Quick takes: Billy Thorpe, Jesse Rae, Boxer
Since hearing Billy Thorpe's "Children of the Sun" last week I've been learning more about his life (alas, he died in 2007) and musical career (40+ years!). Thorpe, or "Thorpie" as his fans called him, was already a popular rock musician in Australia before moving to the US, where he released Children of the Sun in 1979. His 1975 Aussie album Million Dollar Bill opens with a blaxploitation number, "Back on the Street", impressive for its verisimilitude:
That turns out to be a cover of "Out On the Street Again", a song written by producer Gabriel Mekler (Steppenwolf, Three Dog Night) for Etta James' 1974 album Come A Little Closer, the second album of hers he produced:
Scottish funk musician/patriot/loony Jesse Rae is known for never appearing in public without his tartans, steel helmet, and Claymore sword (when it hasn't been confiscated), but the 12" single of "Rusha" b/w "Desire" from 1982 shows him before the helmet-and-sword days. "Desire" is also totally loopy; it sounds like monkeys on laughing gas doing a Devo pastiche. Not only that, the first lyrics are "You brush your teeth and you comb your hair / And you've got on no underwear"! Here it is, and a tip of the hat to anyone who can listen to all seven minutes of it:
In my teenage years I often ogled Boxer's Below the Belt album (1975) in record stores (because hey, naked lady!), but I knew it would never be allowed in the house. Now as a sophisticated adult I am astounded at the vulgarity of the cover art, and I suspect it may have influenced the naming of Spinal Tap's ill-fated Smell the Glove album. I never did hear Below the Belt until a few days ago; the standout track is "Shooting Star", which sounds more like AC/DC than any band other than AC/DC:
Scottish funk musician/patriot/loony Jesse Rae is known for never appearing in public without his tartans, steel helmet, and Claymore sword (when it hasn't been confiscated), but the 12" single of "Rusha" b/w "Desire" from 1982 shows him before the helmet-and-sword days. "Desire" is also totally loopy; it sounds like monkeys on laughing gas doing a Devo pastiche. Not only that, the first lyrics are "You brush your teeth and you comb your hair / And you've got on no underwear"! Here it is, and a tip of the hat to anyone who can listen to all seven minutes of it:
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ps Kathy seems to be intrigued by the idea of taking on a boxer's glove. TMI?