Fringe Benefit - Fringe Benefit

AAAAAAHHHHHHH..... It's saturday morning, the kids are asleep and the lady is out food shopping and the dogs are being surprisingly quiet, (probably eating my shoes again) so I am on my 2nd cup of coffee and i actually have time to write something! So here is a record that has been on my plate for the last week solid. Self titled from 1977 by a band called Fringe Benefit.

I had never heard this record or even knew it existed until I stumbled upon a copy in a record store in Philly the other day. It was CHEAP (1.99) and looked interesting. So I bought it.
It kind of had a punky glam cover and being from 77 and on the capricorn label, a label associated with more Southern Rock then glam, took a shot. Even though it happens to be from 1977 it sounds older in most spots, 74 or maybe even early. At the heart of it all it’s just a nice well played & produced AOR record but there are plenty of other sounds going on. Some late 60’s pop ala string and horn arrangements on a song or two, some west coast singer songwriter type sounds, even a Queen meets Rush heavy prog mash up that could have been a extra track from Yes - Fragile/Close to the Edge era; Even a little Glammy pub rock via Slade/Sweet, but mostly acoustic guitars rule the roost here. Also throw in a few covers, All Shook Up/Elvis and Suzanne by Leonard Cohen… Sounds like a strange mix but it all works. Maybe I’m getting old but really dig this record. It has not left my player to and from work all week… By the looks of the cover the band had some high hopes for success.... not so much.

So considering I'm pretty sure this thing is way out of print and is very under the radar here it is in its entirety.

Was God an Astronaut and When She's Next Free being my 2 fave tracks but all are worth a listen, who know you may just enjoy it as much as me... If not, oh well. maybe next time.

PS... The Devils Music Blog has quietly crept past 1/2 a million hits.... Not all that impressive in the web world but not to bad for my crappy little corner of the music blog world.... cheers to those of you who continue to support this little slice of musical retardation.


Fringe Benefit - Fringe Benefit

Frankie Meadows And The Rhythm Riders - Loosers Are Weepers

She won't play the game of love my way...

Frankie Meadows And The Rhythm Riders - Loosers Are Weepers

The Wild Ones - Come On Back

NY Garage Rock from 1966 w/ The Wild Ones. They are arguably most well known for being the first to record the famous Chip Taylor song "Wild Thing"

I found a really great web site HERE: that gives all the bands details.

If you fish around there are plenty of cool pieces of Wild Ones history with pics, press releases, clippings and other cool stuff. If you have any interest in the group go check it out. Its much better than having me paraphrase the same crap...

I had already had this 45 but not w/ the picture sleeve. I just picked it up w/ sleeve a few dollars. Pretty cool stuff and on the Sears record label makes it even that much weirder. Personally i like the instrumental version better than the vocal version.

The Wild Ones - Come On Back

The Wild Ones - Come On Back - Instrumental

Little Jerry Williams - Detroit - 1965 Kingsize Nicotine Blues

An early single from Little Jerry William AKA Swamp Dog!



Jerry Williams, Jr., (born 12 July 1942), is a soul music artist who is better known by his pseudonym Swamp Dogg.

Born in Portsmouth, Virginia, Williams made his first recording in 1954 under the moniker "Little Jerry", a 78 rpm single on the Mechanic label titled "HTD Blues" / "Nats Wailing". In 1963 he began using the moniker "Little Jerry Williams", recording with Loma Records, and by 1966 he had dropped the "Little" to record as Jerry Williams.

In 1970 he took on the persona of "Swamp Dogg" and released his first LP record, Total Destruction to Your Mind. The cover of his 1971 album, Rat On!, featuring Williams on the back of an oversized white rat, was ranked as one of the worst album covers of all time. Moving from one record label to another during the next 26 years of his recording career, he finally settled on his own record label S.D.E.G. Records [Swamp Dogg Entertainment Group]. His latest recording is titled Give Em As Little As You Can...As Often As You Have To...or...A Tribute To Rock 'n' Roll (2009), although he is rumored to be working on new material, including a collaboration with the author Ben Greenman.

