Rock N' Roll Kitchen

To prepare this meal, start out with a good rhythm, turn up the heat, add some soul, throw in a pinch of groovy and season generously with far out.

Pearls Before Swine – Another Day
Del Shannon – Cut and Come Again
Gato Barbieri – India
Indian Puddin’ and Pipe – Beyond This Place
Los Locos del Ritmo – La Cucaracha
Hollies – Stop Right There
Smell of Incense – Fancy
Steve Colt – Walk Away Renee
Santana – Europa (Earth’s Cry Heaven’s Smile)
Pretty Things – Trust

I’ll be taking an indefinite leave from the Kitchen. See ya when I see ya.

During a rare break at the Rock n’ Roll Kitchen, a waiter starts playing the spoons to be joined by the fry cook on the washboard and a dishwasher strumming a washtub bass. The sous chef joins in on his kazoo and Chef Dave is hitting the jug.

These tunes are not the authentic jug band material of the Depression era but more so are from revival bands of the 60’s, often with a psychedelic element added. For that matter, many are not exactly jug band music but have a certain ‘old timey’ feel.

Jim Kweskin and the Jug Band – Washington at Valley Forge
Creedence Clearwater Revival – Poorboy Shuffle
Dr. West’s Medicine Show and Junk Band – Dominating Baby
Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show – You Make My Pants Want to Get Up and Dance
Holy Modal Rounders – Mobile Line
Micheal Hurley with the Unholy Modal Rounders and J.F. and the Clamtones – Midnight In Paris
Famous Jug Band – Can’t Stop Thinking About It
Grateful Dead - Ripple
Even Dozen Jug Band – Original Colossal Drag Rag
Chris Hillman – Good Time Charlie’s Got the Blues
Panama Limited Jug Band – Rich Gal
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – Shiek of Araby
Purple Gang – Viola Lee Blues
Dr. West’s Medicine Show and Junk Band – A Summer Love Song

Let the Good Times Roll!

The Winter holidays are a time for traditional fare of tasty treats with a subtle flavor.

Like other such music categories, folk is merely a broad classification. A first impression might involve somebody with an acoustic guitar singing a song as old as the hills. However, while folk music is about the past, it also is about change and therefore is done with instruments ranging from acoustic to electric to an orchestra and choir and sometimes borders on what is referred to as bluegrass or country. There are some traditional tunes included here and others that might be described as more modern singer/songwriter material.

Steve Goodman – The Dutchman
Bedlam Rovers – Long Black Veil
Gallery – The Wind That Shakes the Barley
Mick Moloney – Killins Fairy Hill
Fairport Convention – Who Knows Where the Times Goes
Wolfe Tones- Twice Daily
Anne Briggs – She Moved Through the Fair
Fiddler’s Dram – Daytrip to Bangor
Ian Campbell Folk Group – Dirty Old Town
Steeleye Span – Reels: Dowd’s Favorite/Ten Pound Float/The Morning Dew
Graham H. Dodsworth – Little Musgraves

This is a good opportunity to say thanks to the Time Has Told Me blogsite – the utmost library of folk and folk related music on the web at http://time-has-told-me.blogspot.com/

Today’s special is doo-wop accompanied by sh-bop with a side of oodly-poppa-cow, garnished with do-da wadda do and finally some oo-wee-ooh for desert.

These are slightly lesser known hits from the doo-wop era than I posted way back in episode 6 but still well known to appreciators of the genre. There’s also a few twists on the doo-wop style as this set includes a Cuban tune, a song featuring ukulele as a main instrument and what must be the only Country doo-wop song (it’s written by Hank Williams so it must be Country). Finally the last track includes a high note of the type that I have to warn you I’m not responsible for any broken windows etc.

Pearls – Your Cheating Heart
Angels – Cry Baby Cry
Marcels – Goodbye to Love
Dino and the Diplomats – My Dream
Chimes – I’m In the Mood For Love
Five Royales – Think
Del Satins – I’ll Never Know
Barbara Greene – Long Tall Sally
Chesters – The Fires Burn No More
Mistakes – I Got Fired
Bon-Aires – The Shrine of St. Cecilia
Sevilles - Charleena
Los Zafiros – La Luna et Tu
Belmonts – Tell Me Why
Mirada Ravens – A Simple Prayer

deh doom, ba-ba doom, ba-ba doom, ba-ba doe doe

If you’re going to perform someone else’s tunes, you should pick the best but the problem with covering the Beatles seems to be that most end up sounding like pale imitations. I hope you’ll agree the selections I’ve picked here however bring something else to these great songs and therefore can be considered as interpretations.

