The Revillos: Motorbike Beat (With Rare Video!)

Another mid-nineties collection of The Revillos (more HERE!) early 80's odds, ends, scraps, left-offs and such, this time on Demon Records. Hope you enjoy the video (even though it has part of "Where 's the Boy for Me" and part of "Motorbike Beat"), it's my first successful upload to YouTube - more to come someday.



Hey it's interesting that there was an explosion of Rezillos-ness in the mid-nineties and then again in the early aughts and now - nothing. Their web-site is straight outta 2002 and other then Rev-Up their remaining albums entirely disappeared from the Captain Oi! catalog.


So what do you make of the Revillos disappearing act in this century? Leave us a COMMENT!

Speaking of comments, that is the section where the link for Motorbike Beat resides.


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The Revillos: Attack of the Giant Revillos

A long out-of-print mid-nineties hodge-podge from Receiver Records that pooled together some nifty rarities, demos, B-sides and outtakes from The Revillos (more HERE!) early eighties era.




Attack of the Giant Revillos cool item for even modest fans but no replacement for owning Rev Up!

Don't forget to leave us a Revillo-tastic comment!

Speaking of comments, that is the section where the link for Attack of the Giant Revillos resides.

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X-Ray Spex: CBGB's, 1978

We talked a lot about Poly Styrene's passing yesterday (see HERE, damnit!) and now we'll offer up a up a rough n' ready live show from CBGB's back on March 17th, 1978.



and...



one more...




Feel free to leave a comment on Poly and her legacy in the comments section.

Speaking of comments, that the section the link to CBGB's, 1978 can be found.


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X-Ray Spex: Obsessed With You (1977)

R.I.P.
Polly Styrene
3 July 1957 – 25 April 2011

Poly Styrene smashed barriers. Sure one unusual young woman screaming, "Some people think that little girls should be seen and not heard but I think - OH BONDAGE UP YOURS! 1-2-3-4!" didn't end ageism, racism, sexism or blind consumerism but her defiance inspired millions to fight those same things. Okay it may only have inspired me personally to name my white cat "Polly" (sic) but anyone who met that feisty little ball of fur cat knew she was a bit of a punk rock barrier-smasher too.




What follows is Obsessed With You, a long out-of-print Receiver Records collection of Poly and the X-Ray Spex's 1977 demos.



It's a must for fans but anyone else needs to consult Germ-Free Adolescence to to be hit full-force by Poly Styrene' s (NYT obit here) musical and lyrical vision.



Here's a nice little feature (or two) - perhaps there's a documentary in the works.






Here's a few of those millions of people inspired by Poly:



Feel free to leave a comment on Poly and her legacy in the comments section.

Speaking of comments, that the section the link to Obsessed With You can be found.


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V.A. Nobody Sings Dylan Like Dylan Volume Thirty-Two

This thirty-FOUR [!!] volume series features artists covering Bob Dylan songs. All of the tracks are recordings of independent origin (ROIO) and hence officially unreleased.

This series continues to operate at the top of the game that it has invented for itself, with some of the winners herein including Tom Russell with Gretchen Peters, Jeff Tweedy, Roseanne Cash, Ian Hunter, Sinead O'Connor, Frank Black Bruce Springsteen - it's like an Adult Rock party and we're all invited!




(Dedicating this song to the Vatican does re-cast it a bit doesn't it?)





Johnny's daughter is totally her own woman but she never forgets her dad.




01 Changing of the Guard - Frank Black and the Catholics (Jul 21, 1999, John Peel Session, London, England)
02 New Pony - Palace Brothers (April 1997, WNUR Airplay, Evanston, IL)
03 Is Your Love in Vain? - Ian Hunter (Sep 16, 1981, The Bayou, Washington DC)
04 Senor (Tales of Yankee Power) - Greensky Bluegrass (Nov 9, 2007, The Stage Stop, Rollinsville, CO)
05 Where Are You Tonight (Journey Through Dark Heat) - Stockholm Syndrome (Mar 14, 2010, The Black Sheep. Colorado Springs, CO)
06 Like a Rolling Stone - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (May 19, 2009, Pittsburgh, PA)
07 The Times They Are a-Changing - Sinead O'Connor (Jul 8, 2010, Arena del mare, Porto Antico, Genova, Italy)
08 Billy #4 - Tom Russell and Gretchen Peters (Jun 17, 2010, Third and Lindsey, Nashville, TN)
09 Lenny Bruce - Stan Ridgeway (Sep 11, 2010, City Winery, New York, NY)
10 Positively Fourth Street - Rabbits Rabbits Rabbits (Dec 11, 2010, Echoplex, Los Angeles, CA)
11 Girl From the North Country - Rosanne Cash (Nov 19, 2009, KCRW, Santa Monica, CA)
12 Ballad in Plain D - Ashley Hutchings All Stars (Jun 2, 1988, Town Hall, Royton Lancashire, England)
13 Simple Twist of Fate - Jeff Tweedy (Aug 15, 2010, Joe's Field @ Solid Sound Festival, North Adams, MA)
14 Just Like a Woman - Counting Crows and Augustana (Aug 13,2010, MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods, Mashantucket, CT)
15 Buckets of Rain - Fistful of Mercy (Nov 11, 2010, Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA)
16 I'll Keep it With Mine - Dean and Britta (Oct 15 2009, Merlyn Theatre, CUB Malthouse, Melbourne, Australia)
17 Fragment - DP MacManus (Nov 3, 2002, Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, FL)

