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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:
By Max Conroy
On Saturday, May 17th Jandek played a free concert at the University of Michigan’s Lydia Mendelssohn Theater. The show was sponsored by WCBN-FM (88.3 on your FM dial), the student-run station of the University, booked by Brendt Rioux, and featured James Cornish on trumpet, Christian Matjias on harpsichord, and Biba Bell on vocals and improv dance. Apparently this was the first Jandek performance to feature live improv dancing. Jandek played hollow body bass and sang. This is what’s known.
This is what’s unknown: the identity of Jandek, the aim of his endeavors, and virtually everything about the production and meaning behind his music. Jandek has put out fifty-three albums in thirty years. The records range from atonal bluesy folk to thirty minute vocal-only tracks and some feature other musicians most likely (even though he does overdub tracks). The lyrical content of his songs are most definitely poetic in nature, possibly autobiographical, and definitely surreal, causing people to speculate as to whether or not this is a sort of diary of a person suffering from mental illness or records to be enjoyed as such, art for art’s sake.
There are only a handful of people who have ever spoken to or communicated with Jandek; and in these instances, the person is known only as a “representative of Corwood Industries.” Corwood Industries is Jandek’s record label and in his only recorded interview, by John Trubee for Spin in 1985, featured on YouTube and as an extra on the Jandek on Corwood DVD, he discloses that he is the “sole proprietor” of Corwood, which has maintained the same PO Box in Houston since 1978. All of his records and DVDs are purchased directly from Corwood/Jandek, cheaply, and none are sold to record stores or libraries. Jandek also mentions in that interview that at the time he was working as a machinist and living in Houston, Texas. The name on the copyright information for Jandek’s records in the Library of Congress is Sterling Richard Smith, born in Rhode Island in 1945 (he mentions Rhode Island in several songs). He originally recorded one record under the name The Units and sent his record to radio stations and record stores, and was forced to change the name when a guy whom he sent the record to in San Francisco threatened to sue him as that was the name of his band. As a result he wanted to find a name that no one could possibly have, so he ended up speaking to a fellow named Dekker in January and came up with Jandek.
The more that I research Jandek, the more his history or what he’s illuminated for us seems to be the creation of a highly intelligent, very sane person, very similar to the way a novelist comes up with material culled from his past, subconscious, and ability to tell a convincing story. Before his days as Jandek, he allegedly wrote seven novels, which he burned after being rejected by publishers. He tells Trubee that, “I put out a product, and that’s it. I don’t want to get too involved.” This smells like bullshit to me, but very good bullshit.
UK’s Ace records will soon be releasing a comp of 60s Ann Arbor label A-Squared rarities. I guess this has been 10 years in the making and Scott Morgan of The Rationals, who still lives in Ann Arbor, has been working with Ace. This should be a very cool comp, although from what I read it is only available on CD. We’ve come across some of these sides, but I’m sure some of these are ones that just don’t surface at all.
From mlive.com:
“A-Square (Of Course): The Story Of Michigan’s Legendary A-Square Records,” which will be available only as an import CD from Ace Records, includes tracks from The Scot Richard Case, MC5 (the rare “Looking at You”), The Prime Movers (featuring a young Iggy Pop on drums and lead vocals, circa 1966), The Thyme, The Up and more.
The disc draws on the vaults of A-Square Records, founded by Hugh “Jeep” Holland, a University of Michigan student who was captivated by the mid-’60s rock music explosion. While running Discount Records on State Street, he threw himself into the local scene as an agent, manager, producer and supporter of area bands and musicians, including Discount stock boy Jim Osterberg, who later became Iggy Pop. The storied music lineups at Detroit’s Grande Ballroom were overseen by Holland, who died in 1998.
by Max Conroy
I first heard about the Third Power on this site a long time ago when the Cousins did a write up about their bass player Jem Targal in response to finding a signed copy of his rare solo album Luckey Guy. I downloaded Believe, the only album released by the Third Power and didn’t feel too bad about it because of the album’s obscurity; I believe that it isn’t too hard to track down on CD though. The download that I got was ripped from a record and the guy recorded the second side first, which I didn’t realize till finding the vinyl a few weeks ago. It doesn’t get much better than this if you’re looking for an aggressive, Grande-era Detroit power trio. I’ve scoped this record every now and then for the past few years on EBay and it seems like every copy that I’ve seen was in Europe, which is odd since it only sold about 16,000 copies, mostly in the Detroit area.
Like the record itself, information regarding the band is pretty rare. For the most part everything out there is very basic and states that the band formed in Detroit in the late 60s, were very loud, had a cult following, released one record, it flopped, they went their separate ways, the guitarist Drew Abbott went to play lead for Seger’s Silver Bullet Band, and Jem recorded Luckey Guy in the late 70s. I did find an early biography of Jem Targal, their lead singer and bassist, on someone’s personal website. The biography reads a bit strange, almost like it’s Targal speaking in the third person (pardon the pun). According to the site, Targal was born in Ann Arbor, his father studied and taught at the University of Michigan, and when he was young his father accepted a position at the American University of Istanbul and moved his entire family there: ”There were seven families, all related, living in the house together. Targal’s grandfather, a retired general, was there. So, too, was Targal’s uncles. One had been the head of NATO forces for seveal years; the other uncle was a professional wrestler.” Sounds like a trip, man. His family moved back to the Detroit area in 1951 and eventually many years later he met Abbott at Oakland Community College in a speed reading class. Abbott taught Targal the bass and they formed several groups, met their drummer Jim Craig, a solid powerful drummer, and came up with the name the Third Power in the van on the way to their first show together at a club called the Fifth Dimension (a popular venue that had featured Hendrix and the Yardbirds). Power trio…trio…third…third…power…like to the third power, man…get it? The band moved into a farmhouse on Haggarty road, between 12 and 13 mile roads. They were known for having massive parties at their place where rock icons like Rod Stewart and Badfinger would hang out. The band kept playing around and became very popular in the Detroit area, playing shows with local acts like the Rationals, Seger, and the MC 5. They signed with Vanguard, who also featured another Detroit act of the era the Frost, in 1969. The album was produced by poet and blues scholar Sam Charters and came out in 1970.
