86 — Minutes in a Day

• Artist: 86
• Title: Minutes in a Day
• Year: 1986
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 5
• Owner: Mary
• Acquired: Plan 9 Records?
• Keeper: No

Another night with friends in the DC area. This time Andy and Jamie are providing the food and lodging, and let me just say that we got a kick-ass dinner.

On to tonight’s record: Minutes in a Day by 86. This is one rather intense and arty record. It’s not exactly heavy, but it is intense. The problem for me is that there are really no hooks, or grooves, or anything that I can remember when the songs are done. This one is getting a new home.

Gaye Bykers on Acid — Everythang’s Groovy

• Artist: Gaye Bykers on Acid
• Title: Everythang’s Groovy
• Year: 1986
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 6
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1986 – When I worked at Mother’s Records in Hampton, VA
• Keeper: Maybe

Live from Fayetteville, NC… where Gaye Bykers on Acid were hugely popular in the late 1980s. Who remembers Grebo? Raise your hands. OK, well I do, and GBOA was one of the first bands on the scene. The scene was possibly more about visual style than sound. The GBOA sound was a mash up resulting in a type of psychedelic punk rock. For a time I was really into the band. I think this three song record was their first noteworthy release. When I played it again the other for the first time in a long while I have to admit that I wasn’t that excited by it. After a couple days though, the lead track, “Everythang’s Groovy”, is still stuck in my head. I have a story about seeing them live that I’ll save for later.

More about Gaye Bykers on Acid and Grebo.

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds — Kicking Against the Pricks

• Artist: Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds
• Title: Kicking Against the Pricks
• Year: 1986
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 7
• Owner: Mary
• Acquired: 1986 – When she worked at Plan 9 Records in Richmond, VA
• Keeper: Yes

Mr. Cave likes his covers. This is the third album by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds and the first collection of cover songs, but not the last. Kicking Against the Pricks may sound like an offensive title to some but it’s part of a passage from the book of Acts in the Bible. So there. This is a very eclectic collection and on the whole more mellow than most of his records. My favorite song is “The Singer“, which was also on a 12 inch single previously posted here.

Peter Zaremba’s Love Delegation — Spread the Word

• Artist: Peter Zaremba’s Love Delegation
• Title: Spread the Word
• Year: 1986
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 8
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1986 – Mother’s Records in Hampton, VA
• Keeper: Yes

I’m all out of official Fleshtones records, but Peter Zaremba’s Love Delegation is pretty similar in sound, and personnel. I’m not sure if I should file this under Z for Zaremba or L for Love Delegation. In the real world I just file right after the other records by The Fleshtones. Fleshtones guitarist Keith Streng is a part of the core band, and drummer Bill Milhizer also contributed some. There are a lot other folks too, but the most well-known would be Dave Faulkner, front man of the Hoodoo Gurus.

I got to see the Hoodoo Gurus a few times and they put a on great show with a heavy crunch rock sound that doesn’t come across on their albums. Once I saw Mr. Faulkner at a Fleshtones show. They were playing at a small bar in Norfolk, VA called the King’s Head Inn. Faulkner was carrying their gear onto the stage! Apparently he was just hanging out with them for a while. This was when the Hoodoo Gurus were at their most popular in the States, and in Australia they were playing arenas. I even got to talk to him a bit. Later in the Fleshtones set Dave came on stage to play guitar with the band. Peter Zaremba announced they were “combining the rock and roll forces of two continents!”

Back to Spread the Word. This is a great record. About half of the songs are covers. It’s similar to The Fleshtones sound but overall it’s more pop and soul.

XTC — Dear God

XTC -- Dear God

• Artist: XTC
• Title: Dear God
• Year: 1986
• Format: Vinyl 7 in.
• Rating (1-10): 7
• Owner: Mary
• Acquired: 1986 – When she worked at Plan 9 Records in Richmond, VA
• Keeper: Yes

Oh man, what was I saying before? So much for redoubling my posting frequency…

XTC created some minor controversy with their single “Dear God.” It seems it was originally a b-side for another single from the album Skylarking. It became such a hit that the album was repressed to include it. As a pop song, I think it’s solid, and certainly more interesting musically than most. The flipside on this is “Big Day” which has a much more psychedelic sound, but not as cartoonish as their stuff under the pseudonym The Dukes of Stratosphear. It’s decent but kind of boring.

