THIS RECORD WILL MAKE YOUR @$$ MOVE

Nick Curran And The Lowlifes: Baby You Crazy
From Reform School Girl (Eclecto Groove, 2010)

A couple weeks ago I was passed this new Nick Curran And The Lowlifes' album out of the blue. After a busy few weeks, I finally got a chance to listen to it tonight. Straight out the gate they cover Etta James' “Tough Lover,” which you can hear over on their MySpace page. It takes some stones to cover Etta as she has more than her fair share of sass. Curran and his band more than fill the shoes, though, right down to the '50s howl that Little Richard popularized. They don't really flip it much from the original, but it's well done.

The album is a '50s party from beginning to end even as they give a sock hop feel to AC/DC's “Rocker” to close out the album. Curran has some blazing solos showing off his guitar skills on this one. The drummer's foot had to be about ready to fall off after this minute-and-a-half of scorched wax. Having recorded the album on old analog equipment gives the album authenticity as it sounds like it could have been from some old 78 you found at a neighborhood garage sale.

“Reform School Girl,” with its rhythm n roll and jump blues roots, brings back to life a genre that doesn't get covered often these days. With retro soul all over the place, it's nice to see that a group hasn't forgotten this exciting early rock sound. What's more is that they do it with such pizzazz that they don't just go through the motions, they stand tall with their rock forefathers and might very well have been legends today had they been doing this 50 years ago.

HENDRIX EXCLUSIVE SINGLES

In advance of the upcoming album, Valleys Of Neptune of previously unreleased studio material from Jimi Hendrix, there are a couple of retailers who have singles (yes, those still exist) - one CD and one vinyl. Each include a bonus track not found on the other.

1. Wal-Mart is offering a CD single (remember that format?) featuring "Valleys Of Neptune" (the song) plus a b-side entitled "Peace In Mississippi," which if I'm not mistaken was originally released on the LP "Crash Landing" in the mid-70s ('75?). The b-side is an absolute killer rock instrumental with Hendrix showing off an almost heavy metal flare. From what I've read, this single is limited to 15,000 copies and is only available at the brick and mortar stores. Sorry online shoppers. The good news is that its pretty cheap. I picked one up at my local Wal-Mart for $1.88.

UPDATE: I completely forgot to mention that there's also a code in the Wal-Mart CD single to download a live version of Red House (played at Clark University).

2. Amazon, among other places, has a limited edition 45 also featuring "Valleys Of Neptune" as well as a b-side called "Cat Talking To Me." I haven't personally heard this version, but feel free to chime in if you have. No word on how many copies of this were pressed.

As far as bonus tracks, iTunes will have 2 bonus tracks not found on the regular physical copy of the full album: "Slow Version" and "Trash Man".

It will be interesting to see if indie shops score something completely different or any of these songs previously mentioned as a bonus giveaway.

VINTAGE (UNRELEASED) BEASTIE BOYS

The Beastie Boys are a band that is hard to say they're one thing or another. They're one of the few bands who combined rock and rap with respectable results. It didn't hurt that they got better as a band the longer they recorded.

It's a pretty safe bet that this one didn't get released because of the Beatles sample, however minimal it may be, which is unfortunate because I think it's a pretty catchy tune even if I wouldn't rank it as one of their top 20 songs. “I'm Down” makes me wanna go buy some Filas and '80s sunglasses and reminisce back to when MTV was actually worth a shit.

THE MANY INCARNATIONS OF THE RECKONER

The OG OG version, one of the most rocking songs Radiohead has in its canon, just has this incredible guitar riff. It also had the lyric in the title “...feeling pulled apart by horses.”



The version that came to be the official version released on In Rainbows was more subdued and featured a falsetto lilt with a more R&B backdrop.



The newly reworked version of “Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses” by Thom Yorke with the assist by bandmate Johnny Greenwood. The overall feel is more brooding than either of the other versions.



Which version do you like better?