VIDEOWAVE MONITOR: Video Reviews [from 1983]

Text by Alan Abramowitz / © FFanzeen fanzine, 1983
Introduction © Robert Barry Francos / FFanzeen, 2015
Images from the Internet

This review was originally printed in FFanzeen, issue #13, dated 1983. It was written by Alan Abramowitz, who produced the cable access show Videowave. You can see many clips of the show from over the years on YouTube. Occasionally it is still taping. They had so many amazing guests over the years that it is hard to pick just a few. The show’s slogan was “Before you heard about it, it was on Videowave.” And for good reason.

Note that Alan was given free reign over what he wanted to write about, and our tastes overlap, but are definitely different.  The videos are included where available, usually from YouTube. We own no rights to the music or video, and we do not advertise on our site, so this is merely promotional, for you into legalese.  – RBF, 2015

I dare you to watch MTV, Friday Night Videos, Hot Tracks, Top-40 Videos, etc. What started out as a good idea is like most successes – it’s getting abused or Velvet Jones-ed to death [reference to an Eddie Murphy character on Saturday Night Live that was overplayed; now they would say he “jumped the shark.” – RBF, 2015]. I really can’t believe they’re still pushing “Billy Jean” [Michael Jackson – RBF, 2015] on Hot Tracks. Find some other “black” videos for goodness sake. Put on Tyrone Brunson or some other ignored video.

Leave it to “Big Business” to screw up. The land of music videos. They’re spitting out mediocre-to-miserable videos faster than Ford could assemble a Model-T. The Almighty Dollar (the real symbol of America) is being looked up to in reverence (God, liberty, ideals, fun, cheese in dog food) while the quality of good music videos are deteriorating rapidly. These crummy videos are pervading video shows. They show evidence of being made merely to attract the eye; commercial style with bad sit-com plots.

Meanwhile, the British videos, which have captured the eyes of youthful music TV pioneers, are being ignored. There, more quality is paid to how it’s done, obviously, in a time span lengthier than American videos. But in the rush to sell albums, American record companies have been turning out MOR, heavy metal, and new wave disco videos at an alarming pace, without regard to plot, viewer intellect, song/video compatibility, originality, etc. But does America make good videos? Sometimes. Underground band sand video artists are making videos that are fun to watch, even after the 15th viewing. The following are a sampling of American, British, and independent music videos.

Billy & the Buttons – Whole Fam Damly (independent)

Here are two videos in a row done in an amateur way with amateur, but courageous techniques (video directors in NY & LA take note!). “WFD” is a tale of a girl bringing home a boy to meet her family. Good editing tells the story well. A plain song/video tactic that’s so rare, that this is refreshing. Good punchline, too.

Billy & the Buttons – Want Want (independent)

This shows us to what lengths a guy will go to get his girl back. This looney-gooney video betrays its roots. Pop images with backyard humor: dogs with police hats, the suitor in a Pythonesque priest costume, and the cat-impersonation (love it!) make this a garage band’s garage video. It’s irreverence for the final product makes this funny without Hollywood pretense.

Jim Carroll Band – Sweet Jane (Danspak Co-Directions)

Travel the Game of Life with the Jim Carroll Band. Obviously, Jim Carroll, being an anti-video rock’n’roller, only settles for the very best when making a music video. Like “Imitations,” by Strange Party (see below), this one is by Merrill Aldighieri and Joe Tripician [they were also interviewed on Videwave – RBF 2015]. And like that one, it is unjustly under-publicized. Quick-paced editing (always a plus) with pixilation move the video at a breathtaking pace. Performance shots were done at CBGB’s. Lou Reed also does a special cameo appearance. [This is a Lou Reed cover, for those few who don’t know; also noteworthy is Lenny Kaye, front and off-center, whose own underrated band, The Lenny Kaye Connection, backed Carroll – RBF, 2015].

Chesterfield Kings – 99th Floor (Living Eye Productions)
Well done independent video. I love the psychedelic graphics, the go-go girl, the film animation (along with cut-outs of band members!), all cut between a lip-synch performance. The black & white images evoke clips from Shindig or Hullaballoo. Imagine if they were signed to a major label! [This is a cover by the garage band The Moving Sidewalks – RBF, 2015]

Chesterfield Kings – She Told Me Lies (Living Eye Productions)

If they showed this on MTV, they would be besieged by calls. A lot of work went into this. This video is made up entirely of sequential pixilations of photographs – some colored, some not. It’s heavily influenced by the Beatles movies directed by Richard Lester. See it if you can!

Dead Or Alive – That’s the Way (I Like It) (Epic)

Yes, it’s the KC & the Sunshine Band song, done in an entirely new interpretation. Filmed in the locker room of London’s Arsenal Football (Soccer) Club, it features the British Body Building Association’s female weightlifting champs in this performance of sex reversal and androgyny. The sensual, long-haired singer [transgender Pete Burns – RBF, 2015] starts out by losing an arm wrestle with a demure young lad. Extolling the beauty of female bodybuilders alongside the unisex a la Boy George, it shows sexuality isn’t restricted to Victorian sex role models. Dead Or Alive evokes a macho version of the male/female depolarization that Culture Club first brought to America last year.

 

Heaven 17 – Temptation (Arista)
This one should be nominated for best performance by a group in a video. Ditto for improvisation. While 3 Ministers (Heaven 17) warn us of the evils of temptation, a naïve girl (played by Karol Kenyon) is lured into a new decadent identity by a sleazy character (Glen Gregory of the band). Angled shots, theatrical sets, and lighting symbolically represent the struggle in all of us between good and evil deeds. Kenyon’s beautiful soul vocals make this a video, again, under-publicized.
[Many life versions available, but the only music video as Alan describes is shown backwards – RBF, 2015]

Lederknocken – Amok (Island)

This really should not be categorized as a music video. It’s an avant-garde film posing as a music video. However, it’s distributed as one, therefore I’ll review it. This vide0/film is a montage with etched-in optical effects. If I knew German I could tell you what the words mean. From West Germany, it deals with chaos (punk chaos). A general rebellion against standardized forms. It ridicules society’s values and contradictions, which explain the porn images. And the girl barking to “Shake Your Booty.”

