Thursday, 6 October 2011

Groove Club Volume 1:la confiserie magique Double LP



Groove Club Volume 1:la confiserie magique Double LP:
is now available from my ebay store or from the blog store. Another classic release from the French Lion Productions Label.

"A terrific compilation of succulent French psych/pop treats, collected and annotated by French author, journalist and flaneur Jean-Emmanuel Deluxe (Martyrs of Pop), and carefully sequenced for maximum enjoyment by the Lion! Together, we have imagined those magic years 1966-71 in France to be just as you find them here — overflowing with truly decadent pop-sike, as beautiful as the cathedral of Evry; this can be the arch-hippie Lolita, singing songs to make one dream of Anicée Alvina riding her bicycle in a red dress... or it can be something "other": sunny and stunning, or brooding and tinged with sadness. "Fabrice, 17 years old, is a minet, or to say it better, a mod from one of the posh neighbourhoods, the 16th district in Paris and such "golden ghettoes" as Auteuil, Neuilly and Passy. Fab’ likes to have his "ronron at the Dugstore", as Dutronc sang it (an untranslatable wordplay on ronron, "cat food", and a minet - "a kitten" - purring). Fabrice attends Henri IV prestigious high-school; his father, a businessman who made a fortune selling plastic flowers, and his mother, a former model from Jacques Fath, are never home – a cosy home indeed! With his Weston shoes, a slim-fitting suit by Renoma and his haircut modelled on those of Anglo-Saxons musicians appearing on French Eps, Fabrice dreams of Carnaby Street and the Sunset Strip. He is not alone: there’s his sister Stéphanie, 16, who wears a fringe, a mock Courrèges dress, a pink Shetland pullover and white boots. Stéphanie reads Salut Les Copains and Mademoiselle Age Tendre, which both fuel her passion for Françoise Hardy, Zouzou, Twiggy and the Beatles." The Groove Club is happy to present twenty-two records that we dug out as a tribute to Fabrice’s kinky faves. And we sense that, paradoxical as it may seem, although we have imagined a parallel cosmos to the Grande Heures of pop culture, we are not far from the truth." Lion Productions

Tuesday, 4 October 2011

Caesar and the Romans 45

Within a recent rummage through a load of 45s I received from the States I found this little Garage beauty on Scepter Records by Caesar and the Romans.

Caeser & His Romans were from Buffalo, recording two 45s on the GJM label in late '67 and 1968 before signing to Scepter for two more singles.

Caesar & His Romans became Caesar & THE Romans, which then evolved into Friendship Train which was a successful club & lounge act. During one set each night as part of the act they became Big Wheelie & The Hubcaps. This became so successful that Friendship Train was dropped in favor of a full night of Big Wheelie. Their final album was released on Amherst Records in 1976. Chuck stlll performs as Big Wheelie about 10-12 times per year. He was brilliantly managed by the late Fred Caserta who went on to found Kingdom Bound which is one of the largest concert events in the Christian Music field.