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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
The Raconteurs played Saturday night at the Fillmore Detroit with the Atlanta-based garage punk revivalists the Black Lips. All 2900 seats were accounted for, but the place didn’t seem overly packed at all. This would probably have been a concert that I wouldn’t have thought twice about, seeing the ad in the paper or hearing about it on the radio, but a friend called me before getting tickets the day they went on sale. What the hell, I’ll go; I like the rock and roll; I consider myself a fan of J. White even though at times I want to dislike the White Stripes. I really like the Black Lips, particularly their 2005 record Let It Bloom, but didn’t know that they were opening until after I’d committed to the event. No matter what you think about White’s music or his opinions regarding his music, he’s done a lot for rock and roll. I can’t blame him for leaving Detroit either. That said, I can pretty much take or leave the Raconteurs.
When I first heard that White was forming a band, I thought that it was a great idea: breaking away from the mold of a two-person ‘band’ where he most definitely calls the shots to working with three to four other extremely talented people, writing songs and collaborating in a super group, like they did back in the late sixties through the seventies. I could really give two shits about Brendan Benson, based purely on ignorance, but drafting the rhythm section of the Greenhornes, bassist Jack Lawrence and drummer Patrick Keeler, made me have to take this band seriously. I have seen these two play live probably more than any other group of musicians.
I’ve seen several incarnations of the Greenhornes, as a four-piece and a trio, and have seen them play with Holly Golightly several times. One of my most profound dipshit, foot-in-mouth, moments was making some boneheaded comment about how the Greenhornes weren’t all that great to Holly Golightly while smoking cigarettes outside of Kraftbrau Brewery in Kalamazoo, and she basically said, “There are a lot worse bands out there.” About ten minutes later, the Greenhornes tore the place apart. I’d seen them open for Golightly a few nights prior at the Magic Stick and they didn’t exactly put their best foot forward, but every time that I’ve seen them since, they have been absolutely amazing; one of the best bands I’ve ever seen. And so much of what made them so good was their impossibly tight rhythm section; Keeler, the definition of the jazz-influenced rock drummer, killing the skins, sweat flying everywhere, drinking whiskey; and Lawrence the silent rock carrying the rhythm, his expression is comparable to Elijah Wood’s character in Sin City: blank, verging on scary.
I got the Raconteurs first record when it came out, but never really listened to it seriously. I also had the chance to see them a Lollapalooza a few years back, but chose to see some other band that was playing there at the same time; it might have been Sleater-Kinney playing their last non-Olympia show. The music seems fine, and I’m not sure why I haven’t taken the time to listen to their records, maybe there just hasn’t been enough time, who knows? So this show was a good opportunity for me to really give their music a chance.
Upon entering the Fillmore Detroit, if you are a guy, you have to empty your pockets, hold all your shit for security to go through while they frisk you. It’s been awhile since I’ve had to do this and was somewhat freaked out by it as I did have something that would be considered contraband, which I held under my wallet, hoping they wouldn’t notice. They were some huge fellows and seemed very good at their job. I made the mistake of wearing a green shirt that said ‘Boston’ on it with a clover. The guy who was about to frisk me mumbled something, and it sounded to me like, “If I find anything in your pockets, I’m going to fuck you up.” My stomach sank as I was holding onto my wallet and contraband, hands shaking. I quickly ripped out anything else that I had in my pockets and explained rapidly what it was. He could tell that I misunderstood what he’d said and repeated it: “I should fuck you up for wearing that shirt.” That I could handle. The Pistons were just knocked out by the Boston Celtics in the conference finals. “Oh, sorry, man. I totally didn’t think about it.” “You should go home and burn that shirt.” “Oh, I will.” My hands were still shaking when I bought a round of beer five minutes later.
By Max Conroy
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Four years ago, I had the chance to see Bo Diddley play a concert at Fitzgeralds, a small bar on the outskirts of Chicago where they filmed some of the Color of Money, for his 75th birthday. All I had to do was hop in my car or catch a train and go, but I got lazy and probably spent the night doing something very unmemorable. Living in a thriving metropolis like Chicago numbs one to culture because you can do something great every night, all year round. You have to pick and choose and I chose poorly here. I was definitely into Bo Diddley at the time, and I think must have got a lot more heavily into his records shortly thereafter. I didn’t read any reviews of the show and have no idea if he was good or not, but that would have been beside the point…it’s fucking Bo Diddley, man. This ranks up there at the very top of my rock and roll regrets list, along with missing out on seeing Johnny Cash, pre-revival, in Kalamazoo and hearing about the last Pavement show in Michigan days after it had happened. I knew that I would never have another chance to see him live.
