John Paul Young ~ The Life Of Ermie Scub [CMDC, 1980] 320kbps

SC 8922

A1. Ermie Has Feelers
A2. All The Sad Goodbyes
A3. Have You Seen The Boy In The Gutter With The Broken Mind?
A4. Our Time Escapes
A5. Summertime!
A6. Is That Why?

B1. The Monster In Ed
B2. The Girl Spells Grief
B3. Angels With Dirty Faces
B4. The Boulevards Of Hope
B5. Surrender To The Void



Electronics – Stanley A. Viezner
Performer [Instruments], Vocals – John Paul Young

'After founding Toronto-based art punk(ish) band Cardboard Brains back in 1976, and leading them through a pair of swell EPs (the frankly formulaic Cardboard Brains 77 and the poppier Black EP two years later) as well as a slot on the scene-defining Last Pogo LP, John Paul Young must have felt constricted by the form-fitting straitjacket of three-chord punk. Young was the middle-class son of medical doctors, and allegedly progeny of both Brigham Young and the founder of American rocketry, Dr. Robert Goddard, and was probably a poor fit for a Toronto scene populated by yobs, headbangers and street youth (as chronicled in Liz Worth's excellent Treat Me Like Dirt).

By 1980 Young had set off on his own, playing all the instruments on this quasi-conceptual collection of robot-like minimal synth tracks. And on a continent that was still digesting the original punk movement, The Life of Ermie Scub would surely have been as left-field as they came. With its period analog synths, percolating drum machines and disaffected vocals, the record had more in common with the early OMD, the Normal or even San Francisco's Units than much of what was happening in Toronto at the time. That said, the bulk of ...Ermie Scub is mopy and tedious, with Young's lethargic singing especially annoying. Still, there are flickers of brilliance here, like the two-minute 'Have You Seen the Boy in the Gutter with the Broken Mind?', a frantic electro-workout worthy of Martin Rev, or the whimsical synths on 'The Boulevards of Hope', which seem to edge curiously close to Residents territory [circa The Commercial Album].' ~ Michael Pananontin

i don't find the vocals tedious at all, but then i dig weird art punk. and though jp's voice might initially contrast with some of the gorgeous synth melodies on display here, this album has really grown on me over the years. definitely one for fans of Gary Wilson. please enjoy this interwebular upgrade of one of my favorite canadian synth joints, 320 blips later

VA ~ Troubled Troubadours [Omni Recording Corporation, 2010]

OMNI134

01. Marty Robbins - The Chair
02. Waylon Jennings - Delia's Gone
03. Dolly Parton - The Bridge
04. Lorene Mann - Hide My Sin [A.b.o.r.t.i.o.n N.e.w Y.o.r.k]
05. Mark Slade - Are They Gonna Shoot God?
06. Dolly Parton - Daddy Come And Get Me
07. Porter Wagoner - Waldo The Weirdo
08. Bobby Bare - Big Ben Colson
09. Roger Miller - The Animal Of Man
10. Justin Tubb - The Family Way
11. Hank Williams Jr. - No Meaning And No End
12. Justin Tubb - The River Road Mystery
13. Norma Jean - Teddy Bear Song
14. Lawton Williams - Cold, Cold Hands
15. Trooper Jim Foster - Four Chrome Wheels
16. Henson Cargill - Daddy, What's A Tree?
17. Hank Williams Jr. - The Rainmaker
18. Arlene Harden - Congratulations [You Sure Made A Man Out Of Him]
19. Hugh X. Lewis - War Is Hell
20. Autry Inman - The Ballad Of Two Brothers
21. Stonewall Jackson - Push The Panic Button
22. Bobby Bare - Your Credit Card Won't Get You Into Heaven
23. Homer and Jethro - I Crept Into The Crypt and Cried
24. Lester Flatt - I Can't Tell The Boys From The Girls
25. Homer And Jethro - I Couldn't Spell Pffft
26. Roger Miller - Whistle Stop
27. Burl Ives - The Times They Are A Changin'



