ELEPHANT STOMP - A COLLECTION OF 70's INSTRUMENTAL ROCKERS

During the past few years, the NAUGHTY RHYTHM label have issued a series of EURO DISCO / FUNK compilations in the form of the COSMIC DISCOTHEQUE series. These VINYL ONLY releases are is a must for lovers of ARCANE 70's OBSCURITIES and the most recent addition '' ELEPHANT STOMP '' focuses on GLAM ROCK related INSTRUMENTALS   

SIDE ONE fittingly kicks off with '' ELEPHANT STOMP '' by GALAHAD. The track was the B-SIDE of their 1972 release '' ROCKET SUMMER ''. The band were a UK studio project created by singer / songwriter GERRY MORRIS and producer TONY ASHDON. Stylistically it follows on from the densely textured PSYCH / GLAM crossover of the A-SIDE, but here the rhythm track is allowed a little space to breathe, presenting a nice contrast. Second up is '' THETA '', the B-SIDE of the 1974 JUNKSHOP classic '' MORNING BIRD '' by THE DAMNED. The track was originally issued with a vocal in the previous year as '' DOCTOR ROCK '' by KID ROCK.. Both versions were issued on the YOUNGBLOOD label. It's a FAST TEMPO, SYNTH LED ROCKER driven by PRESTON EPPS style BONGO WORK 

THE DAMNED - THETA

'' ROCKET MAN '' by ELECTRIC TEAM is a FRENCH SYNTH ROCK number that was issued on the EURODISC label in 1974. The tune was penned by PHILIPPE RENAUX, who added a vocal to the track and issued it with his band ROCKETS the same year. The feel and melody bear some relation to '' ON THE ROAD AGAIN '' by CANNED HEAT, a song that was tellingly covered by ROCKETS a few years on, but it's one of the strongest tracks on the comp and a testament to how well the French were able to utilize SYNTHERSIZERS in the production of catchy POP INSTRUMENTALS { '' PEPPER BOX '' by THE PEPPERS being another example from the same year } 

ELECTRIC TEAM - ROCKET MAN

'' ROCK AND ROLL DRUMMER '' by DUCTCH outfit THE ROCKETS is another obscurity highly cherished by lovers of JUNKSHOP GLAM. Here we have the B-SIDE: '' PART TWO '' . The 45' was issued on the PHILLIPS label in 1974 and it's a ROCKING DRUM FEATURE as the title indicates. The record appeared in the wake of UK Drummer COZY POWELL's  '' DANCE WITH THE DEVIL '' hit.  POWELL had taken inspiration from SANDY NELSON's  '' LET THERE BE DRUMS '' and '' TEEN BEAT '' , which were recorded during the INSTRUMENTAL ROCK trend of the early 60's.  THE ROCKETS used the same basic ingredients and threw in a little spice from the MORTON STEVENS / VENTURES '' THEME FROM HAWAII FIVE-0 ''. A very tasty concoction!

THE ROCKETS - ROCK AND ROLL DRUMMER { PART TWO }

'' B SIDE STOMP '' by BLITZ was the FLIP SIDE of '' MELODY LADY '', a FRENCH release from 1973 on the EURODISC POP label. It's a A WIGGED OUT PSYCH ROCKER that wouldn't sound out of place if it appeared on the SOUNDTRACK to a JESS FRANCO EXPLOITATION MOVIE. '' BIG TROUBLE { PART TWO } '' by T.N.T closes the first side. The band were a studio outfit created by JEREMY PAUL and PAUL LYNTON. The duo oversaw a number of projects in the early 70's and worked with the band HECTOR on their classic GLAM ROCK 45's. '' PART TWO '' elongates the break from the A-SIDE into a barely tethered BONGO BEATING, TRIBAL RAVE-UP. Surprisingly the number peters out at around the minute mark, but the track fades in, so it was possibly the climax of a much longer jam . A 1972 release on the UK  JAM LABEL { which was a short lived venture connected to D.J.M } 