If you'd like the series to continue - - - please don't forget to leave a comment behind!

Speaking of comments, the Nobody Sings Dylan Like Dylan Volume Thirty-Two link is in there.

Thanks to Jeffs98119 for compiling these and to stewART for the images.

• Thanks to Karl Erik @ Expecting Rain for tagging these for iTunes
  

• For V.'s 1-31 of Nobody Sings Dylan Like Dylan go here
  

• For slugline's impressive spreadsheet of the whole series go here

The Revillos: Teen Beat (1981)

A 1981 French mini-LP on the Psycho label that drastically mis-spelled name of the song "Mind-Bending Cutie Doll" on the sleeve! More Revillos HERE!

* Side 1
1. She's Fallen In Love With A Monster Man
2. Hip City - You Were Meant For Me
3. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
* Side 2
1. Mind Behind Cutie Doll (sic)
2. Bongo Brain
3. 1982 Make A Wish





So what do you think of the joyful kitschy-ness of the Revillos? Leave us a COMMENT!

Speaking of comments, that is the section where the link for Teen Beat resides.


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The Revillos: Wireless Recordings

We all know how in pop music strength of personality can outshine sheer talent. This was the lesson Jo Callis must've taken from The Rezillos (more HERE). After all, when Callis departed he took the best players with him to form Shake, a band that really didn't do anything of the sort (More Shake HERE). It was only when he draped his talents over the flamboyant Phillip Oakley (and his two back-up fashion plates) in the Human League (more HERE). that he got to step onto the world stage.



But what of the fashion-renegades, what of Fay Fife and Eugene Reynolds? Well they designed a new band, using old Rezillos Hi-Fi Harris on guitar and William Mysterious on bass alongside Rocky Rhythm on drums and Kid Krupa as the boy guitar whiz (plus two Revettes on backing vocals!). And as for the music, the band hardly suffered as Fife and Reynolds unveiled a killer line of retro-modern songs, though this design team did have a tendency of borrowing accessories from many early sixties figures (Phil Spector, Joe Meek plus numerous one-hit wonders) and never returning them.



So what we have here is a way-out-of-print collection ($600.00 on Amazon!) of sixteen BBC recording from as far back as 198o and stretching to 1996. Since the band were studio obsessives, you can bet that each of these versions are substantially different as the band takes advantage of the new environment.


So what do you think of the switch from The ReZillos to The ReVillos? Let us know in the comments.

Speaking of comments, that is the section where the link for Wireless Recordings (1980-1996) resides.

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Feargal Sharkey: Loving You (1985)

Perhaps one might have high hopes of a collaboration between Undertones (more HERE) singer-extraordinaire Feargal Sharkey and The Rezillos brilliant song-writer Jo Callis ((more HERE) , that is until one remembers how cold and unforgiving the musical climate of the mid-eighties was. I mean, it is rather baffling how many of the eighties synth-pop artists tried to ape American R & B and soul music by using some of the most soul-less, rythm-less and blues-less instrumentation and production of all time. Sometimes, like say Soft Cell's distortion of "Tainted Love" it clicked but so much of the time it was just painful. 'Twas a weird decade, the eighties...



Here's "Loving You" attached to the 1991 "I've Got News For You" e.p., which also includes the follow-up smash hit, "A Good Heart' making it like a CD-Maxi-single Greatest Hits.


So MRML readers any comments on Feargal's solo work? Is it gonna be brickbats or crickets in the comments section? Awaiting your reply...

Speaking of comments should you want to hear the I've Got News For You e.p, the link is in the comments.


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The Human League: Don't You Want Me (Now DMCA compliant!)

(This post contains no download links!!)

