The Jellies ain't no jive...

The Jellies "Jive Baby On A Saturday Night" (1981 UK)
now reissued by that rad dude Johnny Trunk @ Trunk Records

"Oi! Keep your raps tidy, lad."

Kaleidoscope - "Faintly Blowing"

Kaleidoscope "Faintly Blowing" (Fontana / 1969)

Do you know what a wall record is? It's terrible. A wall record is something a record dealer hangs behind his tables at a convention to send the depraved masses into a hysteria when they walk on by. One who is well-read on the trade that he or she is plying will know what albums to hang up: original jazz pressings from all the obvious labels, the Beatles "butcher" cover, local funk classics, box sets, and almost always there is rare classic rock...most importantly, rare psychrock. But all that shit is priced accordingly and you will begin looking at the rest of their bins instead and so it begins.

This one here, "Faintly Blowing" by Kaleidoscope, is a wall record of the highest order, mainly because we all know about it (and probably want a copy). Released in 1969 on the crest of whimsical psychedelia, this sophomore album covers so much wonderful ground that it seems puzzling why it sold poorly until being rediscovered by record collectors via the Nuggets series. Perfect for Floyd fans who always liked Syd the best since some of the lyrical imagery and vocal delivery is almost the same, if not more cognizant. Some tunes are all heavy fuzz and loud Hammond organ that'll turn on a dime and become like a stoned Zombies and ride out waves of phased drums. Great guitar playing of all sorts, above average for the time and not at all show-offish. Not surprisingly, some of it sounds like the Beatles and Dylan folkrock. I would also say that this record is unmistakably British in the way that it revels in quaintness, history, and fairy tale-inspired content (not to mention record cover).

All songs are recommended but my favorites are: "(Love Song) For Annie", "Opinion", "Bless The Executioner", "Poem", and "Do It Again For Jeffrey" of course. The reissues are probably the way to go because Fontana Records butchered the original mix if you ask me, plus there are bonus tracks and such. Why isn't rock n' roll fun like this anymore?

Get it...

Buy it...

VINYL SHOW & TELL VOL 4 - THE CARAVELLES...

the Caravelles
"You Don't Have to be a Baby to Cry / The Last One to Know"
(Smash Records 1963 USA/UK)

This 45 has been in my collection for a long time now, originally acquired at a local record store in the town I grew up as a kid. I'm sure that I mistook this for some Northern Soul band, looking only at the year and label without giving it a listen. Didn't think much of it until I started making record-only mix cd's for an ex-girlfriend, at which point the A side hooked me big time.

"You Don't Have to be a Baby to Cry" sounds older than it actually is. The tune could certainly pass for early to mid 50's pop but was recorded in 1963 by two co-workers from an office building (Lois Wilkinson and Andrea Simpson) who would never really record anything else in their lifetimes. Keep in mind that the Stones and Beatles were starting to take over then, thus making a song like this sound extremely tame.

Nothing complicated about the melody, the lyrics, the production, or the overall mood...Just saccharine. Vocals are sung with a subtle whisper, impeccably in harmony, and drowned in the most gorgeous of echo chambers. Brushed drums, acoustic bass, electric guitar, finger snaps, and some perfect vibraphone adds up to what sounds like a take on the kind of pop music Joe Meek was producing during that era (in the same country as the Caravelles, the UK). This music also reminds me of David Lynch films (he uses a lot of 60's girl pop). A long-forgotten chart single that deserves a second look by all hopeless romantics and record nerds.

this one gets 7 out of 10 on the "records before rent" scale...