You are currently browsing the monthly archive for July, 2008.
Working and busy like crazy. Lots new records, lots coming up, and lots up right now.
I was thinking about scanning in these old articles I have from about 30 old Ann Arbor Sun newspapers I just bought. There’s all kinds of cool stuff in there, from John Sinclair interviews, to old album and show reviews, to prison classified ads, the free pound of columbian pot giveaway contest, reviews and interviews of the early 70s Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festivals, cool old ads like this full page color of Shakey Jake being touted as the number one Sun newspaper salesman in the city, old bivouac and local music store ads, bob dylan special editions with photos, ads, and reviews, tons of local music reviews and previews from the Rationals to the super obscure, lots of hype and positive coverage about black culture and Detroit culture - like a full page story on Coleman Young when he was elected, of course stuff on the Rainbow party and local politics including anti-police and anti-McDonalds, and just tons more real interesting stuff, at least to me.
I’m rambling cause I’m by the campfire. Talked to Gerard today and he told me that Rico told him that you can never waste water, that the water level of the world can never change.
Is it true? I don’t know but I’ll end my night with a cold glass of Michigan tap water.
I called up Encore today. I talked to the owner about referring him some business on an appraisal I was working on. I introduced myself as saying, “Hi, this is Geoff from Cousins Vinyl…” His response was, “Oh yeah, I know you, you’re out on Eckles Road in the middle of nowhere, right?”
I thought this was hilarious. Although they do have an impressive record store, and even I shop there, the guys that run it are a bit, um, proud of their store. And to suggest that we’re out in the middle of nowhere was pretty funny. Considering that we’re basically in the heart of Southeast Michigan, right off 96 and 275.
I guess the dude thinks that anywhere outside of Ann Arbor is the middle of nowhere. But whatever, we’ll gladly stay out in our nice little cheap rent spot on Eckles, equal distance from Detroit and Ann Arbor. It’s close enough to buy record collections in Ann Arbor, which we’ve been doing a lot of lately (and he apparently knew about) 
.
Cheers, Encore! I’ll keep the referrals coming!
Best known for the smash track 96 Tears, ? and The Mysterians’ LP, 96 Tears, is more than just the hit song. This is straight up classic 60s Detroit garage, complete with 15 year old Mexican organ sensation Freddie Rodriguez. Freddie’s organ strokes may have been best known for the hook in 96 Tears, but he also tore it up in Midnight Hour (not Wilson Pickett’s song).
This is so distinctly Detroit, a mixture of psych, blues, soul, and rock-n-roll, and with that organ featured so often with MI garage bands. Freddie, you must have been going to church, son!
Listen to Midnight Hour:
The psych LPs are ending today. Tomorrow the older jazz LPs end. After that, there’s a nice batch of jazz fusion still on the board. Better hurry!
Coming up is a super sweet 70s funk collection, and a northern soul 45 collection.
On a side note, check out these great 45 turntable adapters from 45 Central. These guys are customers of ours and gave us the heads up on their products.
by Cousin Geoff
I’m rolling out a new feature here on Cousins Vinyl. It’s called “Guess That Sample”.
It’s really a shame that sampling is pretty much outlawed now in hip-hop; it’s killing the genre. Sampling is what the art is based on - not only is it a tribute to the funk and jazz that came before it, but it’s how it was born in the first place. It’s probably why I gravitate towards the old school stuff, yeah - I grew up on it - but I really have no interest in listening to most of today’s rap: some bullshit negative lyrics backed by a generic, synthetic beat made by the same two or three guys that sell ‘em to all the top rappers. It’s garbage - give me the old stuff with heavy samples any day.
A lot of times I’ll be listening to a 70s funk or jazz album and I’ll have one of those - ”hey! that’s the sample off the so and so record!” - moments. Justin and I just drafted a bunch of 70s jazz/funk records off a collection we bought recently. I was listening to this Rasta Afro-funk group called Cymande tonight, their self-titled debut album, and I heard a sample I recognized right away. It’s from their song, Dove.
Listen to it and see if you can guess who sampled it. Then click “read the rest…” below to get the answer and hear the track that it’s featured on.
