1: The Specials "More Specials" (2 Tone)
My older brother got me into the 2 tone thing, I would have been
only 8 or 9! We had all the gear - black loafers with the trimming
and tassles, two tone and burgundy trousers, fred perry t-shirts
and black harrington jacket. I wasn't allowed a crew cut as my mum
thought it would turn me into a thug. Neither was I allowed a red
harrington as the local headcase wore one! This was the most exciting
music I had ever heard and I had grown up in a house where my dad
would bring home an armful of LPs from the music library every saturday.
So I grew up hearing everything from funk and soul to reggae and
dad rock. This was different, we knew this was music made by kids
like us and it was something we could relate to. From this I discovered Madness, The Beat, The Selector, Prince Buster, Quadrophenia,
The Who, The Small Faces, The Animals...
2: Electro 1 (streetsounds)
As a 12 or 13 year old kid fresh out of his Grifter and onto a BMX
this record was so important in shaping my life, me and my friends
were in the unfortunate position of being stuck in the cultural
wilderness of Burton On Trent, we would hear stuff like White Lines
and Buffalo Gals on the radio but had nowhere to go out and buy
the records easily or hear more of that kind of music, our pocket
money bought us 1 record each a month. The electro series were great
as they were compilations filled with some of the best hip hop and
electro music, we used to take our bmx's and ride till we found
a spot to lay down the lino and boombox and spend the afternoon
breakdancing. This would have
been the first mix LP I ever heard, between us we would buy the
series and tape them for each other.
3: The Cramps "Gravest Hits"(IRS)
Since a kid I have always been into Rock n' Roll bigtime, the first
time I took notic of Elvis Presley's "Mystery Train" I was about 11or 12
and it totally changed my outlook on the music I wanted to listen
to, my parents had brought me up on the Stones and the Beatles but
unfortunatly also tried to brain wash me with Elkie Brooks and Joe
Walsh. After hearing "Mystery Train" I started to collect
tapes of 50's music and buying the odd stray cats record here
and there. I was 14 or 15 when I heard The Cramps for the first time,
the opening track "Human Fly" was like nothing I had ever
heard before, it had the intensity of a punk record the sparseness
of a rockabilly record and something else, something new, something downright degenerate! This Lp
was produced by Alex Chilton who I later was turned onto through
his band The Box Tops.
4: The Best of Pebbles (?)
After discovering the Cramps, I strarted to find other new modern
day bands like The Meteors, The Dead Boys, Demented Are Go, Guana
Batz, Shockabilly... I would play these records in my room and
my brother would come in to see what I was listening to then play
me the original fuzz guitar versions by bands with even freakier names
like the Calico Web, Gonn or The Seeds, thus I was drawn into the
world of garage rock. This LP was the first I bought as it had a
good selection of the tracks he was turning me onto and led me to
acts like the 13th Floor Elevators, West Coast Pop Art Experimental
Band, Captain Beefheart, Love, The Electric Prunes...
5: The Telscopes "Kick The Wall" (Cheree)
I knew my brother was in a band and that they had started to record,
he had been turning me onto some amazing music, but he was just
my bro so I never really thought much about it. When he first played
me this 45 I was utterly blown away, it had all the energy of the
people I was starting to get into like The Stooges, MC5, Red Crayola
etc with a pure punk sensibility, its funny - at the time I related
it more to a 60's sound but now when I play it I hear influences
like the Sex Pistols and Subway Sect. This was another turning point
for me as it led me to acts like Spacemen Three, Sonic Youth, The
Primal Scream (when they were still exciting), My Bloody Valentine
etc who all in turn led me to their influences.
6: Suicide (Red Star)
Slight cheat here with a joint number 6. The first time I heard
Suicide I was just totally freaked, the track was "Frankie
Teardrop" a tale of a guy who can't cope with the pressure
of his life and ends up terminating his wife and kid before scrubbing
himself out. For anyone who doesn't know Suicide they were a New
York 'punk' band from the late 70's consisting of 2 guys Alan Vega
and Martin Rev? the sound was a sparse and intense droning synth
and drums with spooky haunting vocals.