The Human League, originally a more experimental synthesizer band, experienced a rift just like The Rezillos (more HERE) , with the more musicianly types forming Heaven 17 while the remaining members had to recruit some song-writing muscle quick. Enter Jo Callis (more HERE), who not only co-wrote the world-wide smash hit "Don't You Want Me Baby" but also left his indelible stamp on it. The song not only employs those male-female lead vocals (lead singer Phillip Oakley originally thought having one of the back-up singers do a duet was just a novelty) of his earlier band but it also hearkens back to their kitschy retro B-movie lyrical angle (though in this case, more like some "A Star is Born" knock-off).




It would be easy for a rockist, such as myself, to sneer off this massively-successful synth-pop tune but it is not only stamped on my brain due to its hitting the charts when I was young and impressionable but it is also a superbly well-written pop song - one that had novelty appeal at the outset but has endured even as time has set in.



If you're as fascinated with rock doc's as myself, you'll probably get hooked right into this BBC 30 minute documentary on the Human League's twisted history.




PART TWO HERE PART THREE HERE


Update1 : For an fantastic read go check out this interview with Jo Callis over at It's **** Thing.

Update 2: MRML is looking for a rip of Jo Callis' post Human League band SWALK, let us know if anyone out there has a copy of it!


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Jo Callis: Whoah Yeah (1981)

"Woah Yeah!" (b/w "Sinistrale", "Dodo Boys") finds a newly-solo Rezillo/Shake guitarist/song-writers Jo Callis "trapped in the twilight zone", somewhere between the summit of glam-rock and the pit of synth-pop. Actually this single still evinces a lot of kicky pop attitude and should not be consigned to the middle ground between light and shadow.



What do you make of Jo Callis sole venture into solo recording? Let us know in the comments section.

Speaking of comments that's where you'll find the Whoah Yeah 7" link

Update1 : For an fantastic read go check out this interview with Jo Calllis over at It's **** Thing.

Update 2: MRML is looking for a rip of Jo Callis' post Human League band SWALK, let us know if anyone out there has a cop0y of it!

Shake: Peel Sessions (1979)

Jo Callis' post-Rezillos band Shake's (more HERE) lone session for John Peel was recorded on 23/04/1979.

The band was:
* Angel Patterson (Drums)
* Simon Templar (Bass, Vocals)
* Troy Tate (Guitar)
* Jo Callis (Guitar, Vocals)


The songs were:
* (But) Not Mine
* Glasshouse
* Night By Night
* Teenbeat


Leave us a comment on what you make of the post-Rezillos work of Jo Callis and Shake.

Speaking of comments, that's the section where you'll find the Peel Sessions link.

Shake: Invasion of the Gamma Men (1980)

Shake's last shot before Jo Callis went solo for a a wink and then joined The Human League. A fun little B-movie-pop single but again it gives little indication why Callis and The Revillos needed to be separate entities at this point.



Leave us a comment on what you make of the post-Rezillos work of Jo Callis and Shake.

Speaking of comments, that's the section where you'll find the Invasion of the Gamma Men 7" link.

Shake: Culture Shock 10" (1979)

The Rezillos split in half in 1978. Fay Fife, Eugene Reynolds and original Rezillo, Hi-Fi Harris, formed the similarly-retro-fitted band The Revillos (who had to change their name for contractual reasons) while Jo Callis brought along Simon Templar and Angel Patterson to his new band, Shake. Shake, like all Callis' projects were a pop band, but without a strong personality to bring it all home. Unsurprisingly, as Callis was both bands' chief song-writer, Shake sound a lot like The Rezillos - who even played the song "Culture Shock" at their farewell show in 1978 - but with less exuberance and less theatricality.


Leave us a comment on what you make of the post-Rezillos work of Jo Callis and Shake.

Speaking of comments, that's the section where you'll find the Culture Shock 10" link.

V.A. Teenage Treats Vol. Six (1977-1981)

(Alas, Roberto's supply of killer cover scans is done - and the images will get more dire soon - so if anyone has ANY kind of scans for T.T. V.'s 7-10 let me know!!)

Here's a new series (well, the late 1990's, really and even then...), consisting of ten volumes that explore the seedy underbelly of the already seedy underbelly that was British punk rock in the late seventies and early eighties.



