Martha and the Muffins - Echo Beach

From nine to five I have to spend my time at work. My job is very boring, I’m an office clerk. The only thing that helps me pass the time away is knowing I’ll be back at Echo Beach some day.

Quick HIt

“Echo Beach” by Martha and the Muffins (1980)

“Echo Beach” was blaring on a jukebox at a Friday night get-together in the ‘lounge’ what seems like an eternity ago. A guy I was talking to knew I collected music and was asking me if he should buy the new Martha and Muffins album. “Was this the way to develop a good record collection?” he asked.

In 1977, inspired by the punk & new wave movement and bored with safe seventies music, friends David Millar and Mark Game (both guitarists) decided starting a band. Practicing in ’77, musicians came and went but eventually Martha Johnson (keyboards) and Ken Finkle (bass) joined. Tim Game (drums) joined soon after.

Essential Classics for a Saturday Afternoon....

The Doors - The Doors

The Rolling Stones - Goat's Head Soup

The Beatles - 1967-1970

Pink Flloyd - The Wall

K-tel Records "Block Buster" Commercial - 1976

Twenty original hits, original stars, be sure to get the best from K-Tel. LP $5.99, tape $6.99.

A little Musical History

“K-Tel Block Buster Commercial” circa 1976

There is no getting around the fact that the seventies were pretty funky. There was such a wide variety of music produced that if you did not like something, next week there would be something you did like.There was a huge market of teenagers to tap into and hucksters and hustlers alike were there with knives, fry pans, and mood rings for the average guy watching the tube, kicking back in his platform shoes and colourful shirt.

The boomers were veraciously buying music like it was going out of style so it was no wonder a company called K-tel targeted this and made out like bandits. Their famous compilations made it an affordable way to get a good sample of current hits, putting up with the other ‘stuff’ they put on them. As they advertised though, the songs were the original songs by the original artists. That was their appeal. Clearly the songs were shortened at times so the compressed groves of the records could fit all 20 or even 25 songs on the album. When you compress the grooves on the records so much, you tend to lose some of the ‘information’ so the recordings although ‘stereo’ were not of the highest quality; although few noticed I’m sure.  The compilations were the best, but K-Tel did do other collections such as Michael Jackson, Elvis, even an obscure Nanette Workman.

Bananarama Venus

A Goddess on a mountain top was burning like a silver flame The summit of beauty and love and Venus was her name

Songs Everybody Should Know

“Venus” by Bananarama (1986)

Girl groups lost popularity for a while after the 50’s where they proliferated the music scene. In the sixties Diana Ross and the Supremes stood their ground as did staples like the Marvellettes and the Vandellas. In the seventies girl groups waned – but they were missed in the time of male-dominated rock.

Finally in the eighties the Go-Go’s, Bangles and the U.K.’s Bananarama took flight.

John Mellencamp - Paper In Fire

Who's to say the way a man should spend his days. Do you let them smolder like paper in fire?

Quick Hit

“Paper In Fire” by John Cougar Mellencamp (1987)

I remember the first time I saw the “American Fool” album. It was in the form of an ‘8-track’ tape kicking around on the floor of this guy’s truck who was giving me a ride. He was a self professed country music nut so I was curious why he had John Cougar. I asked him and he said “Because it is country music”. I thought “ Huh, I didn’t really think so....well, wait a minute, definitely influenced.”

John Mellencamp a.k.a. John Cougar Mellencamp a.k.a. John Cougar came straight out of the heartland of America with a dream and an attitude – sort of a rebel, ...I guess.

The Troggs - Wild Thing

Wild thing, I think I love you But I wanna know for sure Come on and hold me tight I love you

Quick Hit

“Wild Thing” by the Troggs (1966)

There is just some sort of primitive appeal to this song's beat. It sounded pretty strange when it first came out. This song had such an influence on garage bands and probably eventually punk rock and harder rock.  It is hard to believe it came out in 1966. Orginally written by Chip Taylor in the U.S. and put out by “The Wild Ones”, the version most people are familiar with is the U.K. Trogg’s version of it.

 It must admit it that the guitar riff does sound a bit like Kingsmen’s 1963 "Louie Louie”, but it may have been more unconscious of the artists to replicate that sound – that sound had to have been drllled into the collective unconscious of the world by then.

Headpins - Don't It Make You Feel