Bucky's Attic

[Lord Grendel]

I am with you Flip I would never allow anyone to come between me and my music, and it's good that your wife is cool about your passion for collecting but more importantly Playing music.

My speakers are massive too, they are burglar proof unless King Kong breaks in and tries to take them..

[Foxhound]

Bucky:

I'm about 8 minutes & 34 seconds away from Chefs & it is one of our favorite places.

Walking or driving?

I take it you've been there?

Only once, in the summer of 2007 - but I loved the place!

[rtbuck]

My wife is actually cool with my music collecting & we basically like a lot of the same stuff(although she don't care for Johnny Thunders singing,she likes the music she just hates his voice). It's funny though but I always put music first in fact me & my wife hung around in the same crowd but For some reason once we started dating I knew I was in love when I missed a Joan Jett show to have dinner with her & her family. From Knowing my rep when it came to music she was pretty floored when she found out I gave up Joan Jett to be with her.

Foxhound,as far as Chef's that would be by car

[rtbuck]

More from the attic!!!!:




Ian Gillan Band – ‘Scarabus’
Label: Island Records
Year: 1977
Review by Bucky


“Lets try Scarabus Pie, Leg of dog & lizards eye…Come into the Wizard’s Lair, breath of goat & dead man’s hair” are the opening lyrics to this album & I couldn’t help but laugh as I listened. The same thing happened when I first bought this album. I was into Deep Purple pretty heavy at this time in the late 70’s & I had just bought the double live Rainbow ‘On Stage’ with Blackmore which blew me away. I had not heard of Rainbow at the time but the cover of the huge rainbow on stage caught my eye & once I seen Blackmore was in the band I paid the $4.99 for it. Shortly after that I was in a used record shop & spotted ‘Scarabus’ by the Ian Gillan Band & I figured with Ian Gillan it had to be great. I think I played the album in its entirety once & the only time it was pulled out after that was when I wanted to play the title track for some friends so they could laugh along with me on how awful it was. I don’t think I’ve pulled this record out since 1981 but I am listening to it now. The second song “Twin Exausted” is more of an old rocker & for some reason when the chorus kicks in it kind of reminds me of Joe Perry’s harmonizing on an Aerosmith tune. Towards the end of the song some piano takes over the song which doesn’t really fit in. “Poor Boy Hero” takes on a funky jazz fusion style which may not be that bad if it weren’t for some awful screams by the ex- Deep Purple vocalist (I never thought I would say that about an Ian Gillan scream but they’re
pretty awful throughout the record).”Mercury High” is a cool tune which has a Rock & Roll/Jazz feel to it with Steely Dan style guitar solos by guitarist Ray Fenwick. “Pre Release” is one of the better tracks on the record in which Fenwick shines again on guitar. It seems like Gillan put together some good musicians on this album but the music’s all over the place. There are some great cuts on here: the aforementioned “Pre Release”, “Slags to Bitches”, “Country Lights”(which has a funky Jazz rhythm going through it but in the background is a southern rock style riff in the same vein as Skynyrd’s “I Ain’t the One”), & “Mad Elaine” which is by far the stand out track.



Doucette – ‘The Douce is Loose’
Label: Mushroom Records
Year: 1979
Review by Bucky

This is an album by Canadian guitarist Jerry Doucette & I remember buying this album in the early 80’s at Record Theater in Buffalo. The best thing about this record was that it only cost me about 34 cents. I got it from a “3 for a Dollar” cut out bin along with Yesterday & Today’s debut(later to become Y & T) & one of my favorite albums of all-time the Faces ‘A Nod is as Good as a Wink to a Blind Horse’. Anyway, ‘The Douce is Loose’ is a decent album with some great guitar playing. It kind of has a different sound with a few of the cuts sounding like a cross between BTO & Head East with a splash of Frampton. The first 3 songs “Run Buddy Run”, “Rita”, & “Someday” fit that combination while the last song on Side one “Father Dear Father” is a ballad revisiting the Guess Who’s “These Eyes” or Max Webster’s “Words to Words” but it comes up short. “Nobody” is a throw away song that despite some decent guitars comes off as a poor attempt for a hit single. The next two songs “Before I Die” & “All Over Me” are great tunes & both have a Journey meets Frampton feel. The closing track is pretty cool live jam of “Further on up the Road” which was made famous by Clapton (although I love the way Freddy King covered it). Despite this album sounding a bit dated, I like it & will definitely be giving it more listens especially “Further on up the Road” which is really a good jam.



Lee Aaron – ‘The Lee Aaron Project’
Label: Freedom Records
Year: 1982
Review by Bucky

Lee Aaron’s 2nd album’s title summed her up perfect at the time…’Metal Queen’ but this review is about her debut album just after she went from being Karen Lynn Greening to the namesake of her band Lee Aaron. I remember reading about her in Kerrang magazine & I don’t know if it was the review or the photo of her but something told me to buy this album. Looking at the credits this album was produced by Triumph guitarist/singer Rik Emmett who also contributed his vocals to the opening track “Under Your Spell” which rocks just as this entire album does. One of my favorite Canadian musicians from the 80’s is on just about every track playing guitar, bass, or even drums…Rick Santers. I seen Santers a bunch of times during the 80’s when he fronted his band Santers & I even have a few of his records around. Aaron’s sweet & raspy vocals are tremendous throughout the album especially on the classic that’s been covered by Foghat, Muddy Waters, The Stones, Sensational Alex Harvey Band, & a ton of other artists & that song is the Willie Dixon penned “I Just Wanna Make Love to You”. Lee Aaron let’s everyone know on the closing track on side one what she likes which is titled on that cut “I Like My Rock Hard”( I guess Kiss replied to that a few years later by recording “You Make Me Rock Hard”!). Overall this album rocks pretty good with more than a few standout tracks such as “Under My Spell”, “Lonely for Your Love”, “I Like My Rock Hard”, “I Just Wanna Make Love to You”, & the final 2 tracks “Should Have Known” & “Took Your Heart Away” which are the two best tracks on this album & the album may be worth it for these 2 tracks.



The Hoodoo Gurus – ‘Blow Your Cool’
Label: Elektra Records
Year: 1987
Review by Bucky

By 1987 my record collection was up over 2000 & my tastes in music had expanded. I bought this album because I liked the band name. I never heard them or heard of them but for a while I was listening to this record on a regular basis, bringing it to parties, & then eventually it got lost in my record collection. As soon as the needle hit the groove I remembered how much I liked the album & during that time frame, besides the Metal & Hard Rock that was going on, I was also listening to this record, REM’s ‘Dead Letter Office’, The Smithereens ‘Green Thoughts’, & The Godfathers ‘Birth School Work Death’ albums. Songs like “What’s My Scene”, “Hell For Leather”, ”Out That Door”, “In the Middle of the Land”, & “Party Machine” will bring back your partying days in college with their Alternative/Power Pop style. Even though just about every track is great there is one song in my opinion that is a cut above the rest & that is “Where Nowhere is” which is a great blend of the MC5 meets the Romantics. This is a Party record album

[Lord Grendel]

Another nice thorough post Bucky.

I have a copy of Doucette's "Mama Let Him Play" album which I always considered his best recording. I owned "The Douce is Loose" as well, but never replaced it on CD.

[eberg15101]

I believe we have a nice Hoodoo Gurus thread here that reminded me I like them a lot, they really are just a good rock n roll band with a unique twist

[rtbuck]

Originally Posted by Lord Grendel Another nice thorough post Bucky. I have a copy of Doucette's "Mama Let Him Play" album which I always considered his best recording. I owned "The Douce is Loose" as well, but never replaced it on CD.

Thanks & I'll have to check out "Mama Let Him Play". His guitar playing was great on the "Douce is Loose" album & I did like a bunch of songs on it (as I wrote) but it almost seemed like he was trying to be a bit too commecialized maybe?

[Hepcat]

Bucky:

I've had a turntable since about 2000....

What kind of turntable and cartridge are you using?