Bo Diddley died in Florida today of heart failure. He’d had a stroke, followed by a heart attack a year ago and had been in poor health since. He was 79 years old and one of the people that created rock and roll.
When I realized, after years of seeing the name E. McDaniel listed as the writer of songs that were such blues and rock and roll standards that I thought that they must have been traditional arrangements and the name a ruse like Allan Smithee in the film industry, that it was in fact Bo Diddley, I gave him some serious listening attention. A lot of people dismiss Bo Diddley as a one-trick-pony, and those people are missing out in a big way. Sure, he did ride the wave of rhythm that he created on the track Bo Diddley for a long time, but the power and influence of that rhythm cannot be overstated. EVERY garage band has used it, from Buddy Holly on. But there was so much more to his sound than that rhythm. He wrote some fantastic straight blues numbers and countless chugging rockers; take a handful of your favorite rock and roll records recorded in the 60s, flip them over and see how many times you see the name McDaniel.
Bo Diddley, sadly, doesn’t get the respect he deserves, but I’m confident that his importance to rock and roll will be realized as long as people continue to look back and question what is rock and roll and where it came from. Here are four examples that made me a huge fan of his. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to listen to his music without thinking about that show at Fitzgeralds…
Bo’s Bounce:
Keep Your Big Mouth Shut:
I Can Tell:
Road Runner, from Beach Party: one of the best live records of the early 60s:
By Max Conroy
My struggle lately has been that I have way too much music to listen to. In the past year or so, I’ve had some incredible resources and have acquired more music than I could realistically listen to. It’s obviously the result of some sort of compulsion that I have to collect things. But records are meant to be listened to, and I feel guilty about having some of the best records ever made lying around where I’m only able to dedicate a cursory listen. Also, my interests wax and wane like the moon, so I’ll have some records that I’ve just purchased and my interest in that genera of music will fall by the wayside, the record filed to be stumbled upon when my interest in that music reawakens. I guess the solution is to make it a point to try and not acquire anything new. Don’t worry, readers, I’ll have plenty of stuff to write about.
For some reason, last night I actually went through my CDs and pulled out a huge pile and pretty much froze because it was late, past midnight, and I wanted to listen to everything, but I didn’t want to be up till sunrise. I’ve been getting back into rock and roll, from jazz fusion and soul and funk. I had also just hooked my DVD player up through my stereo, so I wanted to be able to watch a bit of something before I went to bed, so I had to make a tough decision, but I sure as hell made the right choice.
Starship, The MC5 at the Sturgis Armory June 27, 1968 is, in my mind, the best document of the MC5 live. Don’t get me wrong, Kick Out the Jams is a hell of a record, but it doesn’t necessarily represent the 5 accurately with regards to their live show at the time. They knew that they were going to make a record and had to trim parts of the set, like Black to Comm and various jazz and soul medleys from their set to make a digestible product for the masses (I’m not saying they sold out to the man or anything, they do say ‘motherfucker’ in the first five minutes, before their most commercial song). The sound on Starship is obviously from someone in the crowd, so this is how it pretty much sounded if you were standing in the Sturgis Armory. A lot of people don’t realize that soundboard recordings aren’t necessarily the shit because they just capture the sound that’s pumped through the system and not what comes out of it.
Where is Sturgis you ask? It’s in southwest Michigan, not far at all from where I, and Cousin Justin, grew up. The area now is probably a ghost town, but back in the day when muscle cars were king the place was probably still out of the way. This show catches the 5 playing their set in all its glory in a small town and displays perfectly their mettle. They didn’t care where they were playing or who to; when they stepped on the stage it was all over; they were going to destroy any other band that dared share that stage, no matter who it was, Cream or Led Zeppelin.
I had to put the headphones on for this one as it was late and I needed volume, so I recommend that you do the same. Find your headphones and brace yourself…
Rama Lama Fa Fa Fa:
James Brown’s Cold Sweat: Dig Dennis Thompson’s drumming on this track.
