Monthly Archives – July 2007

Kevin Vicalvi: Songs From Down the Hall

I will begin this with the rather bold claim that this is one of the best 70’s pop records you’ve probably never heard. Which is unfortunate as this independently released 1974 lp can not only hang with any of the revered lesser known major label efforts of time, but surpasses many of them. Quite a […]

The Cactus Rose Project

This local release on Mars Records (that’s a very realistic little red planet Mars in the bottom left hand corner) is a two track wonder first heard at Friends of Sound. Dave said he’d keep an eye open for another one after I had asked what it was. The intro to “Jelly” sounded a lot […]

The Bag – Red Purple & Blue

The Bag were a late sixties blue-eyed soul band from the New York area that made one full length LP for Decca that incorporates enough touches of psych to get mildly sweated by people who collect that stuff. Needless to say the LP sank without a trace upon release. This song is the B-side of […]

Dave Barretto: Para Mis Hermanos

Fans of Ralfi Pagan should appreciate this gem of a song from a dollar bin rescue, “What You Never Had To Lose”. Shadow Morton produces and he recreates a true New York sound-scape from 1974. Check out Tito Puente’s heavy rock riff on the timbale and the way it takes you back to the loping […]

The Dancing Machine

Obscure record offering borderline amateur renditions of okay seventies material. What’s nice about the recording is the ridiculously upfront percussion and the Curtis-wannabe falsetto singing. Even tracks like Get Dancin’ and I Got the Music In Me manage to transcent their originals ’cause of the strange mix, albeit barely. Most tracks are winners if you […]

Baquen! – Sensational Sound of Screen Music

It took me a while before I noticed the pink female torso holding a gun underneith Sean Connery’s posterized face. The lack of priorities and absence of focus on this cover is somehow exemplary for the record itself. Some cool and some uncool tunes have been treated by the strange combo of drums, flute, oboe, […]

Andy Pratt – Records Are Like Life

Brian Cullman recommended this artist to me as someone that he remembered being great. He said that the record to get was his 1973 self-titled Columbia lp. After looking him up online, I found that he is now active as a rock musician again after many years as a Christian artist. His website has all […]