The Small Faces - Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake (disc 3, tin set, documentary)
This extra disc to this extended edition of Ogden’s Nut Flake (the first two discs are two different versions of the albums) is a radio show dedicated to the band and featuring a number of alternate tracks and other recordings of music before and around the classic Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake album. I’ve heard the album about a bazillion times at this point, heard it live, seen videos and so I think I’m towards the point where my returns are diminishing on something like this, after all it’s the album’s tracks that are important and the rest of this is just a bit of fun. There’s a really bizarre quality level change in the middle of one song and a couple of other tape artifacts that occasionally detract, but for the most part a listen or two to this is enough. The DJing either wasn’t that much of interest or I filtered him out. Or both.
Boredoms - Sea Drum/House of Sun
This is the Boredoms’ Join Inn so to speak, you get your “Sea Drum” “Freak n Roll” for an “A side” and a very psychedelic and meditative droner for the B side. One wonders if such a paring was intentional given the krautrock influences the Boredoms have had. Needless to say the results are quite impressive. The drum of “Sea Drum” pounds mercilessly throughout as if you had been conscripted to row for a Roman galleon, propelling the music, mostly guitar effects and droney stuff, throughout its ever intensifying psychedelic march. And unlike the Ash Ra Tempel album this is similar to, there isn’t much in the way of solo spots and in that way this is probably more like Acid Mothers (albeit with a better sense of dynamics). While “Sea Drum,” like “Freak n Roll,” is likely to get more attention here, it’s actually the B side (same with Join Inn) that really does it for me, an Eastern, mantric, cosmic drone where the whole band just sort of moves it along with slight phrasings, with no particular musician in front. I was so impressed with this (that is both pieces) I had to give it another listen. Definitely an impressive work by a great Japanese outfit.
Charming Hostess - Punch
Don’t really have any clue why it took me so long to hear any Charming Hostess album since Eat, which was one of my favorites of its year and a classic in its own right. In fact Punch is something of a follow up to Eat, with some of the same musicians and it continues the band’s penchant for combining traditional music with modern and envelope pushing arrangements. Of course the draw here are the vocals, which are not only spot on from a technical perspective, but full of life, joy and fun. You get a little blues, a substantial rock backbone, some traditional Jewish songs, a bit of Art Bears sharpness and a bunch of other things I could barely list before the album was over. Quite frankly I’m surprised this didn’t get the buzz Eat got as it seems to be on an initial listen to be every bit as strong and maybe a little more mature. Fantastic work as you’d expect from Eisenberg and co.