The Strangeloves — I Want Candy

Feldman , Goldstein and Gottehrer are rock and roll geniuses. (Scroll to the bottom and start playing the “videos”) I Want Candy is the only album by The Strangloves. My copy is not in mint condition but that just makes it rock harder. Most people have probably heard Bow Wow Wow’s version of “I Want Candy.” There have been tons of cover versions of the songs on this record. It’s hard to pick a favorite but “Cara-Lin” and “Night-Time” are definitely in contention.

These cats are connected to all sorts of great music from the The Angels’ “My Boyfriends Back” to War, Go Gos, Blondie, Circle Jerks, J. Geils Band, George Thorogood, The Fleshtones, and on and on.

Read more about The Strangeloves

The band’s amusing mythology from the back cover (I can’t believe I typed the whole thing…):

What are Strangeloves? Unusual combinations of romanticists? Or parted sweethearts?

Actually, a more logical question would be: Who are The Strangeloves?

Anyone who has had his ears tuned in to teenage radio in recent weeks would probably describe The Strangeloves as the swingingest trio to hit the music scene since the British invaded these shores two years ago.

The Strangeloves, oddly enough, don’t come from England. They hail from the backlands of Australia, a wild and uncivilized area of the continent from whence the trio acquired its earthy, hip swiveling rhythms so evident in their group’s potent recording of I Want Candy.

The same undulating beat so prominent in their hit single is multiplied to frenzied proportions as the boys showcase their best seller with 11 other swinging sessions tailored for the young-in-body as well as the young-at-heart.

This album is designed to get the crowd off their respective derrières and onto the dance floor. Sample the No Jive cut or the Just The Way You Are selection and you’ll hear exactly what this album is attempting to do–supply the most torrid sound around, the I Want Candy sound.

The Strangeloves acquired this untamed rhythm by studying the musical attributes of the natives in their own Australia. The boys were born on a farm in Armstong, Australia to Mt. & Mrs. Wilmot Strange who themselves obviously appreciated good sound. They melodically named their three sons Miles, Niles and Giles. While attending grade school and high school they assisted their father in raising sheep, learning the business of sheepherding better than Papa Strange had even anticipated. For it was at the young age of 16 that Miles, applying his vast knowledge of cross-breeding. developed the now famous breed of long hard sheep know as the Gotteher Sheep. The boys registered the breed with the Feld-Goldstein Company, Ltd. in Australia and have become independently wealthy from royalties accruing to them for each born into the Gottehrer breed.

But after completing high school, the boys turned their talents on a full-time basis to their first love–music. While on a safari in Africa, the group’s hobby, the boys acquired some unique Masai Drums and incorporated these tympany into their developing musical style. They worked intensively on creating an exciting dance sound and finally hit upon the rhythm they wanted in a tune called Love, Love, Love which went on to become their first big hit and one of Australia’s top hits of early 1965. The song was also responsible for changing the group’s name from the The Three Stranges to the The Strangeloves.

Then came I Want Candy which has documented the boys’ names on the pages the Record Industry history books both in American and throughout the world.

To give credit where credit is due the Masai Drums are under the control and supervision of Niles Strange. Miles supplies the lead voice and is an adept hand with a tambourine or almost any rhythm instrument. Giles’ contribution to the group is his very able management of the piano as well as extra drums when necessary–adding the the Afro-English beat conceive on their records.

Together the boys deliver a gross of mean sounds aimed at making your feet move.

Join in the fun and add The Strangeloves to your collection of albums. It’s music get a party moving!

MARTY OSTROW

“Cara-lin”

“Night-time”

The Music Machine — Best Of The Music Machine (Featuring Sean Bonniwell)

• Artist: The Music Machine
• Title: Best Of The Music Machine (Featuring Sean Bonniwell)
• Year: 1984
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 7
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1984 – Probably mail order from some place like Midnight Records in NYC.
• Keeper: Yes

Since I mentioned The Music Machine in my last post I thought I would post this Best Of The Music Machine (Featuring Sean Bonniwell) record next. It’s been a while since I’ve heard it and it’s more rocking than I remembered.

This album was released by Rhino in 1984. That’s like some label today re-releasing music that was popular, or at least existed, in the late 1980s, for a new audience. I was in high school when I bought this re-issue, so it’s not like I was being nostalgic. I suppose there may be some teenagers out there who would be excited to discover music from 1988, but it seems weird to me.

Most people think the seeds of heavy metal were sewn in the late 1960s, but I think The Music Machine got there a few years earlier. They have some heavy riffs, tricky song structures, dark lyrics, and –best of all– they wore all black clothing, dyed their hair black, and wore a black glove on one hand only. The notes on the back cover describe them as being “in the vanguard of the punk rock boom.” Maybe, but after another round of listening I’m convinced The Music Machine was proto-metal. And that’s what I’m talking about.

More about The Music Machine at Wikipedia.