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Pop Rock Nation

Author: David Middleton

  • FORTY-FIVE REVOLUTIONS PER MINUTE #15: Pardon My Pussy

    URGE OVERKILL  THE STULL EP   (Insipid Vinyl/Touch & Go Records IV-10, 1992)

    Chicago power-trio Urge Overkill ultimately proved to be one of those “in-between” anomalies we sometimes stumble upon in the record world:  too glammy and commercial for indie-rock snobs, yet too rough-hewn and tongue-in-cheek for serious corporate shilling.  Like fellow Illinoisans Cheap Trick before them, UO should have been the ultimate teenagers’ rock group of their era, pumping out one hard-driving, head-banging smash after another while giving a knowing wink on the side to their smarter-than-average loyal fans.  But, in the words of a more famous power-trio, nevermind.

    In 1992, after a few Steve Albini-produced releases that proved UO to be non-starters in the nascent alternate rock universe, National Kato, Blackie Onassis & King Roeser loosened the reins a bit on their tightly-wound glam-punk sound and released this sweet Kramer-produced 4-song double-7″ EP, Stull.  Disc 1, Side A opens the EP on a stellar note, with UO’s stunning and sexy rendition of the Neil Diamond 1967 Top-10 hit, “Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon.”  For most people, this is the only Urge Overkill track they’ve ever heard, because Quentin Tarantino planted it smack-dab in the middle of his hit film, Pulp Fiction, two years later.  At the time of this release, however, it was just a super-cool Neil Diamond cover.

    See the video for URGE OVERKILL\’s \”Girl, You\’ll Be A Woman Soon\” on YouTube

    The B-Side of Disc 1 gives us the King/Kato-penned title-track, “Stull (Part 1).”  Exorcising some long-standing Rolling Stones demons, this 5-plus minute workout resembles the introduction to “Gimme Shelter,” yet it never fully explodes into a “Gimme Shelter” if you know what I mean.  But that’s not really the point here;  it’s all about the hypno-groove, something this newly electrified version of Urge did very well.  Check it out.

    Click here to play URGE OVERKILL’s “Stull (Part 1)”

    Disc 2, Side A wakes us up with another cover song, this time of obscure Seattle punk legends The Alan Milman Sect’s “Stitches In My Head,” here retitled simply, “Stitches.”  As purely psychotic as American punk songs get, “Stitches” accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do: disturb.  Make sure the DJ spins THIS at your next wedding, and watch the mayhem ensue.

    Click here to play URGE OVERKILL’s “Stitches”

    And, last but not least, Side B of Disc 2 bids us a tearful farewell with “Goodbye To Guyville,” as much of a kiss-off to their native Chicago (which was never all that friendly to them in the first place) as a divine inspiration to fellow Windy City heterosexual-relationship authority Liz Phair, who titled her butt-kicking Matador debut, “Exile In Guyville” the following year.  Let the last teardrop fall.

    Click here to play URGE OVERKILL’s “Goodbye To Guyville”

    Originally just a sexy little sampler platter of what these guys were capable of when given a chance to stretch out, The Stull EP  turned out to be a stepping stone for UO, leading to a couple of stellar major-label releases, lots of MTV airplay and massive world tours.  But alas, the public at large never really caught on to their heady brew of cocky rock swagger, nudge-&-wink humor, and super-rock monster riffs.  A shame, really.  In the long run, I think we may have missed out on something truly great.

    (Note:  The CD version of Stull adds two slammin’ tracks from UO’s ’92 Sub Pop Singles Club release #SP109, “(Now That’s) The Barclords” and “What’s This Generation Coming To?”.  With any luck, this platter will be the feature of a future 45 RPM column.)

    NEXT WEEK:  I get all excited and go to a yawning festival.