T.N.T - BIG TROUBLE { PART TWO }

SIDE TWO starts with '' SLOW ROCK '' by K. W. Winston. The track isn't slow { breezing along at 140BPM }, but it certainly is rocking and the steady ROLLING SNARE BEAT, RAW GUITAR CHORDS and SAXOPHONE BLASTS revamped the 1950's INSTRUMENTAL ROCK sound of DUENE EDDY and LINK WRAY for the 1970's. The track appeared on the ARIOLA label in 1974 as the FLIP SIDE to '' DON'T ASK ME '' . As with the T.N.T track on SIDE ONE, it was produced by JEREMY PAUL and PAUL LYNTON.  '' FLIGHT 2 '' by ANGELO & EIGHTEEN is altogether more curious. A one off project by two FRENCH CANADIANS that was produced by MICKEY MOST and released on his RAK label in '72. It incorporates elements of the TRIBAL FUSION of MIKE STEIPENSON's '' BURUNDI BLACK '' and the LATIN ROCK of TITANIC's '' SULTANA '' { both of which were EURO HITS in 1971 }. The track saw release as the B-SIDE of the POP ORIANTATED VOCAL ''  MIDNIGHT FLIGHT '' and was based on the PERCUSSIVE BREAK that appeared at the end of that song

ANGELO & EIGHTEEN - FLIGHT 2

'' JUNGLE JUICE '' first appeared on the '' GO MOOG! - SMASH HIT'S SYNTHERISER STYLE '' LP by ELEKTRIK COKERNUT. The LP was conceived as a collection of instrumental covers and the track was the only original composition included.  It's an awesome DANCEFLOOR MOVER that utilizes a '' ROCK AND ROLL PART TWO '' type GLITTER BEAT. The record was released on the budget MUSIC FOR PLEASURE LABEL in 1973

ELEKTIK COCKERNUT - JUNGLE JUICE

'' SAFARI ROCK '' by THE ROCKETTERS has a '' CAN THE CAN '' meets '' GUITAR BOOGIE SHUFFLE '' feel. BONGO BEATS and a few ANIMAL NOISES were mixed in to create a charming slice of GLAM EXOTICA. A FRENCH release on the DISQUES CARRERE label from 1975. '' SLOOP '' by THE SLOOPERS was another SYNTH ROCK / GLAM NOVELTY from writer / producer PHILIPPE RENAUX. A 1974 release on the FRENCH SINUS MUSIC label

THE SLOOPERS - SLOOP

 

THE COMP ends with '' DISCO DRUM { PART 5 } by THE CATS ' N ' JAMMER KIDS. A one off UK DISCO project from 1977 on the EBONY label { which was also home to the early RAH BAND recordings }. This cut was SIDE-B. It's a more stripped down take on the ' PART ONE ' top and has a unique and quirky BALEARIC / GLAM feel. A sparse HAMILTON BOHANNON style BEAT sets down a nice base for some BROODING SYNTH CHORDS and FUNKY SAX WORK as the number builds and drops around a couple of fleeting CONGA BREAKS, before reaching it's zenith by way of an assertive GLITTER BAND styled GUITAR RIFF. A perfectly MEASURED but INTENSE 3 mins and a great way to end this ECLECTIC and ENTERTAINING selection of INSTRUMENTAL ARTIFACTS

THE CATS ' N ' JAMMER KIDS -  DISCO DRUM { PART 5 }

BOB ROWE'S MUSIC BOX - BLOCKBUSTER

BOB ROWE'S MUSIC BOX was one of many INSTRUMENTAL SYNTH-POP COVER LP's that were released in the wake of ''POPCORN'' by HOT BUTTER {a huge hit in 1972}. His 'CHICORY TIP meets SWEET' version of ''BLOCKBUSTER'' is a highlight from the 1973 release that also included a take on ''SON OF MY FATHER''

MIKE MCGEAR GROWS WINGS

MIKE MCGEAR began his recording career in the mid 60's as part of the comedy/poetry/music group SCAFFOLD.Liverpool born Mike had jettisoned his birth name McCARTNEY to avoid accusations of riding on the coattails of his famous brother BEATLE PAUL,but having achieved success with Scaffold he felt comfortable enough to embark on a collaboration for his second solo LP in 1974.Recording began in January at Strawberry Studios in Stockport.Paul took the producers seat and supplied his band Wings to lay down a set of tunes the brothers had co written

As expected from those involved,the resulting album contained some excellent melodic material with evocative and whimsical lyrics.Leaving aside Mikes vocals,a lot of the tracks could easily be mistaken as WINGS numbers from the same era and like those,the spectre of GLAM ROCK/GLITTER POP rears it's rouge cheeked face on a few occasions.The LP kicks off with the only cover ''SEA BREEZES'',a number written by Bryan Ferry .This version is shorter and more direct than the version recorded by ROXY MUSIC for their first LP



The opening number morphs straight into ''WHAT DO WE REALLY KNOW?'' an UPTEMPO STOMPER with a fast shuffle beat that bears the influence of ''SOLID GOLD EASY ACTION'' by T-REX and MUD's ''TIGER FEET'' {the latter topped the UK charts for 4 weeks while the LP was being recorded}.The band cut loose on this and guitarists DENNY LANE and JIMMY McCULLOUGH really go to town!