PS: In my opinion the only other live performace by the 5 that rivals this is Thunder Express, a live set in a European studio. Go figure, Cub Coda gave it two stars in AMG, haha.
by Cousin Geoff
I’ve talked before about Detroit psych/funk artist Fugi, and his unreleased 1968 Chess LP that was reissued on Tuff City. As what usually happens when we’re digging something, more stuff sort of turns up. So I wasn’t too suprised when his promo copy of Red Moon Part 1 and 2 on Grand Junction came out of recent collection, but I was excited.
Fugi is backed by Detroit funk-rock group Black Merda (play on black murder) on these cuts. The history of the connection between Fugi (real name Ellington Jordan) and Black Merda is shakey. Some people say that they were a part of the same band, others say that Fugi was the front man on this and the other 45s he put out, which were backed by Merda. Others say that Fugi wanted to join Black Merda but they turned him down but backed him on the stuff he wrote. I’ve also heard that Fugi was a promoter for Chess and helped sign other Detroit talent, and this may have played a factor in Fugi getting them to play with him. Whatever the relationship was, it was Fugi who wrote this psychadelic brand of funk-rock that was considered too out-there at the time to sell to the masses.
Fugi had problems with drugs and legend has it that he wrote the song Red Moon as he drove around Detroit at night while high. Max described Fugi’s music as “dark, doom funk.” In Detroit in the late 60s, with all that was going on, it’s no wonder that music was produced like this. It’s quite the opposite from the happy, feel-good Motown sound, but it’s perhaps a more accurate picture of the gritty, grimy, racially tense city.
Red Moon, Part 1:
Part 2:
I like this one a lot, so much that I haven’t really decided if I want to sell it. The Six O’Clock News were formed by Rockabilly hall-of-famer and Detroit native James Wayne Boyer. He originally formed the band Jimmy Boyer and The Newports, who were a top local band in Detroit and Windsor in the early to mid 60s. Around ‘68 or ‘69, he formed the Six O’Clock News, who recorded only one 45, Train Ride Down Jasper Way / Working On The Road, in 1969 on Novi based label Adell. After the Six O’Clock News broke up following their brief time together, Boyer went on to play in a few more local bands before touring nationally with a Nashville based group called the Billy Swan Band.
The A side to this promo copy, Train Ride, is a great song. Jimmy’s rough and gruff voice give emotion to a hard working railroad love song, backed by a Dennis Coffee-esque funkabilly band. It’s a fairly rare 45, but it’s unlike many small label Michigan garagers that we come across, the song writing is actually good (and original). If CCR put this out, it could have been a national smash hit. As it was with a relatively unheard-of Detroit band in 1969, they produced about 1,000 or so promo copies, sent them out to as many radio stations as they could, and probably received little if any airplay. The records then sat for years, with a few surfacing here and there. This one came out of a collection we bought recently that was the remnants of a local radio station’s backstock, hundreds of discarded 45s, deemed not popular enough to be worth a damn, forgotten for almost 40 years, until they landed with us to revive them again. NOW FOR SALE
Listen to Train Ride Down Jasper Way:
Note: The B Side on this, the pop-pysch Working On The Road, was featured on the comp “Voyages Into Pop-Psych Vol. II”, and also on the internet radio station/website Technicolor Web of Sound.
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.
Justin has just posted a smallish but nice collection of what I dub the Happy Hippie LP Batch. Condition looks to be excellent on them. Mention “Happy Hippie” to Justin and get a discount on shipping.
I’m working on 200 classic rock LPs to go up Monday night. Mostly the classics - Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Clash, The Doors, ect…But as always there will be some rarities and odd balls mixed in, including the Triumverat - Illusions on a Double Dimple LP that Josh did a review on a year ago and still gets more hits than almost anything else on this blog.
I’m glad it does, because Josh is such a talented writer and it was great to have him write reviews for us for a while. He still drops by and leaves a comment every now and then - but he’s still busy gettin’ situated out in California these days. Josh and I actually went to high school together at Ann Arbor Huron but didn’t really know each other too well. Then I started picking up Current magazines mainly just to read Josh’s rock column every month. One day I emailed him and Justin and I met him for beers at the 8 Ball, downstairs from the Blind Pig bar in Ann Arbor. He wrote reviews for us and actually created the concept and beginning of this blog. We also hung out and became friends - so I was sad to see him move to California - but excited for him nevertheless.