Gods – Hey Bulldog
Richie Havens – Eleanor Rigby
Fever Tree – Day Tripper/We Can Work It Out
Life – Strawberry Fields Forever
Love Sculpture – Inner Light
Jr. Walker and the All-Stars – Hey Jude
Gladys Knight and the Pips – Let It Be
Cooper, Boyes and Simpson – Think For Yourself
Dillards – I’ve Just Seen a Face
Terry Manning – Savoy Truffle
Bee Gees – Sun King

Crikey! Don’t spit the dummy because this isn’t from the USA and Britain. Grab a tinny, give it a burl and you’ll barrack for this tucker from down under*.

I’m not an Aussie so please excuse the above. In regards to the music, during the sixties Australia and New Zealand didn’t have sophisticated recording facilities or significant distribution/promotion channels but these groups did a fine job nonetheless. A few of them ventured to England for a period to advance their careers but all here at least started Down Under. Many of the rarer tunes came from Chocoreve’s music blog (http://chocoreve.blogspot.com/) that I would like to properly acknowledge and thank.

Twilights – Once Upon a Twilight
Bee Gee’s – Turn of the Century
Avengers – Everyone’s Gonna Wonder
Allusions – Mr. Love
Master’s Apprentices – But One Day
Shane – St. Paul
Blue Beats – She’s Coming Home
Tin-Tin – Swans On the Canal
Elois – By My Side
Easybeats – Easy Beat
Blerta – Dance All Around the World
Campact – Zoom Zoom Zoom

*Glossary –
Crikey – As far as I know this doesn’t mean anything in particular; just an exclamation
Spit the dummy – To throw a tantrum
Tinny – A can of beer
Give it a burl – To give it a try
Barrack – To cheer (as for a sports team)
Tucker - Food

Peas – a small green vegetable from pods, idealistic hippie pipedreams, or an achievable goal – you decide!

H. P. Lovecraft – Let’s Get Together
Searchers – Where Have All the Flowers Gone
Tim Rose – Come Away, Melinda
Strange Flowers – Masters of War
Zero Tolerance – Acid and Flowers
Harvey Andrews – Children of Hiroshima
Richie Havens – Handsome Johnny
Corries – Mothers, Daughters, Wives (live)
June Tabor – The Band Played Waltzing Matilda
Zen – Aquarius
Wilco – Comment (live)

Fast food doesn’t have to be a formulated product designed to (barely) satisfy the masses. At the Rock n’ Roll Kitchen, they serve up many tunes that can be dished out in three minutes (more or less) but are guaranteed to impress and please.

There’s nothing very rare here but I took an opportunity to assemble a set of high energy tunes that fit onto a 7 inch record in the days when the 45 rpm was the primary medium for recorded music. Most were popular in the day and others eventually found more than their 15 minutes of fame upon release of various ‘Nuggets’ type complications.

Nazz – Open My Eyes
Castaways – Lair, Lair
Bobby Fuller 4 – I Fought the Law
Los Bravos – Black Is Black
Searchers – Needles and Pins
Easybeats – Friday On My Mind
Action – I’ll Keep Holding On
Move – (Here We Go Round) The Lemon Tree
Creation – Biff! Bang! Pow!
Ohio Express – Shake
Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs – Wooly Bully
Os Mutantes – Bat Macumba
Young Rascals – Come On Up
Preachers – Who Do You Love
Amboy Dukes – Journey to the Center of the Mind

Play it loud!

Today’s menu is out of this world. There’s lots of moon rock(s) but also some moon jazz, moon C&W, and even some moon doo-wop.

McCully Workshop Inc. – Head For the Moon
Dukes of Stratosphear – Bike Ride to the Moon
Beach Boys – Surfer Moon
Cape Kennedy Construction Company – The First Step On the Moon
Chayns – Live With the Moon
Soft Boys – Underwater Moonlight
Willie Nelson – Sugar Moon
Tom Waits – Drunk On the Moon
Porcupine Tree – Moonloop (live)
Marcels – Blue Moon

Blast off!