I see justice
Just out of view
Yeah, I see justice
Don't have much to do
But I got no worries
Why give a toss
I'm already long gone from here
And I don't feel a loss
Here's an interesting curio: a hits-of-the-day record produced in Quad by Capitol for Realistic, the company that owns Radio Shack. Don't know who plays on it, but the performances are first rate.
Country Coalition were a pretty cool (mostly) country-rock act signed to ABC's Bluesway - one of the few non-blues artists on the label. The band is probably best known for the song "One Man Band," which was a hit for Three Dog Night. The album is a hodgepodge of styles, but I find that's part of its charm. I added some stray singles and non-album cuts here as bonus tracks.
This one is a real curio. Couldn't find much out about young Mark, but he does sound a bit like Bob Dorough or maybe Tom Northcott. If either of those guys rings your bell, then this is for you. Update: check the comments for a link for current info about Mark.
This one channels the ghosts of Salinger, absent friends and, well, the scary guy at the end of the hall. Cover shot taken at our old apartment on Park Drive in Boston.
With its canned audience sounds and songs that were not performed at Woodstock, this delicious slice of exploito pushes all the wrong buttons in just the right way. If anyone has any other Design Records titles they want to share, please put a link in the comments. They're all pretty bad in a good way.
In memory of Bobby Keys, here's his funky solo record featuring the talents of George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Jack Bruce, Dave Mason, Nicky Hopkins, Leslie West, Klaus Voorman, Carl Radle, Jim Gordon, Corky Laing and many others. We'll miss you, Bobby.
With all that's going on in the world right now from the Midwest to the Middle East, here's an album about human conflict. And, yeah, that's my mom and dad on the cover.
On this Thanksgiving Day I'm sharing with you an extreme rarity: the "Apache/Inca" album by Maitreya Kali. If you want to read about the fascinating backstory of this bizarre record, check out this Allmusic entry, or pick up the near-book-length piece in Ugly Things magazine.
Trippy, pysch-o weirdness on Bob Crewe's Dynovoice label? I'm there. BTW, my outboard CD burner is on the fritz and I am having a problem ripping these albums for you, so it looks like I'll have to buy a new one. If all you downloaders - 135,000 and counting - want to help out with my purchase and keep Mondo going, you can contribute by clicking on the DONATE button. Monkeeboy and Doyscoy have shown their support. Why not you?
Couldn't find much info about this one, other than the singer is one Jim Demitrack, a Bobby Goldsboro-ish crooner. The version here of "Sugar, Sugar" makes the Archies sound like thrash metal by comparison. But, as with all this kind of stuff, I find it hard to resist. Ripped from vinyl, with love.
By request, here's a re-up of Stone Canyon Rock. The dude singing the title track ain't no Richard Harris, and that's saying something. A real cheapie on a real cheapie label (Custom), which makes me love it all the more.
Happy Halloween ... and what better way to celebrate than with this spooky exploito record by the Young Lovers, whoever they were. If you are looking for some more scary fun, check out the comments in the post below.
You'd think that from all the happy-faced white folks on the cover that this would be yet one more happy-faced, white-folks exploito. But you'd be wrong.
Instro record in which ace sessioners Ben Benay (guitar), Jerry Scheff (bass), and Toxey French (drums) make like a badass power trio in the mold of Cream and truly let their hair down.
This largely instrumental record was no doubt released by Tower to cash in on the early success of the Walker Brothers, and I'm guessing that Scott "Walker" Engel probably had little involvement. But still, it's not so bad as these things go. And since Mr. Walker has new album out - "Soused," featuring Sunn O))) - I thought it might be interesting to compare where he came from to where he is now. Turns out, there is no comparison.
What's atypical about this typical slab of biker-styled exploito is that it was conceived by Elektra head honcho Jac Holtzman. Otherwise it's business as usual: hits of the day performed with slightly less oomph, soul and precision as the original.
I just posted a new album of mine over on Bandcamp, the release of which coincides with my birthday. You would make ol' Mondo's day brighter if, when you download it, you also make a contribution.
Signed in 1967 by Van McCoy to his newly formed Vandor Records label, Chris Bartley and the label scored a Top 40 pop hit and a Top Ten R&B hit their first time out with the McCoy-authored "The Sweetest Thing This Side of Heaven," an achingly beautiful soul ballad. The song was successful enough to get Bartley national exposure and even some performing engagements in England and is one of the more findly remembered one-shot soul hits of its period, but it was only a one-shot - he was never able to duplicate its success despite several tries.