Tin Huey: Puppet Wipes EP

Puppet Wipes / Cuyakoga Creeping Bent / Poor Alpkoga (live) / The Tin Huey Story

Format: 7" EP

Year: 1977

Label: Clone Records

Price: $4.50

Purchased at: Square Records, Akron Ohio

God bless Akron, you've given us so much.

Admittedly what first brought me to Tin Huey were The Waitresses. Tin Huey's Chris Butler was the driving force behind the band- penning most of their hits including 'I Know What Boys Like', 'No Guilt', 'Christmas Wrapping', and the 'Square Pegs' theme. He is also a Guinness Record holder for 'Longest Pop Song in Recording History.' His song 'The Devil Glitch' clocks-in at a staggering sixty-nine minutes. Chris was also in the crowd that was fired on by the Ohio National Guard at Kent State University on May 4th, 1970. In 2005 he (accidentally) purchased the childhood home of Jeffrey Dahmer...

Anyway, this single appears to be vintage pre-Chris Butler.

I'm not going to go into Tin Huey's long history, as it's rather convoluted and esoteric to say the least. Suffice it to say they're still at it. A few random Tin Huey facts:

• They're one of the bands featured in the 2003 PBS documentary 'It's Everything, and Then It's Gone.' The special covers the history of post-punk and art rock Akron groups including Devo, Waitresses, Rubber City Rebels, Bizzaros, and The Numbers Band.

• Tin Huey played at The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.

I don't really have the words to describe their sound on this EP. Based on my limited vocabulary they remind me a lot of early Devo, especially 'The Tin Huey Story.' Rough, irreverent, and so free-form that they flirt with anarchy.

Regarding the disc itself- I went right to the source and purchased this one in Akron, Ohio. The shop I bought it from had several Tin Huey 7" singles. All were in mint condition. I asked the store owner if they were reissues... and he honestly didn't seem to know. The single is so deadstock-mint that I really can't tell myself, but I will say that there are no reissue markings on it, the paper used for the sleeve is crude and cheap, and I think if it was reissued they wouldn't be using the Clone label so prominently on the sleeve and label?

Expressos: Kiss You all Over / The End

Format: 7"

Label: WEA

Country: UK

Year: 1981

Price paid: $4

Location purchased: My Mind's Eye, Cleveland OH

The Expressos were a Rather low-energy rock band that fall under the 'New Wave' monicker due more to timing than any actual progressive musical aesthetic. At least in retrospect. Maybe if you were there back in the day this stuff would seem a little more radical and dangerous? Supposedly Elvis Costello was a big fan...

To my ear though their sound has a 60s retro feel to it, rather stereotypical of bands of this period/locale. 'Kiss You all Over' lacks that patina however, coming off more as standard rock ala Pat Benatar.

It's not bad stuff actually, but comes across as rather tame and conservative when you consider all of the cutting edge music that was going on around them. I'll coin a term here and call it 'Safe Wave.'

A tour around the internets dredges up scant information other than they have a small but enthusiastic fan base. I'd consider myself fairly well-versed in female-lead groups of the period, but other than their name I knew next to nothing about them before researching this single.

It's a bit murky, but it appears that guitarist Mick Toldi formed PIL (Public Image Limited) with Keith Levine (The Clash), bringing the fresh ex-Pistol John Lydon into the fold. Jah Wobble fits in there somewhere as well. At least as Toldi tells it. He left the band (at Rotten's request) before any material was released.

Upon leaving PIL Toldi met Rozzi Rayner, the soon-to-be lead singer of the Expressos...

The band were signed to WEA soon after, but although they toured with the likes of The Jam and Squeeze and bumped shoulders with contemporaries such as Bananarama,The Boomtown Rats, and other up-and-comers, they failed to find lasting public interest or financial success. The band split in 1981.*

The late 80's band 'Escape Club' (known for their song 'Wild Wild West') included The Expressos' former bassist Johnnie Christo.

Mick Toldi died of a brain tumor in April of 2011.