'27 tales from the dark and/or strange side of the tracks [1965-73]. Lust, murder, alienation, war, depravity and credit cards. Troubled times demand troubled troubadours. And here they are. 27 tales of misfortune, desperation, woe and just plain high weirdness, delivered by a stellar cast of country music luminaries. First up, Marty Robbins sits us in The Chair, the grizzly, bathetic final resting place of a man about to be electrocuted for his crimes. Next Waylon Jennings takes us to a haunting graveside confessional and then Dolly Parton places her final steps high upon The Bridge. You get the idea.

In that seminal epoch of the late 1960s and 70s, the times were a changin'€™ and it clearly wasn't always for the better. Autocide, infanticide, deicide and the desire to transmigrate into a stuffed toy are just some of the low-lights presented for your masochistic/musical pleasure.' press



by request, another superlative document of leftfield country jams from omni, nearly approaching the unhinged genius of plantation gold. before laying ears pon this mess, i pretty much figured hank williams jr was completely worthless, but his two contributions here are mighty fine indeed. & check out young dolly before she got eaten up by the star-making machinery, waylon jennings' version of 'house of the rising sun', plus a cupple dozen other weirds. one that demands repeated glistening fer full creeping seepage, tho i coulda done without ever hearing burl ives, i fink. 320 er FLACK + skannage

VA ~ Nashville Sputnik: The Deep South Outer Space Productions of Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan 1956-2004 [Omni Recording Corporation, 2008]

OMNI112

01. Strange New World - Jacqueline Hyde and the Moonfolk (1965)
02. The Lonely Sentry - Rusty Diamond, with guest star Maryanne Mail (1965)
03. We Walked This Road Before - Brad Wolfe (1971)
04. Time Machine - Joel Mathis (1971)
05. Skellykins - Rusty Diamond (1966)
06. Yellow Bellied Sap Sucker - Hank Malcolm (1964)
07. Gemini - The Jack Blanchard Group (1964)
08. Lonely Bell - Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan (1967)
09. Mary Turn Around - Hank Malcolm (1964)
10. Changin' Times - Brad Wolfe (1967)
11. I'm Hung Up On You - Rusty Diamond, the Country Nut (1965)
12. Boy With The Be-Bop Glasses - The Dawn Breakers (1956)
13. Hit Me One More Time - Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan (1967)
14. Let's Have A Hayride - Maryanne Mail (1965)
15. Cadillac - Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan (1968)
16. Little Orphan Annie - Joel Mathis (1971)
17. Midnight Greyhound - Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan (1967)
18. Here Today, Gone Tomorrow - Donel Austin (1973)
19. New World - The Jack Blanchard Group (1964)
20. Runaway - Jacqueline Hyde and the Moonfolk (1965)
21. The King Of Hearts - Jackie Blanchard and The Rockin' Impallas (1960)
22. Journey's End - Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan (1967)
23. Monkey See Monkey Do - Hank Malcolm (1964)
24. The Love Habit - Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan (1973)
25. I'm Feelin' A Change in My Life - Donel Austin (1973)
26. The Look Of Nothing - Tom Carlile (1974)
27. Somewhere In Virginia In The Rain (Disco) - Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan (1974)
28. Don't It Look Like Georgia - Tom Carlile (1974)
29. Dance of the Living Dead Chickens - Jack Blanchard (1993)
30. A Weird Little Christmas - Jack Blanchard (2004)



'Imagine if the flying-saucer that dropped legendary producer Joe Meek in London had instead taken a left turn and landed in Nashville U.S.A. The result might have sounded something like this. Almost... Jack Blanchard and Misty Morgan will forever be remembered for the novel pathos of hits like Tennessee Bird Walk and Somewhere In Virginia In The Rain. But before the bright lights of stardom found them Jack and Misty were busy working underground, writing and producing superb cuts for a fascinating cast of characters and talents who are today, unjustly, largely forgotten