Highlights of this SUPERFANTISTICALLY poppy volume may (or may not - taste in seedy underbellies varies widely) might include: The Flying Colours brilliant "Abstract Art" Masterswitch's "Action Replay" and Shadowfax's "the Russians Are Coming":



* Abstract Art (Flying Colours, 1981, from only 7")
* The Russians Are Coming (Shadowfax, 1980, from only 7")
* Blind To Fiction (Dodos, 1981, from Sex, Violence and The Eternal Truth compilation EP)
* Factory Girl (Regal Zone, 1981, from only 7")
* Action Replay (Masterswitch, 1978, from only 7")
* Out With Me All Night (Plague, 1980, from 2.7")
* Angel In A Raincoat (Sleepers, 1980, from only 7")
* Dubious Parentage (Three Party Split, 1979, from 1.7")
* Accidents (Steroid Kiddies, 1979, from only 7")
* Nationwide (Whips, 1981, from only 7")
* Teen Romance (Alsatians, 1980, from only 7")
* Come Again (Tony Jacksun, 1978, from only 7")

Comments are what keep the rarities flowing...

Please don't neglect to communicate!!

Speaking of those rarity-fueling comments, that is the section where you will find the Teenage Treats # 6 link.

V.A. Nobody Sings Dylan Like Dylan Volume Thirty-One

This thirty-FOUR [!!] volume series features artists covering Bob Dylan songs. All of the tracks are recordings of independent origin (ROIO) and hence officially unreleased.

Another fine volume with lots of names we here at MRML are proud to be associated with (Louden Wainwright III with Richard Thompson, Crooked Still, Elvis Costello, Flatt & Scruggs, The Swell Season, and Peter Case (as well as a few of those Don Henley types that we're more averse towards).




01 Blowin' in the Wind - Suzanne Vega & Vanessa Paradis (Studio 128 La Plaine Saint-Denis, France)
02 Dignity - Elliott Murphy (RADISSON SAS HOTEL, BEITOSTØLEN, SEPT. 8 – 2007)
03 Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues - Richmond Fontaine (Sep 11, 2009, The Band Room, Low Mill, Farndale, North Yorkshire, England)
04 Sweetheart Like You - Don Henley (Shoreline Amphitheater - Mountain View, CA Sunday - October 11th, 1992)
05 Girl of the North Country - The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger (Sean Lennon) (2010-08-16 Iron Horse Music Hall, Northampton, MA)
06 Simple Twist of Fate - Diana Krall and Elvis Costello (Praza da Quintana, Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain July 27th. 2010)
07 Subterranean Homesick Blues - Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks (THE ARK ANN ARBOR Michigan JAN 14 2009)
08 Oxford Town - Crooked Still (Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, Walsh Farm, Oak Hill, New York, July 15, 2010)
09 Pledging My Time - Peter Case (Third & Lindsley - Nashville, TN - July 18, 2010)
10 Just Like a Woman - Charlotte Gainsbourg (The Crocodile Seattle WA April 14, 2010)
11 Down in the Flood - Flatt and Scruggs (Osaka, Japan March 1968)
12 Goin' to Acapulco - David Rawlings Machine (Largo Los Angeles, CA, February 21, 2009)
13 You Ain't Goin' Nowhere - Loudon Wainwright III and Richard Thompson (The Egg, Albany NY, October 18, 2009)
14 One More Cup of Coffee - Frazey Ford 9Sep 7, 2010 KCRW Radio FM Broadcast Santa Monica, California)
15 Standing in the Doorway - David Nelson Band Dec 19, 2009, Arena Thatre, Point Arena, CA)
16 Forever Young - The Swell Season (Archa theatre, Prague, Czech Republic, June 8, 2008)

If you'd like the series to continue - - - please don't forget to leave a comment behind!

Speaking of comments, the Nobody Sings Dylan Like Dylan Volume Thirty-One link is in there.

Thanks to Jeffs98119 for compiling these and to stewART for the images.

• Thanks to Karl Erik @ Expecting Rain for tagging these for iTunes
  

• For V.'s 1-30 of Nobody Sings Dylan Like Dylan go here
  

• For slugline's impressive spreadsheet of the whole series go here

Willie Nile: The Day I Saw Willie Nile in Liberty Square

TO SEE MY LIST OF TOP TEN GREAT WILLIE NILE VIDEOS, COME VISIT THE BIG TAKEOVER!

I spoke my piece about Willie Nile in yesterday's post (please see here - it's a pretty good 'un) but here's another excellent, recent soundboard recording with a very different set list.



Your thoughts on Willie Nile are welcome on the comments section.

Speaking of those comment-type-things, that's the very same section in which you'll find the link for The Day I Saw Willie Nile in Liberty Square.


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Willie Nile: It's All Over Now, Baby Blue (Live, 2010)

TO SEE MY LIST OF TOP TEN GREAT WILLIE NILE VIDEOS, COME VISIT THE BIG TAKEOVER!