Vocalist Rozzi Rayner's whereabouts are unknown. It appears that she did not continue a music career after the band's breakup.

Regarding the package- I must say I quite like the sleeve. The shocking red/green design pops and, paired with classic DIY collage artwork, really makes a dramatic in-your face impression. Pity the sounds on the disc don't live up to the promise...

*See this link for the raw story, straight from the horse's mouth. For now I'll leave the info as 'anecdotal', but fascinating-  Mike Toldi reminisces

Culture Club Title: Karma Chameleon / That's the Way

Format: 7"

Label: Virgin/Epic

Country: US

Year: 1983

Price paid: $1 

Location purchased: Square Records, Akron OH

"Loving would be easy if your colours were like my dreams: red, gold, and green, red, gold, and green."

'Karma Chameleon' is the first single off of Culture Club's second album, 'Colour by Numbers.' It was an instant international hit, going to number one in 16 countries including the US (gold) and UK (where it was the best selling single of 1983.) More impressive still it's considered one of the best-selling singles ever, having sold some five million global copies.

The song was performed by the band on an episode of 'The A-Team.'

Boy George on the 'A-Team' commercial

Cover photography was done by David Levine, who photographed many other 80s artists such as The Cure, Siouxsie, and Kylie Minogue.

*Fun Fact- There's a Sex Pistols connection here. Boy George was approached by Malcolm McLaren to play with Bow Wow Wow, which he did, performing as 'Lieutenant Lush.' Annabella Lwin (the band's lead singer) wasn't crazy about the idea so he left to form his own band with Mikey Craig and Jon Moss (Moss had previously worked with The Damned and Adam and the Ants.)

Boy George meets Mr. T. Does it get any more 80s than this?

The Now Wave Sampler

 

 

Format: 7" EP

Label: Columbia

Country: US

Year: 1979

Price paid: $3.50

Purchased at: The Vinyl Underground, Kent OH

The 'Now Wave?' Never heard of it. I think Columbia was attempting to imply that the bands presented on this disc are 'New Wave'... or perhaps even something cooler? Based on the scruffy rag-tag groups I see on the sleeve I'm not buying it, but let's see what we've got here:


Sinceros- 'Take Me To Your Leader'

The sound is sort of a mix between Blotto and Queen. Inoffensive. But wow, they've got pedigree. Their rhythm section, consisting of members Bobby Irwin and Ron Francois, are credited with bass, drums, and backing vocals on Stiff artist Lene Lovich's debut LP 'Stateless.' They even joined her on the 'Be Stiff' promotional tour in 1980. After the band's demise in 1981 member Don Snow moved on to The Squeeze, while François joined The Teardrop Explodes before relocating (in 1982?) to Australia where he worked with such groups such as The Eurogliders. New Wave rating- A

Hounds- 'Doo Wah Diddy'

American band from Chicago formed in 1975. This single reminds me of The Cars on an off day. Supposedly they were a pretty big deal in the local Illinois music scene of the 70s, but outside of their home range they were seen as anachronistic relics, survivors carrying on rock's 'old school' sensibility. New Wave rating- F

The Beat- 'Don't wait up for Me'

Known in the US as 'The English Beat.' High-profile British 2-Tone ska band with a touch of punk thrown in for good measure. Odd song choice on this EP however, as by this point in their career they three singles in the UK top-ten charts to choose from... this was not one of them. New Wave rating- B

Jules and the Polar Bears- 'Good Reason'

If I were to go solely by the sound of this track I wouldn't be very impressed. Rather standard rock stuff, with a splattering of synth keyboards thrown in at the bridge for good measure. Not exceedingly cutting edge. However... the draw here would have to be Jules Shear himself. He found success as a writer, penning hits for both The Bangles and Cyndi Lauper. He was in a relationship with singer Aimee Mann, the subject of 'Til Tuesday's song 'J for Jules', and co-writer of the title track on their third album 'Everything's Different Now.' In January of this year (2013) he released the album 'Shear Shazar' with his wife Pal Shazar, formerly of Slow Children. New Wave level- A+