Hear Jacqueline Hyde And The Moonfolk take a rocket-ship into outer [& inner] space, Rusty Diamond have an existential moment on the battle-front, Brad Wolfe investigate reincarnation and Joel Mathis evaporate into the past on his Time Machine amidst a carnival of other sonic wonders. Once heard this disc will inspire sounds you've never heard before and thoughts you've never thought before. It's kind-a-country, kind-a-pop, kind-a-weird – so strap in…another world awaits!' press

how nice to see our friend spooky's triumphant return to contributing here at der warbler. keep it up hombre. recently had a request fer this quixotic collection of leftfield country jams penned by the twisted songwriting partnership of jack blanchard & misty morgan [responsible fer such disorienting & timeless classics as the tennessee birdwalk], so now everyone may benefit(?) from some anonymous weird beard's questionable taste in the bizarre. too many jams, some as strangely compelling & catchy as they are tripped out, revelated by the same folks who brought us the superlative plantation gold

VA ~ Hollerin' [Rounder, 1976]

RR 0071

A1. Leonard Emanuel - Old-timey Holler/Ditty 2:17
A2. Leonard Emanuel - Old Georgie Buck 1:28
A3. Leonard Emanuel - The Whale Swallowed Jonah 2:19
A4. H.H. Oliver - Distress Holler/Getting Up Holler/How Dry I Am/Amazing Grace 2:30
A5. H.H. Oliver - Rafting Logs Down Neuse River 3:45
A6. H.H. Oliver - Hollerin' on the Way to See a Girl/Lulu's My Darling/Calling Cows, Mules, Hogs 2:15
A7. Paul Parker - Calling for Water/Getting Up Holler/Calling Dogs/Calling Cows 3:09
A8. Leonard Emanuel - Blow the Horn Blow 2:40
A9. Leonard Emanuel - Freckle-faced Liza Jane/I Wish I Was Single Again 3:54
A10. Leonard Emanuel - Hoot Owl Fight/Mocking a Fox/A Cornered 'Coon 1:02
A11. Leonard Emanuel - Field Call And Answer/Distress Call/Calling Hogs, Cows and Dogs 2:19
A12. Leonard Emanuel - The Great Judgement Morning/Ditty 3:10

B1. O.B. Jackson - Shortnin' Bread/Old-timey Hollers/Calling Cows 2:22
B2. O.B. Jackson - Lonesome Valley/Distress Holler 2:05
B3. O.B. Jackson - Santa Claus Is Coming to Town/Big Fat Turkey/Happy Birthday to You 1:58
B4. Dewey Jackson O.B. Calls Dewey/Turpentine Woods Holler/What A Friend We Have In Jesus/Cows in the Corn 3:35
B5. O.B. & Dewey Jackson - I Shall Not Be Moved/The Old Grey Goose 1:14
B6. Dan McLamb & His 3-Legged Dog Percy - Holler 0:40
B7. Paula Brown - Farm Hollers 1:49
B8. Bert Brown - Calling Dogs 0:31
B9. Floyd Lee - Old-time Hollers 3:18
B10. Floyd Lee - Lulu's My Darling/Hollerin' In An Automobile 1:34
B11. Floyd Lee - Distress Holler/Stopping A Rabbit with a Holler/Old-timey Holler 3:24
B12. Henry Parsons - Rolling Waters Holler/Quit That Tickling Me/Sheltered In The Arms of God 4:04

recorded by Bill Nowlin & Bill Phillips [1975] & Mark Wilson [1976]

Recorded in 1975 and 1976 in Spivey's Corner, North Carolina, home of the annual National Hollerin' Contest, Hollerin' is folk music at its most basic. A practice born of the need to communicate over distance, Hollerin' has developed into a distinctive, stylized folk art. Hear the masters of Hollerin' in their natural element. Lots of fun to play loud & on repeat until something extraordinarily violent happens. Nonbelievers need only peep the recently unearthed clip below. youngster smiles with hogs in the background at 9:20 :) 320 thx to the originilluminators