 

Psychedelic Furs – The Ghost in You (Columbia)

Once again the video has nothing to do with the song. Lead singer (Richard) Butler poses in front of a mirror and performs with his band while some animation resembling Mirage video animation is superimposed over the band. Great care has gone into this performance. Muted colors are used in the colored ball (Mirage imitations). What it has to do with the song, I’ll never know, even though I like the song.

 

Bruce Springsteen – Dancing in the Dark (Sire)
It’s a freak! [That’s a reference to an SCTV sketch – RBF, 2015] Here’s a performance video by someone they were calling Uncle Brucie a couple of years ago. True, he’s an apostle of rock’n’roll, but I never cared for the likes of songwriters who can’t sing (e.g., Dylan, Knopfler). When I first heard Springsteen’s “Born to Run,” I felt it was good, but I don’t like it. Ditto for “Born in the U.S.A.”; except for “Dancing in the Dark.” Why I like the song probably has to do with the fact that I was enthralled by the video first. It’s a Brian DePalma production that didn’t rip off Hitchcock or anyone else (it’s too simple to do). Its driving beat guides the song. Springsteen’s facial expression and paced movements tell us the song. He’s narrating the dilemma. DePalma’s editing pace never lets our attention drop. Every scene shows everyone hang a good time listening (grooving) to this tale of identity crisis in a young man. When he picks a girl [Courtney Cox in the role that first made her famous – RBF, 2015] out of the audience, it seems farthest from the actuality of being staged (I recognized the girl from a NYNEX commercial). Zoom back to see Springsteen and the girl dancing. An excellent (so what if it was staged) video that may actually compel me to go out and buy a Springsteen record (the single, of course). And that’s what it’s all about.

 

Strange Party – Imitators (Danspak Co-Productions)
Probably the best independent video I’ve seen this year. Film and film animation transferred onto video and edited with squeeze-zoom-type effects. Makes this surrealistic video one Salvador Dali would be proud of. Ann Magnuson and Joey Arias [both of whom were interviewed individually on Videowave – RBF, 2015] recreate their pop image performance as Edie Sedgwick and Andy Warhol. Kudos to Go-Directions for a video that Music Television missed again (can Twisted Sister really be American’s answer to music?).

 

The The  – This is the Day (Epic)

Keying is the key. The video uses the elementary special effect of keying over of images. You can’t tell whether the person in the scene is actually part of it or was simply superimposed over it. Advances in video technology have eliminated the familiar video noise surrounding keyed images. Vocalist Matt Johnson walks from one scene to the next, fading out from time to time, while his accompanying accordionist follows him when his cue is up. Never has a simple effect been used imaginatively without being Velvet Jones-ed to death. [Could it be said that Alan is Velvet Jones-ing the Velvet Jones reference? – RBF, 2015]

 

T-Venus – Dragging the Bottom (Independent)
Julia Heyward [yes, also interviewed at some point on Videowave – RBF, 2015] certainly doesn’t drag the bottom in this metaphorical tale of love caught in the undertow. Underwater shots of wildlife, Julia, Pat Irwin (of the Raybeats fame), organic forms of trees, ferns present a fun post-30 search for serious love. A great song underscores this great music video. Dissolves and keying make this watery tale of mud so much fun to watch. I especially love the last scene in which Julia supers her lips over a still image of herself.

 

X-Teens  – Change Gotta Come (Dolphin)
This video received “light rotation” (if at all) from MTV. My eyes lift up to heaven in wonderment for this one. It’s a great spoof of Raiders of the Lost Ark and other serial adventure shows (e.g., Hope & Crosby road movies). However, the song concerns a cry for the lost morals of the ‘60s (“What ever happened to the Love Generations?!”). My test for a great video is if it gets better with repeated viewings. This passes. MTV deep-sixed it. Why? Why?!

Interview: Night of THE TROGGS [1978]

Text by Todd Abramson / FFanzeen fanzine, 1978
Introduction © Robert Barry Francos / FFanzeen, 2015
Images from the Internet

This interview was originally printed in FFanzeen, issue #3, dated Winter / Spring 1978-79. It was written by Todd Abramson, who published the Young, Fast and Scientific fanzine. Todd was pretty young when he wrote this piece, and I’m going to guess that his tastes are a bit wider, though I haven’t talked to him since the early ‘80s. He also went on to book some clubs, and become part owner / booker of the late and missed Maxwell’s, in Hoboken, N.J. He now books Jersey City’s White Eagle Hall, and is also a radio DJ at WFMU, the coolest radio station in, well, anywhere.

When The Troggs played Max’s Kansas City in 1978, as Todd describes below, it was an amazing show. The Fast were the opening act, and they were both in top form. While the band had many hits, “Wild Thing” is probably with what is most identified, and at one time, there was hardly a band that did not start off by learning that song. But Todd does a great job explaining their history, so I’ll leave it to him. The Troggs lead singer, Reg Presley, died in February, 2013, at age 71.

This interview is listed as “Continued next issue,” but for some reason I no longer remember, it was not. – RBF, 2015

Due to the enormous amount of the great music made in the 1960s, both here and abroad, a tremendous number of fab gear ravers did not get the recognition / riches they deserved. The Troggs fared better than most in this respect, making great music and coming up with some legendary world-wide smashes (you know the ones) at the same time.

What separates The Troggs from other great ‘60s bands is pretty clear: most of the great American punk bands of the ‘60s ended up dissolving for various reasons (the major one being disregard by their fans who turned into Sgt. Pepper’s zombies or something). Their last recorded work usually doubles as their worst (Elevators, Sonics, etc.). Even the immortal Trashmen ended up in the disposal bin.

On the other hand, the great U.K. ‘60s groups for the most part continued on in one form or another. None of them, however, stayed true to their roots, and while some of their later recorded work is quite good, none of it comes close to their original fire; and a lot of it is trash (don’t pick it up). The worst offenders in this group are pretty obvious – The Stooges, Beatles, The Who, Kinks, Pretty Things, and Small Faces, via the Faces and Humble Pie.

The Troggs stand apart as never having sacrificed any of their original vitality. If you saw them on Bowie’s Midnight Special (in ’73 or so [November 16, 1973 – RBF, 2015]), you know what I’m talking about. “Strange Movies,” a 45 released in 1972, is the equal of any of their previous work and the two LPs from ’75 and ’76 (The Troggs and The Trogg Tapes, respectively) are much better than almost anything else released at the time, especially the former, which included the great “Summertime,” an original in the classic Troggs tradition (i.e., it’s full of sex).

In June of 1978, the Troggs came back to America for some gigs, included some at Max’s Kansas City. Recordings were made for a “Live at Max’s LP, which may or may not come out [it was released in 1981 – RBF, 2015]. They were still better than 95% of the bands playing Max’s and their set included “Strange Movies,” “Wild Thing,” “I Can’t Control Myself,” “Feels Like a Woman,” and a fantastic “Louie, Louie,” which undoubtedly proved The Troggs were still up there among the best.

This interview was done between the first and second sets, their second night in New York. For anyone interested in The Troggs (which should be everybody with a copy of this mag), Sire has a great Vintage Years sampler, a two-record set with all their hits and many rare cuts, which can be purchased for $4 or so.

Go, man, go and start boppin’ and shakin’! After all – The Troggs make everything groovy!!!

FFanzeen: Were you guys into Chuck Berry, et al., before The Stones came around?

Reg Presley (vocals): We got all the old R&B records from Slim Harpo and those guys, and we were doin’ them, but The Stones took off about a year, two years before we did. Shame, we might’ve beat ‘em to it. Shame really [laughter]. First come, first served.

FFanzeen: What do you think of the modern day Stones and Kinks?

Reg: I haven’t actually seen them in a long time, so I can’t voice any opinion, but I’m beginning to like The Stones’ new record, though I haven’t heard it much here [referring to Some Girls – TA, 1978]. They’ll probably go on forever.

FFanzeen: Do you know why The Troggs are so popular in South Africa?

Reg: Because we’ve had hits there that were banned in England. A long time ago when The Beatles said they were bigger than God, y’know, had a bigger following than Jesus Christ, which at the time they may have been right [laughter], but at the time, the South Africans took offense of that and they just banned all Beatle records. At that time, we were pretty strong in there, and they took over. When we released albums, they took numbers from our albums, and one of our numbers that we thought was a pile of shit, called “Little Red Donkey,” went Number One in South Africa for seventeen weeks. They actually had to change the chart system because it kept on going and nobody else got a turn.

FFanzeen: What was the first song The Troggs played together?

Reg: The first was a number called “Lost Girl.”

FFanzeen: Was the Bowie Midnight Special with your performance ever telecast outside the U.S. (great versions of “Wild Thing,” “I Can’t Control Myself “and “Strange Movies”)?

Reg: No, I didn’t see the finished show. Bowie asked us to do the show and he was all day doin’ his five numbers and he left us an hour at the end to do three numbers. We had to do these three numbers in an hour; God, it was a nightmare, y’know.

FFanzeen: Do you like any of the bands considered to be “New Wave”?

Reg: Ya know, they don’t get played too much on English radio. BBC again. So I buy records I haven’t heard. Now my kids are starting to buy them. Still, they’re learning my kids how to swear properly [laughter].

FFanzeen: Maybe your kids’ records’ll be banned too, someday. Was Bo Diddley a big influence?

Reg: Well, anybody that was there before ’62; all the old R&B had a big impression. All the acts: The Kinks, The Stones, even The Beatles I think, but not so much, and I know they had a big effect on me. The first time I was introduced to R&B, that was it, I knew it was the music.

FFanzeen: Can you guys get airplay on the BBC now?

Reg: We could, but we’d have to make such a pretty, pretty number for them; we wouldn’t want to do it anyhow, and every time we do something that’s raw and meaty and has a bit of lyrical meaning of today [? – TA, 1978], ya know, they ban it.

FFanzeen: Was “Love is All Around” written ‘cause that’s the way you felt at the time?

Reg: Well, the San Francisco love power, y’know, flower power and everything had come. It was a feeling at the time; I mean everybody all through time had gone through these feelings and it hit us just the same. It just came out. In fact, watching a religious program. Not intentionally, but on a Sunday afternoon in England, it just came to me. I wrote that in about ten minutes. It’s unbelievable. All the very big hits I’ve written, very quick, and the ones that took three months to write… nowhere.

FFanzeen: Whaddya think of the Vintage Years compilation? Were you pleased with the tracks they put on it?

Reg: Um, Yeah, I think it was a good overall picture; the thing I like even better than that came out on DJM with all the numbers on the first LP.

FFanzeen: Contrasts?

Reg: That had all the heavies on one side and the light stuff on the other side.

FFanzeen: I can never decide which is better (The Troggs rockers or ballads). Whichever sort of mood you’re in, I guess.

Reg: It all depends what climate you’re in, too.

 

 

 

DVD Review: Ian Hunter Band feat. Mick Ronson, Live at Rockpalast 1980

Text © Robert Barry Francos / FFanzeen, 2015
Images from the Internet

Ian Hunter Band feat. Mick Ronson, Live at Rockpalast 1980

Directed by Christian Wagner
MIG / WDR
74 min, 1980 / 2011 / 2012
www.MIG-music.de
www.MVDvisual.com

Call me crazy, but I always thought of Ian Hunter’s infamous Mott the Hoople as the British version of the MC5. After he left the band, well, if you’ve ever had the chance to hear Mott, you know just how sorely he was missed. I saw Mott open for Sparks at Avery Fischer Hall in the mid-1970s and, well, it’s not a good memory.

Guitarist extraordinaire Mick Ronson, who died in 1993 of cancer, first came to the consciousness of the US through his work with Bowie’s Spiders of Mars. I still remember seeing the ginormous billboard promote his solo LP, Slaughter on 10th Avenue in Times Square in the ‘70s (I have a picture of it somewhere). When he joined up with Mott, both he and Hunter soon left to live in New York City and continue their collaboration.

When introduced by the emcee for this performance at Grugahalle, in Essen, Germany, on April 20, 1980 (Adolph’s birthday, FYI), I find it kind of funny that these two Brits are invoked as a New York band. This is part of the same tour that gave the world Hunter’s Welcome to the Club live double LP; in fact, the playlist is extremely similar. The one major difference, I’m sorry to say, is that there is no Ellen Foley, who often backed up Hunter and Ronson. Other than that, the band is the same.

After a brief instrumental of “F.B.I.”, Hunter strolls out with his guitar and after saying hello in German, the band lays into ”Once Bitten, Twice Shy,” a hit from his eponymous first solo release. They show they are there to take care of business. As with many of his songs of the period, they are a bit rough and yet poppy, and have enormous hooks that are just shy of stadium rock stature.