Aesthetically this one's a 'bit ugly' for my tastes- if I'm any kind of music snob then I'd have to be considered the type that's somewhat bias when it comes to sleeve graphics. I won't turn away good music due to lackluster packaging but, well, this one makes me feel a bit ill. Something about all those hairy 70s-era men on a poorly designed B&W sleeve is unsettling. I'll stomach it however since this was designed as a 'demonstration' (their words) promo and not for sale as such (where concepts such as 'pretty' and 'eye-catching' would be of greater importance...)*

Regarding rarity- although this is a 'promo' item it seems to be fairly common. My guess is it was a POS (Point of Sale) freebie given away at record store counters back in the day.

*edit- After further research it appears that this was a free EP given out when you purchased an LP by one of the featured artists. 45cat

The Creatures: Right Now / Weathercade

Format: 7"

Label: Polydor

Country: UK

Year: 1983

Price paid: $3 

Purchased at: The Vinyl Underground, Kent OH

The Creatures are a side-project of Siouxsie and the Banshees' members Siouxsie and Budgie.

When the Sex Pistols reformed in 1996 the members of Siouxsie and the Banshees were so outraged that they dissolved the band on the spot upon hearing the news, or so the story goes. After that the The Creatures became a full-time endeavor for the duo.

Amazing song, one of the best of 1983 IMO, which is saying a lot!:

The Creatures- Right Now

'Right Now', a Mel Tormé cover, is the band's highest UK charting single to date- reaching #14 in 1983. Interestingly 1989's 'Standing there' reached #5 on the US dance charts making it the highest charting Creatures single.

Artistically the sleeve design is an iconic masterpiece, but being a Siouxsie/Creatures production that should surprise no one.

The Psychedelic Furs: Dumb Waiters / Dash

Format: 7" w/flexi attached to sleeve

Country: UK 

Label: CBS

Year: 1981

Price paid: $4 

Purchased at: The Bop Shop, Rochester NY

Here's a weird one, I've never seen anything quite like it.

In the sleeve is your standard 7" vinyl record. The sleeve itself is that thicker cardboard-type you see with British 7" sleeves of this period... except it has a flexi disc GLUED onto the front. And a hole that goes all the way through the sleeve so you can put the whole affair on your turntable and play it. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm guessing it won't play very well due to the uneven weight. A+ for creative packaging though!

Wiki has this to say about the flexi- 'To help promote the band's Talk Talk Talk album, the UK single for "Dumb Waiters" was packaged in an embossed plastic sleeve, playable at 33-1/3 rpm on a turntable, which contains a track with excerpts from the songs "Into You Like a Train", "I Wanna Sleep With You" and "Pretty in Pink". Singer Richard Butler opens the track by saying "This is a Psychedelic Furs commercial. Buy Talk Talk Talk".'

The single reached #59 on the UK charts.

Ian Dury: What a Waste / Wake Up and Make Love with Me

Format: 7" (yellow vinyl)

Label: Stiff (BUY 27)

Country: Belgium 

Year: 1978 

Price paid: $4 

Purchased at: The Bop Shop, Rochester NY

I didn't realize until I got it home that this was on yellow vinyl. Also didn't realize that this is a Belgium pressing- for some reason Belgium got no fewer than four (!) versions of this single, while the UK only got one. It came in black, orange, yellow, and brown/yellow. My copy has a few brown specks in it which at first thought were defects, but they're most probably left over splatter from the brown/yellow version.

'BUY 27' means that this is the 27th single released by Stiff. If you're interested here's a list of their singles, which have always been very well documented:

Stiff: The Discography

The single peaked at #29 in the UK charts and was Stiff's biggest chart topper up until that time. It was Ian's policy not to include previously released singles on LPs, so this single does not appear on any album.

Dury died of metastatic colorectal cancer on 27 March 2000, aged 57.

The Voices: Sacrificial Rites / Enemies in the Grass

Format: 7"

Label: Mercury

Country: UK

Year: 1983

Price paid: $3 

Purchased at: The Bop Shop, Rochester NY

I knew nothing about The Voices before picking this up, thought I'd take a chance at the price.