Williams is also a noted songwriter and record producer. In an interview on NPR's Studio 360, Williams stated he was raised on country music: "Black music didn't start 'til 10 at night until 4 in the morning and I was in bed by then.. . . If you strip my tracks, take away all the horns and guitar licks, what you have is a country song." Williams also produces country music and has been nominated for a Grammy, along with Gary US Bonds, for writing the Johnny Paycheck record "She's All I Got". Other artists he has worked with include Doris Duke, Irma Thomas, Z. Z. Hill, Dee Dee Warwick, and Arthur Conley.

Little Jerry Williams - Detroit

TLittle Jerry Williams - 1965 Kingsize Nicotine Blues

Sexcessfully Yours - Cheesecake Cover #1

A little while before i could post music here @ the devils music i used to post the occasional piece of eye candy for something to do. And since i started moving and reorganizing my records i came across a bunch of my old goofy/sexy/cheesecake records. I got a shit load of goofy ass records so be prepared for some more cover hi-jinx coming soon!!!

George Baker Selection - Little Green Bag

So the story goes:

"Little Green Bag" is a 1969 song written by Dutch musicians, Jan Visser and George Baker (credited as Hans Bouwens), and recorded by the George Baker Selection at the band's own cost. The 7" single debut of the George Baker Selection was released by the label Negram, which misprinted the actual title of the song, which is "Little Green Back (greenback meaning money) and "greenback" is the lyric actually sung. This has caused the song to be misnamed ever since. "Little Green Bag" appeared on the album, Little Green Bag, by the George Baker Selection. Also, the song is included in the soundtrack of Quentin Tarantino's film "Reservoir Dogs", and appears in the famous intro scene that leads into the opening credits.

Funny, i always thought it was a about weed...

George Baker Selection - Little Green Bag

Avengers - Paint It Black - Thin White Line

So last week i got to do something i don't get to do very often anymore and that was go out without children! So me and the lady went out for some food and a few drinks at the newly renovated Bond St. Bar in Asbury Park. I used to drink there back in the day when it was a lesbian bar because they used to sell 50 cent Meister Brau! It sat dormant for years but now it is back open and pretty cool. Cheap drinks and cheap, but good food. After we had a few pints of Guinness & some grub (Sweet Potato Fries, Fish Tacos and a Grilled Cheese w/ Artichoke and Sun Dried Tomatoes) we headed north to Long Branch to see The Avengers @ The Brighton Bar! The Brighton is Rock & Roll Legend and so are The Avengers. It was a pretty packed house with a mix of youngins and old farts. After a slew of opening bands, some that were ok, The Avengers took the stage and pretty much nailed it. They played all the "hits" opening the set with We Are The One... Nice. I would have thought they would have played that last but the stormed right out the gate. Singer Penelope Houston looked and sounded great. we didn't have a camera but the lady snapped a blurry pic with the phone. So in honor of getting to see this legendary band i bought myself this here little 6 inch from 1983 and now i give it up to you. They did in fact play the Stones cover live too!!! I bought the patch and button at the gig too. I'm a sucker for kitschy collectable shit...

If you need the 411 on the Avengers here is the Wiki info:

The Avengers are an American rock band in the first wave of American punk rock, formed in 1977 in San Francisco, California. Penelope Houston, who later became a folk musician, was their singer.

Original history
Drummer Danny Furious and guitarist Greg Ingraham decided to start a band, and Danny approached Penelope Houston to be their singer, who agreed. They finished their lineup with Jonathon Postal on bass, although he was replaced shortly after by Jimmy Wilsey. Their first release (which is also the only while the band was originally together) was We Are the One, a three-song EP which was released on Dangerhouse Records in 1977.
The Avengers opened for the Sex Pistols in San Francisco at their final show at Winterland, which led to Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones producing a recording session for the band. In January 1979, Ingraham left the band and was replaced by Brad Kunt, although the band only lasted a few more months until June 1979. An EP, titled Avengers, was released on White Noise Records a few month after the band broke up, which included songs from the Steve Jones produced session.
An album called Avengers (sometimes referred to as the Pink Album, including by Houston herself) was released in 1983. It featured tracks recorded through the band's whole time together, and was compiled by drummer Danny Furious. The album was out-of-print for a long time due to being in "legal limbo", during which time Houston would sell the album in CD-R format directly through her website. The album was re-released in 2010.

