A Go-Fidelity Halloween.

And now, a few terrifying tunes to complement your hellish Halloween experience.

First up is an enjoyably creepy Poppy Family song, "Where Evil Grows." That minor-keyed melody and disturbing subject matter should be just enough to make your skin crawl:

"Where Evil Grows" - the Poppy Family

Lavern Baker makes black magic sound downright appealing in this next track. The girl's got boogie in her bones:

"Voodoo Voodoo" - Lavern Baker

This is a zany Joe Meek production (weren't they all?) featuring fuzzy guitars and a multitude of graveyard sound effects. Like all great works of horror, this recording was followed up with a sequel, "Return of the Vampire."

"Night of the Vampire" - the Moontrekkers

Speaking of instrumentals, this rocked-up arrangement of "In the Hall of the Mountain King" is a true lost classic of the British Invasion - even the Beatles were fans. In fact, this band's horn section ended up on "Good Morning Good Morning." See if you recognize them:

"In the Hall of the Mountain King" - Sounds Incorporated

I'll leave you with a song that I consider one of the creepiest ever. Pat Hare's "I'm Gonna Murder My Baby" is so sonically disturbing that Robert Palmer (no, not that one) discussed its distortions in his essay "The Church of the Sonic Guitar." Lyrically, though, it's just as violent. We listen as Hare pleads his case, proclaiming that he's "gonna kill her tomorrow." The kicker? He soon went to jail for--you guessed it--murdering his baby.

"I'm Gonna Murder My Baby" - Pat Hare

Happy Halloween!

Modifying the Mopheads.

I thought it would be fun to share a bunch of Beatles covers that I love. I figured we'd begin with two wildly differing covers of "Eleanor Rigby:"

"Eleanor Rigby" - the Nite-Liters
"Eleanor Rigby" - the Ventures

The Nite-Liters' version is characteristically funky, with a heavy emphasis on horns. The Ventures' version, however, is understandably guitar-based. The track begins with the original's famous string arrangement, but their cover comes into its own as soon as the lead guitarist engages his fuzz pedal at :38.

In the early 1970s, Randy California took a break from Spirit to record the succinctly titled Kapt. Kopter and the (Fabulous) Twirlybirds, his first solo effort. Upon its release in 1972, the album's druggy acid rock seemed badly dated and the record promptly sank without a trace. California recorded a number of covers for Kapt. Kopter, including James Brown's "I Don't Want Nobody" and Paul Simon's "Mother and Child Reunion." Neither of these touch his wonderfully deranged cover of the Beatles' "Rain," however:

"Rain" - Randy California

In contrast, Davy Graham's subdued take on "Mother Nature's Son" combines the folky atmosphere of the original with a distinctly impromptu, after-hours feel:

"Mother Nature's Son" - Davy Graham

And what kind of post would this be without a samba-fied Beatles track?

"Michelle" - Os Sambeatles

Various things.

"Angel of Air - Angel of Water" - Alice Coltrane & Carlos Santana
"Angel of Sunlight" - Alice Coltrane & Carlos Santana

Recorded during Carlos Santana's jazz fusion period, Illuminations (1974) is sometimes regarded as the lesser counterpart to Love Devotion Surrender, his 1973 collaboration with John McLaughlin. That's a shame, though, because re-examination reveals Illuminations to be an unusual, intriguing, and occasionally excellent album. Alice Coltrane's string arrangements are particularly striking and function as a smooth complement to the ensemble's (occasionally free) soloing. Eastern motifs occur frequently, particularly on the noisy modal jam "Angel of Sunlight," while "Angel of Air - Angel of Water" embodies the blissful, contemplative tone of much of the record.

"Time" - The Tropics
"You Better Move" - The Tropics

In the mid to late 1960s, the Tropics were supposed to be the next-big-thing, at least according to other Floridians. My dad mentioned this band when I got into garage rock in high school and believe it or not, they're actually pretty good. They kinda devolved into a poor man's Vanilla Fudge by 1969, but their earlier recordings are enjoyable, particularly if you're a Nuggets obsessive like me. "Time" is a Zombies-style minor keyed pop number, while "You Better Move" is a harmonica-laden rave-up.

"Jaws" - Johnny Otis

The best part of this song is the totally unexpected vibraphone solo.

Sunday Songs.

After Soul Sides featured Blossom Dearie's "Sunday Afternoon" and Mixtape Riot featured Margo Guryan's "Sunday Morning," I thought it might be fun to post a few other "Sunday songs."

"Sunday Date" - the Flee-Rekkers

Produced by Joe Meek, this song has all of his signature gimmicks: tremelo, treble-y guitars, cheap tape echo and wordless vocals. So good, it almost makes you forget that he murdered his landlady. (Incidentally, another of Joe Meek's groups, the Moontrekkers, recorded a track called "Sunday Sunset.")

"Black Sunday" - the Skatalites

I'm still trying to figure out which Black Sunday this song is referencing. Personally, I think the Skatalites were inspired by Italian director Mario Bava.

And because I think it's completely over-the-top and therefore strikingly different from Margo Guryan's recording, here's a cover of "Sunday Morning" by Spanky & Our Gang:

"Sunday Morning" - Spanky & Our Gang

Enjoy.

Os Megatons (self titled)

Os Megatons were an instrumental rock and roll band from Brazil. This record was released in 1964. Much like The Ventures, they tend to lean toward surf on most of their tracks here. the quality of musicianship and production is pretty high, and their distance from the american scene seems to allow them a unique approach, free of the cliches that are commonly found in american surf rock. This is a tight, highly enjoyable record!


Download "Os Megatons"