Snuff – Tweet Tweet My Lovely

It’s my birthday, and I’m celebrating by posting one of my all-time favorite records, Tweet Tweet My Lovely by Snuff. It’s not even my favorite record by Snuff. I’m playing it as I write, I’m only on song number 6, and it’s given me goosebumps at least as many times. Snuff is the most soulful punk band that ever existed. These cats are the real deal, they know how to have fun, but they also know how to make some of the most poignant heavy music you’ll ever hear. And the details! Everything is perfect: the gang vocals, the crescendos, the speed, etc. Layer on some Hammond organ and trombone, and then seeing them live and it’s more exciting than I can describe. I’ll save the live show for the next Snuff record I post.

Don’t believe me? Don’t be ridiculous. Check out the snippets at AllMusic.

Then go to Snuff at MySpace. Then get all the Snuff history at Wikipedia.

Goosebumps. Goosebumps.

The Specials — Specials

This is a great great album everyone should have. I have always loved it but I just now learned that many of my favorites are covers of original ska tunes. Nothing wrong with that! I was also surprised that singer Terry Hall has no individual writing credits on Specials at all.

Read more about The Specials debut, produced by Elvis Costello.

Mano Negra — Put@’s Fever

• Artist: Mano Negra
• Title: Put@’s Fever
• Year: 1989
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 7
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1989
• Keeper: Yes

It’s two-fer Tuesday! I don’t know why, but I love this album cover. There’s just something about it. When I first got Put@’s Fever I thought Mano Negra sounded like a more punk, more Latin (even though they’re French) version of the awesome French band Les Negresses Vertes. It still sounds like that to me. It’s French and energetic, with a lot brass. What else do you need to know?

(Note: I later edited the titles using the @ symbol because the correct spelling of “Put@s” was attracting a lot of the wrong kind of traffic.)

Madness — Shut Up

• Artist: Madness
• Title: Shut Up
• Year: 1981
• Format: Vinyl 7 in.
• Rating (1-10): 8
• Owner: Mary
• Acquired: “No idea”

You know, I try to do these in a somewhat alphabetical order, but I have records laying all over the place along with Christmas stuff and I can’t keep it straight! I need to backtrack some tomorrow and try to pick an I and a K.

Madness. The great ones. A Sigler household favorite. And this is a great a single. “Shut Up” is of course familiar to me, but “A Town With No Name” on the flipside is one I don’t recognize. What is on an album? Anyhow, it’s an excellent instrumental with a mild spaghetti western vibe. Thumbs up, for both.

Etched in the run off margins:

Side A – PASS THAT BUCK – ARUN
Side B – GOOD LUCK TO THE FAITHFUL SHERPAS

Madness — Complete Madness

• Artist: Madness
• Title: Complete Madness
• Year: 1982
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 10
• Owner: Mary
• Acquired: Dunno

This Madness collection of “16 hit tracks”, titled “Complete Madness”, is, of course, excellent. It’s hard to believe they had so many popular singles so early on, but they sure enough did. I noticed that some of the songs are slightly different from the original album versions. I like every song here, but my faves are “Bed And Breakfast Man” and “Grey Day.”

Madness – Madness

• Artist: Madness
• Title: Madness
• Year: 1983
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 10
• Owner: Mary
• Acquired: 1983 – Kempmill Records in Springfield, VA.
• Keeper: Yes

I’m not sure what the deal is with this self-titled Madness album. Mary thinks it was a US-only release that the label put out after the single “Our House” was a hit everywhere else. Before that tune nobody in the US knew who Madness were. Nobody, except the cool kids that is. It includes songs from their first four records. Anyhow, I couldn’t find any info about it on the official Madness site or Wikipedia’s page about Madness.

I like everything on this record, but I think my favorite is “Grey Day.” The piano, bass and concert chimes together sound so heavy.

“Madness is all in the mind.”

Madness — Absolutely

• Artist: Madness
• Title: Absolutely
• Year: 1980
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 10
• Owner: Mary
• Acquired: 1982 ? – Olsson’s in Georgetown, DC.
• Keeper: Yes

Yesterday the packing tornado ripped the turntable out of my sweaty hands and it’s about consume this keyboard. The moving truck comes tomorrow morning, and what’s not already in a box will be shortly. But, yes, I did in fact play the records I hope to log over the next week in flurry of rock and roll yesterday.

Today is an “M” day. Madness, the band, strikes again. They’re always popular at our house, no pun intended. This record, “Absolutely”, has the super-fun-hit-that-everybody-knows… “Baggy Trousers.” On matters of Madness I always defer to Mary.

Me: What would you rate this?
Mary: A 10.
Me: “Absolutely”?
Mary: It’s Madness!

Not sure I like it as much as “One Step Beyond”, but she has a point. It is Madness.

Madness — One Step Beyond…

• Artist: Madness
• Title: One Step Beyond…
• Year: 1979
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 10
• Owner: Mary
• Acquired: 1981 ? – Unknown origin.
• Keeper: Yes

Madness in general, and the album “One Step Beyond…” in particular is at the top of everyone’s list of favorite music in our house. Everything on here is a hit in some way. “One Step Beyond”, “Night Boat To Cairo”, “The Prince”, the greatest ska version of “Swan Lake” ever recorded, and my favorite, “Bed & Breakfast Man.” B&B is a complete tease with verse after verse until they finally give up the chorus one glorious time at the very end. Excellent album and we play it all the time. More about Madness.