Avengers - Paint It Black

Avengers - Thin White Line

Plus - Twenty Thousand People

Plus put out 1 album and 1 single in 1969 on Probe the psychedelic subsidiary of ABC records and was not heard from again... This should get your weekend off to a thunderous start!

Plus - Twenty Thousand People

The Clippers - Beanie

Weird little instrumental rocker here: Can't remember where i picked this up and i know nothing about it except it is from 1960 and it has a Spiders Witchcraft sound in certain spots. It aint great but just weird enough to make the cut...

The Clippers - Beanie

The Volcanos - A Lady's Man

Originally released on Arctic records in 1966 here is some great Philly soul by the Volcanos. Even though this isn't a 1st press the song itself is killer and deserves to be heard.

here is the lowdown on the Volcanos:

Philadelphia soul quintet the Volcanos formed in 1964, originally teaming lead vocalist Gene Jones, vocalist Steve Kelly, guitarist Stanley Wade, his bassist brother Harold "Doc" Wade, keyboardist John Hart, and drummer Earl Young. According to e-zine Funky 16 Corners, within months of their formation the group signed to the local Arctic label, and as the year drew to a close issued their debut single, "Baby," the lone ballad in the Volcanos canon. (The flipside, "Make Your Move," would appear on no less than three of their nine total singles). In mid-1965 the Volcanos returned with their biggest hit, "Storm Warning" -- a showcase for Jones' soaring falsetto, the single reached Number 33 on the national R&B charts and remains a Northern soul favorite to this day. Future Philly soul legends Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff composed the follow-up, the upbeat stomper "Help Wanted," and the Volcanos closed out the year with the Motown-inspired "(It's Against) The Laws of Love," another classic given new life on the Northern Soul circuit. They did not release their next Arctic effort, "A Lady's Man," until the following summer; the single failed to return the group to the charts, and after one last entry for the label, the Eddie Holman-penned "You're Number 1," Arctic terminated their contract. The Volcanos then landed with the Harthon imprint for two superb 1967 singles: "It's Gotta Be a False Alarm" and "Take Me Back Again." Jones left the group sometime in 1968, rechristening himself Gene Faith and beginning a solo career on the Virtue label. In 1970, he resurrected the Volcanos moniker for one last single, "No Trespassing" -- by that time, the original lineup had long since dissolved, with the brothers, Harold and Stanley Wade going on to found the Trammps, the band best-known for its classic "Disco Inferno." ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

The Volcanos - A Lady's Man

Jimmy Dee - Henrietta - Don't Cry No More

Hello people just a really quick one today to fire up this Saturday where finally the heat is breaking up on the East Coast. I'm gonna pound down some coffee and mow the lawn.... But here is a cool little firecracker to start your Saturday off right!

Henrietta is a great little rolling roackabilly number that gets pretty manic and it's flip another nice rocker from Jimmy Dee. The flip has a little Ronnie Self vibe at least to my ears. And dig that out of tune guitar break! I Think the year here is 1957 or 58.

Jimmy Dee, San Antonio, Texas musician and singer hit 47 on the Billboard Top 50 early in 1958 with the song Henrietta, a rockabilly style early rock 'n' roll song. He appeared on Dick Clark's American Bandstand TV program during December, 1957.

He was born in May of 1944 and by 1956 had become a club attraction in lounges near San Antonio. His discography is difficult to assemble as he recorded for eleven different labels during the years spanning 1957-1965.

It is known that he was a member of the backing group for the Verve recording artist Sharon Wynter and toured with her but did not sing on any of her recordings. It is reported that he married her sister in 1967.

He worked as a studio musician in both Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee during the early sixties. He is also credited on one of Del Shannon's tracks "Tell Her No", 1965, on drums and back-up vocals. It is thought that he may have toured with Shannon as his drummer.

http://www.rockabillyhall.com/JimmyDee.html

Jimmy Dee - Henrietta

Jimmy Dee - Don't Cry No More