Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction — Prime Mover

Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction -- Prime Mover

• Artist: Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction
• Title: Prime Mover
• Year: 1987
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 6
• Owner: Tracy / Mary – Both had copies.
• Acquired: 1987 – Bought it when I worked at Mother’s Records in Hampton, VA.
• Keeper: Yes

Another Zodiac Mindwarp 12 inch. “Prime Mover” like some other singles would eventually end up on their first full LP. “Prime Mover” is fun single with the usual silly/funny/stupid lyrics and a rocking mid-tempo riff perfect for the dance floor. The flipside has a couple throw-away cuts that aren’t worthy of description, but the back cover artwork is cool. For some reason despite a couple rounds of purging our dupes we still have two copies of this one. I probably wouldn’t keep either, but I do have somewhat of a Zodiac collection going.

X — More Fun In The New World

X -- More Fun In The New World

• Artist: X
• Title: More Fun In The New World
• Year: 1983
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 9
• Owner: Tracy / Mary – both had copies
• Acquired: Too tired to remember

From another hotel room in Asheville, NC… I get my house inspected in the morning and today my brother Grayson put a contract on a house he and Kellie want only a couple miles away. I slept for about an hour last night. We left before 5 AM and have been on the move ever since. I’m so tired I feel nauseous, but I can’t sleep so here’s the next record, played, obviously, yesterday before we left home.

There aren’t many bands that can record an album as eclectic as “More Fun In The New World” and still have it hang together so well. I’m too beat to write anything really insightful. I will say I love X completely and this is probably the album of theirs that I’ve heard the most. In highschool my friends John Hurlock and Scott Belbin and I were always driving around with this one blasting from the tape deck. I wish saw, or at least talked to those guys more often.

Van Halen — Van Halen

Van Halen -- Van Halen

• Artist: Van Halen
• Title: Van Halen
• Year: 1978
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 10
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: ? ?
• Keeper: Yes

I’ve always liked Van Halen, but I was too busy trying to be punk rock when their records came out to buy them. I got ’em all now though! My friend Bennie Ingram is above any type of posing and was a huge fan from the get-go. Fortunately, hanging with Bennie (Bobo) kept me clued in.

And when I say “their records” I mean the ones when “Diamond” David Lee Roth was in the band. I know Hagar was in the band even longer but who cares? Not me. Roth is the only front man I can imagine complementing, and competing with, Eddie Van Halen’s guitar work. Both guys are so good at, and so over the top in what they do it’s hard to believe the union lasted as long as it did.

I wish I had been paying closer attention when this record first hit. I remember riding in the car with my dad when “Jamie’s Cryin'” came on and I said “I’ve been hearing a lot of Van Halen lately” and he replied “that’s too bad.” And my dad is a rocker! I should’ve known right then that this was something special, and very different. Every song on here is exciting and totally original sounding, even today.

I had a friend, Bill Rogers, who once said that Eddie Van Halen ruined rock guitar for the next decade because everybody wanted play like him. Of course, who really could? The guy was a total innovator and the song writing matched the technique. The same can be said for Diamond Dave. Insane showmanship, crazy good voice, and really smart and occassionally smart-assed lyrics.

Dave’s famous quip that the reason more critics like(d) Elvis Costello than Van Halen is that more critics look like Costello is pure genius, and of course true. I don’t look like either of them, but if I could choose it would be the high kicking Diamond Dave… for sure. I’m finding it difficult to stop writing about them. Just be glad you’re not in the same room with me right now. Seriously.

T.S.O.L. — Hit And Run

T.S.O.L. -- Hit And Run

• Artist: T.S.O.L.
• Title: Hit And Run
• Year: 1987
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 4
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1987 – We all make mistakes, but at least I got an employee discount at Mother’s Records.
• Keeper: No

This album is not as bad as it looks, which is not saying much. On this record T.S.O.L. sound like a smarter version of Motley Crue, which is not saying much. At least Motley Crue are a genuine bunch of moron rock stars who can’t help themselves whereas T.S.O.L. come off as a sell out, starting with the album cover. Which brings me to my last point since I don’t want to waste too many keystrokes on this. I usually only include the back cover if there is something really of interest there. What’s interesting to me is that they didn’t think the front cover portrait was enough. There was even a third one on the liner notes. Yes, I admit it, I had to play Priest again right after this.

Nervous Eaters — Hot Steel And Acid

• Artist: Nervous Eaters
• Title: Hot Steel And Acid
• Year: 1986
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 7
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1986 – Bought it when I worked at Mother’s Records in Hampton, VA.
• Keeper: Yes

How many times have you said to yourself “I feel like hearing some Nervous Eaters”? Never? Seriously? OK, I admit I kinda forget they exist, but almost every time I see “Hot Steel And Acid” in the collection I give it a spin. The Nervous Eaters are hard, fast rock and roll with dashes of punk and blues. I didn’t know anything about the band when I bought this and I still don’t. I think the cool die-cut album cover and the fact that they were on the label Ace Of Hearts with other good bands like the Lyres prompted me to check it out. (UPDATE: NervousEaters.com no seems to be owned by the band.)