Josh is a super great guy who is full of life and energy and is very knowledgable and enthusiastic about music. He is also an extremely talented writer and I am sure he’ll make a good name for himself in California as the cream always rises to the top.
Great article in the free press about Iggy and the Stooges playing Friday at the Fox Theatre in downtown Detroit, promoting their new The Weirdness album.
I wrote a blog a few months ago about this, if you want to read a few more tidbits about Iggy. Here’s a poster print for a concert at Farmington High School (slightly less awesome of a venue than the Fox) promoting their Funhouse album around 1970 (for sale in our store):
Iggy is a fascinating character. The Stooges/Iggy’s official website has photos of Iggy that always amaze me. How can someone who has abused his body for so long with drugs and alcohol look like that? And it’s the strangest thing, because his face looks like he’s 70, but he’s got the ripped body of a college athlete. I wonder what he does to keep fit like that? Or is is just natural, like he’s a rock star superhero?
And did you know that Iggy grew up in a trailer park in Ypsilanti? He’s right up there with Lee Osler as our most famous homegrown music stars. But I doubt Iggy has ever written a song about Ypsilanti, so Lee is still #1 in my book.
Justin and I met the lead singer for the garage psych band The Pastels from Battle Creek. We were over at his house about a year ago for a record buy when he told us about his band and gave us a few copies of the original 45s. He was a great guy - we sat around on that Saturday morning drinking coffee, listening to his stories and then digging through his massive record collection which took up a full room upstairs and then half of his basement. This copy resurfaced in another collection we bought recently. They recorded this 45 on the sought after West Michigan label Phalanx in 1966. It’s the classic Michigan garage sound of the 60s, organ and all, but The Pastels are a bit spookier than most. A really, really good 45, and a hidden gem among Michigan rock history.
Clip of .
Clip of
See the listing here.
This was recorded on the famous Detroit Hideout label, back when Ann Arbor’s Bob Seger was playing all the local bars around South East Michigan for his fellow teenagers. Another Michigan 60s garage classic.
See the listing here.
A great selection of 45s is up for bid right now: early rock n roll, rockabilly, garage, psych, plus rare Stones, Dylan, Beatles, Elvis, Zeppelin and more.
MoCity Music
jsREVIEW:
I’ll admit something that’s probably not the coolest touchstone for musical cred— I kinda like Huey Lewis and the News. And Was (Not Was) even when they were doing the cheesy r&b in the mid-’80s.
Because of that, I don’t feel all that ashamed of giving Domino a decent review for their four song EP, “Dirty” and “Confessions” b/w “Downtown Boy” and “Someday.” They have that Prince-meets-Huey Lewis sound that Was (Not Was) did, and their lead singer (it’s impossible to determine from the sleeve) really does sound like Sweetpea Atkins.
Is it great, timeless stuff? Nah. Will it bring a smile to your face? Yeah. Does it sound even better on 45? Yeah. Will you ever, ever have an opportunity to buy this album again? Nope.
jsREVIEW:
For some reason, the Stooges always get the nod when playing the “Godfathers of Punk” sweepstakes. I know, I know, I wanna be your dog too, but I’m not arguing against the Stooges, I’m arguing for the MC5.
Even though this single, being radio-ready, starts off with “Kick out the jams, brothers and sisters” rather than the better-known intro, it still shows how far away from the rest of the world Detroit was during the late ’60s. This is no Woodstock, no gentle psychedelia. This is raw, explosive blues rock that puts better-known folks like Cream and Led Zep to shame. Sure, they were virtuosos in a way that no one in the MC5 was, but “Kick Out The Jams” is the sound of a dual-pipe Mustang to their Aston Martin.
Recorded live, neither side is the picture of audio clarity, but when they sang “The Motor City’s burnin’, ain’t nothing no one can do,” they hit with with the kind of truth that left The Clash to pick up the aftershocks some ten years later. Vietnam, race riots, assassinations, SDS, it’s all here. Along with the slinky sex that comes from the rolling electric blues.
If there’s ever been one single that summed up Detroit rock, this is it. If there’s ever been an essential punk single, this is it. And if there’s ever been a rock album that still connects politically, this is it. Fucking, fighting, drugs and guitars. What more could you want?