By Max Conroy
Living in Ann Arbor, it’s strange to have to purchase a European import that compiles a bunch of records recorded here, but I’m glad it’s available at all. The name of the label, A-Square, is a nickname for the city of Ann Arbor. It was created by Jeep Holland, a compulsive music and comic collector, DJ, manager, promoter, and manager of Discount Records, the store that Iggy Pop worked at as a teenager. Holland would stock import records that no other stores would carry, British Invasion records, and get a feel for what area kids would respond to in the store and while DJ-ing events. He met local musicians at Discount and eventually started promoting some of them. In 1965 he began producing records exclusively as promotional material to get gigs for acts that he was promoting and put them out on his A-Square imprint.
In five years, he put out records by approximately a dozen bands, including the MC5, the Rationals, the Scot Richard Case (SRC), the Up, and the Frost; all Detroit legends. By 1970, for a myriad of reasons, including his domineering personality, poor business acumen, lack of payment from distributers, and changing times, he left Ann Arbor for Boston, leaving behind A-Square records and a wake of debt. A lot of these records are very hard to find now, 40 plus years later, and the 45s have been the only way to hear most of these great bands.
A-Square (Of Course) was released this past May on Big Beat Records, distributed and marketed by the mega-reissue label Ace Records out of the UK. The title comes from a button issued by the label that read A-Square (Of Course). There are definitely some issues with this package, but the good greatly outweighs the bad. First off, there are no Rationals tracks on it, which seems odd since they were the biggest act on A-Square and the label’s flagship act, but Ace intends on releasing a compilation of their work on A-Square soon, to be named Think Rational! (again from a button). According to Scott Morgan of the Rationals, they’re still working on obtaining the rights to the masters. Secondly, this is by no means an exhaustive collection of A-Square’s catalogue, which would require a multiple-disc release. This collection contains 25 tracks by ten bands, 8 tracks by the Thyme and 5 by the Scot Richard Case. More than half of the compilation is music that was never released originally, which is great if you’re looking for really rare stuff, but not if you’re looking to have high fidelity copies of the famous records that were actually released on the label. Also, there are several bands that recorded for A-Square whose masters cannot be located and are not represented here; the Jagged Edge, the Children and the Gang most notably.
The bottom line, however, is that this anthology is filled with a ton of highlights and is most definitely worth the $19. It contains an early MC5 single, Looking at You/Borderline, which has been released a ton and isn’t that rare, but is great to have in this context with fantastic documentation in the liner notes. Apparently, Holland and John Sinclair didn’t get along that well for a variety of reasons, even though Sinclair managed the group and Holland was in charge of booking them. According to the liner notes:
Jeep: Sinclair went into United Sound and recorded that record with Danny Dallas, then just decided to use my label name. He designed his own A-Square label, designed his own package and just put it out. He finally got around to informing me as the record was coming out: ‘Oh, by the way, I put the record out on A-Square.’…My label was a success, and John thought it would get his record more attention… Danny Dallas told me some wonderful stories about that session. He said they immediately turned their amps up as loud as they could go. Danny kept trying to tell them, ‘You don’t have to do that. Get a good sound and I’ll boost it in here.’ But no, John Sinclair came into the control room, looked at the board and went like this [sweeping arm motion] pushing every one of the faders up all the way. Then he ate a big chunk of hash or something and lay down on the floor while the band played.
Let’s just say that it’s not the 5’s best moment sonically, but well worth hearing and a great addition to this collection. Also featured here is a rare live recording of the Prime Movers. The Movers were a highly respected blues outfit in the Ann Arbor area at the time that never released anything. The band included Michael Erlewine, the brain behind the All Music Guide, on vocals and harmonica and a young Iggy Pop on drums. The track here is a cover of the Yardbird’s version of I’m a Man that was used as a tape that Holland took to New York probably around ‘66 to promote the band. It actually features Iggy on vocals instead of Erlewine and might possibly be the earliest recording of Iggy singing. The Up’s Just Like an Aborigine is a raw-as-hell protopunk gem and another massive highlight on this disc. Everything else not mentioned here is good if not great, making this a must have for anyone even remotely interested in psyche, garage rock, the Detroit high energy sound, or Southeast Michigan culture.
The Up’s Just Like an Aborigine:
