Cincinnati Joe and Mad Lydia
Posted on December 4, 2006 by Patrick the Lama
Here's an obscure but not very expensive album that should appeal to anyone whose ears are shaped in a Waxidermian kind of way. The rather unlikely couple came together in the fair town of Cincy, where they released this LP as well as a couple of non-LP 45s. As suggested in my Acid Archives review, only about half the LP — Lydia's half — works, but her tracks are quite appealing in various strange ways, and combined with the lame-ass macho funkrock of Cincy Joe you get a gatefold package of solid strangeness from the American underbelly.
There's an edge city Holiday Inn next to your trailer park, and if the wind is right you can sit outside with your beer and hear the seductive sounds of Cincy Joe & Mad Lydia, followed by headliners from down south, Jade Stone & Luv, who drove up from Nashville in their stolen Cadillac.
The track presented here is "Plastic Rose". At first it may sound like a third-rate Barbra Streisand tune, but over time and with some attention, weirdness starts seeping through. Before reading my take on it, play it a few times.
The tune is reasonably professional, almost seductive with its glitzy nightclub/cocktail production and background harmonies. If heard just once or twice, it may go right by you. But after a while you may (or may not) begin to notice small details that aren't really right. Such as the line "high-heel shoes, a little bit fat", where the word FAT may jump out at you. Then you may start to listen more closely to the lyrics, and you can hear things like "she's a little bit loose" and "the [child's] father never made her his wife"… and "laundromat" and "satin" and "plastic everywhere". And it begins to sound a bit CONDESCENDING maybe. Instead of the sentimental tribute to a "salt of the earth" woman it was intended to be, those small, misguided slip-ups in the lyrics instead create a vision of an overweight working-class slut with vulgar taste.
It's all there in the title: "Plastic Rose". At first it may seem a bit clever, but in the further and final analysis it's just weird and misguided. The ultimate question may be this: what would the REAL "Plastic Rose" say if she heard this song about her simple but romantic lifestyle? I think she would be deeply OFFENDED. And that, folks, is Incredibly Strange.
Filed under: Incredibly Strange, Psych / Prog
25 Comments to “Cincinnati Joe and Mad Lydia”
We got 4 guys in Bombay working on the “Plastic Rose” MP3 link right now. But I can always HUM the tune for you.
“And her na-a-ame is Plastic Rose,
Do-da-doo-doo-dum-dum”
That’s the chorus.
EDIT: the link is there now, in the last paragraph, and it works. Thanks… dig it!
// Patrick
Mad Lydia is the daughter of the owner of a local FM radio station, WEBN (who put out a series of various local artist LPs). There are a few 45s by the duo, also on their own Riverwitch imprint, the finest being “Madam Satan”, by Lydia alone, and purportedly about her mother. My copy of the LP luckily came with a newspaper clipping announcing the opening of Joe and Lydia’s club, Cincinnati Joe’s Hideaway, which was to be decorated in a ‘witch motif’!
Whoa! Any chance of scanning that clipping?
Oddly, Cincy Joe’s solo 45 is surprisingly good, with just the groove and energy that his LP tracks lack. I haven’t heard any of Lydia’s 45s, but I remember reading about her working as a DJ.
Cincinnati witches are not to be taken lightly.
I have the scan of the newspaper clipping uploaded to my flickr…I posted the usual script here, but nothing happened…what shall i do?
Outstanding, gracias. Is there a date somewhere for the clipping?
// Patrick
No date, Patrick. The clipping is taped to the back of the LP cover. However, I recently made contact with Lydia, which was hard to come by as she’s a bit of a recluse. I’m set to interview her soon. Turns out I’ve been friends with her nephew for almost ten years….small world.
interesting, nice voice…I dig the cover too.
where can we can get the “madam satan” mp3 now?
If I get a file of “Madam Satan” I can make it available via my web server host. I could put up Cincy Joe’s 45 too, if I can remember where I placed the sound clips.
PS the cover scan above is actually the inside of the gatefold. The actual front cover is a huge drawing of a valentine heart on a white background.
Hey, the mp3 is here, and it’s pretty amazing! Don’t miss:
http://lysergia_2.tripod.com/MadLydia_MadamSatan.mp3
And a label scan:
http://lysergia_2.tripod.com/MadLydia_MadamSatan001.jpg
Many thanks to Mr Iceburg for sharing this.
That some good ish right there… exactly the kinda weird stuff i’m looking for… Merci!
why is she mad
Hey guys, I’ve been looking for a track called “Cincinnati Soul” by Mad Lydia & Cincinnati Joe. Heard it on WEBN many years ago well before the Jacor era. BTW — I met Lydia 15 years ago when she was doing an evening coffeehouse in her store “The Wizard’s Wardrobe”.
“Cincinnati Soul” is on the LP, yep. I like to think of it as an unexpected answer song to Marvin Gaye’s “California Soul”.
Wow, Im orginally from ‘natti. Never knew of our reprazentaion on the obscure DIY front. I remember wizards wardrope over there in Mt Lookout. Thats cool to know now
wow
Is this the same Cincinnati Joe that sometimes was heard at Soho Underground on Central Parkway? Did they have a child together (boy)? I worked there I think the years were either 1971 or 72…
oh wow thanks soooo much you really are the king of raers thank you so so much we all love you so so much thankyou thankyou thankyou you really are the greatest
My ex-husband, James Green (now deceased) had this album and told me he lived with Lydia and Joe in Cincy….I just took a shot and FOUND the album! on the net. Is Lydia still around? Would love to chat with her about their time together!
Thank you.
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I’m not seeing the link…