Previous Track Reviews

Here are the last six song reviews.

July '98

Ain't I'm a Dog by Ronny Self (G. Sherry & W. Walker)
(The Lost 45's compilation album, Columbia label)
Well Ain't I'm a Dawg!!!

This has become a motto for me. It's such a cool song, I love it! Okay, it's not a mind blowing blockbuster of a song that would make anyone want to rush out and locate a copy of this most groovy of singles, but it is a jumpin' little ditty that is the epitome of fun loving rock & roll. This number rocks, and that's all that needs to be said.


August '98

Holy Cow by Lee Dorsey (Toussaint)
A groovin' little r&b number, Holy Cow shows Dorsey to be a master of this style of music. Most people know him for another of his songs, Ya Ya, but many don't know of the rest of Dorsey's repertoire, including Can You Hear Me?, Working in the Coal Mine, Do Re Mi and Get Out of My Life Woman.

Though subject-wise about being walked out on, there is a sense of fun running through this song, as indicated in the rather... um... unserious (if there is such a word) title. The song was fairly successful for Dorsey in 1966, gaining 23 on the charts according to Roling Stone Encyclopedia, and 12 in the UK according to Warner Guide to US & UK Hit Singles.


September '98

The Whammy by Screamin' Jay Hawkins (Hawkins)
(Nothing But the Blues compilation double CD, Emporio, 1996)

What can you say about Screamin' Jay? Well, for starters, he's not your average bluesman. His unique vocal style and sense of drama set him apart from the everyday blues singers. Not merely a singer, he is a performer in every sense of the word.

A perfect example of Screamin' Jay's dramatic flare is The Whammy, a wailin' & screamin' little number in which he gets the whammy from the woman, and winds up walking sideways and wishing he'd never met that maiden who made a mad monkey out of him.

And all this is done in total seriousness... NOT. I'd be lying if I tried to make out that Screamin' Jay Hawkins' music is anithing but some of the best over-dramatised fun ever had.


October '98

Politician by Cream (Bruce & Brown)
(Wheels of Fire album, Polydor, 1968)

Since this month is dedicated to a politician, there's no better song to review than Politician, a cynical send up of the political mentality, perhaps the little politician in all of us.

This track abounds with Cream's typical sound, combining loud rock and blues with a sense of the absurd, and with a dash of humour. I think it's a little bland and heavy compared to many of Cream's other songs, though. But that's no shame; Cream are groovy, and Politician, unlike our dedicatee Gareth Evans, is cool enough.


April/May '99

You Don't Love Me (Yes I Know) by Smith (W. Cobbs)
(from the Minus-Plus album, Dunhil, ca. late '60s - early '70s)

Rock and roll at its fullest! A fat sound with alot of spirit, You Don't Love Me (Yes I Know) beats out a great deal of rhythm with much groovy noise, only to end like a cliff edge, leaving the listner wondering what happened. This first song on the Minus-Plus album sets the scene for the awesome vibrations of Smith, one of the coolest sounds ever to grace vinyl. The addictive beat lures you over the edge of that cliff, carrying you away into the wild pastel coloured yonder. (Man! What was that green stuff I ate?)

Yes, this is the kind of song you could wait three decades for, and it would still be worth the wait. Very cool!


June '99

Celeste by Donovan (Leitch)
(from Donovan Magic:20 Greatest Hits, J&B label, release date unknown)

Celeste, an inward journey to other worlds, a fantastic flight through the realm of the imagination, a warm covering of sound on a cold night, as the mind's eye peers through the mist into the beyond. A story, a tale told on the inner levels of conciousness, in which strange people inhabit a forgotten place in the psyche. A world, a place in which love is experienced, a land of dreams.

Celeste is a soft, slow song, dreamy in essence, filling the air with feeling. It is not, however, a soppy love song by any means. This song is psychedelic, changing the listner in ways beyond description. Celeste is one of those weird numbers that makes you feel like you've just been through something, something good, and you will never be the same.


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