I almost shit my pants when I saw it in the stack at Encore. They pile up their new arrivals on the floor against the bins, in front of the register. I was in there a few days prior to finding it and noticed that they had a massive pile of new arrivals and quickly paid for whatever I had gone in there to find, so as not to be tempted by whatever was in the new stacks. A few days later I was walking in the neighborhood and decided to go back to see what was left in that pile, and there it was, perfect, in the shrink, bronze Vanguard label. I bought that and Grant Green’s Alive! for $30 and the dude working there said bye to me using my name off of my credit card. Respect, mon. Irie! I got it for $20; the price guide says $30 mint, but Popsike lists anywhere from $50 to $250 previously on EBay.
by Max Conroy:
It doesn’t sound like it’d be all that great, hanging out at an Elks lodge on a Friday night, but it’s not at all what you’d expect. This place is sweet, positively the coolest bar, club, venue, night spot I’ve been to since I’ve moved to Ann Arbor. There may be better places to go in this area, but I can’t imagine it.
My friend rents a huge house from the Elks. It’s on a hill overlooking the city; it’s large, seemingly affordable, and right next to the lodge. We ate dinner at her place and had a few beers, we’d already been at the Old Town for a good number of rounds, and she proposed that we should go the Elks for a beer. I was down. I mean shooting the shit with a bunch of older dudes in funny hats sounds like a good time to me, but I was not prepared for this place.
It’s an old school black Elks lodge, patronized by a bunch of real nice fun loving, soulful dudes. The bar is downstairs and the rules for the guests are posted on a huge sign on the ceiling of the stairway as you enter, gents must remove their hats upon entering. I guess it’s a three dollar cover, but we got by because we know their tenant. The ambiance of the place is enough to make it a cool spot: salmon colored walls, orange vinyl booths, a dark cavernous feel, a vintage bar, and a cozy dance floor packed with hipsters. Heinekens are three bucks and the DJ spins old and new soul, funk and hip hop; it was great to hear Sharon Jones’ What Have You Done for Me Lately blaring through the place followed by James Brown’s Sex Machine. It’s a shame that I don’t dance or if I do I have to be in a state where I can’t possibly remember it. I held down the booth and sipped my Heineken while my people hit the dance floor, digging the scene, choking on smoke, loving watching the Elks get down, hanging out and serving drinks. As we left, they were closing the doors presumably because the place was to capacity, so get there before one AM. I’ll definitely be coming back to this place.
The Elk’s lodge also has live jazz on Mondays and Tuesdays and is open to the public on Fridays and Saturdays to swing from the rafters. I also believe that they host barbecues, which I’d love to check out.
A-Square Records
jsREVIEW:
The fashionable take with the Rationals is to point out how Jeep Holland, their manager, rooked ‘em, and how they coulda been contenders. They’re perpetual rock also-rans, lamented more than listened to.
But the Rationals DID make it, at least at the time. Sure, with a little more responsibility on Holland’s part, they coulda been as big as The Standells or the Electric Prunes, but some forty years on, would that have been a huge improvement?
While they predated The Stooges and The MC5, they certainly existed contemporaneously in terms of the scene, if not aesthetic, and Bob Seger’s band learned a thing or two watching them. But frankly, the Rationals were just too good to ever really fit in. Lead singer Scott Morgan had pipes that no other white boy could touch, and had more in common with Van Morrison than with Iggy Pop, which is readily apparent on this early single.
This is the best version of Goffin/King’s “I Need You” ever recorded, hands down, and Morgan belts like a more refined Otis Redding (who was a huge, maybe evven primary influence— it was The Rationals’ cover of “Respect” that led to Aretha Franklin covering it).
The b-side, “Out in the Streets” is a treat too, though it’s more of a go-go goof than timeless classic, but one timeless classic should be enough for any 45. It’s a lyricless r&b bit better suited for interstitials in the Electric Company than repeated listening (though that’s not a knock on it).
Far from one of the lost, forgotten dregs, The Rationals are a touchstone for a generation of Detroit artists and I refuse to treat ‘em any other way. This single shows why.
jsREVIEW:
Before they became the SRC, the Scot Richard Case recorded three songs for the A-Square Records label: “I’m So Glad,” “Who Is That Girl,” and “Get The Picture,” (released as The Old Exciting Scot Richard Case).
This is before they were prog-rocking or guitar heroes, before Capitol scooped ‘em up and made ‘em stars in Europe (they never were too big around here). This is when they were covering Skip James by way of Cream and crooning to girls like they were the 1910 Fruitgum Company.
“I’m So Glad” was a local radio hit, with good reason. It’s got chops to spare and presages the rock monster that SRC would become, even if it’s a little too faithful to really stand up next to the Brits’ take on the blues. But the b-side’s a never heard gem of bubblegum pop. Oompa bass, guitar and keyboards reminscent of “My White Bicycle,” the song’s the psychedelic love story of the chick who may or may not have “turned on” the singer. A perfect snapshot of the days when teen idols started to trip, equal parts innocence and entendre.