Hunter never had a “perfect” voice, which makes it all the more charming in its uniqueness. You can recognize it instantly, and not just because of the ever present accent. He also seems quite at ease on the stage as he continues on covering key songs from his solo LPs and some – but not much – Hoople material.

A stand-out song right at the beginning is the underrated Sonny Bono sans-Cher song, “Laugh at Me.” It’s the first time Ronson joins in with his vocals, as he shares a mic with Hunter for the first few stanzas of the instantly identifiable, round-chording of the eventually Republican Scientologist Bono (d. 1998; he would have been 80 this year).

After the ballad “Irene Wilde” where Hunter trade his guitar for a piano, he hooks up again to cover the Hoople’s grinder, “I Wish I Was Your Mother,” with Ronson on mandolin. On this one, Hunter has a sort of Dylan-esque patter to his voice.

But he picks it up again with the rousing jailhouse themed “Just Another Night,” including a stint of standing in the audience – next of a seemingly very nervous cameraman – as the crowd chants the title over and over, fed by the band holding up the words in German. This is followed by the first song that sounds like the ‘80s, “We Gotta Get Out of Here,” as it is drenched in a synth sound; it’s a tone I’m not particularly fond of, but the upbeat pace saves it on some level.

They redeem themselves with the lengthy, hard-hitting and mean spirited “Bastard,” which always reminded me of the song “For the Hell of It” from Phantom of the Paradise (1974). Also, they return to form with “All the Way from Memphis,” a rousing Hoople number where Hunter and Ronson trade complimentary guitar licks. I also find it amusing that the song “Cleveland Rocks” had such a strong second life with The Drew Carey Show. It really is a fun piece of fluff, and the band here rocks it up with no mercy.

For the encore, we get treated to the two leads’ biggest hits, Hunter’s “All the Young Dudes” and Ronson’s instrumental “Slaughter on 10th Avenue.” For me, these were possibly the least fave songs on the DVD, because, well, I’ve never been a fan of those two particular numbers. So much of the other material here is far superior. In my meager opinion, the only reason “Dudes” was as popular as it was is because it was written by the Thin White Duke, rather than the quality of the actual song.

The sound here, as with most of this series, is quite crisp, as is the visuals. However, there is some visual “noise” occasionally, seen as lines across the screen that crop up here and there. It’s a common effect from transferring from PAL to a non-European format. Still, it’s (a) not often or intrusive enough to ruin the experience, and (b) the quality of the music makes it worth it. The only extras are some 30-second trailers of other Rockpalast releases, the song list, a really nice booklet filled with black and white photos of the show, and technical information (i.e., credits). Note that this is also available as a CD, and I’m going to venture to guess it’s also obtainable in digital form.

Most of the band is dressed in stage clothes that represent more of the New Wave, with guitarist Tom Morrongiello’s curly mullet and black and white tiger-striped top (and sunglasses, of course), or another member in a black leather jacket that’s more Michael Jackson than Ramones, all of which would be outdated very shortly. Hunter, of course, wears what has become his signature outfit: white shoes, gray suit and white shirt with extended collars and loosened tie, sunglasses, and his big perm (which I’d have to be convinced that it’s not a wig).

As over-indulgent music grabbed hold of the ‘80s, many British vocalists would strike out on their own and have overbloated hits, such as Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” or Phil Collins’…well, everything. Just about the only one who rose above all that clamor, in my humble opinion, was Hunter with his “All of the Good Ones Are Taken,” which is sadly not included here because it would not be released for another three years after this show.

For a guy who is 41 years old at the time this was recorded (he’s 76 now), Hunter put together a great show for this concert. And we, the audience, are the lucky for it.

Band:

Ian Hunter: vox / guitar / keyboards
Mick Ronson: guitar / vox
Tom Morrongiello: guitar
Martin Briley: bass
George Meyer: keyboards / saxophone
Tom Mandel: keyboards
Eric Parker: drums

Song List:

FBI
Once Bitten Twice Shy
Angeline
Laugh at Me
Irene Wilde
I Wish I Was Your Mother
Just Another Night
We Gotta Get Out of Here
Bastard
All the Way from Memphis
Cleveland Rocks
Encore:
All the Young Dude
Slaughter on 10th Avenue

 

Bonus No. 1 unconnected video:

 

Bonus No. 2 unconnected video:

DVD Review: Brian Wilson – Songwriter 1969-1982

Text © Robert Barry Francos / FFanzeen, 2015
Images from the Internet

Brian Wilson: Songwriter 1969-1982 (aka Brian Wilson: The Next Stage­)

Executive Producer: Rob Johnstone
Narrated by Thomas Arnold
Sexy Intellectual Films / Prism Films / Chrome Dreams Media
134 minutes, 2012
www.chromedreams.co.uk
www.mvdvisual.com

One could argue that by 1968, Brian Wilson, the genius behind the Beach Boys, Jan & Dean, and many others, was finished as a driving force., For example, he was in a series of recurring mental distress situations, his masterpiece Smile LP didn’t see the light of day for decades, and the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band had (allegedly) stolen the thunder of the creativity of that album by coming up with their own version of the studio-as-musician technical centerpiece – and that one was while the Beach Boy’s Capitol Records wouldn’t even acknowledge Smile (though bootleg versions were plentiful, especially to other musicians).

This British documentary, put out by the Chrome Dreams organization, focuses its laser beam on some of the darker years of Wilson’s career as a first-wave Beach Boy, which is good because other than a true Wilson devotee, the casual fan (such as myself) is most likely not familiar with this period. The earlier companion documentary to this, Brian Wilson: Songwriter 1962-1968, had previously been reviewed in this blog HERE.

After a very brief introduction to the Beach Boys (BB) to help the viewer catch up, it starts in earnest with the pressures Brian was under in the mid-‘60s, including constant pressure from Capitol to produce hits, and from the BB to not vary much from the formula – especially from co-vocalist/songwriter Mike Love, who was both important and a bit toxic (in my opinion) to the band, and to Brian specifically. His constant demand for the same-old-same-old caused Brian’s mid-1960s writing partner, Van Dyke Parks, to leave. Brian was interested in art; the band, with Love as its spokesperson, wanted them to be an “entertainer,” according to the film. All of it, including some heavy drug use, affected Brian to where he infamously retreated to his bed. For years.

