Big Brother & The Holding Company – Combination Of The Two (Live At The Monterey International Pop Festival) (2021)

 

Versions:

LP

Tracklisting:

Side One - Saturday:

1. Down On Me

2. Combination Of The Two

3. Harry

4. Road Block

5. Ball And Chain

Side Two - Sunday:

1. Combination Of The two

2. Harry

3. Ball And Chain

Best Tracks:

Ball And Chain (Sunday performance)

Down On Me

Combination Of The Two (Saturday performance)

Currently listening to:

LP 

I've been waiting a few months for this one to arrive, and it finally came today.

This release is a perfect example of why I both love and hate Record Store Day releases. After an extensive search, I think it's safe to say that no Australian stores received their stock of this LP. Usually, that wouldn't present too much of a problem, but in the post-COVID world, having records shipped here from overseas isn't as easy as it once was. Plus, shipping from overseas now doubles, if not triples, the price. It's frustrating, and there appears to be no end in sight. I've certainly had to adjust. Five years ago, I'd have scoffed at paying $60 for a record like this. In 2021, I was pleased to find it for $60.

The flip side of this is, more importantly, the very fact that a record like this is actually being put out in 2021. If RSD is the only way to get records like this into my collection, then I'll (sometimes reluctantly) take it. For Janis Joplin/Big Brother fans, this one is well overdue. 

Big Brother And The Holding Company's 1967 Monterey Pop Festival appearance is famous for breaking them out into an unsuspecting world, and shooting them - and, Janis Joplin in particular - into fame. As is typical for Joplin's back catalogue, parts of the set have been released on official compilations and bootlegs, but this is the first time that both of their sets at the festival (they famously played a second because the first wasn't filmed) have been made available.

This release is a revelation. The tracks released on the 1993 Janis box set, from the Saturday set, suffered from rather average sound. I've had most of these tracks on a CD bootleg, also called Combination Of The Two, that featured Saturday's set with Sunday's rendition of 'Ball And Chain' (which is the famous one from the film, though both versions are quite similar). My expectations for this release weren't particularly high, but this record absolutely blows them both out of the water. I had no idea that these recordings could sound so good. It's a blistering little set that they played on the Saturday - and I really didn't appreciate that fact until I heard this record.

Also surprising for a Janis Joplin release, a lot of love and care seems to have gone into the presentation of this one. Housed in a beautiful tip-on sleeve and pressed on translucent purple vinyl with a black smoke effect, it is a thing of absolute beauty. I usually don't care for coloured vinyl, but this one looks real nice. Most recent Joplin releases, like her Woodstock set that was finally issued on vinyl in 2019, feel slapped together without much attention to detail. This pressing actually feels like there was some thought that went into it. I also bought the vinyl release of The Who's Monterey Pop Festival set that came out for RSD in 2020 (and was much easier to find than this one), which is also beautifully presented. Both were put out by the Monterey International Pop Festival Foundation, rather than the bands' big labels, which probably explains that care that has gone into them. If they keep putting these sets out, then we're in for some treats.

These are (mostly) recordings that I know well. I thought I was buying this record as something of a gap filler, but I am seriously impressed. There's been a surprising number of live Janis Joplin records come out over the past ten years or so, both officially and as bootlegs. This one, happily and unexpectedly, is one of the best.

The Donnas - Gold Medal (2004)

I'd all but forgotten about this blog until someone asked me about it the other day. So, here we go again. 

Versions:

LP

CD

Tracklisting:

1. I Don't Want To Know (If You Don't Want Me)

2. Friends Like Mine

3. Don't Break Me Down

4. Fall Behind Me

5. Is That All You've Got For Me

6. It's So Hard

7. The Gold Medal

8. Out Of My Hands

9. It Takes One To Know One

10. Revolver

11. Have You No Pride

Best Tracks:

I Don't Want To Know (If You Don't Want Me)

The Gold Medal

Fall Behind Me

Currently listening to:

LP

I first became aware of The Donnas just after they released The Donnas Turn 21. My group of high school friends were quite taken with them, as was I. While my friends' hormonal admiration was centred on the fact that they were a group of young women playing guitars (I don't think it really mattered what music they were playing), I was more enamoured with their tales of partying and chasing boys - which was my secret goal in life in my late teens. It was all good fun, and The Donna went from strength to strength in the early 00's, releasing the wonderful Spend The Night then this, Gold Medal, in 2004. 

