40 Year Itch: Angie, Ahyyynnnnn -gee!

"There is a sadness about the Stones now, because they amount to such an enormous 'So what?' -Lester Bands CreemThe most remarkable thing about The Rolling Stones Goats Head Soup is how unremarkable it is. Outside of some "Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo"s , the tune "Silver Train" (which dedicated rock fans had already heard performed by Johnny Winter on his Still Alive And Well album) and a line about a groupie giving Steve McQueen head , this is...

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40 Year Itch : Those We Missed in August of '73

 [Purchase] "Midnight at the Oasis" is the big hit, but this album, featuring assistance from the likes of Dr John, Ry Cooder and, again, Clarence White is a tasteful delight all the way through. For Rolling Stone Jon Landau wrote "One of the half-dozen best albums of the year, the kind of glorious breakthrough that reminds me why I fell in love with rock and roll -- even though there isn't much straight rock here."[Purchase]One...

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40 Year Itch: The Wizard of Wood

[Purchase]     Recorded in 1969, Roy Wood, who had already been one of the creators of The Move and Electric Light Orchestra,  had to wait until his band Wizzard had become one of the most popular acts in the UK before this delightfully inventive and whimsical album would see the light of day.Boulders is all Roy Wood ( except for a harmonium on two tracks). That's Roy singing all the vocals and playing about two dozen instruments...

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40 Year Itch : Ballads for the Bedroom

[Purchase for $6.99]I can't see anything wrong with sex between consenting anybodies. I think we make far too much of it. After all, one's genitals are just one important part of the magnificent human body. I have no argument with the essential part they play in the reproduction of the species; however, the reproduction process has been assured by the pleasure both parties receive when they engage in it--Marvin GayeOn August 28, 1973 Marvin Gaye...

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40 Year Itch: Some Hard Rock Gems

[Purchase]Welsh rockers Budgie released their finest album in 1973, Never Turn Your Back on a Friend. It kicks off with the heavy riffing of "Breadfan" which practically invents thrash metal. Metallica covered the tune as a B side in 1988. The musicianship is flawless. Bassist and vocalist Burke Shelley has a thin, one dimensional voice that may remind you of Geddy Lee. That, and the ironic name of the band, may be the reason why Budgie never hit...

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40 Year Itch : This Bird You Cannot Change

When Lynyrd Skynyrd first climbed out of the Florida swamp and began honing their rock and roll sound in juke joints and biker bars, nobody yelled out "Free Bird!" at them. That only happened to every band--every single band-- that followed these "American Rolling Stones".    That famous nine minute /three guitar epic appears on their debut album Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd which was released in August of 1973. Thanks in part...

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40 Year Itch: Look Yeah But Don't Touch

[Purchase]For 3 + 3 the original Isley Brothers, Ronald, Rudolph and O'Kelly, made it official. The new generation of Isleys ( guitarist and younger brother Ernie, bass player and youngest brother Marvin, and cousin Chris Jasper on keyboards) who all played on 1971's Givin' It Back and 1972's Brother Brother Brother were now members of the band.  Witness the album cover. Witness the threads!       The 3 +3 Formula =...

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40 Year Itch: Campus Report for Late August 1973

As reported to Billboard Magazine for their August 25, 1973 issue.[Purchase]WTUL -FMTulane UniversityBlues rock supergroup West, Bruce and Laing ( made up of two members of Mountain and Jack Bruce of Cream) are getting the most airplay at Tulane. The Section is a band comprised of session musicians who played on all the great 70's singer songwriters albums. Sunflower is one of vibraphonist Milt Jackson's best selling jazz albums.1. West Bruce and...

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40 Year Itch : American Graffiti

                                                                                 "Where were you in '62?"                                       ...

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40 Year Itch: Danger When You Taste Brown Sugar

With a hard charging cover of Hot Chocolate's "Brother Louie" , the troubled power pop band Stories hit #1 on August 25 1973. Stories was formed when Michael Brown of The Left Banke met Seattle native Ian Lloyd (born Buonconciglio) and the two decided to make Beatlesque music. They made one decent album before Brown left. While recording the second album, as an afterthought, the remaining band has to seek out a single. Ian Lloyd spent a weekend listening...

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40 Year Itch: This and That from August 1973

Billy Paul, Barry White and  Bobby Womack headline the 1973 Watts Summer Festival at the 100,000-seat Coliseum, a year after WATTSTAX. Admission is $2. Other stars include Azteca, Bloodstone, Dramatics, Emotions, Intruders, Thelma Houston, Esther Phillips, Barbara Mason and Soul Children. The Dean of rock critics, Robert Christgau,  gave the 1973 Esther Phillips album Black Eyed Blues a rare A rating.The Harder They Come, starring...

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40 Year Itch: Rollin' Down Highway Forty-One

 [Purchase for $4.75]“The way the title Brothers And Sisters came about was that even though we have had two great losses, we were still a family. " -Gregg Allman  Just a few months after recording the landmark album At Fillmore East, guitar legend Duane Allman died in a motorcycle accident. He was only 24. Just a little more than a year later bassist Berry Oakley was killed in similar circumstances. It would be perfectly understandable...

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40 Year Itch : One Week's Worth of '73 Soul Singles

[Purchase for $5.99]For proof that 1973 was a great year for soul, look no further than this list of singles that all entered the Billboard soul charts on August 25, 1973. Entering the charts the highest is "Get It Together", the title track from the Jackson 5's new album which closes with the future  #2 hit "Dancing Machine".[Purchase]Entering the soul chart at #64 is "Sexy, Sexy, Sexy" from James Brown's soundtrack to Slaughter's Big...

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Seattle Police to Hempfesters: Do Listen to Dark Side of the Moon

shot from Joshua Lewis/KOMO NewsA message on the Doritos Seattle Police handed out to this weekend's Hempfesters includes the suggestion they should listen to the 1973 Pink Floyd album Dark Side of the Moon "at a reasonable volume". An unopened bag is selling for $50 on EBay.  More shots from the Hempfest he...

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