After poking around the internet for quite some time I was unable to come up with any additional information. And that's awesome, I love stuff so obscure that they fly under the radar.

Their sound is rather mainstream, which isn't surprising since they're on Mercury. Typical power-pop with a little synth thrown in for good measure. The sleeve art mirrors their sound- colorful, fashionable (in a nineteen-eighty-three sorta way), and slightly pedestrian.

My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult: Final Blindness

Format: 7"

Label: Interscope

Country: US

Year: 1993

Price paid: $4 

Purchased at: Needle Drop Records, Rochester NY

When I think of the Thrill Kill Kult I think of Wax Trax Records, as they were that label's biggest success. I also think of the song 'Sex on Wheelz' and the album 'Sexplosion!', as they were they high point of the band's career. However...

This single was released after they had left Wax Trax- and just after the 'Sexplosion!' album- and it shows. The sound lacks the tight focus of tracks like 'Sex on Wheelz', and comes across as a watered-down version of what the Lords of Acid would exploit so well later in the decade. Sonic, danceable, sample-heavy doodles. That being said it's not horrible and has a certain camp energy to it that evokes images of smoke-filled 90's raves.

The single isn't that common, at least I wasn't able to find a ton of copies out there. But as we know rarity doesn't always equal dollar signs. Prices on this one hover around the $10 mark.

Scissor Fits: Soon After Dark EP

Format: 7" 

Label: Torch 

Country: UK 

Year: 1979 

Price paid: $3 

Purchased at: Needle Drop Records, Rochester NY

I bought this one blind on the fact that it's British, made in '79, and there's a track called 'The Government Knows About U.F.O.'s.' If I were pressed I'd give this disc an appraised value of $15-20, but that's kind of a guess; these early UK punk/proto New Wave singles are of course rare, but it comes down to demand too...

I love when they etch little notes into the inner groove. Stiff Records did this a lot. This single says- "Art + realism = shorts" and "The Gothic R&B"

There's actually a wiki page for the Scissor Fits, but it doesn't divulge too much information... other than they were a rather minor band (duh.) One of the members went on to be the A&R man for the seminal indie label Cherry Red.

Found 'The Government Knows About U.F.O.'s.' on Youtube. It's got that lovely garage sound, but punk tracks are supposed to be like thirty seconds long, not five minutes!

 Scissor Fits - 'The Government Knows About UFO's'

Adam and the Ants: Kings of the Wild Frontier / Press Darlings

Format: 7"

Label: CBS

Country: UK

Year: 1980

Price paid: $4

Purchased at: My Mind's Eye, Cleveland OH

 
The album 'King of the Wild Frontier' was a turning point for Adam and his ants. Previously the band had had little success chart-wise, but that all changed with a forced band lineup brought on by Malcolm McLaren. McLaren, in a brilliant and extremely douchy move, stole Adam's band and put them to work as the group Bow Wow Wow- with the then jailbait Annabella Lwin on lead vocals. But that's a different story.

Suffice it to say things started to go really well for Adam and the Ants shortly thereafter...

This is fourth single released by the band, the first with the new lineup and also first in support of 'Kings of the Wild Frontier' LP. It reached #48 on the UK charts (their first chart appearance.)

I love the sleeve art on this one. The black/red/white color scheme is rather potent and must have made a dramatic impression on store shelves back in the day; it certainly would have caught my eye! Very intimidating, like a horror movie poster. Potent and primal.

Bush Tetras: Things That Go Boom in the Night / Das Ah Riot

Format: 7"

Label: Fetish

Country: UK

Year: 1981

Price paid: $5 

Purchased at: The Record Archive, Rochester NY

Bush Tertras were (and are) a NYC New Wave band with ties to the No Wave scene. Typical of bands from New York, they tend to just do their own thing- chart success be damned.

