years and I still haven't seen 'em) and Spinnakers .
See you on Main Street in Hyannis.

Census Taker

Here's a song from the great 80's Fitchburg/Leominster Massachusetts band Train Of Thought from the unauthorized live album We've Got One More Song.
Census Taker

Nugent/ Hatchet

Speaking of Leslie West , here is a cover of Mississippi Queen by Molly Hatchet with Ted Nugent. The introduction alone is priceless.
The photo is an inaccurate representaion of this song because it features original singer Danny Joe Brown not Jimmy Farrar who sings here. It is a great photo none the less.
mississippi queen

bonus tracks

Reading about Jack Logan at Aquarium Drunkard reminded me of how much of an influence he is on the Philco Brothers. Here's a couple covers. Hope we got all the words right.

philco brothers sing town crier
philco brothers sing walking time

Jack Logan's great album Tinker (and others) can be found at iTunes
We recommend you buy them all!

CORRESPONDENCE Lies & Love Letters

In his review of Tom Petty's new LP Highway Companion Alan Light states that " Tom Petty has never made a bad album. Some flirt with greatness, others simply deliver the goods (his last release, 2002's The Last DJ, was actually one of his weaker efforts, weighed down by its grouchy theme)." Sorry Alan, but The Last DJ is most definitely a BAD ALBUM. If you don't believe me try listening to the whole thing. Also in a recent Rolling Stone, Echo was described as "one of his worst-performing albums " failing to mention that it is musically one of his best. So here is a message to Rolling Stone:
Echo is good.
The Last DJ is bad.
It's that simple.

Highway Companion Review
stream it

Mr. Superlove

I just recieved my copy of the Ass Ponys'
The Okra Years in the mail. It is a compilation of early material with some bonus covers (Velvets, Pere Ubu) thrown in. Hearing Mr. Superlove reminded me of this great cover by The Afghan Whigs from an early 90's split single.
mr. superlove

buy The Okra Years

Jolly Rogers

Did you know Kenny Rogers had his own custom record label back in the early 70's?
Well now you do.

I had a few minutes to spare during work so I stopped into my favorite record store The Time Capsule in Cranston RI and quickly picked up a few LP's.

I bought this one just because the cover made me laugh. Needless to say this ain't one of Kenny's best but here's a cover of Merle Haggard that was almost a hit.
Today I Started Loving You Again

bonus track

this is the first song we recorded on 16-track just to see if we could.



philco brothers sing dwight fry

You Really Wouldn't Understand

One of my favorite releases of last summer was Dirty Diamonds from Alice Cooper. Ever since 1994's excellent The Last Temptation I've been following his latest releases. Brutal Planet and Dragontown both had their moments but were a little too heavy (metal and subject-wise). The Eyes Of Alice Cooper was a return to hard rock but the tunes weren't up to snuff. When I first saw Diamonds I was a little surprised to see it on New West Records, a great Americana/Rock/Country label whose roster includes Drive-by Truckers and Kris Kristofferson. "Has Alice gone country?" I asked myself. Absolutely not, this is old school rock with tunes to match. Whether you really like this album or not depends on what you think of Cooper's humor. I love it. So great job to New West for putting out something completely different and thanks to Alice for remaining somewhere between high school and old school. Check it out.
Dirty Diamonds at Pure Volume

Take A Good Look

The most amazing thing about the new NY Dolls album is the quality of the songwriting. Was David Johannsen saving these lyrics for years or did he make them up on the spot? Take A Good Look At My Good Looks has to be one of the best song titles ever.

Here's the vinyl b- side of Dance Like A Monkey
Beauty School

buy the album now

Jet Ski or Coconut Tree ?

from the independent

Richards, 62, also disclosed this week that his brain injury had not been sustained by falling out of a coconut tree but from a large shrub. It had originally been reported that the guitarist needed surgery after a tumble from a large palm while picking coconuts on holiday in Fiji.
Richards said at a press conference to kick off the delayed European leg of the Stones' world tour: "If you saw the tree you would realise the joke. This was just a very little tree." He indicated that the tree was about 5ft high.

I Like Gumby

The only episode of Gumby I really like is the one where he flies around on a record (TOO LOO)
but this song by Jonathan Richman recorded for Gumby ( The Green Album) is not too bad.
i like gumby