D.C. 3 — The Good Hex

• Artist: D.C. 3
• Title: The Good Hex
• Year: 1986
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 7
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1986 – Bought it for myself when I worked at Mother’s Records in Hampton, VA.
• Keeper: Yes

Dez Cadena is the D.C. in D.C. 3. He has been in a number of bands, but I’m guessing most people who have any idea who he is remember him as the pre-Rollins singer of Black Flag. He also played guitar on “Damaged”, which was Rollins’ debut and Black Flag’s first record to get a lot of attention.

I’m not sure how I got into D.C. 3, but I really liked this record when it came out in 1986. It’s pretty heavy rock and though there is a lot of guitar noodling it doesn’t sound too much like jam music. Some might even describe it as “classic rock”, but there is definitely something more happening here. I was surprised to read that Cadena was only 25 when they made this record.

There’s a note from Dez on the back cover that ends:

To those who ask what the difference is between the music I play now and what I used to play, I would say that there is no difference. — D.C.

My favorite song is a high speed, almost metal track that kicks off side two called “No One But Yourself To Blame.” Even the lyrics are cool.

You can never… never… blame anyone but yourself.
You can… but you’re playin’… a loooooosing game.
You’ve got no one but yourself to blame.

Or something close to that. Hard rockin’ words to live by if you ask me.

P.S. Keith, say what you will about downloaded digital music, but you can’t flip it over, there is no side two, and you can’t even take a picture of it. So what’s the point? Rock and roll is not about convenience.

Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction — Wild Child

Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction -- Wild Child

• Artist: Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction
• Title: Wild Child
• Year: 1987 ? No year listed anywhere.
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 5
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1987 – Bought it when I worked at Mother’s Records in Hampton, VA.
• Keeper: Maybe

House hunting across the USA is not always fun. I got home at 2 AM after 8 hours of driving with my brother and his wife. We were checking out Asheville, NC, and it was definitely cool. After talking over some options with Mary I called my realtor to get an offer going on a house we really liked. He called me back with the bad news that someone had made an offer a couple hours before and the buyers had accepted it. What the hell?

Anyhow… this is a 12 inch single. I’m not really a completist, but I do have tons of Zodiac records. The only reason I may keep this mediocre disk is just because it’s part of the collection. Maybe I’m being hard on this record because of my mood, but I listened to it before I left so I don’t think so. It’s dance hall mixes of sleaze rock and there are some fun moments but overall it’s just dull. And Mark Manning/Zodiac Mindwarp’s picture on the cover is a bit much don’t you think? Still a fan, but damn.

X — Under The Big Black Sun

X -- Under The Big Black Sun

• Artist: X
• Title: Under The Big Black Sun
• Year: 1982
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 9
• Owner: Mary / Tracy – We both had copies.
• Acquired: 1982 ? – Unknown origin.
• Keeper: Yes

The only thing better than X is more X. For some reason their second record “Wild Gift” is mysteriously missing from our collection, but we do have the CD. So, here’s their third release, “Under The Big Black Sun.”

I remember they had a pretty funny video for the lead track “Hungry Wolf” with fake bats zooming aound, conspicuously hung on strings. I suppose that one would be considered the “hit” for this record, but I like everything here. My favorites are the tear-jerker “Come Back To Me” (about Exene’s sister that died) and the album closer “The Have Nots.” “Dawn comes soon enough for the working class…”

MC5 — Back In The USA

• Artist: MC5
• Title: Back In The USA
• Year: 1970
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 8
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1987 ? – Another MC5 platter with mysterious origins. I’m pretty sure I got this one at Vinyl Solution in London. Which is way ironic…
• Keeper: Yes

This is the second record by MC5 and it was stunning in its restraint compared to the freaked out Kick Out The Jams. Of course I didn’t buy their records when they first came out but I did buy them in order. So, I was just as baffled as the original fans. That said, this album has grown on me over the years. It’s still high energy, and I’m tapping my foot as I type this, a good sign. Very catchy stuff for the most part. Roots rock/power pop/proto-punk if any of those make sense.

I’ve read that their third album was insane, more like the first, and that nobody listened. I’ve never heard it. I really need to start looking…

Read Leg McNeil’s Please Kill Me for some funny background on MC5.

D.A.D — No Fuel Left For The Pilgrims

• Artist: D.A.D
• Title: No Fuel Left For The Pilgrims
• Year: 1989
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 6
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1989 – Promo we received at our record store RIP Records in Norfolk, VA.
• Keeper: Maybe

The band’s name was originally “Disneyland After Dark.” That name might’ve worked at home in Denmark, but once they went bigtime they had to change it. And, no, I didn’t forget a period after the last “D”, that’s how they write it.

This is a pretty rocked-out record and the lyrics, against all odds, are not dumb. So, of course I like it. Somewhere I have a CD of theirs that I actually paid for. I may keep this, but I’m not sure I’ll play it that much. There’s a layer of production slickness that I think takes away the truly hard rockin’ going on below. These things happen.