Psychfan's Trip O' Th' Week Dept. - Low Wattage Power Trios

Here are [indicates Psychfan - Ed.] two groups that have the classic power trio instrumental lineup but make no attempt to sound like ZZ Top or Cream. They do each feature those other power trio trademarks, a talented (and very active) bass player, overdubbed rythym [gotcha! - Ed.] guitars on their studio recordings and a strong lead guitarist.

The better of the two is a British band called Hard Meat [below - Ed.] and with a name like that they must be balls to the wall, right? Well, no. They're actually a very good psych band operating somewhat late in the day and with a name that puts off those who would like them and attracts those who will be disappointed by what they actually sound like.

Each of their two albums features one Dylan (Blond On Blond) and one Richie Havens cover and all four would be excellent contributions to tribute albums dedicated to those artists. The music overall reflects the commonly heard end-of-the-sixties blend of psych, prog and folk (in short, one of my sweet spots). These two albums are consistently enjoyable all the way through.

Eden's Children [above - Ed.] was from Boston and though they weren't part of the official Bosstown promotion they convey some of the same sense that they were recorded before they were ready and display a lot of potential that would never be realized. Guitarist and vocalist Richard Schamach plays very good acid guitar and incorporates a jazzy feel to several of the songs that make the band a  sound that could have developed into something great in time.  Bassist Larry Kiley is cited in every review I've read of this LP as  exceptional and I agree. Schamach's vocals are only a little better than passable but that wouldn't matter if the songs were better.

And that's the problem, the place where it all feels embryonic. The creative direction of the writing is fine but most of the songs just aren't strong enough. Follow up LP Sure Looks Real has better production and better songs (like the title track) but still doesn't quite satisfy.

Both of these bands are represented here by a bootleg CD containing the two LPs each of them made. As far as I know this is the only CD release for either band.

Eden's Children is interesting and should be included in any Best Of Bosstown comp but Hard Meat is a real missed opportunity and is recommended. Maybe they could retroactively change their name to Asparagus? [how about Soft Fruit? - Ed.]

Band With Shit Name Makes Swell Records Dept. - Garcia Peoples

Rare shot of Young People Today getting life by the nuts.

In Stephen Thomas Pencilneck's definitive Encyclopædia of Shit Band Names (Pompousass Press, 2021) Garcia Peoples get their own chapter. What could they have been thinking? Well about Jerry, I suppose, and how they were in some sense "his people". A mumbled remark that should have been immediately forgotten in the thick fog of bong smoke. But no. They're stuck with it, and so are we. Which is a shame. A damn shame.

Very little *finger-waggle* contemporary music avoids a quick slide into my trash bin. I freely admit this ain't my world any more, and young people, while being individually fine upstanding human beings, collectively know shit, and do less. But sometimes - through blind luck as much as anything else - they make music that grabs me by the hair in my ears. I had a real hurdle to jump with their name, which is still something I can barely bring myself to type, leave alone say out loud. But every time a track by them comes up on shuffle, it stops me in my shuffling tracks and I pay attention. Yes, their record collection is as clear to me as if I was doing the butt-crack crouch in front of it, but it's not only the Dead. And they do something special with their influences, more than just copying (wupes - channeling, referencing). They're inventive, lively, thoughtful, adroit, and just tuneful enough. Plus, they're a real guitar band, so yay. Here's a bunch of their stuff. Like, digsville!

Note: GP Foamfeatured© antecedently, but not as comprehensively, and anyway, youse bums probably missed it. I'd put money on it.

T.V.'s Th' Fonz Wus Wr - Wro - Wr - Dept. - Quadrophenia

Foam-O-Graph© - Nuance out th' ass!

You'll know T.V.'s Th' Fonz from the popular and long-running show Mork N' Mindy, featuring the young Quentin Tarantino as Shitface. Tarantino famously went on to helm H'wood blockbusters The California Raisins Movie and Carrot Top's Christmas [are you sure about this? - Ed.]. The' Fonz famously jumped the shark - the first celeb to do so! And who can forget [apart from me? - Ed.] his endearing character quirk of never admitting to be wrong, a word he - hilariously! - couldn't even get out of his mouth!

In what is sure to be a FoamFlagship® series, T.V.'s Th' Fonz has agreed to "'fess up" about the albums he wrongly dismissed at the time but has grown to appreciate and even love!

For our series premiere, T.V.'s Th' Fonz has chosen an album that few now listen to, on account lack of whistleable tunes, forbidding length, and incomprehensible story. We relaxed in th' IoF©'s three wall maltshop set whilst Kreemé [18 my ass - Ed.] served signature Party Cheese n' Beetroot malteds.

FT3 Hey! T.V.'s Th' Fonz! Lookin' good n' greasy!

TVTF Heyyyyyy!!!!!

FT3 Heyyyyyy!!!!

TVTF Heyyyyyy!!!!!

FT3 So - leave us talk Quadrophenia!