Despite a long-standing obsession with late seventies upstarts, earnest folk-rockers, and rock n' roll survivors I've really only recently become acquainted with long-in-tooth-and-claw singer/song-writer/ass-kicker Willie Nile. Nile's endured a history of ups, downs and turnarounds and has come out at the other end as one of the keenest learners around, one who has voraciously assimilated great swaths of musical history.

First of all this means majoring in Dylanology:



(actually a double major with Rock n' Roll Iconography):



and a minor in Punk rock:



plus, of course, graduate work with professor Bruce Springsteen:




So without further ado (or extended metaphors) here's Willie Nile: Live in Faenza, 2010
Recorded live (digital soundboard recording) at Auditorium Piazza Della Libertà, Bergamo ITA, on May 9th 2009




So if you'd like to hear more otherwise-unavailable Willie Nile, now is the time to weigh in on the man's strange-but-wonderful career!

Speaking of those comment-type-things, that's the very same section in which you'll find the link for Live in Faenza, 2010.


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The Rezillos: Top of the Pops (1978)

Well we talked A Lot about the Rezillos earlier (see here) and now now let us give to you something else unavailable since the vinyl era. Speaking of vinyl, The rip of this 1978 single comes from Gary Ching's great lost blog, Always Searching For Music. As the back cover sleeve below indicates the A-side is a different, earlier version of "Top of the Pops" and the B-side, "20,000 Rezillos Under the Sea", is a charming little ditty that rips off any number of old instrumentals and seems to foreshadow the rise of the Revillos*.


Even More Rezillos here!




Speaking of great lost blogs, Punk Friction has a few old Rezillos singles (with Longy's trademark slanted photos) right HERE. And while were doling out links, don't miss founding bass player David Smythe's Rezillos memories HERE.

*P.S. We shall be speaking much more about The Revillos next week (after a short visit from some old and new friends)



Your comments have decisively proved your love for all things Rezillos - please keep it up so MRML can continue to draw deeper from the well of obscurity.

Speaking of those oh-so-encouraging comments, that is the place wherein you will find the Top of the Pops 7" link.


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Rezillos: Get Hip (1977)

Well we talked A Lot about the Rezillos earlier (see here) and now now let us give to you a bootleg of the band live in Paisley, Scotland in October of 1977.

Even More Rezillos here!



Your comments have decisively proved your love for all thinga Rezillos - please keep it up so MRML can continue to draw deeper from the well of obscurity.

Speaking of those oh-so-encouraging comments, that is the place wherein you will find the Get Hip link.


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Rezillos: Flying Saucer Attack (1977)

Well we talked A Lot about the Rezillos earlier (see here) and now now let us give to you the the original, as yet not officially digitized,"Flying Saucer Attack" b/w "(My Baby Does) Good Sculptures" 7".



Both songs were cut on the cheap in 1977 a year before the band re-recorded them with legendary big money producers Bob Clearmountain (for more on The Clearmountain Pause go here) and Tony Bonigiovi (brother of the man known as Jon Bon Jovi!).

Even More Rezillos here!



Your comments prove you DO love The Rezillos - please keep it up so MRML can draw deeper from the well of obscurity.

Speaking of those oh-so-encouraging comments, that is the place wherein you will find the Flying Saucer Attack 7" link.




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The Rezillos: Cold Wars (1979)

Well we talked A Lot about the Rezillos earlier (see here) and now now let us give to you the 1979 Cold Wars 7" which contains a live version of "Flying Saucer Attack" and a smashing live version of "Twist & Shout" neither of which have never seen re-release. (Y'know who ever compiled that "(Almost) Complete Rezillos CD really needs a sharp history lesson up the arse.)

Even More Rezillos here!



If you love The Rezillos and want MRML to draw deeper from the well of obscurity, then you need only leave an encouraging comment behind.

Speaking of those oh-so-encouraging comments, that is the place wherein you will find the Cold Wars 7" link.


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The Rezillos: Peel Sessions (1977-1978) + Link fix!

Well we talked A Lot about the Rezillos earlier (see here) and now now let us give to you the band's two Peel Sessions!



30/12/1977
* (My Baby Does) Good Sculptures
* No
* Fight Amongst Yourselves
* Top Of The Pops

08/06/1978
* Cold Wars (Have Cooled Me Down)
* Destination Venus
* Somebody's Gonna Get Their Heads Kicked In Tonight
* I Can't Stand My Baby (Sould Version)

If you love The Rezillos and want MRML to draw deeper from the well of obscurity, then you need only leave an encouraging comment behind.

Speaking of those oh-so-encouraging comments, that is the place wherein you will find the Peel Sessions Link AND the I Can't Stand My Baby 7" link.


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