The MASTERS APPRENTICES- Buried and Dead/She's My Girl

Hopefully, now my technical problems are over (I've purchasing a new stylus and moved from yahoo media player to divshare), this blog can get going and I can share some of the really great records I've scored in the last couple of months.

First up is an absolute monster of a 7" that I've adored since first hearing at least 15 years ago on a glorious bootleg compilation named 'Twisted Psychotic Teenage Fuzz-Busters' which was also my first introduction to the likes of Q65, the Monks and The Masters Apprentices other drop dead, sixties punk masterpiece; 'Undecided'.

I'm not sure exactly how rare/expensive 'Buried and Dead' is, but it took me a lot of looking around to find a copy until I got this slightly battered (though great playing) copy from the last Camberwell Record Fair here in Melbourne. As you can see from the photo the middle is popped, obscuring the song title, which is possibly why I got it for less than the cost of my tram fare.

'Buried and Dead' was Adelaide band, the Masters Apprentices second single, and to my ears is pretty unique sounding thing: huge guitar riff, massive drums, snarling, grunting punk/r'n'b vocal, with a nice 1967 sound effect and kinda raga section which don't detract from the rawness and aggression of the recording and performance. I guess if it was an English record you might call it 'freakbeat' but perhaps it owes more to the slightly earlier proto metal of 'You Really Got Me' era Kinks or the Easybeats' 'Sorry' and parallels the sort of records The Unrelated Segments were blasting out of Detroit at the same time.

The B-side is a great song in it's own right, if not up to the dizzying coolness of the top side, 'She's My Girl' is a kind of mid paced early Stones/Pretty Things bluesy number with another brilliant vocal from Jim Keays who snarls and slobbers over the top, telling us how he's not worthy of his girls attentions.

The Masters Apprentices went on to become one of the biggest bands in Australia right up to the early 70s, and made lots of great records, but for me 'Buried and Dead' and 'Undecided' (anyone got a spare?) will always remain their finest waxings.

THE MASTERS APPRENTICES- Buried and Dead

THE MASTER'S APPRENTICES- She's My Girl

And here is an amazing, and appropriately Halloweeny, promo film the band made for 'Buried and Dead':

DOUG ASHDOWN- Source

This album is a real beauty. I'm sure if it was an American or British release it would go for stupid money, not the $14 I spent. I love the cover which uses the same template as the great United States of America album also on CBS, perhaps there are more LPs with this design?

Doug Ashdown was an early folky from Adelade, who later became a successful country artist and songwriter both in Australia and the US, and Source, released in 1968, was his third LP. It seems that CBS had recognised his potential early on and may have brought him out to the USA before this LP was made (my info isn't very clear on this). The recordings on Source certainly seem steeped in the folk/country/psych/singer-songwriter thing happening in LA at the time. Brilliantly chosen and challenging covers, by the likes of Fred Neil (The Dolphins), Leonard Cohen (Suzanne), the Byrds (5 D), are given a very personal stamp with relatively spare arrangements, making the most of Doug's big beautiful voice, which at times reaches Fred Neil like intensity and purity, and 12 string guitar, alongside restrained flute, tablas, piano and occasional psychedelic studio effects. A couple of great originals 'Something Strange' and 'Gambaraga', and the opener 'He's All These Things' (composed by Dave Guard once of the Kingston Trio, who after moving to Australia in 1962 became a lynchpin of the progressive Australia folk scene) ramp up the more outsider freak folk vibe, with mystic/religious lyrics and subtly exotic, psychedelic instrumentation.

Source is a fine record with no bum tracks, that I would happily compare to some of my favourite LPs by the likes of Bob Lind, Fred Neil, Gene Clark, the Beau Brummels, et al. Now I just have to find a copy of Doug's 1970 double album of orchestrated country weirdness called The Age of Mouse...

DOUG ASHDOWN- He's All These Things

DOUG ASHDOWN- Something Strange

SWINGERS- It Ain't What You Dance It's the Way You Dance It/Flak

I couldn't resist picking up this 1981 single due to the great sleeve and amazing foldout poster, and I certainly wasn't disappointed when the record hit the turntable. Both sides are aces, though I particularly love the instrumental B-side 'Flak', which got my immediate attention by dint of having one of my all time favourite sounds: spazzy danceable no wave influence new wave pop (for want of a better or at least shorter term); both sides would have fit right at home on Bob Last's //FAST// or Pop:Aural record labels alongside Fire Engines or Boots For Dancing. Whether this is coincidental or not (there certainly does appear to be a lot of Fire Engines records that made it over to Australia/NZ and even the artwork is reminiscent), I don't really care, it's just great to hear!

Apparently 'It Ain't What You Dance...' was the follow up to an Australian number one hit (the ok 'Counting the Beat') and Swingers were a bunch of New Zealanders, including Phil Judd once of Split Enz, and various members of Auckland punk band Suburban Reptiles. I subsequently spent $5 on a copy of Swingers' LP but unfortunately found it to be pretty disappointing, with patchy song writing/singing and a more polished '80s' sound, even the version of 'It Ain't..." seems to be a different mix, though to be fair, the paper thin cheap vinyl Mushroom chose to press the album on doesn't help appreciation much.

That said, Swingers are still legends in my book for this single alone!

(and please do pass on any recommendations for other good down under post-punk records as I'm sure there must be lots more out there...)

SWINGERS- Flak

SWINGERS- It Ain't What You Dance It's The Way That You Dance It

The LOVED ONES- More Than Love

I was completely unaware of The Loved Ones until I picked up this 7" (in Revolve, a great little Sydney shop), but they now stand as one of my favourite Oz groups. The Loved Ones have a quite distinct sound, apparently their unusual time signature and chord choices were influenced by their origins as a trad jazz band! Singer Gerry Humphries as a superb intense voice a little like Eric Burdon but with more of an American garage snarl. More Than Love is the flip side of the slightly more poppy (though still pretty weird) Ever Lovin' Man.

The LOVED ONES- More Than Love

The Loved Ones released a string of equally strong singles and one album, and are to this day legendary in the annals of Australian rock history (INXS covered The Loved One to great success). There is CD collection of these singles available here and below is some atmospheric footage of the The Loved Ones miming to The Loved One.

First post! The EASYBEATS- Sorry

Welcome!

Being someone who buys his records from wherever I find them (I don't allow myself to use ebay as I couldn't be trusted with my rent money), moving to Australia opens up a whole new world of music to me. The 1960s Australian pop scene had many of the same influences as the UK and USA but was isolated enough to be a sort of parallel pop universe, where the chart topping acts of the day often didn't get a release outside of Australia/New Zealand. For me this is great!

I love 60s pop, psych, garage etc, but having immersed myself in this stuff since the age of 14, I'm pretty familiar with what's available in the UK. Here though, I can pick up great singles for a few dollars by acts I had never heard of.

The Easybeats aren't quite in this bracket, as I've heard most of their songs through best of LPs. But the early (and best!) Easybeats singles didn't do much damage to the British charts, if they were released at all? So suffice to say I've been hoovering up these great slabs of RnB pop as fast as I can find them. 'Sorry' is probably my favourite and should have been a worldwide smash on a par with the Kinks or the Who's early records.