And so begins my favorite ZZ Top song, “Waitin’ for the Bus.” Growing up I loved hearing it on the radio. All the AOR stations would also play “Jesus Just Left Chicago” right after it. That’s also how the songs are ordered on this best of. It’s hard to believe ZZ Top had a “best of” out in 1977. Also, after non-stop listening to this compilation over the last couple days I’m amazed how funky these cats are, or at least were. There are many other great ones here: “Tush”, “La Grange”, “Heard it on the X” etc. They’re still rocking live shows with these tunes, but their later period work doesn’t really compare.
To my everlasting regret I never have been able to find their records. And I do want records. Whenever I’m in a proper record store I always head right to the Zs, but no soap. At least I scored this one from my friend Bob when he moved West.
I found a great, recent video of ZZ Top playing “Waitin’” and “Jesus” live. Check it out below. Billy Gibbons has such a huge, nasty tone. I read a long time ago that he uses something like an old silver dollar for a pick. Once I started watching these videos I couldn’t stop. After about six I said to myself “you’re spending too much time on music.” I know, that’s crazy talk.
Zvuki Mu? Ever heard of them? They are a modern art band from Russia that started in the 1980s. This is their debut album and it was produced by Mister art rock himself, Brian Eno. This album is very eclectic with everything from strange pulsing dirges punctuated by sporadic drum and vocal outbursts to accessible but nerdy art disco. Yes, it is that good. The lyrics are in Russian. I’ve read descriptions of singer Pyotr Mamonov’s lyrics as “absurdist”, but how would I know?
My two main memories associated with Zvuki Mu are that my brother and I played it a lot at our record store. We got it as a promo from our Warner Bros rep. She also got us into a live show with Zvuki Mu at the 9:30 Club in D.C. We got to meet Mamonov and the other guys, and in hindsight they did seem somewhat absurdist. In their proper business suits they reminded me more of the Dadaists seen in old photos than the average rock band. Mary thinks we also went to dinner with them, but I think that was another band. Ah, the perks of owning a record store.
Here we go again. More Zodiac. This process of weeding out is a good thing. Who needs all these 12 inch singles? When it comes to Zodiac Mindwarp And The Love Reaction I definitely have a lot of stuff I would never listen to again if it weren’t for this web log. Zodiac is kind of like Motorhead to me. You gotta have some of it, but after a couple essential pieces the rest is really not necessary.
“Planet Girl (Invader Mix)” is typical Zodiac and two other songs here are typical Zodiac b-side filler. By that I mean they sound like half-developed demos. Those songs are “Dog Face Driver” and “Go Go Baby Dream Show.” Another decent track is a cover of Steppenwolf’s “Born to Be Wild.” The Cult had also covered this song on Electric. A note below the title on the back cover declares “This track was recorded in a fit of childish petulance with the specific intention of making The Cult look like a pile of shit.” Okay.
I’m all out of official Fleshtones records, but Peter Zaremba’s Love Delegation is pretty similar in sound, and personnel. I’m not sure if I should file this under Z for Zaremba or L for Love Delegation. In the real world I just file right after the other records by The Fleshtones. Fleshtones guitarist Keith Streng is a part of the core band, and drummer Bill Milhizer also contributed some. There are a lot other folks too, but the most well-known would be Dave Faulkner, front man of the Hoodoo Gurus.
I got to see the Hoodoo Gurus a few times and they put a on great show with a heavy crunch rock sound that doesn’t come across on their albums. Once I saw Mr. Faulkner at a Fleshtones show. They were playing at a small bar in Norfolk, VA called the King’s Head Inn. Faulkner was carrying their gear onto the stage! Apparently he was just hanging out with them for a while. This was when the Hoodoo Gurus were at their most popular in the States, and in Australia they were playing arenas. I even got to talk to him a bit. Later in the Fleshtones set Dave came on stage to play guitar with the band. Peter Zaremba announced they were “combining the rock and roll forces of two continents!”
Back to Spread the Word. This is a great record. About half of the songs are covers. It’s similar to The Fleshtones sound but overall it’s more pop and soul.
I selected “Vinyl 10 in.” for the format on this one but I suppose it depends on how you measure it. This Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction single “Planet Girl” is a solid rocker. The flipside song “Dog Face Driver” is a lot more electronic, like it’s a demo, but not bad. The most interesting part is the most obvious: a picture disc that’s also cut in the shape of a cross. One-time fanatic that I was of course I had to have this. Now, I don’t know. I think these versions of both songs are on other records I have. And who wants to be a completist? That’s for nerds. Weeding out my record collection in public in nerdy enough.
Oh man, how I used to love this Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction stuff. Even when it was new I thought it was completely silly, but fun and rocking when little else was. We saw them once, at what Mary and I still call the old9:30 Club (Wikipedia) in D.C. The old one on F Street was a lot smaller, but super fun. I think it moved in the mid-1990s. Anyhow, the show rocked and they seemed to have fun mocking the rockstar thing.
This ain’t really doing it for me now. “Tattooed Beat Messiah” was the first full LP, and on major labels in the US and UK. I have both versions. They’re mostly the same except for some minor typographical differences on the back cover. The UK version also came with a large poster and liner notes. By the time this record came out I think most of the really entertaining songs had already been released in whatever version on EPs and 12 inch singles. And the same ol’ sleazy lyrics–big riffs and solos–horn section schtick gets pretty tired over the course of full length album.
OK, this is getting a little embarrassing. I have way too much Zodiac Mindwarp stuff, and this second “Interview Picture Disc” is proof enough. At least this one is a decent interview, with good sound quality, good pictures, etc. But it’s gotta go.
If you’re a fanatic about Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction you may want to have this “Interview Picture Disc.” I was a pretty big fan, but even I don’t want it now. Sure, there are a couple cool pics of the band, in the record itself, but the “interview” is pretty unlistenable. I doubt this recording was intended to be released to the public. It sounds like it was conducted in a busy office, complete with people opening and closing doors, and phones ringing loudly and often.
With titles like “Back-Seat Education”, “Whore of Babylon”, “Lager Woman from Hell”, and “Messin’ With My Best Friend’s Girl” if you can’t guess that this is another Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction record then you’ve probably never heard of the band. On this 12 inch single these kings of sleaze rock stay true to form, lyrically and otherwise. The main track, “Back-Seat Education”, is by far the slickest with big time production and even a horn section. It’s full of the usual Zodiac hard rock hooks. The other three, for the most part, sound like the silly dashed off ditties destined for B-sides that they are.
What’s probably most interesting is the packaging. If you look closely at the picture you’ll see that the cover is a heavy vinyl material with ridges, like you might find in the back seat of an older car
Another Zodiac Mindwarp 12 inch. “Prime Mover” like some other singles would eventually end up on their first full LP. “Prime Mover” is fun single with the usual silly/funny/stupid lyrics and a rocking mid-tempo riff perfect for the dance floor. The flipside has a couple throw-away cuts that aren’t worthy of description, but the back cover artwork is cool. For some reason despite a couple rounds of purging our dupes we still have two copies of this one. I probably wouldn’t keep either, but I do have somewhat of a Zodiac collection going.
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