{"id":6161,"date":"2014-08-12T05:30:42","date_gmt":"2014-08-12T09:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=6161"},"modified":"2014-08-12T05:30:42","modified_gmt":"2014-08-12T09:30:42","slug":"hundred-word-reviews-for-august-2014-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2014\/08\/12\/hundred-word-reviews-for-august-2014-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundred Word Reviews for August 2014, Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today’s set of five 100-word capsule reviews looks at recently-reissued, previously-unreleased, and\/or compilation albums.<\/p>\n

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\nHow to Stuff a Wild Bikini: Original Stereo Soundtrack<\/strong><\/em>
\nWhat we have here, in my estimation, is a fascinating and extremely well-written essay that happens to include a CD. How to Stuff a Wild Bikini<\/em> is not anyone’s idea of great cinema, but the 1965 American International Pictures release has its period charms. This record \u2013 originally released on The Kingsmen<\/strong>‘s Wand label \u2013 is the only soundtrack LP from the string of Frankie Avalon<\/strong>\/Annette Funicello<\/strong> vehicles. Tom Pickles<\/strong>‘ liner notes put the soundtrack into perspective and context, explaining the musical contributions of The Kingsmen, Lu Ann Sims<\/strong>, Harvey Lembeck<\/strong>(!) and Mickey Rooney<\/strong>(!!). Skip the film, dig the soundtrack.<\/p>\n

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\nSpanky and Our Gang \u2013 <\/strong>The Complete Mercury Singles<\/strong><\/em>
\nOften thought of in the same category as The Mama’s and The Papa’s<\/strong>, this group, fronted by vocalist Elaine \u201cSpanky\u201d McFarlane<\/strong>, had deeper roots in a sort of Tin Pan Alley style. This collection presents 21 songs in their original punchier-than-stereo monaural mixes. The group\u2019s hit \u201cSunday Will Never Be the Same\u201d \u2013 a tune that rivals any single of the era for its transcendent mix of melodrama and shimmering vocal arrangement \u2013 is here, but many of the other tunes are nearly as good. Of special note is the group’s cover of The Beatles<\/strong>‘ \u201cAnd Your Bird Can Sing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\nBilly Thermal \u2013 <\/strong>Billy Thermal<\/strong><\/em>
\nThis band, led by Billy Steinberg<\/strong>, cut an LP in 1980 full of uptempo, nominally new-wave tunes. For various reasons, the disc went unreleased at the time, but the tapes served their purposes as songwriter’s demos: Steinberg’s \u201cHow Do I Make You\u201d would be a hit for Pat Benatar<\/span> Linda Ronstadt<\/strong>, and brought the man’s talents to the attention of The Bangles<\/strong>, Cyndi Lauper<\/strong>, Whitney Houston<\/strong>, Madonna<\/strong>, etc., all of whom would score hits with his songs. This collection includes bonus tracks, but the whole package \u2013 now rescued from obscurity by Omnivore Recordings \u2013 can be thought of as a bonus.<\/p>\n

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\nStick Against Stone \u2013 <\/strong>Live: The Oregon Bootleg Tapes<\/strong><\/em>
\nAt first hearing, this Pittsburgh group sounds like they’re from a provincial city (perhaps Leeds?) in working class, Thatcher-era England. Truth is, the era is the only detail that’s correct: this 1985 live set \u2013 long thought lost but recently discovered \u2013 sounds like a cross between Gang of Four<\/strong>, the two-tone ska movement, and Living Colour<\/strong>. Any written description of their complex sound will fall short, but I hear angular funk with plenty of assured polyrhythmic percussion, rubbery bass, and saxophone backing the Lene Lovich<\/strong>-sounding vocals of Sari Morninghawk<\/strong>. A modified lineup of the band (SASO<\/strong>) still performs today.<\/p>\n

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\nBuddy Rich \u2013 <\/strong>The Solos<\/strong><\/em>
\nThe idea of a compilation of live concert drum solos might strike some as a surefire way to a headache, or at least folly. But when the drummer in question is the legendary Buddy Rich<\/strong>, the idea makes some kind of sense. Endlessly inventive and always swinging, the man with a bad haircut and a worse temper may have been sixty years old when these tapes were made, but what you’ll hear sounds like a man half his age. Power, finesse and humor can all be found in Rich’s solos. Background music for a cocktail party? Perhaps not. Essential? Indeed.<\/p>\n

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Today’s set of five 100-word capsule reviews looks at recently-reissued, previously-unreleased, and\/or compilation albums. How to Stuff a Wild Bikini: Original Stereo Soundtrack What we have here, in my estimation, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,40,42,50,51,64,65,68],"tags":[324,436,1622,1796,2009,2064],"class_list":["post-6161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-compilation","category-instrumental","category-jazz","category-new-wave","category-pop","category-reissue","category-review","category-ska","tag-billy-thermal","tag-buddy-rich","tag-omnivore-recordings","tag-real-gone-music","tag-spanky-and-our-gang","tag-stick-against-stone","cat-19-id","cat-40-id","cat-42-id","cat-50-id","cat-51-id","cat-64-id","cat-65-id","cat-68-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6161"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6161\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}