[rtbuck]

Hep, My stereo system is a Kenwood(speakers also) but the turntable is just a cheap $79.99 one from radioshack. With all of my CD's I didn't really use the turntable all that much until recently & have only needed to change the needle once which was a few years ago. Once I get my real computer back(the Hard drive crashed & am now getting 550GB) I plan on buying a USB turntable by the end of this month

[rtbuck]

Well, it's been a few months so I decided to go up to the attic & bring a few more vinyl treasuries downstairs so here we go!!!:



Ten Years After – ‘Undead’

Released: 1968
Label: London Records
Review by Bucky

Alvin Lee is one of my favorite Blues/Rock artists of all-time. After seeing the Woodstock movie I considered Alvin Lee to be the MVP of Woodstock & after seeing his performance in the movie I had to go out & buy whatever I could find by Ten Years After. This brings us to Ten Years After second album ‘Undead’ which obviously means that they’re “Live” & that’s what this album is. The album kicks off with an original tune titled “I May be Wrong, But I Won’t be Wrong Always” which is a great guitar driven blues jazz number. I love the way Lee introduces the second tune which he just mumbles into the mic “Erbddbdbdbderr Woodchoppers Ball!!!!” & Lee & company launch into the near 8 minute instrumental of the old Woody Herman big band tune. Lee’s guitar work is on fire during this song as is bassist Leo Lyons. Side Two begins with the slow blues of another original tune & this one is titled “Spider in Your Web” which features Lee belting out great blues vocals along with a bit of a spotlight on organist Chick Churchill. “Summertime/Shantung Cabbage” is basically a decent jazz influenced drum solo by Ric Lee. The album closes with the Ten Years After trademark jam “I’m Going Home” which has to have one of the greatest if not the greatest guitar driven opening riffs of all-time. Alvin Lee’s guitar work is loud, sharp, & earsplitting throughout the whole record but there is so much raw energy on that final track which puts it above the rest.



Brownsville Station – ‘School Punks’
Released: 1974
Label: Big Tree Records
Review by Bucky

Do you suffer from Rockin’ Pneumonia & the Boogie Woogie Blues??? Well, what you need for the cure is this record by the “Kings of Party” Brownsville Station! Brownsville Station was the ultimate party band back in the early 70’s led by guitarist/vocalist Cub Koda, bassist Mike Lutz, & drummer Henry “H Bomb” Weck. My sister who is 13 years older than me used see them at a club called Gilligans in the Buffalo area when they toured & she always would go on about what a great band they were to see live. That party atmosphere rubs off on the ‘School Punks’ album on the first track which is appropriately titled “The Kings of Party”. The tune starts off with Cub Koda doing a bit of a humorous stage rap about partying & then the tune kicks in with an opening riff that borrowed a bit from Alice Cooper’s “No More Mr. Nice Guy” & from there the party tune is full of recycled Chuck Berry riffs mixed with a bit of rocking Zeppelin sound. This sets the pace for the album as it’s full of early Rock n Roll influence mixed with blues & hard rock. “Meet Me on the Fourth Floor” is a rocking tune with a catchy riff & at times has a Stooges “No Fun” feel to it. “Fast Phyllis” is a fun little ditty about a girl who is into partying even if it involves the entire high school football team. According to the lyrics backseat boogie is her game. “I Got it Bad” is your typical cowbell rocker. Drummer Henry “H Bomb” Weck takes over the lead vocals on the Dee Clark hit from 1959 “Hey Little Girl”. A little fast paced medley of “I’ve Got Love if You Want it/I’m a King Bee” keeps the party going with a couple of rocking “Dizzy Miss Lizzy” riffs. The final track is a cover of Gary Glitter’s “Leader of the Gang” which rocks out & blows away the original version by Glitter. Overall, this is a great record & well worth the $2.99 I paid for it in the late 70’s.



