Category: Robin Wills’ Purepop

Dog Rose – Sunday Morning

Dog Rose –Paradis Row/ Sunday Morning –Satril Sat 2 (1972 UK)

Dog Rose were Dave Johnson –Lead Guitar, Rowley Henley-Jones –Rhythm Guitar, John Amis –Bass Guitar and Andy Hunter on Drums. They are perhaps slightly better known for their All For The Love Of City Lights single that appeared on the Glitterbest comp(RPM). Paradis Row as stated in the press release is “a happy, bouncy, sunshine songâ€Â which is a pretty accurate description. The B side is a cool Junkshop Jug band number and features some cooking lead guitar. Dog Rose also released an album –All For The Love Of Dog Rose, but it remains, as yet, unheard by these ears…

Click on title for a full version of Sunday Morning

GRUDGE !!!!!!!!!

Grudge –When Christine Comes Around/ I’m Gonna Smash Your Face In –Black Label BL 002 (1973 UK)
OK, this is the last single I’m putting up on ebay for a while and you could say that I was saving the best for last…but then again…

You can find it here in any case:

https://search.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQsassZpurepop1ukQQhtZ-1

Click on title for an edit of both songs

Richmond –Peaches (What’s It All About)

Richmond –Peaches (What’s It All About)/Work For My Baby –Dart ART 2044 (1974 UK)

Good and strong 2-sider from Richmond. They also had an album out on Dart and at least one more single. I saw a mention that the album was folk, but this single, at least, is as far from folk as could be. Peaches is a medium-paced Glam cracker highlighted by some screeching dual Watkins Copicat delayed lead guitar. The catchy tune is a bit like one of those slower Glitter Band numbers and will surely ingrain itself into your brain. The B side ups the tempo and is a solid Boogie/Glam workout again with some great loud guitar chops.

Click on title for edits of Peaches and Work For My Baby

Cheek –Do You Have A Soul?

Cheek –Do You Have A Soul?/ Take Me For What I’m Worth/ So Much In Love/ Still In Love –Voxx VEP-3002 (1980 US issue)

Powerpop Purveyors is what is says on the back cover and this is exactly what Cheek do… Do You Have A Soul? is an incredibly powerful remake of The Easybeats tune and with Vanda &Young producing it’s a remarkable update adding more than a hint of the AC/DC thud. ROCK!!!! It’s loud and so very good – exactly what Power Pop should be. This EP was put out by Greg Shaw’s Voxx label in the US and collects their two Aussie singles (was there more?). P.F Sloan’s Take Me For What I’m worth is a great song to cover, but it doesn’t quite come off. So Much In Love is the Jagger/Richards/Mighty Avengers track and the lone original Still In Love is OK, but how could anything follow that cracking opening number without being an anti-climax?

Click on title for a full version of Do You Have A Soul

Melody –Steppin’ Stone

Melody –Steppin’ Stone/Look In My Eyes And Love Me –Negram NG 2216 (1977 NL)

First things first –these guys look nothing like the way they sound. Sure the singer is probably pouting to the max between sputtering out his Jaggerisms, but the track starts off like some mutant spastic skiffle (Thanks C) and then finds itself in some weird place where the earthy bluesy slide guitar base is suplemented by a sprinkling of Glam and a touch of Dumb Punk for good measure. No clue or information on these guys…apart from being sponsored by Himalaya Oriental Beauty Products and being dressed by Club De France…

Hopefully Jos or others can fill us in on who these guys are? And what ever happened to Astrid Niels?


Click on title for soundclip

Harvest Glam: Babe Ruth and Bombadil


Have you ever been to a Harvester before? Harvest is not a label that you would normally associate with Junk Shop Glam, but here are two pretty cool singles worth seeking out

Babe Ruth –Ain’t That Livin’/We Are Holding On –Harvest 5072 (1973 UK)

Ain’t That Livin’ is a crunchy Glamster that sits somewhere between Suzi Quatro and (the Dutch) Heart –The tune is not stupendous, but as one Euro online trader would say: “It has all the 70s GLAM and GLITTER spices we all loveâ€Â (sic)

Bombadil –Breathless/When The City Sleeps –Harvest 5056 (1972 UK)

Bombadil are in fact Barclay James Harvest but it sounds more like Chicory Tip guesting with T. Rex on a backing track where they couldn’t be bothered to write any lyrics. It has a fine groove with neat Bolanesque guitar and chugs along very nicely indeed. It’s a bit of a mystery how this single came about though…

Click on title for edits of Ain’ That Livin’ and Breathless

Catching Up…

Hi
I’ve been a bit under the cosh recently with other commitments but I’ve also been drowning in new single purchases. Must have picked up over 20 singles at the London and Brighton record fairs, plus numerous online purchases…

I’ll catch up over the next few days with new reviews -starting tonight

On Monday I’ll be listing some choice singles on ebay…watch this space

All the best
Robin

The Nashville Teens –Ella James

The Nashville Teens –Ella James/Same (Promo)–UA 50880 (1971 US)

This is an absolute killer version of The Move Song. If anything it rocks harder than the original and features some blistering lead guitar breaks and a wild pounding piano. The single was issued in the UK on Parlophone with Tennessee Woman on the B side. I assume that this was the same version as issued under the Arizona Swamp Company moniker (see review March 28th). Any other great late Nashville Teens tracks out there?

Click on title for soundclip

Bloom –Don’t Break This Heart

Bloom –Don’t Break This Heart/Can I Get You For The Night –Philips 6012 704 (1976 NL)

Don’t Break This Heart is a classic traditional Power Pop tune very much in a similar vein to The Poppees or Smyle. The cover also wears its classicism on its …sleeve and recalls The Scruffs’ LP. A couple of members of Bloom later reappeared as part of Bloem after merging with another Hilversum band Teenager. The main guy in Bloom/Bloem was Joost Timp, son of TV celebrity Mies Bouwman.

Click on title for full version of Don’t Break This Heart