TVTF Quadrophenia is the sixth studio album by the English rock band the Who, released as a double album on 26 October 1973 by Track Records. It is the group's second rock opera. Set in London and Brighton in 1965, the story follows a young mod named Jimmy and his search for self-worth and importance [citation needed]. Quadrophenia is the only Who album entirely com-

FT3 Waitta furshlugginer minute there, T.V.'s Th' Fonz! You're reading this off of your telephone! This is the wikipedia article!

TVTF It ain't - is not - 

FT3 What kind of maroon do you take us for? Think the Four Or Five Guys© won't pick up on this?

TVTF Uh - (two-thumbs up gesture) Heyyyyy!!!! (slumps) I got nuthin'.

FT3 This is majorly, majorly disappointing. You've let me down, you've let th' Four Or Five Guys© down, but most importantly, you've let you down. Got anything you'd like to say?

TVTF Uh ... I wus wr- wro- wr-

(boos, Bronx cheers from invited audience)

(Note from Farq: I intended to do an in-depth think-piece about Quadrophenia, because it's an album I've only recently discovered. But then I thought - fuck it.)

The Boss Recovery™ Dept. - Human Touch

The first mis-step in Springsteen's career was the botched simultaneous release of Human Touch and Lucky Town. Packaged like gas station cut-outs, it was a strange way of kissing off the E Street Band. They sold, because he'd built a bullet-proof fanbase by this time, hungry for rock n' roll after the five year wait since the muted Tunnel Of Love, but the critical reaction was brutal. He'd dumped the world's most-loved band for session musicians playing A.O.R.? What the actual?

Springsteen started recording Human Touch in '89, but his crippling indecision and lack of confidence (hello clinical depression) kept delaying the release until he realised he'd already shifted gear into Lucky Town, well into '92. There was no right way to do this, so he went with the wrong. Long-time fans felt betrayed, critics sneered, and when the dust finally settled Lucky Town got grudging approval, while Human Touch remained the pariah for its smooth, radio-friendly production, and lack of both throat-scorching anthems and dustbowl misery. And it was just too damn long.

Critics predictably dismissed the Human Touch outtakes on Tracks, probably without hearing them, because by this time critical consensus had compressed into diamond-hard fact. Fooey, I say. And fooey on the fans, too: in 2012 they ranked it Springsteen's worst album in an online poll. It's generally better to disregard both critics and fans alike, they're all idiots, and make your own mind up, preferably led by my opinions, which are swell.

Human Touch, as released, was too short, a compromised album-and-a-half that confused everybody. The Tracks outtakes are in no way inferior, adding variety and depth, songs that would be high points in anyone else's œuvre [Fr. - egg - Ed.]. The playing is superb - sneering at "session musicians" should be a crime - and the album sounds fantastic. Jon Landau finds the bass at last, and The Two Bobs - Clearmountain and Ludwig - ensure not a frequency is lost. If you can bear to, compare and contrast the headachey later productions of the cauliflower-eared hod-carrier Brendan O'Brien.

The old loyalties and disappointments have become irrelevant - this is a fine piece of work, and a very long way from his worst. If you care at all about Springsteen, you'll already rate the splendid Lucky Town, but the rubbish written and unthinkingly repeated about Human Touch might have put you off. Kick critical consensus to the curb, and - if you're still blessed with the ability - let it rock.

That track list in full (click to tumesce):

(This is the last in the series, non-Springsteen types will be relieved to hear. Thank you for your understanding in this matter.)

Rock Hudson's Radium Radiogram O' Records Dept.

Foam-O-Graph© - "Mommy! Make it go away!"™

You'll know granite-jawed Rock Hudson from his steamy scenes with Doris Day in such wholesome cinematic fare as Lesbian Lavatory Lust, Rim Job!, Amputee Rape Carnival 2, and Mental Home Mayhem [are you sure about this? - Ed.], but did you know he's also ahead of th' R.I.A.A. curve in his passion for home entertainment, hi-fi style? That's right, subscribers!

Rock invited us into his subterranean man-cave to demonstrate his swell new audio set-up! "It's powered by a core bundle of Strontium-90 isotypes, delivering 6.5 watts R.M.S. through a modded Orbitrap mass spectrometer, enabling high-resolution native MS analysis of 0.8- to 2.3-MDa prokaryotic 30S, 50S and 70S ribosome waveforms and the 9-MDa Flock House virus. The instrument's improved mass range and sensitivity exposes unexpected binding of the ribosome-associated protein S.R.A., with a wide soundstage, crisp highs, and a firm, buttery bottom end! How I like it!"

Rock demonstrated the set-up's impressive sound with a favorite album! "I have to say, I was a little disappointed after buying it mail order [laughs] because the title sounded, uh, attractive - but it's a swell platter and I'm sure th' Four Or Five Guys© will dig it!"

Recognize long-playing L.P. record spinning on Rock's gleaming spindle? If you do, leave clew, hint, cunning allusion in comment! Don't name directly!