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The Natch! – Demo 2010 (self-distributed)
The Natch! – The Monkey House (Winooski, VT) – March 17, 2011
St. Paddy’s Day and surprisingly there was not one intoxicated person at the bar for The Natch’s first Vermont show. Two thirds of this NYC band relocated to the Green Mountain state last year. A rousing set of catchy punk tunes with sweet harmonies and brief excursions into surf and psych.
Shrapnel – Combat Love 7” (Killed By Death)
Shrapnel – Shrapnel EP (Elektra)
Finally tracked down some recordings of this almost-mythic N.J. band featuring a pre-Monster Magnet Dave Wyndorf on vocals and Daniel Rey on guitar. I’ve always heard them described as hardcore but nothing could be further from the truth, they’re totally new wave. “Combat Love” sounds like a Knack riff with doo-wop backing vocals.The Shrapnel EP starts off with a cover of Gary Glitter‘s “I Didn’t Know I Loved You (Till I Saw You Rock and Roll)”. Other songs remind me of The Romantics and Blondie. There’s even keyboards! Shocking.
Bob Dylan – The Original Mono Recordings (Sony Legacy)
Thank God for birthdays, otherwise I never would have heard this box set of Dylan’s first eight records, remastered in mono to sound like the original releases. It’s a wild ride from his stark acoustic beginnings to the full-blown electric genius of Blonde On Blonde. That record would seem like the logical end for this collection, but I like that he included the quieter and provincial John Wesley Harding for the comedown.
I listened to the Bon Scott and Brian Johnson versions of this song back to back and there is no comparison, Bon is the man!
Neutral Milk Hotel – Everything Is (Orange Twin)
I love the sound of the over-modulated acoustic guitars on this CD reissue of their homespun debut 7”.
Beastie Boys – Paul’s Boutique (Capitol)
Slade – The Showplace (Dover, New Jersey) July 30, 1976 (wolfgangsvault.com)
The Silos – Cuba (Record Collect)
