1/24/2013 Rocket Ship Ska Trip

(1/24/13)

Buy ‘em by the sack! Clue J & the Blues Blasters,accompanied in all likelihood by Nyahbinghi hand-drumming legend Count Ossie, feed us “The Slider” from way back in 1962… and after half a century, it STILL hasn’t gone stale! (Talk about yer "pre-ska-vatives"... ) Also in the “Ooh”: “Pound for Pound #1”, a Carlos Malcolm & the Fireburners lost-decade ska/funker from 1970 (there was also a “Pound for Pound #2”, the same tune slowed-down and more heavily accentuating the funk in the groove)… some earlier Malcolm doing a ska “Ghost Riders”, both sides of a Roy Richards 45, “Maureen” and “Contact”, and Little Darlin’ (name of the artist! The song was “No One”)… The Blues Blasters bookend the “Ooh” with their “Marjie”, just before Sherwood takes over with two “January” tracks from what he has dubbed “calendar” albums, Emil Richards’ Stones and Psychedelic Percussion by Hal Blaine, respectively, followed by another “Margie”, this one by Buddy Morrow. That’s followed up by Margie, the singer… Margie Rayburn, that is. Tommy Dorsey and Warren Covington’s 45, “Satan Takes a Holiday”, a Wrong-Speed Special from a couple of weeks back, actually gets spun at 45 this week… sounds great at both speeds! “Mangos”, a Rosemary Clooney/Perez Prado collab we’ve played here before, gets the instrumental treatment from the (Francis) Bay Big Band. By the way, I should mention the fact that I have Shiina Ringo and her shady nuke ;^) to thank for hipping me to this song. She sings her non-album track “Superficial Gossip” this week. The Home Stretch got off to a classy start with Trio Esperanca’s high-gloss “Meu Bem Lollipop”… Of The Week. Thanks, GotchaSKAvered! There were 5 Mutant Frogs in a row at 5 (not 5:05), some Jamaican-grown lounge/exotica from the likes of Cecil Lloyd, Kes Chin, and better-known Tommy McCook and Roland Alphonso, and “electro-swingers” Parov Stelar with the very ska-like “Dandy…” I’m looking for more of this electro-swing… tune in, and stay tuned!