My wife and I had a brief working relationship with the band and their associated label (RIOR) a few years ago when we had the honor of designing the vinyl album art for their 'Boom in the Night' LP, which was previously only available on CD. They gave us pretty much free reign to do what we wanted. I went back to their early art style and classic logo/typeface (as per today's entry; they had dropped this iconic style and went with something more bland with the older design) for inspiration. This was also just post 9/11 so I wanted something edgy to go along with the title and reflect their urban sound.

But I digress... the art seen here on 'Boom' reflects their rather dark urban funky sound, with a tinge of the tribal/dub championed so well by other groups such as The Slits and New age Steppers.

Magnapop: Fire All Your Guns at Once EP

Format: 7" purple vinyl

Label: SideOneDummy

Country: US

Year: 1996

Price paid: $4

Purchased at: The Record Archive, Rochester NY

Magnapop, to me anyway, are one of those bands that, metaphorically at least, struggled to shake free of the oppressive atmosphere of early 90s grunge and indie stereotypes. They remind me of Sleeper (UK) somewhat, only a little less melodic and a lot less pop. Hailing from Georgia, they had somewhat of an uphill battle...

But hey, it's purple vinyl!

This EP was released on April 1st 1996 shortly before the release of their 3rd studio album 'Rubbing Doesn't Help.'

The Teardrop Explodes: Bouncing Babies/All I am is Loving You

Format: 7"
Label: Zoo Records
Country: UK
Year: 1979
Price paid: $2
Location purchased: Square Records, Cleveland Ohio


I knew little of the band before picking up this single, but I really dig their sound here. Similar to some Cure to my ear, playful yet melancholic. This version has a raw bass-heavy feel missing from the more polished LP version.

'Bouncing Babies' was the band's second single. It failed to chart. The song:

The Teardrop Explodes- Bouncing Babies


The art- This one certainly won't win any awards in my book. A lousy underexposed B&W photograph surrounded by puke yellow. I'm sure the photograph has some specific meaning (it looks to be an early 20th century Surrealist image) but I'd need time to decipher that. For now the message is as cryptic as the song itself. That being said it has a certain naive low-tech charm.

Zoo Records was formed in order to facilitate the release of singles by the band 'Big in Japan.' Other acts on the label include 'Echo and the Bunnymen' and 'Lori and the Chameleons.' The label quickly folded, having only released two LPs and a handful of singles.

Supposedly the 'Bouncing Babies' single was hard to come by, even back in the day. So much so that another band (The Freshies) wrote a song about their exasperation in attempting to locate a copy. As far as I know this is the ONLY single ever released with the subject of the single being another single. Sadly I don't own this single yet; supposedly it's rarer than the single they're lamenting:

The Freshies- I Can't Get 'Bouncing Babies' by The Teardrop Explodes

Cherry Vanilla: The Punk/Foxy Bitch

Format: 7"
Label: RCA
Country: US
Year: 1977
Price paid: $1.50
Location purchased: My Mind's Eye, Cleveland

This is not a punk song, so don't be confused. It's a contemporary scathing parody of punk stereotypes... and a damn' good one at that. So good in fact that if you squint your ears in just the right way it's nearly indistinguishable from the British punk sound of the time.

Take a listen. Yes, she's rough around the edges and she could be somebody's mom. But the song itself is brilliant, the energy infectious, and the band really can play quite well:

Cherry Vanilla- The Punk (video)

Cherry Vanilla herself is quite a character. Most notably she was David Bowie's high-profile publicist during the early 70's, going so far as to (jokingly, I think) offer oral sex to any DJ that would play Bowie's music. She also worked on some of Warhol's theater projects, including the starring role in the UK production of 'Pork.' She's released three full LPs, five singles, and a tell-all book- definitaly not a flash in the pan despite her laughable stage name and tongue-in-cheek style.

I've wanted this single for awhile now. Sadly the condition's not that good, the sleeve anyway. The sleeve art gets the job done with its cute arresting image of Cherry and shocking red font, but I'd hardly call it ground-breaking design. But hell it's on RCA, so what do you expect?