Gold Medal tipped me from enthusiastic fan to obsessee for a time. While still rocking, this record was the hangover from the records that proceeded it. The beers and the 40 boys in 40 nights don't have the same appeal in the harsh light of morning, and it took The Donnas (an impressive) 6 albums to wake up miserable with sore heads. Instead of taking it off, The Donnas wanted you to fall behind them. From the anxiously obsessive 'I Don't Want To Know (If You Don't Want Me)' to the melancholic country of 'The Gold Medal', The Donnas got as close to catharsis as they ever would. And, Gold Medal is their best record because of it. 

Sadly, it was also their last hurrah. Their last album, the underwhelming Bitchin', followed three years later and lost all the momentum they'd gathered over the last 4 albums. Then they seemed to go out with a whimper. And, I've barely thought about them since.

When this album was reissued on vinyl last year, I wondered if I really needed to buy it. The few times I'd heard any Donnas song in the last 15 years were nostalgic reminders of road trips, friends and, funnily enough, partying and chasing boys (which I did touch on in a previous post). But did that need to be in my collection now?

It arrived today, so I guess the short answer is, yes. 17 years later, it's still pretty good, even if it is painfully nostalgic. I am continually surprised how dated music from the early 00's sounds now (not a criticism, by any means - just an observation), but Gold Medal holds up better than I had anticipated. I enjoyed it so much that I put Spend The Night on once it had finished. Which hasn't aged quite as well and is possibly even more nostalgic). I'm glad to finally add the vinyl copy to my record collection. 

Alice Cooper - Love It To Death (1971)

Versions:
LP
LP (Signed)
CD

Tracklisting:

Side One:
1. Caught In A Dream
2. I'm Eighteen
3. Long Way to Go
4. Black Juju

Side Two:
1. Is It My Body
2. Hallowed Be My Name
3. Second Coming
4. Ballad of Dwight Fry
5. Sun Arise

Best Tracks:
Second Coming/The Ballad Of Dwight Fry
I'm Eighteen
Is It My Body

Currently listening to:
LP

Love It To Death is probably still one of my favourite albums.

I'd always known Alice Cooper. I remember 'Poison' being everywhere when I was very young. My Mum - who is not into music at all - only ever had one tape that she played in the car, and one side of that was Welcome To My Nightmare. I became aware, however, of Alice Cooper - the band - on the same documentary series that introduced me to The Stooges and Patti Smith. There was something about 'I'm Eighteen' that seemed worlds apart from the Alice Cooper that I'd grown up with. And, of course, it was very much what I was into at the time. I promptly bought a cheap vinyl copy from my beloved Old Reynella record shop and played it to death (pun regrettably intended).

Love It To Death is more than just another early 70's rock album. It's subtly more sinister than Black Sabbath, it rocks harder than Bowie and is far less pompous than Led Zeppelin. Taking their cues from The Stooges and The Doors, Alice Cooper (the band, as well as the guy) create a world of their own, most notably the stretch on Side Two, from 'Second Coming' onwards. This includes what is unquestionably Alice Cooper's best song in the form of 'The Ballad of Dwight Fry' (and concludes - oddly, enough - with a cover of Rolf Harris' 'Sun Arise'). While the duo of 'Second Coming' and 'Dwight Fry' foreshadow similar ideas explored later in Alice's career (think 'Years Ago' and 'Steven' from Welcome to My Nightmare), here they are free of gimmicks (while still in it's infancy, the Alice Cooper gimmick was present at this time, however) and feel like a more sincere statement than much of the band's work after this. The high drama of 'Black Juju' recalls The Doors' more theatrical moments (and The Stooges' 'We Will Fall'), while the wonderful 'I'm Eighteen', 'Is It My Body', 'Caught In A Dream' and 'Hallowed By My Name' prove that they can rock with the best of them.

When I was 18, I met Alice Cooper. He was doing a record singing at The Muses in Rundle Mall and, of course, I took along my vinyl copy of Love It To Death to get signed. I was one of the first in line and, after exchanging pleasantries, I handed him my record. "Oh, wow!" he says, "You got a thumb!". Uh, what? I was a completely starstruck and hadn't expected much an exchange. So, I was a little taken aback. Not realising what he meant, I asked him what he'd said. "You got a thumb!" was his enthusiastic response. "Oh...uh....OK. Thanks", was the best I could muster and as I started to walk away, he kept on. "No, I really mean it. You got a thumb! That's a collector's item!". I thanked him again and, looking down at the record, finally realised what he meant. Once I got home, I checked my CD version and, sure enough, no thumb. Turns out, the thumb was airbrushed out of American copies of the cover, deemed too phallic and obscene. While original copies of the American thumb version may well be collector's items, I've never seen an Australian pressing without the thumb. So, I highly doubt that it's the collector's item that the great man promised it would be.

Oh, and we were on the Channel 7 news together, too. My best mate Alice Cooper and I. They have have filmed the signing. I never saw it, sadly.

The Troggs - I Can't Control Myself / Gonna Make You (1966)

Side A:
I Can't Control Myself

Side B:
Gonna Make You

I can't work out if this is a double A side or not. If it's not, it fucking well should be. This is another example of why I love hearing 60's music on 45. Both sides of this single - possibly my two favourite Troggs songs - jump up from the grooves and really come alive. Maybe it's the ragged mono mixes? Maybe it's that groups like The Troggs are carelessly issued on CD (and cheap LP compilations) so that many of the releases sound limp in comparison (no CD I've heard does that bass on 'Gonna Make You' any justice)? Whatever the case may be, this blistering little single is the best way I've found to hear these songs.

Donovan - Atlantis (1968)

Side A:
Atlantis

Side B:
I Love My Shirt

'Atlantis' is my Dad's favourite Donovan song - which is probably why I bought the single. Tonight, I'm hearing it for the first time in a long time. I seem to remember this single being so crackly that it virtually unlistenable, but it's holding up tonight.

I like 'Atlantis' more than I remember. I think I usually hear the first part and get bored before I remember how much I like the end of the song. 'I Love My Shirt' is, quite literally, about loving his shirt. It's a bit silly. While not without it's charm, it did get grating by the end. I was happy when it ended. I think I'll stick to 'Catch The Wind' next time.

Little Birdy - Relapse (2003)

Side A:
Relapse

Side B:
Beautiful

Two things surprise me when I hear certain music from the early 2000's. Firstly, how nostalgic it has become. Secondly, how badly it's dated. I'll elaborate when I blog, say, Highly Evolved. For now, we're onto Little Birdy.

I used to love Little Birdy, but I must be honest. They absolutely drive me up the wall these days. How I ever stomached Katy Steele's sickly sweet voice, I'll never know. The mere thought of 'Come On Come On' or 'Tonight's The Night' may cause a bilious attack.

'Relapse' was always one of their best songs. Hearing it tonight, it didn't drive me as crazy as I expected. I even enjoyed it. It's still a good song. More than anything, it brought back memories of the early 00's - of nights and gigs and friends long forgotten.

The version on this single is the same as the one from the 2003 Little Birdy EP, which makes me think that this single must have also come out in 2003 (the single doesn't list the year and even Discogs fails to provide any insight).

'Beautiful' is an early version of 'Beautiful To Me'. 'Beautiful To Me' is one that drives me crazy these days. This early version is much less polished than the single that came out a few years later. As such, I find it a more digestible listen than the BigBigLove version, which I listened to afterwards for comparison and which gave me heartburn.

I bought this single from a record fair, but don't remember much else. I'd all but forgotten about it until tonight. There doesn't seem to be much information about it on the internet. If it's become hard to find, it may be a treasure that I really don't appreciate.

The Mamas And The Papas - Creeque Alley (1967)

Side A:
Creeque Alley

Side B:
Did You Ever Want To Cry

I've always had a big soft spot for The Mamas And The Papas. However, 'Creeque Alley' isn't one of my favourites, as much as I used to enjoy it.

I always thought it was a little mean to explicitly call out Mama Cass for being fat. After reading Eddi Fiegel's Dream A Little Dream Of Me: The Life Of 'Mama' Cass Elliot, I liked the song even less. Not only did it make fun of Cass' weight, it also told everyone that she was in love with Denny, which was kinda sad in itself. The book even noted that their wonderful 'Glad To Be Unhappy' single was a more accurate description of the group's history than 'Creeque Alley' was.

'Creeque Alley' is still a bit of fun, when taken at face value. Though, given the many great songs that The Mamas And The Papas recorded (like B-side to this single, 'Did You Ever Want To Cry'), I usually skip past 'Creeque Alley' these days.