‘The Secret Policeman’s Other Ball’

Released: 1982
Label: Island Records
Review by Bucky

Wow, what a find this one was. I totally forgot about it & now I’m ready to go out & purchase the 3 DVD set of The Secret Policeman’s Ball.The Secret Policemans Ball was developed by the British Section of Amnesty to raise funds for its research & campaign work in the Human Rights field. Anyway, when I first seen this special on TV I had no idea what it was for & could’ve cared less. All I knew was that the performances by the musicians & the comedy by parts of the Monty Python crew were incredible. As Soon as the album of the musical performances was released I bought it immediately. I believe this was the performance by Sting which helped launch his amazing solo career. It was just Sting onstage by himself with his bass belting out an unbelievable vocal performance of “Roxanne” & “Message in the Bottle”. Up next on the record are three songs by the duo of Jeff Beck & Eric Clapton. The crisp & clean sounding guitar exchanges between the two ex-Yardbirds is phenomenal as they rock their way through “Cause we Ended Up as Lovers”, “Farther on Up the Road”, & “Crossroads”. Vocalist Bob Geldof & pianist Johnny Fingers of the Boomtown Rats put on an outstanding performance with “I Don’t Like Mondays” to close out side one. Side two begins with a chilling & spectacular version of “In the Air Tonight” by Phil Collins. He then has a fine performance of the banjo driven “The Roof is Leaking”. The Sunshine Superman of the late 60’s Donovan is up next with great acoustic performances of “The Universal Soldier” & “Catch the Wind”. The final track is a near ten minute reggae jam titled “I Shall be Released” performed by the Secret Police featuring Sting, Clapton, Beck, & at least 15 other musicians. This is definitely a great album with plenty of star power. Now I’m going to have to search for my “Concerts for Kampuchea” two record set.



Americade – ‘American Metal’

Released: 1982
Label: ADEM Records
Review by Bucky

Why did I buy this record? Well, three reasons:
1) It was CHEAP! ($1.99)
2) I loved trying out metal bands I never heard
3) I seen the band featured Dave Spitz whom I thought was Danny Spitz from Anthrax who I was into pretty heavy into in the mid 80’s (I got the name mixed up & thought this was a previous band of his although it really his brother & he looks just like him).

The band features Spitz on Bass, Walt “Wildman” Woodward III on drums, Gerard De Marigny on lead guitar, & PJ De Marigny on lead vocals. The album starts out great complete with growls, blood curdling screams, & loud fast guitars on “On the Prowl”. The musicianship throughout the album is great but PJ’s vocals are all over the place. I could possibly get by the vocals because of the incredible musicianship on the album especially with Gerard’s lightning fast guitar shredding but a huge problem with the album is the harmonizing & backing vocals. The songwriting isn’t too bad (typical mid 80’s metal) although side 2 is much better than side one. The band performs a hard & heavy version of Grand Funk’s “We’re an American Band” which is mediocre at best. The highlights of the album are “On the Prowl”, “Go For Your Guns” (great metal tune), the heavy bass driven “Showdown”, “Little Lady Lover” (sounds like early Twisted Sister crossed with ‘Hell Bent for Leather’ Judas Priest), “California Rhthym” (good song with a Humble Pie feel to it), & “Hold on You” which is probably the best track on the album with a glass shattering scream with a great lead solo. Overall, I don’t mind the record but that 2nd side is so much better than side one. There are 12 songs (well actually 13 listed but the albums final track “Climax” lasts 19 seconds) but if they had cut it down to 8 or 9 tunes with longer solos this would actually have been a really good record. Spitz briefly joined White Lion before joining Sabbath in ’86. He also sessioned on Great White’s ‘Let it Rock’ album. Woodward joined Shark Island & later Racer X. The brothers did regroup in the mid 90’s with Woodward & bassist Greg Smith (Alice Cooper, BOC, & Rainbow) & released an album titled ‘Americade.com’.

[Lord Grendel]

About time you dusted this attic out Bucky.

I like Brownsville Station and Ten Years After, never heard of Americade before...

[rtbuck]

Originally Posted by Lord Grendel About time you dusted this attic out Bucky. I like Brownsville Station and Ten Years After, never heard of Americade before...

Americade is a bit rough on the ears because as I said There are too many songs on the album. The songs that are bad are pretty bad especially the vocals, harmonizing, & backing vocals.

[Lord Grendel]

^^That's not exactly a ringing endorsement Bucky...

I will pass on that one then.

[rtbuck]

^^^^ Yeah, it starts off fine w/ the first track maybe even the first few tracks then the next 3 tracks are pretty bad which kills the flow of the record but I really think the musicianship is pretty good for that style

[Magic]

Ten Years After and Brownsville Station


I am like LG, never heard of Americade. Gonna google up some of their tunes