Yet, he still managed to get his feet enough to help after a couple of disastrous LPs without him. “Let’s Do It Again,” as the film points out, is a mixture of the old BB sound and the vibe of “now” with compressed drum sounds and studio work by chief engineer Stephen Desper, who would support them in1968-71.This is a role Brian had done, mostly, and now Desper added some freshness.

Building a studio inside Brian’s house didn’t even bring him to the production table, as it were. Carl became in-charge as far as head of the studio production, which lead to a song which was a hit more in Europe than in the US, and is still one of my faves of the BB in general, “I Can Head Music.” Now, what irked me in the film is that the credit for the song is given to Phil Spector. Scuze me, but that is totally inaccurate. Yes, Spector got his name on the writing credit through his studio work, and greed to make money as co-author (this was a common trick dating back as far as the origins of rock and roll). But I have no doubt in my mind that this is an Ellie Greenwich song, written with her then-hubby, Jeff “Who Put the Bomp” Barry. While they mention Spector here, Barry/Greenwich are left on the roadside. That’s like saying the first issue of Punk magazine was written by Lou Reed.

There are a lot of interesting tidbits (of course I won’t say most of them, so no spoilers, per se, even though it is history rather than fiction), such has their connection with Brother Records after Capitol gave up on them, which is no surprise since they (a) were not selling as much product, and (b) the BB had sued the company for royalties. Twice.

As I said earlier, as a casual fan, there was so much from this period of which I was ignorant, such as Brian’s beautiful collaborations with poet Stephen Kalinich. While these recordings didn’t go anywhere, it did get him reconnected with the BB, when they signed with Reprise. This mix led to both hits and disappointments.

The films digests some of Brian’s songs by breaking down meaning in both lyric and music, sometimes fought against by both the record company and co-BB members.

Almost half way through is when the story really goes into a black hole of information for me, and I found it most refreshing for details, including his collaborations with the likes of the group American Spring and Randy Newman.

Another event that the documentary nails right on is the importance of the 1973 George Lucas film American Graffiti. This led to a wave of nostalgia for the early periods of rock and roll, including the play Grease and the television show “Happy Days.” Thanks to the wise move of their record company, the BB’s songs were compiled into an enormous selling two-record set of their hits called Endless Summer. I still remember how big it was when it came out (and yes, I have a copy that I got for a buck at a garage sale about 10 years later). This elevated the Beach Boys from trying to cope with the counterculture to becoming an All American Band and greatest hits live band. As one writer states in the film, the main set list was created at that point and remains to this day, with some exceptions (i.e., newer singles).

Under the care of Dr. Eugene Landy (d. 2006), Brian uncomfortably rejoined the BB on tour in the mid-‘70s. Landy’s influence on Brian is legendary, especially in part due to a cover story in Rolling Stone by David Felton, one of the few writers talking here that actually tells first-person anecdotes about Brian and his Landy relationship. This first time around, Landy didn’t last too long. The Landy Redux was another story.

After Landy I, Brian seemed to get better and put out what was basically a solo LP, The Beach Boys Love You, containing strange songs. While Brian kept up with some writing, his career as the preeminent Beach Boy creator was at an end by the 1980s, when the BB became associated with the Reagan administration due to their playing an infamous concert, and as the documentary points out, they were rebranded as “America’s Band.” The BB members had now reached the descriptor of middle aged white America.

The DVD leaves off with Landy II, when he comes back into the picture in the early ‘80s. As someone says here, “He saved Brian’s life, and then nearly killed him again.” What isn’t said is that the BB, sans Brian, would have a few more hits into the late ‘80s, including “Rock and Roll to the Rescue,” a cover of “California Dreaming” (in which John and Michelle Phillips appear in the song’s video), and the obnoxious (in my opinion) and omnipresent to this day “Kokomo,” all written in part by Mike Love.

The film has quite a few clips of their music (again, nothing longer than 30 seconds or so), but not much live. Sure, they’re shown on television shows, but mostly lip syncing; however, two of Brian’s infamous performances on Saturday Night Live in 1976 are shown (in part). This film is much more into the stills, BB as b-roll, and interviews with friends, co-workers (studio engineers, their manager for the early ‘70s Fred Vail, etc.), fellow musicians (amazing drummer Hal Blaine of the Wrecking Crew, who didn’t do much with the BB by the time period the doc starts) and collaborators (Kalinich), friends (Mark Volman, of the Turtles/Flo & Eddie), and the lone BB who appears, Bruce Johnston, to name a few. There are also the journalists who wrote bios of the band, who conjecture second-hand stories. Some of the people I would have loved to have seen would be Brian’s daughters Carnie and Wendy, Parks Van Dyke, and/or Carol Kaye (bassist for the Wrecking Crew; even though she despise that name, it does help shorthand a particular group)

Speaking of video clips, it’s interesting to watch Mike Love as he slowly turns over time from balding BB to a reaaaaally creepy looking Manson-like almost zombie, staring weirdly at the camera, especially in the early ‘70s segments. Brrrrrr.

The extras are some text about all the contributors (musicians, authors, etc.), and three featurettes (which are essentially interesting outtakes). The first one is the 5:11 “Philip Lambert Behind the Music.” Author / biographer Lambert discusses Brian’s technique via a piano on a couple of songs, such as “Do It Again,” a hit from the 20/20 album. The next is the 6:47 “Out of Bed: The Man Behind the Myth,” where a trio of his producers David Sandler, Earl Mankey and Stephen Desper, discuss how Brian was both creative and had a sense of humor “second only to Dennis.” The last is the 6:12 “Brian Goes Country! The Abandoned Fred Vail Album,” in which their ex-manager, talks about another lost Beach Boy albums, Cows Come Home to Pasture in 1970, before the Sunflower LP.

Part of Brian’s genius was that he was so wounded, which would, in the words of Monk, be a blessing, and a curse. This documentary covers that period pretty well. It could almost be part of their “Under Review” series, as the discussion leans towards not only Brian as a person, but an examinaiton detailing parts of his songs, and what makes them different from everything else; in other words, Brian’s genius.