The stomping continues in a strange offbeat way with ''Norton'' an incongruous crossbreeding of ''COZ I LUV YOU'' by SLADE and the crazed 60's novelty song ''THEY'RE COMING TO TAKE ME AWAY'' by NAPOLEON XIV.McGear switches to a menacing tone for these football chant style lyrics mouthed through the character of a small town bully

''Norton is a pretty boy
Norton is a sissy
Norton's got a lovely girl
Now is'nt that a pity''

''Norton is a daddies boy
Norton joined the army
He thought they'd make a man of him
He must be bloody barmy!''




''HAVE YOU GOT PROBLEMS?'' is NEW ORLEANS ROCK 'N' ROLL re-invented for the 70's in the manner of ''ALL THE WAY FROM MEMPHIS and ''THE GOLDEN AGE OF ROCK 'N' ROLL'' by MOTT THE HOOPLE.It features some great sax work from BRIAN JONES {from the legendary Mersey Beat group THE UNDERTAKERS}.Sounds like they were having a ball in the studio when they recorded this one!



McGear channels MARK BOLAN on ''GIVING GREASE A RIDE'',another powerful GLAM tinged rocker that comes across as a heavier brother to brother Paul's ''HELEN WHEELS'' 45 and like that cut it also features some excellent MINI MOOG playing from LINDA.The title was presumably inspired by the 1950's musical GREASE which had recently enjoyed it's first west end run and the song plays out with another period reference in the form of the ''SHAKIN' ALL OVER'' guitar riff



Rockers aside,the LP is worth checking out in it's entirety.As with SGT. PEPPER,the album contains many moods and the lower key songs {such as ''LEAVE IT'' and ''THE MAN WHO FOUND GOD ON THE MOON''} are excellent in their own right.The original GULLIVER themed gate-fold sleeve is also a gem!

PADDY KINGSLAND - TEARAWAY

PADDY KINGSLAND is an ELECTRONIC MUSIC composer.best known for being a member of THE BBC RADIOPHONIC WORKSHOP and for his work for 1970's TELEVISION shows such as DOCTOR WHO,THE CHANGES and THE HITCHHICKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY.He eschewed the MUSIQUE CONCRETE approach of the early workshop musicians and utilised synthesisers like the EMS VCS 3 and the EMS SYNTHI 100 to make catchy and tuneful music.A good example of his work is ''TEARAWAY'' which was recorded for the MUSIC LIBRARY label AMPHONIC MUSIC and was presumably used to accompany news footage and dramatized portrayals of young FOOTBALL HOOLIGANS and other JUVENILE DELINQUENTS

BUBBLES - ZAP 'N' KAT

''Don't Look Twice Run For Your Life
You Ain't Zap You Ain't Got Nine Lives''

ZAP 'N' KAT is a super obscure GLAM PUNK number driven by a PROPULSIVE BACKBEAT and choppy FREAKBEAT guitar riffs.It came out on DECCA RECORDS in 1975 as the B-SIDE of a song called {takes a deep breath}:''THIS IS WHERE THE HURDIE GURDIE HEEBIE GEEBIE GREENIE MAN CAME IN''.The A-SIDE could be mistaken for CHICORY TIP and features a catchy MOOG SYNTH RIFF reminiscent of the one played on ''SON OF MY FATHER''.It's not without charm,but you really need to flip the disc over to PUT THE KAT AMONGST THE TEENYBOPPERS.

Does Anyone have any info on BUBBLES? I would LOVE to hear ANYHING about the people who created this amazing 45!

Floating Opera - Let's Streak

A MONSTER Glam Stomper from 1974!

The tune hinges on a KILLER Moog synth line and a RESURRECTION SHUFFLE style chant layered over a QUICK JOEY SMALL meets ROCK and ROLL PART 2 backbeat.

It was composed by Alan Hawkshaw and Ray Davies,both known for their involement with KPM Music and other Music Library labels throughout the 70's.Given this I think it's safe to asume that the band was a studio creation.

Hawshaw is notable for playing Hammond organ on numerous pop and library sessions.
He also played Moog synthesizer on the ROCK ON LP by David Essex in 1973 and composed the synth-moog-library album ARP ODYSSEY for KPM in '75.