You children of the '70s will remember Ram Jam for their repetitive adaptation of Leadbelly's "Black Betty" that monopolized much of FM Radio's airtime in the latter half of the decade. It may have prevented you form grabbing their second album, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Ram when you saw it at Goodwill that time your girlfriend dragged you there to get a new dresser. Shame really, because Portrait... is an enjoyable feathered hair, muscle car, quaalude-by-the-lake, summertime Southern Rock boogie party that may be just what the doctor ordered when you start taking shit too serious and holding your ass all tight.
29 comments:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwxxXt--PQo
This is the original version of Black Betty a few years before Leadbelly
Shit, dude, first album's pretty great too. A little more straight-up southern rock, but a good time. You can get both on one CD and fucking should...
Get back to posting obscure Black Metal Cassettes that are 'genuine' musical statements and stop fuckin' about with this kind of toilet
The first album was okay, actually I remember "Black Betty" being the only decent cut on that album. That came out in '77 which seems to be sorta a day late and a dollar short and bands of that genre or similar were trying to make money by well trying to make pop hits.
Anonymous, how about you start your own blog and post whatever the fuck you want.
Fuck anonymous. I love this record. I remember seeing it at the flea market and wondering aloud "Those guys had a second album?!?"
One dollar later, it was all mine!
Thanks.
Sorry but I had to chuckle at the anon comment, and the response...
I guess there are ingrate shitmouth hipsters who just got interested in black metal after hearing Wolves In The Throne Room after years of listening to Death Cab For Cutie and need me to be their kvlt Annie Sullivan.
What kind of sick freak would walk past this album at Goodwill and NOT buy it?
"I guess there are ingrate shitmouth hipsters who just got interested in black metal after hearing Wolves In The Throne Room after years of listening to Death Cab For Cutie and need me to be their kvlt Annie Sullivan".
The references in this statement alone make you da man Aseop!
how about a little snip from the new Ludicra?
hmm? hmm? danny? Do you stand for goodness or badness? good good! How bout a Fresca?
-jabladav
We will leak a track from the new Ludicra soon.
The track 'Turnpike' on this album is very similar in construction to the UFO song Love To Love the electric piano with the power chords at the start even the tone of the guitar all the way through the song and the general speed and lilt of the chord structure seems to be shadowing the UFO tune and/or UFO style. Also a later tune on this album Runaway Runaway has borrowed or used and reworked the catchy sections from Alice Coopers muscle of love and copied the production/sound/blend of the instruments.
It makes no difference and there will always be bands that are musos/businessmen with no ideas of their own having success from cover versions in the main due to their ability to rework rather than innovate.
Bach, Wagner, Django Reinhardt, Muddy Waters, Gilberto Jobim, Zappa, Brian Wilson, Syd Barrett, Jeff Beck... I suppose real music didn't even exist before "Deathcrush" was made.
I can't stand elitists.
This album is good but I love the first one even more. Keep your hand on the wheel? Let it all out? Keep these 70s gems coming!
jt
There really should be a awards ceremony for best Cosmic Hearse write-up description because this one maybe my top favorite.
PS: I teach a blog design class at my high school librarian job and I show the kids your blog to demonstrate "tight" and "concise" blog writing skills. So there you go...CH word-smithing is being taught public schools! I have something to show for tomorrows class!
Southern rock with a dash of James Joyce. Gotta love the seventies!
Daniel, that is great, if not a bit weird.
Never heard of this before, funny to me how many successful bands from AOR radio are largely forgotten today. It's hitting me like that UFO record you posted a while back. I was expecting this to be kind of guilty-pleasure commercial. It rocks pretty hard.
Maybe it is the speakers I'm listening to this through, but the production almost makes me laugh out loud. Not bad, just characteristic.
Thought Anonymous's comment was funny.
Also, great guitar tones on this record.
JMD
Royal Oak, MI
Although the Ram Jam version (which I only have now just learnt is a cover) tends to be on the repetitive side, the recent cover by once-great Australian fuzz-punk band(not really a genre, but the only way I can describe them really, kind of like early Breeders and from what I've heard a little like Kung Fu USA/Shellshag) Spiderbait is not only repetitive, but fanboy garbage more for the people who remember the Ram Jam version than lending anything new, original or creative to the song.
If you get the chance, you should hear Spiderbait's first two EP's Shashavaglava and P'TangYangKipperBang... some wonderfully fuzzy guitar tracks to be heard.
Well I certainly would buy this were I to come across it like that, for the title and cover alone. Sometimes this approach doesn't work out (I refer you to "Ma" by Rare Earth...although it was probably worth it for the cover alone)
orginally, I was going to slam on about anonymous posters are always negative
but then a bunch of anons posted constructive and/or positive feedback
sort of shot that to hell
anyway
great guitar licks on this one
this record cums all over the backseat before the first track is even over
craziness
great comment Roger!
cool to see the UFO love
"I guess there are ingrate shitmouth hipsters who just got interested in black metal after hearing Wolves In The Throne Room after years of listening to Death Cab For Cutie and need me to be their kvlt Annie Sullivan."
Speaking of hipsters: http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-decades-best-metal,35509/
Hope you get a few chuckles.
Fuck Anna Nimmoti. Thanks for the Ram Jam!
Bleh, I'd almost rather listen to later Spirit. Not a good record. The Rainbow you just posted on the other hand...
Not my bag of tricks, this record, but a monstrous cover. If I saw it for cheap enough I might pick it up just so I could look at it now and again.
"I guess there are ingrate shitmouth hipsters who just got interested in black metal after hearing Wolves In The Throne Room after years of listening to Death Cab For Cutie and need me to be their kvlt Annie Sullivan."
That could very well be one of my all time favorite quotes...
I was at JnS Phonograph Needles in Seattle today and as I was paying for my new record needle I noticed that they have the display cardboard advertisment for Portrait of the Artist as a Young Ram on the wall. It's only $70.
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