Is to post more blogs. Sorry for my lameness if you are following along (probably not!). Anyhow, her
Years ago I worked at Yesterday & Today Records in Rockville, a verrrrry well known (former) record store, the former place of employment for lots of local musicians like Henry Rollins, Ian McKaye , Guy Picciotto & Joe Canty from Fugazi, several members of that shitty group VELOCITY GIRL (!) as well as that cool guy Jon Bass (whatever happened to...). I got fired, as did everyone who worked there eventually. Anyways, they had a bin in th e "W" section marked "Talentless Canadian Bums", which upon inspection was actually the section for THE WACKERS featuring The Nick Lowe of Canada, Bob Segarini. This blog ain't about him, or Nick Lowe for that matter. I'm gonna talk about this OTHER Canadian group I discovered several years ago in the Music Trader in the halcyonic youthful optimistic record selling days. THE PLASTIC CLOUD were a Toronto area (actually I think they were from Hamilton) psychedelic-garage four piece, I glommed on to the import dub copy of the CD in the stores meager CD assortment, not like anyone was ever going to buy it anyways, but lost it not long after that, and always looked for a replacement only to find that nobody in the world had ever heard of it. Had I imagined it? It seemed that may have been possible as I cannot imagine more perfect psych-rock OUTSIDE of my own head, it's an amazing sounding record full of great fuzzy-buzzy guitars, association-like vocal harmonies, semi-topical seeming "issue" lyrics with a Dylanesque vagueness, banging drumming, the best "Keith Moon style" drumming outside of a reel-full of out-takes of COBWEBS AND STRANGE. THe vocalist was named Don Brewer and I always wondered if he was the same guy from GRAND FUNK RAILROAD (answer: no). This track in particular always stayed with me, it's got everything I like, different time signatures, repeating refrains, references to glue sniffing (the ESSENCE of rock + roll!) and a great punk title "YOU DON'T CARE". I never made a tape of it. When it went missing it was ...just gone! Imagine my relief last year when Tracey & I were in Baltimore & stopped by that great store in Fell's Point SOUNDGARDEN , and lo and behold there was a major excellent vinyl reissue! In replica gatefold cover, heavy duty binding- the sleeve itself weighs like a pound, made from the same heavy duty construction as those old PROJECT THREE and London records PHASE-4 STEREO ping-pong album gatefolds, label replica,200gr. vinyl- the works. Just beautiful and a limited edition deal of 250 to boot! Listening to this cut makes me wonder, was there actually something in the air back then, bands & musicians just "got it", or is it just coincidence, all this the results of a grand naive experiment: the music of that era is timeless, even most of the stuff you've never heard of. Like The PLASTIC CLOUD. Enjoy, man!
When I was a pre-teen, got $5 a week allowance. In the seventies, this still was not a lot of money, especially for a music/media obsessed child like me! I was fascinated with the kid rock of the day, as were my caucasion peers, especially KISS & ALICE COOPER ( I went to a heavily integrated- 90% black- elementary school in Prince Georges county - the black kids had a group too, PARLIAMENT- similar to KISS, same label, costumes, fantastic stage show & mildly forgetable music- they always had a big DC following. They also had cool local hendrix/santana/proto-go-go group EXPERIENCE UNLIMITED (or E.U.) ). Due to monetary restrictions, my record shopping was usually confined to the used record store in College Park or the WAXIE MAXIE'S cut-out bin. Oh, what treasures one could find for 99 cents to $2.99 in those bins, most of the cut-outs of that time are the collectors items of today. No exception was ANGEL , who you could actually get the entire discography of for about $6 back then, around '79. Unbeknownst to me they WERE LOCAL too, although I was more interested in them due to the fact that they shared management & label (CASABLANCA) as KISS. The music was okay from what I remember, it was more exciting that I was into a group that NO ONE ELSE MY AGE HAD NEVER HEARD OF, as they never placed a radio hit off of any of their six albums, in fact the biggest exposure they received was a short cameo appearance in the movie FOXES with Jodie Foster and former RUNAWAYS (another pre-teen favorite from the cut-out bin) singer/front skank CHERIE CURRIE. I remember wanting to see that movie but being held back by it's R rating ( my father took us to see SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER the year before much to my mother's pissed-offedness). Just as well, I had to be in my mid-20s to appreciate that disco coke-romp of a film. Anyhoo, ANGEL were MY group (who I only marginally liked, it was more about the exclusivity of it than the music.) I've heard it said that if they had held out a couple of years into the 80s they would have been huge, but I honestly don't believe that, they were to prog for bubblegum, not metal enough for hair metal & kinda fey. Anyhow, occasionally, as obsessives do we try to re-stir those old musical intersts & re-investigate those old passions, which led me to this great qudio press-kit thing , HILARIOUS! How could you EVER want to buy something after hearing this...this...I don't know what to call it, dramatic recitation?? That and the fact that there were names like FELIX and BARRY in the group??? I don't know what I was thinking at all of 11 years old, but I was cool in my own head for it. Listening back now, the first and second albums are actually pretty great, the third is pretty good & the last 2 are absolute rubbish, stabbing for hits by approprating similar styles of the day ie. Bad Co., The Eagles, whatever. But if I had heard this I probably would have reconsidered and spent my allowance on something better, like toothpaste or books. Dig if you dare!