VA ~ Plantation Gold: The Mad Genius Of Shelby S. Singleton and Plantation/SSS Records 1967-1976 [Omni, 2009]

OMNI124

CD 1

1. I Am The Grass - Dee Mullins
2. Big Fanny - Neil Ray
3. Beautiful Downtown Burbank - The Harper Valley P.T.A
4. Loco Locust - Harlow Wilcox & The Oakies
5. Sold To The Highest Bidder - Johnny Moore and “Col.” Tex Herring
6. The Preacher And The Movie - Lawton Williams
7. Somebody’s Gonna Plow Your Field - Becki Bluefield
8. Ballad Of A Small Town Sheriff - Clark Bentley
9. Happy Valley C.I.A - Ray “Wong” Riley
10. Changing Of The Guard - Happy Shahan
11. Hello, I’m Johnny Credit - Johnny Credit
12. Howard Hughes Is Alive And Well - Sonny Hall
13. I’m The Mail She’s Waiting For - Chuck Wood
14. (I Want To Be) A Truck Driver’s Sweetheart - Marcie Dickerson
15. Mom And Dad’s Waltz - Tokyo Matsu
16. The Baltimore Incident - George Kent
17. D.O.A O.D - Jackie Burns
18. Please Mr Johnson - Dewey Jones
19. Hippie From Mississippi - Rusty Adams
20. Just Blow In His Ear - David Wilkins
21. I Dig Dangling Participles - The Harper Valley P.T.A
22. Honey (I Miss You Too) - Margaret Lewis
23. Long Black Veil - Marty Collins & Bobbye Jean
24. The School Bus - T. Tommy Cutrer
25. The Good Lord Giveth And Uncle Sam Taketh Away - Webb Pierce
26. Folsom Prison Blues - Little Jimmy Dempsey
27. Orange Blossom Special - Tokyo Matsu
28. Harper Valley P.T.A - Jeannie C. Riley

CD 2

1. Let That Big Plane Carry You - Ben Story
2. Big Chief Tell ‘Um Lies - Robin Cody
3. Wake Up America - “C” Company featuring Terry Nelson
4. Groovy Grubworm - Harlow Wilcox & The Oakies
5. Color Him Father - Linda Martell
6. Put A Little Lovin’ On Me - David Wilkins
7. A Woman’s World - Teresa Brewer
8. The Cheating Line - Paul Martin
9. She Hates To Be Alone - David Wilkins
10. Fallen King - Tom Sawyer
11. Ain’t That Bad About Mrs. Jones - Lawton Williams
12. Wheels Of Freedom - Melvin Nash
13. Four On The Floor (And A Fifth Under The Seat) - Trooper Jim Foster
14. C.B Savage - Rod Hart
15. Box 1000 Seagoville - Johnny Credit
16. Child Of Poverty - Paul Martin
17. It’s Not The Best Way To Live - James O’Gwynn
18. Ole Town Drunk - Clark Bentley
19. Loving Hands At Home - George Kent
20. The Medic - Neil Ray
21. The Best Fruit Of The Family Tree - Tom Sawyer
22. Appleton - Webb Pierce
23. No Brass Band - Max Powell
24. Mrs. Cooper’s Tea Party - Margaret Lewis
25. Irving - David Wilkins
26. Ballad Of Morgan - Lawton Williams
27. I Walk The Line - Little Jimmy Dempsey
28. Unfinished Dream - The Harper Valley P.T.A
29. Flag Draped Coffin - Tom Sawyer
30. Tree Of Joy - Jeannie C. Riley

All tracks Produced by Shelby S. Singleton Jr. for Shelby Singleton International Productions
Recorded at Singleton Sound Studios, Nashville, Tennessee 1967-1976



'Nashville. 1967. Something was in the air and things were about to get weird. Enter Shelby S. Singleton Jr., already a music industry veteran, he went independent with his own Plantation label. Singleton wanted to call the shots and follow his own smarts...he did and the result was incredible success and astounding music.