6: Richard Hell & The Voidoids "Blank
Generation" (Siren)
Richard Hell was at the forefront of the New York punk wave, a founder
member of Television with Tom Verlain and contemporary of Patti
Smith (whose track "Birdland" also should be listed here). "Blank Generation" and "Love
comes In Spurts" are 2 of the greatest punk rock songs ever in my opinion and as a teenager these songs were anthemic sounds that defined a portion of my life.
7: Jimmy castor Buch "It's Just
Begun" (RCA)
I found this in a junk/charity shop and bought it for the cover
really, I nearly put it back when I read in the liner notes that he'd written songs for
Frankie Lymon - my knowledge of Rock 'n' Roll told me that that wasn't
cool. But looking at the track listing Troglodite" and "Pysch"
I figured it may be a bit like the chamber brothers and worth checking,
having just started to get into "Time Has come Today".
I was really into The Beastie Boys Pauls Boutique which was about
a year old when I found this so it seemed to really fit in with
that funky sound and boosted my desire to explore funk further. I had no idea it was this collected record that
was a main sample source. My original copy was lost recently in
a trade but luckily a friend hooked me up with a replacement copy
almost straight after.
8: JoeHarriot & John Mayer "Indo-Jazz Suite" (Capitol)
By 1990/1991 I had secretly got turned onto Jazz, I was scared people
would think I was a freak, I hated acid jazz and the corny
funk shite that was emerging in the charts and clubs, no, I was getting into the real shit -
50's be-bop and sixties modal jazz. I think it happened through
a John Coltrane compilation CD I bought having read an interview
where someone said "Coltrane was the most rock 'n' roll act ever".
Not sure about that, but thank god whoever said it did. After hearing
more music like Coltrane and Don Cherry I started getting into eastern influences
and finding direct links to my pyschedelic tastes. I asked my local
dealer to keep an eye out for Sitar music and he turned me onto
this and the second LP by the duo "Indo-Jazz Fusions"
which I think is actually the better of the two, but as this one
was my first here it is. At the time I had no cash but somehow found
the £40 to pay for this. This it is claimed was the first
ever collaberation on vinyl of an eastern band leader and a western
jazz man. As they say... nice!
9: Eddie Bo & Inez "Lover And
A Friend" (Capitol)
I had been a fan of Eddie Bo's records for quite a few years, innocently thinking that he'd only cut 3 or 4 records before fading into obscurity! Now I know different! This particular soul 45 I had actually heard numerous times throughout my life going to different hip hop and funk and mod nights but never knew who it was by until Brainfreeze hit at the end of the 90's. Realizing that there was perhaps more to Eddie Bo than 'Hook And Sling' and 'Baby I'm Wise' or "Oh - Oh" I decided to devote a lot of my time to finding more and still they are turning up.
10: Jacques Dutronc "J'ai tout lu,
tout vu, tout bu" (Vogue)
I only discovered Jacques Dutronc a year ago. I had heard stuff
like Nino Nardini and was already a Gainsbourg fan - I guess I must
have seen his name around but not enough times to take notice. Sitting
in a back room of a sex joint in New York listening to Mr Finewine
entertain the go go girls, all of a sudden he dropped a pure killer
French beat track, assuming it to be some ultra rare 45 I was happily surprised on
my return to England to win a lot of 4 mint Dutronc
45's that included this.
city you live in?
Rural Leicestershire
how long you have been collecting?
Since I was 8 or 9.
most heart stopping find on a digging session?
Joni Adams "Las vegas" for £20 - not heart stopping
until I got it home and did a search for it as I thought it was
just another great mid sixties soul 45 not realisising it's rarity.
Like the money greedy fool I am I sold it for a sizeable profit
and miss it dearly.
Top spots for record hunting?
Ebay and small dealers or collectors
ebay. good or evil?
good
motown or stax?
Chess
sneakers or shoes?
Strictly rock the imported sneaker. Shoes at work only.
creole or gumbo?
jambalaya
favourite tipple?
right now Woodford's Reserve.
where can people see/hear you play?
The Rubber Room at The Social Nottingham, The Cool Off, monthly at The Golden Fleece (www.thecooloff.co.uk) or for funk book me to play at your clubs here: martin@soulgeneration.co.uk
anything to add?
Enjoy the site, send me comments to improve it or to submit material
to be published.
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