Every so often, a rock `n` roll record label builds such a solid reputation for releasing good music that just about any of its recordings seems worth investigating.
Sun Records was one of the earliest examples in the `50s, and some 20 years later there was England`s Stiff Records-a hip, tone-setting operation that had a lot to do with making the New Wave era of the late `70s and early
`80s the vibrant, musically eclectic, skinny-tied delight it was.
Stiff`s logo on a record represented a company-initially a small indie but later with major-label connections-that had an ear for the quirky, clever and catchy. Just as important, the Stiff staff evidenced a sense of humor that often found its way into the label`s promotion efforts and releases, brightening a music scene that had suffered through a lot of overwrought and pretentious rock during the `70s.
Stiff`s legacy and looseness are recalled in ”The Stiff Records Box Set,” a new four-CD compilation released by Rhino Records. Included in the stylistically varied set are-deep breath here-the power pop of Nick Lowe`s
”Heart of the City”; the punkish assault of the Damned`s 59-second ”Stab Your Back”; the veddy-British silliness of Max Wall`s ”England`s Glory”;
Ian Dury`s understated cry against convention, ”Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll”; the alternately laconic/strangled vocal of Wreckless Eric`s ”Semaphore Signals”; the `60s-throwback sound of Rachel Sweet`s ”B-A-B-Y”; Lene Lovich`s hiccup-and-squeak tale of love and numerology, ”Lucky Number”; and the bouncy ska (and classic spoken-word intro) of Madness` ”One Step Beyond.”
Not to mention Joe ”King” Carrasco`s border-rocking ”Buena,” Tracey Ullman`s mainstream-pop ”You Broke My Heart in 17 Places” and the folk-punk of the Pogues` ”The Sick Bed of Cuchulain.”
In all, the set holds 96 tracks, and while some of the selections from Stiff`s later days in the `80s are a bit weak, the bulk of the material is heartily recommended.
Other recent releases:
Blues Brothers, ”Blues Brothers: The Definitive Collection” (Atlantic)- Twenty tracks by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi in their Blues Brothers mode, with backing from lineups that included Paul Shaffer, Steve Cropper, Donald ”Duck” Dunn and Tom Scott. Drawn from various Blues Brothers recordings, including the movie soundtrack, the selections include ”Hey Bartender,” ”Rubber Biscuit,” ”Soul Man” and ”Messin` With the Kid.”
Devo, ”Devo Live: The Mongoloid Years” (Rykodisc)-Seventeen tracks document the early days (before they had a major-label deal) of the Spud Boys` de-evolution. The best of the lot are the nine tracks recorded during a 1977 Devo show at Max`s Kansas City in New York City. Raw, wacked out and sounding as though they had been recorded through a blanket purloined from Booji Boy`s crib, the recordings definitely lack sonic sparkle. But they pack a manic intensity that suggests the show-which included such Devo delights as
”Satisfaction” and ”Mongoloid”-must have been a killer in person. The remainder of the tracks (recorded at a 1976 show in Akron and a 1975 show in Cleveland) are for devoted followers only-the Cleveland portion being a particularly obnoxious blend of quasi-industrial noise and performance-artiness that (except for a first-ever performance of ”Jocko Homo”) bears only a minimal resemblance to the Devo of later years.
Gary Lewis & the Playboys, ”Everybody Loves a Clown/She`s Just My Style” (EMI)-Jerry Lewis` son and his band ran for covers on 1965`s ”Clown” and 1966`s ”Just My Style”: Included on the LPs were, among other borrowed tunes, the Fleetwoods` ”Mr. Blue,” the Everly Brothers` ”(`Til) I Kissed You,” Johnny Burnette`s ”Dreamin`,” the Knickerbockers` ”Lies,” Billy Joe Royal`s ”Down in the Boondocks” and the Yardbirds` ”Heart Full of Soul.”
The luster of the original versions was not greatly diminished as a result.
Jimmy Reed, ”Jimmy Reed at Carnegie Hall” (Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab)-
Originally a two-record set released on Vee-Jay in 1961, this audiophile Ultradisc reissue brings to CD the 11-track ”Jimmy Reed at Carnegie Hall”
and the 12-song ”The Best of Jimmy Reed.” The former was not a live recording but rather a studio re-creation of a concert Reed gave at Carnegie Hall, while the latter consisted of re-recordings of choice Reed material such as ”Big Boss Man,” ”Baby What You Want Me to Do,” ”Take Out Some Insurance” and ”Hush-Hush.” The simple, stark, unhurried yet immensely effective blues and R&B of guitarist, vocalist and harmonica player Reed no doubt helped inspire the purchase of a first guitar and detergent-box-sized amp by many a teenage rocker in the `50s and `60s. Today Reed`s music is still among the best proof that less can indeed be more.
Johnny Rivers, ”Changes/Rewind” (EMI)-The aptly titled 1966 ”Changes” found Rivers switching gears from go-go-guitar hits like ”Memphis” and
”Maybelline” to easy-listening standards like ”Strangers in the Night”
and ”The Shadow of Your Smile.” It also included the Rivers-written strings- and-airy-chorus ”Poor Side of Town,” a gentle love song that became a No. 1 hit late in `66. ”Changes” is paired here with 1967`s equally mellow
”Rewind” LP.
The Smiths, ”The Smiths: Best . . . I” (Sire)-”Call me morbid/Call me pale,” request the lyrics of the Smiths` 1986 song ”Half a Person.” Thanks anyway, we`ll stick with mopey. But for fans of singer-songwriter Morrissey`s vaporous ruminations on the accursedness of life-which are only partly relieved by the playing of guitarist Johnny Marr and company-this 14-song compilation includes the Smiths` first three singles (”Hand in Glove,”
”This Charming Man” and ”What Difference Does It Make”), plus
”William, It Was Really Nothing” and ”Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want.” A second volume, ”The Smiths: Best . . . II,” is due for release this month.
Various artists, ”The Best of Ace Records, Vol. 1: The Pop Hits” (Rock N` Roll/Scotti Bros. Records)-The first in a projected series of Ace compilations on CD, Vol. 1`s 14 tracks hold some classic New Orleans R&B but are dominated by a seven-song chunk of Jimmy Clanton`s more mainstream-leaning pop/rock. Besides Clanton (represented by, among other titles, ”Just a Dream” and ”Another Sleepless Night”), artists from Ace`s `50s-`60s roster included here are Huey ”Piano” Smith (”Pop Eye” and the ”scandalous”
uptempo-R&B version of ”Silent Night”), Frankie Ford (”Sea Cruise,”
”Roberta,” ”Alimony”) and Joe Tex (”Charlie Brown Got Expelled,” a 1959 follow-up to the Coasters` hit ”Charlie Brown”). The song selection seems a bit strange (we assume Huey Smith`s ”Rockin` Pneumonia” and ”Don`t You Just Know It” must be slated for a future compilation), and the packaging leaves something to be desired: Tracks are listed in sequence only on the CD itself.