 

David Johansen: Showdown at 14th Street & Success Blvd. [1981]

Text by Alvin Eng / FFanzeen, 1981
Introduction © Robert Barry Francos / FFanzeen, 2015
Images from the Internet

David Johansen is more than a cult musician, he is both an icon of underground denizens and a hero to most of the respected musical artists on rock / punk / blues scenes, especially those over the age of 30. As if his tenure as the vocalist / harmonicist of the New York Dolls wasn’t enough, there are probably multitudes more who know him as his alter ego, the bluesy Buster Poindexter. The origins of Poindexter can certainly be found towards the end of this interview. When this took place, he was in a solo career between the Dolls and Buster.

But here is a story about Johansen that isn’t about him directly: In 1979 or ’80, when I was 24 years old, I was working as an usher at a movie house in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, called the Alpine. Occasionally, I would go diagonally across the street and have a sandwich at a corner luncheonette. One day I was there by myself, eating and reading a paperback titled Billy Lives, by Gary Brandner. It’s a cynical story about a dead rock star and how his death was marketed. In the edition I had (and the reason I bought it in the first place), the front of the book was a bad illustration of the New York Dolls, even though they had nothing to do with the story.

So I was sitting at the counter, and a middle aged woman turned to me and said, “Excuse me, is that David Johansen on the cover of that book?” Remember this is 1979 or so, and I said, of course, “Yeah!” She said, “My daughter used to date him years ago, when he still lived on Staten Island.” I don’t remember if there was any more of the conversation, but it seemed so incongruous to me then.

The first time I saw Johansen play was one of the last Dolls shows, which was at On the Rocks on November 4, 1976, sharing a bill with the Brats. Johnny Thunders and Jerry Nolan had already left the band. There were a couple of other times I saw him perform, including at Johnny Thunders’ Memorial Show at the Marquee in 1991. The last time was an invitation-only show of the reformed Dolls at Tower Records in 2006 to celebrate the release of their One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This LP.

This interview was originally published in FFanzeen, issue #8, dated 1981. It was written by mega-Dolls fan Alvin Eng. – RBF, 2015

America and art make strange bedfellows. Most often than not it is finesse which makes art fine art; however, the star spangled approach often balks on finesse diverting to excessive sweat and struggles to assimilate the mold. David Johansen is one performer with a genuine care for his art that is totally void of the stars and stripes syndrome plaguing many of his peers. From perfecting perplexed pouts with the New York Dolls to redefining style on his own, Johansen remains the rag doll who can make magic out of seemingly worthless scraps. Just witness the verve in which he’ll transform a tattered hat into an ideal stage piece by carefully tilting it on his head with the right grin to match.

The following interview took place June 25, 1981, at the “fabulous” Malibu club shortly after his third solo LP, Here Comes the Night, was released. This album promises to end the popularity crisis In Style and David Johansen couldn’t. Whether Johansen becomes a national star or a national “cult” figure, he’ll continue to be one of the most inimitable singer / songwriter / showmen of our time. Before getting “too flashy or neat,” let’s proceed.

FFanzeen: Well, it’s been a year since we last saw you. What have you been up to?

David Johansen: This is like the Barbara Walters show. Well, what have I been up to in the past year, besides procrastinating?

FFanzeen: Well, I’ll start you off. What became of the video, Thau in Love that you’ve been working on [I can find no record of it ever being released. – RBF, 2015].

David: Maybe we’re gonna try and show it on TV, and maybe clubs. We don’t know what we’re gonna do with it yet.

FFanzeen: Did it involve your script only, or is there music too?

David: Yeah, music and new songs, and I directed it.

FFanzeen: I understand (comedian) David Street of Natasha’s [clothing store on St. Marks Place run by Natasha Adonzio during the 1970s-80s – RBF, 2015] is in it.

David: The thing isn’t finished yet so we don’t know who’s gonna be in it. But we have a lot of film on a lot of people.

FFanzeen: Have we seen the last of you, Syl Sylvain and Elliot Murphy as the French Ticklers?

David: I think so. You know what happened with that was we were just gonna play and it would be a normal night at Tramps with our friends there, and stuff like that. So they said, “OK, open up for this group called the Fabulous Thunderbirds,” and I never heard of them, so I figure who gives a shit? We got there and it turns out this is a very popular group and there was all these people there to see ‘em. And we came on and they didn’t want to see us at all. We had to do two sets, and we were breaking strings and fuckin’ up all the songs because we hardly even practiced.

FFanzeen: Rolling Stone got a hold of this and said it was great.

David: They probably weren’t there.

FFanzeen: Also, last year, you appeared on Garland Jeffrey’s Escape Artist.

David: I think I did. A lot of people tell me that.

FFanzeen: I think you’re on “Innocent,” the low voice saying, “We’ll let you go this time.”

David: Oh-oh-oh, it’s all coming back to me; that’s the one. (In a deep, judicial voice) 400 years for you!

FFanzeen: Have you known Garland a long time?

David: Well, he lives on my block.

FFanzeen: Your only release last year was “Flowers of the City” for the Times Square soundtrack.

David: That was the last one with the other guys. We did that one for Stigwood and he paid us handsomely for it, so I didn’t have to work for a few months. So I took that opportunity to –

FFanzeen: – Fuck around and hit the beach?

David: Yeah, I did that, but I also took that opportunity to write the songs.

FFanzeen: The most important thing you did last year was that you hooked up with Blondie Chaplin.

David: Yeah, well, we met in California at this place in Costa Mesa called the Cuckoo’s Nest. It’s run by this cat named Jerry Roach, who’s a good friend of mine and he’s a good friend of Blondie’s, so he introduced the two of us and it was kind of like his idea. We got along really great and we just started working together.

FFanzeen: Let’s talk about Here Comes the Night. In the (New York) Daily News, you said that this album best captures you.

David: Well, I think it captures my spirit and my style. You know rockers is really what the people what from me and that’s what I think the album is, mostly.

FFanzeen: But on an overview, it seems like a lot of the songs are looking outward rather than drawing from personal episodes, like before. Like this time it seems you’re more storytelling than drawing out your own self.

David: What can you write unless it’s something you know about, really? I don’t write about nothing I haven’t experience or wouldn’t want to, you know what I mean? So, um, I don’t know what to say. I think that they’re similar; they’re just happier – you know what I mean? ‘Cause I’m a very happy person.

FFanzeen: It seems that way now. You had a lot of anger in your other two albums.

David: Well, I don’t know if it was anger. Maybe frustration.

FFanzeen: So, do you feel it’s not a conscious effort to be more universal, it’s just that you’re in a happier frame of mind these days?

