Electric Mud s/t
Kaputter Hamster s/t
Had I written about these on the same day I listened to them, I might have been able to talk about the differences, however minor. Both albums represent what might be called the German underground, a term I first started hearing in regards to groups like German Oak, who present a somewhat psychy/grungy early rock that might be considered a lesser known analog to MC5 or the Stooges. That is, you don’t come to music like this expecting virtuoso musicianship. Musically both bands seem like bad blues rock groups and the recording quality in either case doesn’t particularly help. I’ve long thought the “underground” means “bad” or “mediocre” and in both of these cases its hard to see otherwise. Painful vocals, sloppy blues riffs, jams that go nowhere, and songs that would make Paternoster’s work seem like Stravinsky. Check please!
Grateful Dead - Spirit of ‘76 (Live at the Cow Palace Bonus Disc)
Damn but does this stuff make me giddy. Every once in a while I raise my glass in toast to David Lemieux, the Dead’s archivisit because he knows what fans like me (pre-77er) wanna hear. Not only is the NYE Cow Palace disc a fantastic entry in the Dead catalogue but this bonus disc, the one that makes people like me wait out long preorder periods just to hear it, is one to match. I was hoping to talk a little more indepth about the various tracks chosen here as a few were standouts, but not being near the disc as I write this and not being able to quickly find the track list on line means it’ll have to wait until the next round.