gts175 “shock”
Aha, NOW I get what those giant humanostorage chambers were doing in The Matrix!
01-01 Benny Goodman Sextet – 1939-11-27 Waldorf-Astoria, NYC, NY 08 – AC-DC Current (1939)
— critics didn’t like it, but reportedly, Benny “was fond of it himself.”
01-02 AC/DC – High Voltage 104 – Live Wire (1976)
— band had previously released an album called High Voltage in Australia in 1975, but it bears little resemblance to this, their second release which jolted them onto the international stage.
01-03 Bobby Lord – Columbia 4-40927 – High Voltage (1957)
— born, raised, and died in Florida, married his HS sweetheart in Tampa. In 1952, won a spot on early TV in Philadelphia which, at the time, was a serious challenger to New York City for music biz dominance. Later joined Ozark Jubilee, a hi-qual competitor to the Grand Ole Opry. When the Jubilee folded in 1960, Lord was scooped up immediately by the Opry, where he played over fifteen years.
01-04 Nervous Norvus – Sparks
— Jimmy Drake mostly made a living recording “demo” tapes of other people’s songs. But he still kept trying to break out with ones of his own, recording only a smattering onto disc. Don’t know how nervous he actually was, but he likely had “the shakes”; Jimmy drank himself to death in 1968.
01-05 Eddy Grant – Killer On The Rampage 101 – Electric Avenue (1982)
— shocked to learn this was Eddy’s sixth album. This single only peaked at #2 in the US, but was tops among those who danced on coffee tables holding lambrusco bottles.
01-06 Ramones – Leave Home 102 – Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment (1977)
— of course, none of them were actually named Ramone. Forever grateful to them for leading me to an after-party where a slap-fight with a hot girl led to some very interesting dates the next weekend!
02-01 Me First And The Gimme Gimmies – Are A Drag 202 – I Sing The Body Electric (1999)
— earlier on this album (look up the cover art for a laugh), they cover “Science Fiction Double Feature”, from the Rocky Horror Picture Show. All the tunes on this album are covers from movies and Broadway shows: Grease, Cabaret, Evita, and yes, even The Muppet Movie.
02-02 Pretty – Squeakie SQ-1 – Electric Hand (1970)
— only release from this Missouri band is this 45rpm, which is apparently the only release ever, on the Squeakie label. Drums here are by Michael “Quint” Weakley, of the band The Electric Prunes. Had to resist the urge this week, to play a string of bands with “electric” in their names. There are a lot of them.
02-03 Oneida – Success 04 – I Wanna Hold Your Electric Hand (2022)
— a pleasant surprise find for this week, a Brooklyn band with guitar by a guy calling himself “Hanoi Jane”.
02-04 Tiny Topsy – Federal 12315 – You Shocked Me (1958)
— real name Otha Hall, the moniker “Tiny” was tongue-in-cheek, she was fairly heavy-set. A short career, she passed away in 1964, aged 34.
02-05 Laura Dern, Irene Cara, Paul McCrane, Traci Parnell, Eric Brockington – Fame OST 205 – I Sing The Body Electric (1980)
— this tune rounds out the show, ten years later Laura Dern played in the David Lynch fantasy mashup movie of Elvis/Oz with her real mother playing her screen mother, whence Diane Ladd (1935-2025) was nominated for an Oscar.
03-01 Charlie Green – Bus Stop / Electric Slide (2009)
— interchangeable titles for this dance-craze, mixing Marcia Griffith’s standard.
03-02 Laurie Anderson – United States Live 303 – Dance Of Electricity (1984)
— a 5-LP set, all recorded at the Brooklyn Academy Of Music over 4 days in February of 1983.
03-03 Flying Object – Homesick 101 – Electrocute Me (2025)
— only 100 copies of this vinyl LP, recorded in Syracuse NY.
03-04 Van Der Graaf Generator – Time Vaults 104 – Coil Night (1985)
— original release was on cassette in 1981, this was recorded sometime between 1971 and 1975.
03-05 William Shatner & Jeff “Skunk” Baxter – The Blues 09 – Smokestack Lightnin’ (2020)
— Ole Bill raids the bayou, phasers on stun!
04-01 Butterbeans & Susie – Electric Man
— comedy duo Jodie Edwards and Susie Hawthorne were married on stage in 1917. Unable to find release info on this song, though they had a slew of records on the Okeh label from 1924 to 1930, this is not among them. Suspect then, that this is a radio transcription.
04-02 Jimi Hendrix Experience – Electric Ladyland 102 – Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland) (1968)
— suppose this could be considered the “title track” for one of the top albums of all time.
04-03 Purson – Desire’s Magic Theatre 102 – Electric Landlady (2016)
— this album released in April of 2016, less than 8 months later, they announced on stage that their immediately current 2016-12-15 show would be their last. Singer Rosalie Cunningham has done four solo albums since the breakup.
04-04 Person L – The Positives 12 – I Sing The Body Electric (2009)
— out of Pennsylvania, this comes at the end of their second album, of which acclaim outstripped sales.
05-01 King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard – LW 05 – Static Electricity (2021)
— out of Melbourne Australia, sometimes proclaimed as the new standard-bearers for progressive rock. By me. I say that.
05-02 Sleepmakeswaves – Sleep-Makes-Waves 02 – We Sing The Body Electric (2012)
— out of Sydney Australia, their self-titled EP came out as an exploratory foray into the US market, five years into their career.
05-03 ZZ Top – Tres Hombres 104 – Master Of Sparks (1973)
— third album, my fave.
05-04 Immune System – Ambivalence & Spark Plugs (1979)
— self-published, the only release from Chicago’s answer to the Go-Go’s. Half the band soon quit, to form the band Poison Squirrel. Love that the opening chords to this song match “Jacob’s Ladder” by Rush… released in 1980.
06-01 Liam Mower – Billy Elliot OBC 12 – Electricity (2005)
— with songs by Elton John, this musical played 10+ years in London’s West End. When it immigrated to Broadway, nominated for 15 Tony awards (the most ever), and won 10 of those statuettes.
06-02 Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark – Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark 104 – Electricity (1980)
— the breakout single from their debut album.
06-03 Beastie Boys – The Mix-Up 05 – Electric Worm (2007)
— not just funny goofy songs, the Beasties could jam with the best selector.
06-04 Red Tuck – Bear 1972 – Power Line Man (1965)
— with a name like Howard, you would prefer “Red” too. Wrote the song “Laugh The Years Away” for Dolly Parton. Reportedly, quit the music business in 1996, driven out by a disgust for karaoke.
… and a bonus track…
07-01 Mojo Nixon And Skid Roper – Mojo Nixon And Skid Roper 101 – Jesus At McDonalds (1985)
— lead song from a debut album, always a good omen. Followed on the album by “Mushroom Maniac” which was emblazoned on his “tour” shirts, which were various styles of rescued gas station uniform shirts with two patches on the breasts: “Mojo” in script, and “Mushroom Mania Inc.” on the other. AI can’t tell you that.