And that concludes this pass through the 7 inch singles. We’re all out of Ys and Zs. For the next few posts I’ll put up some new stuff.

Egg Hunt — Me and You

• Artist: Egghunt
• Title: Me and You
• Year: 1986
• Format: Vinyl 7 in.
• Rating (1-10): 9
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1986 – Bought it when I worked at Mother’s Records in Hampton, VA
• Keeper: Yes

I’ve always loved this record. Egghunt was a too short-lived project by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, both from Minor Threat. “Me and You” has an excellent groove and a really big sound. The vocals/spoken words are intentionally on the verge of being completely inaudible. The flipside, “We All Fall Down” is very different but just as good. It’s rocked out in a melodic hardcore way. This really is an excellent record. Too bad there weren’t more.

Etched in the run off margins:

Side 1 – TOMAS IS INCENSED
Side 2 – LE CTEL TOMBE

You can get the full scoop on Egghunt at Wikipedia.

Head of David — ‘LP’

• Artist: Head of David
• Title: ‘LP’
• Year: 1986
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 6
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1988 – Vinyl Solution in London

I was already a fan of Head of David (Trouser Press) when I found this in a small record store called Vinyl Solution in London. This record is titled simply ‘LP’ with single quotes as I’ve typed it here. I didn’t even know it existed so I snapped it up.

If you agree with the expression “if it’s too loud, you’re too old” then be prepared to age significantly before getting through both sides of ‘LP’. No matter how young you are now, with the passing of each grinding, noisy, layered, psychedelimetallic dirge you will feel life leaking away. They are more metal than metal. If you want to hear it again then you are more metal than metal. I’m not sure how metal I am, but I guess I’ll keep it. The later stuff is better.

Etched in the run-off margins:
A — Kill ugly ron. A porky prime cut.
B — Clean up the filth.

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds — The Singer

• Artist: Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds
• Title: The Singer
• Year: 1986
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 8
• Owner: Mary
• Acquired: 1986 – Plan 9 Records in Richmond, VA.
• Keeper: Yes

I do dig this 12 inch single by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds. The main track “The Singer”, by Johnny Cash and originally titled “The Folk Singer” is perfect and Cave makes it his own, just like Cash does when he covers a song. The two songs on the flipside are also covers: “Running Scared” by Roy Orbison and “Black Betty” by Leadbelly. This recording of “Black Betty” is definitely the most minimalistic, primitive, and just plain spooky I’ve ever heard.

All three of these songs ended up on the full length album “Kicking Against the Pricks” which I think came out later in the same year. The production guru Flood helped shape the sound of this disk.

Talking Heads — True Stories

Talking Heads -- True Stories

• Artist: Talking Heads
• Title: True Stories
• Year: 1986
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 8
• Owner: Mary?
• Acquired: 1986 – I probably got it for her when I worked at Mother’s Records in Hampton, VA.

“True Stories” by Talking Heads is one happy-sounding album. I don’t care if I ever hear the hit “Wild Wild Life” again, but I really like “Puzzlin’ Evidence.” I’m a sucker for anything with a gospel choir in it. Another song on this record is “Radio Head” and where the band Radiohead got their name.

The front and back of the cover are shown correctly oriented. The third pic is a handsome photo of the band on one side of the liner. There is an article about “True Stories” at Wikipedia.

Bad Brains — I Against I

• Artist: Bad Brains
• Title: I Against I
• Year: 1986
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 10
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1986 – Bought it when I worked at Mother’s Records in Hampton, VA.
• Keeper: Yes

The Greatest Album by the Greatest Band Ever!

“I Against I.” Bad Brains.

That is all.

(Third image is back of lyric sheet.)