It’s all chronicled here: from the bizarre “Japanese Country” of Tokyo Matsu, the lysergic sitar-drenched bop of Ray “Wong” Riley’s “Happy Valley CIA” and the affecting, philosophical musings of Dee Mullins’ “I Am The Grass” to, of course, the international chart explosion of Jeannie C. Riley’s timeless tirade against hypocrisy “Harper Valley PTA”. A delirious stew of story songs, topical ruminations, exploitation-freakouts and the finest country-pop you’ve never heard!

Deluxe collector’s edition 2CD featuring rare period photos, exclusive scholarly liner notes and incredible sounds remastered direct from the Plantation/SSS vault! Many tracks are previously unissued and almost all have never appeared on CD before. Prepare yourself, you’re about to hear a Nashville you never thought possible.'

perch merch

how the fug did i miss this mess in 2k9? this correction is just as freaky deeky fresh as god less america & thrice as long. twisted & shimmering psych n' twang from the weirdest country label ever. good as gold & securing my vote fer comp of the decade? hoppy new year yokles. 320 rips later

VA ~ The World Is A Monster: Columbia Hillbilly 1948-58 [Omni Recording Corporation, 2010]

01. Rocky Porter - The World Is A Monster
02. Johnny Bond and His Red River Valley Boys - All I Can Do Is Cry
03. Andy Reynolds & His 101 Ranch Boys - Beer Bottle Mama
04. Neal Jones - I’m Playing It Cool
05. Johnny Hicks - Pick Up Blues
06. Freddie Hart - Blue
07. Billy Walker - The Record
08. Johnny Hicks - Rainy Night Blues
09. Bobby Lord - I’m The Devil Who Made Her That Way
10. Jimmy Johnson - Throwing My Life Away
11. Paul Howard & His Cotton Pickers - Drinking All My Troubles Away
12. Carl Story - What A Line
13. Little Jimmy Dickens - Me And My Big Loud Mouth
14. The Maddox Brothers - Ugly And Slouchy
15. Billy Walker - I Can’t Keep The Girls Away
16. George Morgan - A Shot In The Dark
17. Jimmy Littlejohn - No Parking Here
18. Jimmy Murphy - Here Kitty Kitty
19. Smiley Maxedon - Red Hot Mama And An Ice Cold Beer
20. The Tunesmiths - Oh Stop!
21. Frankie Miller - Hey! Where Ya Goin?
22. Charlie Adams - I’m A Railroad Daddy
23. Polly Possum & Joe Wolverton with The Dog Patch Boys - Don’t Talk To Me About Men
24. Charlie Adams - Pistol Packin’ Mama Laid Her Pistol Down
25. Ray Price - Much Too Young To Die
26. Carl Smith - There’s A Bottle Where She Used To Be
27. Chuck Wells - The Barroom Girl
28. Jimmy Johnson - I’ve Lived A Lot In My Time
29. The Country Boys - Bud’s Bounce
30. Jack Rhodes & His Lone Star Buddies - Eternity
31. Freddie Hart - The Wall
32. Rose Maddox - When The Sun Goes Down



'Out of the ashes of World War II, post-war Corporate U.S.A would sully its hands with anything in search of a buck. Heck, even Hillbilly music... Here, for the first time, are 32 of the grimiest, most delicious slabs of Hillbilly misery and mayhem to grace the Columbia Records imprint. From the Rhinestone Noir of Rocky Porter’s “The World Is A Monster” and Johnny Bond’s “All I Can Do Is Cry” to the proto-feminist declaration of Polly Possum’s “Don’t Talk To Me About Men” and the proto-punk loser’s lament of The Maddox Brothers “Ugly And Slouchy”. More tears in your beer than you can count, more kick in your heels than a regiment of cavalry.' - press

perch merch

last minnit contender fer one of the choicest comps of the year. happy kwanzaa

Dom Thomas ~ Synthetic Soul & Other Junk [Brutal Music]

BRUTCD03

B-Music and Finders Keepers' linchpin Dom Thomas digs deep into his library of forgotten and unloved sound oddities to bring you a spaced-out tapestry of delights on the embryonic Brutal Music label.