  • FORTY-FIVE REVOLUTIONS PER MINUTE #14: The Yoshiko Gardens

    UB40  “I’ve Got Mine”  b/w  “Dubmobile” (DEP International Records DEP6, January 1983)

    Though I’m way too obsessed with Americana to be considered an Anglophile, I went through a phase between 1980 and 1984 where I read NME and Melody Maker and The Face, and sopped up UK imports like a sponge in a swimming pool.  Not for naught, mind you;  it was a fertile period for British music.  Punk and post-punk had blown England’s doors completely off their pretentious prog-rock hinges, leaving a wide-open, cavernous, un-policed frontier for everyone to explore.  The Clash and The Police had already proven that rock and reggae could be combined into successful formulas, and the early-’60’s-soaked ska revival, spearheaded by bands like The Specials and Madness (and labels like Stiff and 2-Tone), had yielded some stellar performances and super hits.  By 1980, England had become a place where popular music was now an open playing field, and everyone was invited.

    Though now known almost solely for reggae-fying American standards, Birmingham’s UB40 were originally a very raw, politically-motivated band of working-class background, taking influence from Thatcher’s misgivings and turning out pulsing, bass-heavy jam sessions in return.  They always had a propensity for covers;  their first LP features reworkings of Randy Newman and Billie Holiday classics.  But it was the deeply charged politics of such original compositions as “One In Ten” and “Silent Witness” that got me to notice them, and to shell out serious creflos for thick slabs of their (seemingly handmade) import vinyl.  By late ’82, UB40’s sound had developed a richer, jazzier sheen.  And though I didn’t know it at the time, they were poised to make a huge US breakthrough.  But this little single came first.

    UB40 \”I\’ve Got Mine\” on YouTube

    The video shows the band cavorting on some lovely beach, soaking in the sun, gazing at sexy butts, frolicking in the surf and genuinely having a great time.  A tasty foreshadowing of the success about to come the ’40’s way, obviously.  (I just really hope the Campbell brothers loaded up on sunblock.)  But the band sounds like they’re having a blast in the studio as well.  And when that refrain kicks in, and the snare double-times it up from the only-on-the-four verses wit da skankin’ riddims, then segues in to the sax solo?  Pure joy.

    UB40 \”Dubmobile\” on YouTube

    Side B’s “Dubmobile” shoud actually be called “Toastmobile,” as it’s not really a dub-heavy track, but UB40 knows that.  A fun recording of a great band having a great time before the big storm hits, this track was mix-tape material at my house for years.  As a bonus, here’s some quality live footage, from around the time this single was released, of the band performing both tracks in succession.  You can really hear Ali Campbell’s “popping” guitar riff here, as well as Earl Falconer’s ultra-pumping, super-juicy bassline.  Volume on 10, Bass-Boost on HIGH.

    UB40 \”Dubmobile\” and \”I\’veGot Mine\” live on YouTube

    As I’m sure you all know, UB40 is still together, still active and still quite brilliant, to this day.  Learn more here.

    NEXT WEEK: The return of the Chicago 3.

  • FORTY-FIVE REVOLUTIONS PER MINUTE #13: Road Atlas Shrugged

    GOLDEN PALOMINOS  “Omaha” b/w “I.D. (Like A Version)” (Celluloid Records SCEL 56, 1985)

    It’s a long-and-winding story with lots of stopgaps, but I’ll try to keep it short.  Winter, 1981.  Found an album called Memory Serves by a group named Material in the jazz department of my local record shop.  Bought it on-sight, simply because I noticed that Brian Eno played gong (or something) on one track.  Dumb reason to buy an album, right?  Well, just know that at that moment I was searching for something more, whatever that may have been.  Anyway, upon hearing the album, I was floored by the rich, heavy, dub-influenced basslines emanating from the fingers of one (check the record sleeve)…Bill Laswell.  OK, well suffice to say that over the next few years I spent much hard-earned money on anything with his name on it.  That list grew & grew, but one of the finer things I discovered was, in early 1985, this thrilling little single by Golden Palominos.

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