THE TURTLES - THE TURTLES PRESENT THE BATTLE OF THE BANDS

Tough record to sell to me this. As forgiving in nature as I am it is almost impossible to see past the fat speccy cunt that takes up half the sleeve. Not even Oliver Reed (Top Right) can help.  I have had this record forever and I cant remember where I got it from. I  manage to make mental note of the approximate price and origin of pretty much every record I have - because I am THAT exciting, but this one, hmmm, this one is a mystery. Maybe it was planted on me, or maybe it was always there, an unnoticed prop in my formative years, under my bed as a hormonal teen discovering myself with the help of some cheap magazine.

MUDDY WATERS - AFTER THE RAIN

As the leaves fall, the clocks turn and we bid farewell to yet another Summer a wasted my journey into 'The Blues' begins in earnest and has already pulled up what can only be described as double fucking awesome or DFA for short.

Aparently in an attempt to make Muddy Waters (And Howlin' Wolf) more relevant to 'the kids' Chess records 'suggested' they make electric/psych albums. Muddy's was called 'Electric Mud' something I am yet to hear and currently trying to get a copy of... 'After the Rain' is what followed. According to various sources this still holds much of the previous album's appeal but isn't such an obvious move in a new and for the artist unwanted direction. Muddy went on record as describing 'Electric Mud' as 'Utter shit'.

EARL HOOKER - 2 BUGS AND A ROACH

So prior to this my knowledge of the blues was nothing beyond remembering to name check Robert Johnson when the subject arose. For whatever reason I have never had the slightest interest in the genre, as soon as the blues or a bit of the old boogie woogie crept into anything that did enter my statosphere it was instantly dismissed with a swift lifting of the needle.

I say 'for whatever reason', who am I kidding, I know exactly why I have given 'the blues' such a wide berth... Three words 'Gary Fucking Moore'. Now he was alright while he was busy pretending to be a guitar carrying soldier widdly diddling over marching drums but then he did his blues album and... well, it's fucking crud.

GINGER BAKER - STRATAVARIOUS

Although music historians may contest this, the Derek and Clive fan's amongst us know who Ginger Baker is. Ginger Baker went to Africa to 'teach the blacks how to drum'. So as inventor of tribal rhythm and it seems drumming itself the man has a lot to live up to.

Well much of his career was spent sporting a very fucking brave ginger beard, the kind that (gingerness aside) many a Hoxton hipster would shoot their mum for right now. So cool beard -Brownie points. Same points deducted for Cream. I have tried and tried with this band and despite the sleeve of 'Disraeli Gears' being nothing short of a full blown corker, I've never made it all the way through. My passionate distaste for the boy Clapton doesn't help but that aside, electric blues, it seems is just not my thing, especially at the hands of a bunch of London? dandies who couldn't be further removed from the root reason of Blues if they tried.