David: Yeah, you know, it’s funny. A lot of people make a big deal about songwriters and songs and stuff like that; I just write a song because it feels good and it sounds, and stuff you know, basically. Lots of times I write a song at the last minute.

FFanzeen: Let’s get into some of the songs, starting with “She Loves Strangers.”
 Is there a little history behind it?

David: Not really; it’s just alike a hot kinda summer song, I think.

FFanzeen: I think “You Fool You” could be the hot summer song.

David: Yeah, “You Fool You”; that’s kind of a preachy tune, right?

FFanzeen: Yeah, but a very truthful one. Now you’ve said “Party Tonight” is one of the only true life songs on the album.

David: Well, I think it’s a song that’s not really just about – well, I got pet themes, you know that, right? And one of them has always been like partying anyway, or in the face of adversity – you know what I mean? And that one falls into that category, I think. But it’s kinda like a real life song, don’t you think? ‘Cause lots of people on the street make cameo appearances in that song and, you know, you see a bum and you think about what’s going on with him or something, you know what I mean?

FFanzeen: I thought a direct connection is in “Marquesa de Sade,” that it echoes “Lonely Tenement” thematically. You know, episodes of oppressed city people.

David: Um, yeah. You like that song, hunh?

FFanzeen: It’s my favorite off this LP. And I was wondering if it wouldn’t be wrong to call this album by DJ and Blondie Chaplin rather than just by David Johansen?

David: Don’t let Blondie hear that!

FFanzeen: In these concerts, you’ve never been in better shape or voice. “How do you do it?”

David: Oh, a strict health regime; clean living.

FFanzeen: Will your stronger voice bring on more diverse changes?

David: Well, I think my voice had kind of found its range or been forced into its range, or whatever, by gunpoint or something. You know, it’s like it just comes from doing it, Al. You know, singin’ and singin’ and singin’, and then you don’t try to sing things you really can’t sing. Although I still do. I mean, like I can’t sing “Build Me UpButtercup,” but I always try, you know? I’m like a natural baritone it seems, but a lot of songs I try to hit like a tenor or a higher note, like on the higher parts of “Bohemian Love Pad,” or stuff like that. So it’s really good for me to try to sing high. I don’t want to always sing low because when you try to sing high, even though you can’t maybe hit it perfect or something, you eventually learn, so it’s good practice. Like singing “Buttercup” so many times gave me what it took to sing those high notes in “Bohemian Love Pad,” or whatever songs are high.

FFanzeen: Will this bring on any more surprises? Like for a while last year you were doing Joan Armatrading’s “Takin’ My Baby Uptown.” 

David: Yeah, “Bette Davis Eyes.”

 

FFanzeen: Really?!

David: Nah.

FFanzeen: How about “You Light Up My Life” (as he’s done before)?

David: Patti Smith used to do that one. She used to tear the house down with it. [I’ve always preferred the Patti Smith version – RBF, 2015]

 

FFanzeen: Who’s the current band?

David: Tony Machine on drums; Jack Riggs, guitar; Brett Cartwright on bass; Tom Mandel on pian-y; and Blondie on guitar.

FFanzeen: Are they permanent? ‘Cause I know Tom’s gonna play with Ian Hunter this fall.

David: Otherwise it seems that way. But I don’t know; I can’t foresee the future, really.

FFanzeen: Speaking of appearances, did you know that you, Syl and Johnny Thunders [d. 1991 – RBF, 2015] were advertised to appear at the Peppermint Lounge on June 7?

David: No, I never knew that.

FFanzeen: WNYU announced it, and if you called the club, they’d tell you that David Johansen was gonna appear tonight. It was billed as a Dolls reunion/Thunders benefit. Did you know about this at all?

David: I heard there was going to be a benefit there, but I didn’t know they were advertising that as such. But anyway a lot of people showed up, so Johnny probably got bailed out then, right? So it’s a happy ending.

FFanzeen: How do you and Johnny get on these days?

David: I very rarely see him, really. From time to time I see him and we get on just fine.

FFanzeen: How do you react to some of his unkinder public statements about you?

David: Well, you know a lot of the things you read in the paper are kind of image type things. I mean contrary to popular belief, Elvis Costello is a nice guy, you know what I mean? And if people found out about that he’d be ruined. Well, he (Johnny Thunders) does a lot of things for effect or something, like show-biz or something.

FFanzeen: So you take him with a grain of salt?

David: I’m amused by it.

FFanzeen: Do you think he’ll ever fulfill his potential again? Because a lot of people always say Thunders could’ve been the bad boy rocker.

David: I think he could do anything he put his mind to.

FFanzeen: Which brings us ‘round to the inevitable: the New York Dolls. What do you think of today’s teens in Dolls t-shirts? ‘Cause these kids weren’t old enough to “be there” at all.

David: What do I think about that? I think it’s great, Al. I think when the Dolls were out, there was only a certain group of kids who really liked it, right? And over the years, they turned all their friends onto it and stuff, and the whole kind of what they call the New Wave trip, you know? So there’s a lot more people available to be involved in it these days, you know, who avail themselves to such musical tastes. Let’s put it that way.

FFanzeen: The world is ready for it now.

David: Yeah, there’s enough kids that are into it that are tired of – shit.

FFanzeen: And do you accept your role – yours personally as the “granddaddy of punk,” and the Dolls as the first, or “forerunners of punk”?

David: Do I accept my role as that. No, because I don’t like, accept roles. They fuckin’ hang you up, you know? They nail you up, and for the record, I’d like to say I accept the honor of having singlehandedly lessened the standard of an entire industry.

FFanzeen: Also for the record, were the Dolls punk, or an abstract glitter band?

David: When I was a kid, punk was like, the Seeds  and the Amboy Dukes. Love was kinda punky, but there were other punk bands. There were lots of ‘em; the Leaves. Remember all those bands? Lenny Kaye put a lot of ‘em on his Nuggets album. You know, like that kind of stuff was considered punk rock. Like Shadows of Knight singing “Gloria,” you know what I’m talking about? That was like punk rock and I could relate to that because it’s got that sort of garage trip to it.

FFanzeen: What kind of reflection is that on today’s scene that Dolls albums and buttons are moving faster than ever now?

David: Well, it’s like an art statement. You see someone with a Marilyn Monroe t-shirt or an Elvis t-shirt, it’s an aesthetic statement saying about, you know, I’m like this, we’re that way, or something like that.

