11-20
More cool stuff for your listening pleasure. These are some of my faves!
(If you’re wondering about the parameters and what we’re doing, you can find them HERE)
20: Fleshtones – “Let’s See the Sun”
I’ve always thought this should have been the Fleshtones’ massive, monster hit breakthrough. This is my favorite song from one of my favorite bands.
19: Pigbag – “Papa’s Got a Brand New Pigbag”
I can’t remember where I first heard this. WNYU-FM, I think, when I was living in Westchester in the early ’80s. … It’s a dance instrumental with some tinges of no-wave. I’ve never gotten tired of it.
18: Scott Carpenter & the Real McCoys – “Reach Up”
The best song off a great album that also happens to come from some of my best friends in the Buffalo music scene.
That song is from 1995. Here’s some bonus footage, shot at the Americanarama Fest outside of the Mohawk Place in 2003.
17: Teenage Head – “You’re Tearing Me Apart”
My favorite Canadian band! I was introduced to these guys by CFNY-FM. BTW, the Fleshtones (No. 20 … see up above this one!) have been known to cover this song.
16: Dyke & the Blazers – “Funky Broadway”
One of my favorite stories I did for The Buffalo News was on Dyke & the Blazers and their Buffalo roots. You can download it here: https://s3.amazonaws.com/external_clips/3083430/buffalo’s_soul_men-dyke___the_blazers.pdf?1559099344
Or just listen to the song here:
15: Mink DeVille – “Cadillac Walk”
I saw these guys in 1978 when they played with Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe/Rockpile at Shea’s Buffalo. This is a Moon Martin song that I always thought was their best.
Meanwhile, it’s worth noting that the song everybody has heard by Willy DeVille is this one, even if they don’t htink of him with it.
14: Jumpers – “This Is It”
I love the record, but to really, really hear this at its peak, you need to hear the Jumpers perform it live. Punk energy. Psych guitars. Terry Sullivan’s vocals. It has it all.
Here’s the record:
Here’s a live version of it from the Revolution Gallery a couple of years ago:
13: James Brown – “Give It Up or Turn It Loose”
So which James Brown to choose? It could be any of 50 songs on different days. Today it’s this one:
12: Creedence Clearwater Revival – “Have You Ever Seen Rain”
Again, it could be any of a number of CCR songs. This one seems to come back to me most often, though.
11: Electric Flag – “Killing Floor”
I thought about the Howling Wolf original of this song. He really does kill it, with just a tinge of weirdness about it.
But then there’s the Electric Flag version with its killer horns and the sampled intro that seems to have captured the era so perfectly. Electric Flag wins. It’s a near perfect record, with Mike Bloomfield on guitar, Harvey Brooks on bass, Buddy Miles on drums .
BTW, here’s the Howling Wolf single, in case you want to choose for yourself.
That’s it for now. Next week … the Top 10. Look for it!