A dazzling plethora of anti-world music, syphoned from the far corners of the earth and beyond, bringing together musical marauders that have no link, only the uncommon thread of constructing indefinable, sonic soundscapes which have somehow mutated into hybrid masterpieces, some by fluke, others by design.

After forging new ground with his previous sonic hotchpots 'Miscellaneous Mutant Mishaps' and 'The Exploding Disco Inevitable', Dom Thomas returns with another brain melting audio escapade into the ether. The third album in his dynamic anti-mixtape series on Brutal Music is salubriously entitled 'Synthetic Soul & Other Junk', giving Thomas free license to curate a mood that takes the unsuspecting listener on a cascading journey of edits and loops, blurring the lines of traditional DJ mixes and original compostion. 'Synthetic Soul' is composed of a variety of genres from 'International Disco Frankenstien' Thomas’ musical heritage, warping together vastly disparate records into a rich sonic tapestry. Repeated listening recommended with or without substances...

Bruce Haack ~ Farad: The Electric Voice [Stones Throw, 2010]

released & unreleased vocoder recordings, 1970-1982

'Bruce Haack's music is rooted in the idea that humans and electronic machines share a reciprocal relationship that manifests itself through sounds. In order to further explore this dynamic, Haack dropped out of Juilliard to pursue a more experimental course in, surprisingly, educational children's music. Haack released material off his own label Dimension 5 Records in 1962, which allowed him to mix kinetic energy, infuse psychedelic philosophy, and pluck sounds from various genres across the board. Adding to his musical pastiches, Haack used home-made modular synthesizers, proto-vocoders, and the heat-touch sensitive Dermatron to expand his music into the technological realm of creativity.

After contributing to commercials, TV shows such as Mister Rogers, and theatre productions, Haack released the acid-rock-techno gem Electric Lucifer, a conceptual masterpiece that maps out a war between heaven and hell, and where notions of "powerlove" are mediated through Moog synths.

Farad serves as a glowing primer of Haack's work throughout his career. Touching on the lush, pysch-electronic grooves of the Electric Lucifer period and extending to his more abstract, angular works, this compilation highlights his use of the Farad, one of the first musical vocoders invented at the time. Yet amidst echoey reverb and haunting drones, Haack himself manages to create something primal and human, not necessarily conflating human and electronic but posing them as compatible partners.' ~ press hype

'Amazing electric grooves from synth innovator Bruce Haack – whose pioneering use of analog synths and vocoder vocals in the service of great, if far out songcraft was pretty much unrivaled in the 70s and into the early 80s – the period in which this excellent compilation on Stones Throw highlights! Haack's earlier successes were children's music in the 60s, and one of the coolest aspects of his 70s recordings was how that somewhat bright-eyed and innocent sing-song-y approach moved into more surrealist, weirder realms on albums like Electric Lucifer, that album's lesser known, still quite brilliant sequel, and albums like Haackula and Bite. Choice cuts from those albums as well as rare singles are rounded up for Stones Throw's impeccably curated overview. The electric voice and synth errata brings an otherworldly vibe to catchy songs – and Haack's use of the vocoder was followed by so many others who would become household names, from Kraftwerk to Pink Floyd to Moroder.' ~ dusty

snap up the re-ish

pretty slammin correction of uncle brucie's vocoder steez, even a couple we'd never heard before. for the uninitiated, it's highly recommended you trace both 'electric lucifer' lp's as well. they're owl up in the interwebs, just perform a quick search with yr favourite engine

