Papa John Creach 'Filthy Funky'

Papa John Creach 'Filthy Funky'

Continuing the funk rock theme from yesterday, with added filth and fiddles from the man like Papa John Creach. This album is worth the entry price for the sleeve alone, but the musical contents are a smutty, oily bonus from this erstwhile contributor to the Hot Tuna lineup (as featured in an August post) and all round string-groping legend.

Tim Buckley 'Get On Top'

Tim Buckley 'Get On Top'

The sleaze and smog emanating from the City Of Angels clearly rubbed off on Tim Buckley in a good way. This is six minutes plus of him yelping and pining for some big mama to hop on his Johnson, backed up by a driving bassline, choppy, hard-assed percussion, grooved hammond organ and tricksy guitar inflections. This lascivious funk rock sprawl is an agreeable change from his early, earnest folk-rock efforts. Music for an open-topped tan Sedan barrelling down the freeway with an accommodating chick riding shotgun.

Chocolate Watchband 'Are You Gonna Be There (At The Love-In)'

Chocolate Watchband 'Are You Gonna Be There (At The Love-In)'

Well are you? Or were you? More west coast psych/garage rock fare from the preposterously named Chocolate Watchband, which can't help but stir memories of Spinal Tap during their Flower People phase. CW's 'No Way Out' album is full of good flavours though - lots of bluesy psychedelia in songs like 'Milk Cow Blues' and 'Gone And Passes By'. The mind boggles as to the scenes that might've taken place at the 'love-in' - there's probably reams of footage of it on a super-8 camera in the attic of a hippie-turned-goat farmer in Cornwall somewhere. 

Link Wray 'Fire & Brimstone'

Link Wray 'Fire & Brimstone'

We have Link Wray to thank for the invention of the power chord, as flexed in early hits like the titanic 'Rumble', which laid the foundation stones for, erm, rock music basically. We also have to thank him for the brilliantly lo-fi output he made during the early 70's.  This tune is lifted off his down-home, 3-track recorded, self-titled album, which was executed in the space of 3 days in a chicken shed. It gives a taste of the scratchy, charm-filled brilliance that permeates the whole album and others of the period such as 'Beans And Fatback' and 'Mordicai Jones'. This kit can't come recommended more highly for fans of blues/country rock in the vein of Exile On Main St. etc.

Mississippi John Hurt 'Candy Man'

Mississippi John Hurt 'Candy Man'

Most of what you'd probably like to know about this brilliant delta blues & country singer can be found at the MJH Museum site. It looks like the coolest museum on earth.

Sly & Robbie 'Side Walk Doctor'

Sly & Robbie 'Side Walk Doctor'

Bit of a departure from the usual rock-based fare this morning, but as yours truly will be going under the knife of a somewhat cavalier doctor for a knee injury later today, this psychedelic dub mood piece sort of captures the feeling of unfocussed tension in the air chez moi. Sly & Robbie get cooking on this cut from the irritatingly rare and hard to find 'Disco Dub' LP from 1979. On the bright side my doctor didn't have a bone through his nose and a goat's head cup full of bat's blood last time i visited.

Shuggie Otis 'Bootie Cooler'

Shuggie Otis 'Bootie Cooler'

A snippet of Hammond-funk rock from the son of Johnny Otis off his first solo LP 'Here Comes Shuggie Otis'. He used to wear fake moustaches and sunglasses to get into clubs aged 12 and played bass on Zappa's iconic, parp-march 'Peaches En Regalia'. He also wrote 'Strawberry Letter 23' as covered by Brothers Johnson, and obviously had fret skills to burn.