Singles Released This Week Years Ago

 

When I started this series, I didn't really have any great expectations as to which songs would appear on these pages. In the meantime, I really enjoy listening to these songs again after many years or even just watching the videos.

1972: At the height of glam rock, you can't get past Gary Glitter and I thought long and hard about whether I should give a pederast a forum.

1978: Warren Zevon released his masterpiece Werewolfes Of London

1979: Frank Zappa released Bobby Brown and his reckoning with the American dream so bluntly that it was banned in the United States.

1969: A Song from The Who's rock opera Tommy. Still nice watching Elton John playing pinball.

1965: A classic song by Them with the very young Van Morrison.

1970: The movie Easy Rider started when the when the main characters bought drugs for their journey and accompanied this with a song by Steppenwolf.

1965: Bob Dylan and a rare video

1962: A little bit of soul by Arthur Alexander. Willy DeVille made a fantastic cover of this song.

1979: The Pointer Sisters were successful with Bruce Springsteen's Fire. But I prefer the version by Robert Gordon with the great Chris Spedding on guitar.

1979: This year's one hit wonder

Oh Yeah

 

Dieter Meier, a Swiss conceptual artist, musician and entrepreneur, turns eighty today. Reason enough to honor his work, especially with Yello, a band formed in 1977 by Boris Blank and Carlos Peron. 

Legend has it that the two met in a car test lab to record engine noises to create songs. In their search for a voice to accompany their songs, they came across the professional gambler, painter and performance artist Dieter Meier, who was still playing in a band called The Assholes at the time. 

They released several songs on a Swiss indie label and Bostiche went through the roof in the United States in the early 80's and was played in many discotheques. On the following albums, they released classics of early electro-pop that became unmistakable thanks to Meier's spoken vocals.

Happy birthday, Dieter

Yello - Bostich

Yello - The Race

Yello - Oh Yeah

Monday's Long Song

 

In 2013, one of krautrock's most underrated bands returned with a new album. Agitation Free was founded in Berlin in 1967 and their instrumental improvisations were unusually long for the time. With an independent mixture of improvised rock paired with electro, ethno and trance elements, they found a large fan base.

After splitting up in the seventies, they released a new album, Momentum, 24 years later. Even after these years, the album is characterised by guitars that shimmer through time and space. Momentum is no longer as experimental as it once was, but it is still powerful and full of rhythmic and melodic beauty. Sometimes the songs are reminiscent of the best times of Steve Hillage and Kraan, which can't be a bad thing.

Agitation Free - InDaJungle

New Song On Sunday

 

This week didn't show much of new releases that are worth to be featured at this place. I listened a lot to Dub Syndicate's latest releases the recent days and to Antoine Harispuru's latest release as Golden Bug. It is a new collaboration with In Fields (sadly I couldn't find more information that it is another electronic musician). It's a combination of Golden Bug's electronic adventures in electronic house and In Fields dark sounds. A pulsating piece of music with many twists and turns. 

Saturday Three

 

This week's bundle of songs starts with a classic by the early Elton John and shows how great he was in these days and had more to give than weird outfits.

Graham Parker is another artist I loved in my younger days until punk and new wave changed everything.

We finish with a pop song by Chicago when they were already on the decline musically.

Peek A Boo

 

No, this not about the song with the same name by Siouxsie and the Banshees. It is my favorite track from the new album by Pretty Lightning, a band from Saarbrücken, Germany. Christian Berghoff and Sebastian Haas built the duo that moves since a couple of years between psychedelic blues, fuzz and jangle pop.

Now they released their second instrumental album. They describe the album as an imaginary walk through a dark and mysterious wood where can hear the sound of 60's psyche, krautrock, delta-blues and drone. Sometimes the beauty of the soundtrack from Paris, Texas and Ry Cooder shimmers through their songs.

Singles Released This Week Years Ago

 

Another look back at remarkable publications from the last few decades.

1996 Bob Dylan's son Jakob appeared on the scene with his band The Wallflowers. His song were massive influenced by Springsteen and Tom Petty and rather successful.

In 1965 the Rolling Stones released one of my favorite songs by them.

1996 also saw the rise of Alanis Morrisette and her debut album climbed high in the charts.

1995: I always liked this song by Tom Petty and the video as well.

1973: Dr. John brought us the gris-gris sound. Swamp blues at it's best.

1992: Nirvana released their classic Come As You Are.