FFanzeen: And where do you see rock heading now?

David: I have no idea; I don’t care where it goes. It can go to hell for all I care.

FFanzeen: Then what would you do?

David: I’d still play my music. You know it doesn’t concern me really; trends, you know. I think millions of things happen because there’s millions of people who like all different kinds of music and there’s so many people around that want to listen to music; they’re bound to have different ideas about it and there’s plenty of music for everybody.

FFanzeen: How’d you feel about interviewing Vin Scelsa on WNEW-FM the other night? He never gave you a chance to talk.

David: Yeah, well, he likes to talk. I let him do his thing.

FFanzeen: I thought he kinda cut you off a lot

David: Yeah, I caught you doing that before, so… (laughs)

FFanzeen: How’s DJ doing as a person these days?

David: Oh, just fine, thanks. You know, I’m really happy I’m working and stuff again, ‘cause for a couple of months I hadn’t worked, so that’s good for me. You know we went down to Florida to finish up the album and I didn’t really want to come back. But they finally came down and got me and brought me back. I didn’t really want to have to work every night, but now that I’m doing it, I’m enjoying it. All my anxieties were unnecessary.

FFanzeen: What was the fear involved?

David: You know – alarm clocks, contracts, phone calls. Stuff like that.

FFanzeen: How’s New York City doing?

David: How’s New York? It’s summer and it’s great. Everybody’s out and running ‘round like wild people. All night.

FFanzeen: There’s no more WLIB, though [WLIB-AM is now a gospel station – RBF, 2015].

David: Yeah, only on weekends now. That’s one of the most sad things. I think they got certain good people on that station, like Pablo Guzman. He did this description of Bob Marley’s funeral that was stirring. My hairs were standing up! I had goose bumps just from someone on the radio rappin’ about something. So that really moved me, but you can do that and still play music. That’s awful ‘cause I look forward to Sundays and, like, Haitian Day and stuff like that. Now it’s like they gotta play reggae on Sunday ‘cause they gotta worry ‘bout their numbers [ratings – ed., 1981]. But they should play music. It’s all news and information shit. It’s for the dogs. I mean, how much can you learn?

FFanzeen: Same syndrome on WPIX [WPIX-FM is now WFAN Sports Radio – RBF, 2015].

David: I guess that’s what the deal is.

FFanzeen: What music do you listen to at home?

David: I listen to the soundtrack from  Rockers a lot; that’s one of my favorites. And I got this tape of, like, rhythm and blues singers from 1952. They got Roy Brown [d. 1981 – RBF, 2015] on it and wild things like that. You ever hear a song called “Butcher Pete”? 

FFanzeen: No.

David: Well, we might do it. You’ll hear it if we do it, but I don’t know if we could do it ‘cause it’s really an outrageous song. I don’t know if people will get the right idea if I sing it. It’s a great song. It’s the most outrageous rock’n’roll song I ever heard anyway.
[Enter Blondie Chaplin]

FFanzeen: Does he know “Butcher Pete”?

David: Sure he knows it. Hey, Blondie, how about “Butcher Pete”?
Blondie Chaplin: He’s still hackin’, whackin’, and smackin’ his meat. (laughs)

FFanzeen: Have you seen the Four Tops now that that they’re back on the club circuit?

David: No, but I’d love to.

FFanzeen: Have you ever seen ‘em?

David: Not lately; ‘bout ’65 or ’66.

FFanzeen: I feel you bear many similarities to Levi Stubbs [d. 2008 – RBF, 2015] – vocally.

David: Well, Levi Stubbs and Gary U.S. Bonds were some of the first guys who made me want to sing. You know, I heard “Seven Day Weekend” by Gary U.S. Bonds and I just wanted to sing after that, because I could sing like that and I finally found a singer that sang like me, in the same area of tone that I sing in, so it gave me some kind of –

FFanzeen: – Point of reference?

David: Yeah.

FFanzeen: How come you dropped almost all the songs from In Style from your show?

David: Well, we do “Wreckless [Crazy]” and “Melody.” What others do you think we should do?

FFanzeen: “She”? “In Style”? “Flamingo Road”?

David: “Flamingo Road”? No way!

FFanzeen: Yeah, well, you said you took that out of the show because it was too cold. Do you want to make it a more “upbeat” show?

David: Well, at the moment and by the time this magazine comes out, I may have a whole other thing going on. But at the moment, I’m just having fun doing the set I’m doing now. I wanna try new songs and see if people like them. We’re adding songs and dropping songs. I think as far as the old songs we do, I think they’re the favorites of the people.



Mick Jagger in his "Funky But Chic" tee in 1979

FFanzeen: Even in interviews and all, it seems like In Style is being pushed back like it doesn’t hold up with the rest of your catalog.

David: By who, the press or me?

FFanzeen: By you.

David: Well, what do I do when the first LP? “Frenchette,” “Funky [But Chic],” “Cool Metro” – “Girls” – so I do four from the first LP. Maybe I’ll do “She” for you the next time, but I don’t think I’ll do “In Style”; it’s too moody. I wanna rock, you know?

FFanzeen: Well, I always like you because you could balance rockers with a lot of moody pieces, too.

David: “Well, “Marquesa de Sade” is kinda moody, right? “Frenchette” is moody in the beginning. And we’re gonna do “Heart of Gold” [the latest LP’s closing confessional – AE, 1981], you know? I’m trying to learn Elliot’s (Murphy) harmonica solo; it’s difficult to me.

FFanzeen: Do you think you’ll ever lose the Jagger comparisons? For instance, even your recent Daily News write-up called you “Jaggeresque” in the headline.

David: I think he said that because he’s a virgin, you know what I mean? Like the first time someone’s ever seen me they usually say that, but then they don’t say it after that. I mean, it’s just kind of a chintzy way to describe somebody. Like to say he’s like Lee Marvin or Peter Noone, or he’s like David Eisenhower, because you haven’t got the vocabulary or the information to describe something originally. There’s certain similarities so he can say that, but it’s not saying much. It doesn’t describe much of me. Maybe a tenth of me.

FFanzeen: Did you know that in the Stones’ ’79 Toronto concert, Jagger wore a “Funky But Chic” t-shirt?

David: No, I didn’t know that. Maybe I heard it and I forgot.