Disco Blaze ~ Jump Back [African Sun Records, 2010]

A1. Hear The Musik
A2. Plastic Feelings
A3. Lead Me Thro'

B1. Jump Back [Comm' Of The Fireballs]
B2. Medley/Solitude/Weariness
B3. Come Show Me The Way

Lead Vocals - Vera Anaja Con'A
Lead Vocals, Guitar - Tunde Oyecan
Guitar, Backing Vocals - Funso Kupoluyi , Victor Okandeji
Guitar [Effect] - David Banjo
Bass Guitar - Emanuel Azubike , Ernest Coker
Drums ~ Tokunbo' Awosika
Tambourine, Backing Vocals [Bass] - Tunde Adenuga
Engineer [Recording] ~ Sameed Ahmed
Producer - Victor Emman Okandeji

Recorded at The Iyanda Records Industry, Ibadan, Nigeria in the late 1970's
Original released on Iyanda Records Industry [IRI 127] Nigeria in the 70s



'Rare funky soul & rock from late 70's Nigeria – the only record we've ever seen from Disco Blaze – coming with a world of influences and a heck of strong groove! Disco Blaze does indeed have some western dancefloor soul influences in the mix – the bass and drums work together in an insistent groove, but there's some headier sounds at play, too. The electric guitars stand out wonderfully and with some audible psyche funk influences and overall the album works in a danceable funk rock mode, but they do slow it down when the mood strikes. Long instrumental passages, but there is some singing, in English.' ~ dusty

'Total WTF record from Nigeria. One copy dug up in 2008 & went for about 800 smackers. Furry, backasswards fuzz guitar, drums sometimes mixed way too high [likely under the influence of late 70s disco 12 inches]. There's also a couple of ballads with shaky, fragile femme vocals, but the backing continues to be slathered in wah & effects. As to why the guy on the front has fangs & bats flying around his head? Uh, you got me, buddy. Fans of Chrissy Zebby Tembo, you've found your next stop.' ~ Weirdo Recs

been wondering about this bizarre record for a good minute now. we finally laid our ears on the thang & it don't disappoint. the re-issue is wicked pricey too, likely cuz the proprietors of african sun records had to break piggy for an original copy of this lp, or so twood seem. to the readers of this blog who continuously pass along yer fascinating finds for the benefit of everyone, this one goes out to you. we strive to keep our relationship symbiotic, on the mutuallistically beneficial tip. awareness is crucial & it takes a global village. 320 heartfelt daps to freethesoul for this winning slice o' funktified outsider nigerian fuggery

snap up the re-ish if ya got it like dat

Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter ~ Beyond the Sunset

01. Pictures From Life's Other Side
02. Men With Broken Hearts
03. Help Me Understand
04. Too Many Parties And Too Many Pals
05. Please Make Up Your Mind
06. I've Been Down That Road Before
07. Be Careful Of Stones That You Throw
08. I Dreamed About Mama Last Night
09. The Funeral
10. Beyond The Sunset
11. Just Waitin'
12. Everything's Okay
13. No, No Joe
14. Ramblin' Man
15. Battle of Armageddon <----bonus

Recorded between 1950 & 1952



'In 1950, Williams began recording as Luke the Drifter, an appellation given to Williams for use in identifying his religion-themed recordings, many of which are recitations rather than his usual crooning. Fearful that disque jockeys and jukebox operators would become hesitant to accept these non-traditional Williams recordings, thereby hurting the marketability of Williams's name, the name Luke the Drifter was employed to cloak the identity of the artist. Beyond the Sunset collects all the recordings Hank Williams made as his artistic [& on some level psychological] alter ego Luke the Drifter on one disque. The subject matter is either unrelentingly bleak & despairing [Men With Broken Hearts] or else cautionary tales [I've Been Down That Road Before] presenting the sort of hard-won advice that Williams could dish out but not really take. Highlights include the now hopelessly politically incorrect but nonetheless heartfelt 'The Funeral' & 'Too Many Parties', a depressing one-act morality play co-written, oddly enough, by the same up-beat Tin Pan Alley denizen responsible for 'I''m Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover.'

'Hank Sr. preaches like no one I've ever heard before. This album features lessons that everyone needs to learn, especially children. Treating your fellow man with kindness, love and loss, what goes around comes around, be happy with what you have, etc, etc... But the way Hank tells these stories and sings these songs is masterful. I love this album and I listen to it whenever I'm feeling like life is unfair. It makes me smile every time, and it makes me appreciate the things I have. In short, if you like real country music, I HIGHLY recommend this one.' ~ some converts

i have owlwaze loved hank's voice, so hearing him sing/preach holier than thou, homespun, backwoods parables is lots of fun. i read somewheres that he really dug the sound of his own voice as well & it's easy to understand why. it has a tremulous quality that's very evocative. in addition to the included bonuses, i threw in another original gospel tune he penned about the end of the world. seemed fitting. a 320 rip

VA - God Less America: Country & Western Fer All Ye Sinners 'n' Sufferers 1955-66 LP [Crypt, 1995]

A1. Ramblin' Ed Bailey - 8 Weeks In A Barroom
A2. Arkey Blue & The Blue Cowboys - Too Many Pills
A3. Billy Ray - The Story Of Susie
A4. Chuck Wells - Down And Out
A5. Harry Johnson - It's Nothing To Me
A6. Horace Heller - Ed's Place
A7. Pierce Brothers - Death Row
A8. Country Johnny Mathis - Caryl Chessman

B1. Troy Hess - Please Don't Go Topless Mother
B2. Hi Fi Guys - Rock&Roll Killed My Mother
B3. Mohawk & The Rednecks - Enchanted Forest
B4. Cal Veale - Paralyzed
B5. Paul Barton - My Neighbor The Firefighter
B6. Granpa Joe - The Drunken Driver
B7. Eddie Noack - Dolores
B8. Lum Hatcher - Behind The Fear



'Hats off to the bent folks at Crypt for unearthing some of the most primal and hilariously horrifying country & western songs recorded between 1955 and 1966. God Less America is not for the faint of heart and can only be compared to the weirder tunes from Porter Wagoner. Listening to these 16 tracks, you have to ask yourself why Horace Heller went to the trouble of releasing a song like "Ed's Place," which opens with the sound of a gun blast, revealing a jealous man who has just shot his wife at the local waterin' hole. What follows is a monologue taking the listener through his ensuing confusion and realization of the murder he has just committed. Or, in the case of "Please Don't Go Topless Mother" by youngster Troy Hess, a boy despairs over his single mother's topless go-go dancing occupation in order to support her son. It's hard to suppress a guilty laugh when he whines the lines, "Please don't go topless mother/My friends won't come to see me anymore/But their daddies do." This earnestly warbled plea by the young'un features the kind of syrupy country & western instrumental sludge one might expect to hear played between just those types of shows where mom bares it all. Did these would-be country crooners really think these tales of American debauchery could have made it into the jukeboxes of honky-tonks throughout this great land? The probable answer is yes, and that's what makes God Less America so fascinating and somewhat scary.' - Al Campbell

several supearlative slices of amerikana that reflect the alienation & growing pains small townies must have felt as the conservative 1950's transmogrified into the beatnik age & 'revolutionary' ideas started to infiltrate the backwoods. the still relevant themes tackle tragic everyday issues like addiction, capitol punishment, moral corruption, drinkin n' drivin, peer pressure, drug experimentation & fear of the unknown, just to name a few. this is what the best country songs have owlwaze been about, the common thread of human experience & now fuggin sad it all is. the tunes are totally psychedelique in their own rite, just listen to the lap steel & echo drenched vocals. even some primitive electronics poppin off. 320 shots of methadrine in yer ovaltine