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Hey there everyone. How’s it going? We appreciate you checking in with us.
This week at Sorry State we welcome back our conquering hero Jeff. He’s just finished touring with the mighty Public Acid and we’re all excited to hear some of the tour stories and have him back. I’m sure he’ll be regaling us with some tales from the road in his piece here and in future newsletters. Whatever can be printed should make for fun reading. Like the old saying goes, what happens on the road, stays on the road.
Nothing nearly as exciting in my world to report. If anything, the complete opposite. Ha. More dental issues, after my summer of dentist chair surfing last year. This time a couple of fillings. Not cheap. An apparent pause or end to my participation in the weekly internet radio show I was doing, which is a bummer. And my list of pains and ailments continuing. Thankfully, to be honest, I was happy to have the extra work with Jeff away, to keep me busy and distracted. But enough of this navel gazing whining. You didn’t come here for my diary entries. You came here for Rock N’ Roll man. Or something like that. Certainly, for music related stuff.
With that spirit of punk rock and heavy shit let me tell you about how I was listening to an Archies greatest hits record in the store recently. You know the cartoon band that had the bubblegum hits like Sugar Sugar? Yeah, heavy stuff, I know. Well, I was reading the liner notes and noticed that Canadian singer Andy Kim had co-written the song Sugar Sugar with Jeff Barry and sang back-up vocals on that tune and other The Archies songs. I recognized the name Andy Kim because just before listening to the record I had been watching a video about records where the host mentioned Andy Kim and his 1969 album Rainbow Ride on Steed Records. He said it was what record collectors call “cheap heat” and could easily be found for $5 in a bargain bin somewhere. If you paid over $10, you paid too much. That sort of thing. There are, or used to be, a ton of those types of records, but as the word gets out, the next generation of diggers are also on the hunt, and some things become harder to find and more expensive when you do. For now, though, it seems that finding a copy of an Andy Kim record shouldn’t be too difficult or wallet busting. Do you need to be seeking them out? Maybe. If you enjoy bubblegum garage and sixties sunshine pop and that kind of thing, then the first three records Andy Kim did for Steed all have a moment or two where things get groovy and cool(ish). Anyway, whilst buying a funk 45 from a guy on Discogs, I browsed his other items and found a copy of Rainbow Ride for a decent price and decided to take a punt.
Rainbow Ride, the album, comes housed in a great gatefold sleeve jacket with a bunch of cartoon Andys literally riding a rainbow. Looking very Beatles circa Yellow Submarine. I’m sure that wasn’t by chance. For 1969, the sounds and look are already dated as far as cutting-edge music was concerned, but for the mainstream and those catching up, the summer of love and psychedelia was still happening. The record begins with the title money track, and it’s a good pop song propelled by a strong backing beat and a twangy guitar that, as a lot of reviewers say, sounds like the riff from Last Train To Clarksville. I believe this song originally appeared on a B-side and then was later issued as a single A-side itself, but although a minor hit in some areas, wasn’t a national one.
Next tune up is a good rocker called Please Be True that again has a strong back beat and some nice guitar playing from whoever the session guy was that day. Maybe it was Gary? Then we get a song with a good title, Nobody’s Ever Going Anywhere, that’s not that good of a song in my opinion. Bit of a ballad, protest song sort of thing, but it does have some nice touches of swirling guitar to keep it from being a total dud.
Probably the tune that psych and garage heads go for is Baby While Your Young. This one has some good organ playing and is a bit harder and wouldn’t sound out of place in a set of sixties psychedelic tunes, if you were compiling a compilation or spinning out as a DJ.
The rest of the record is more typical of the other more poppy albums and singles Andy Kim had made up to this point. There are a few moments for sure, and if you enjoy sixties pop you won’t be disappointed. The first side is the stronger of the two, having the title song and the other couple I mentioned. Side two felt more like a Bee Gees record or other soft pop records from the era. Not a bad thing. Like I said, not as strong as the first side, but the production is still good and the playing good, just the songs are more on the lighter, poppier side. For the most part. There’s still a couple of cool sounding songs with little details that catch the ear. The song Gee Girl had a cool sound I thought. The record is worth picking up if you see it.
Okay, the deadline bell has sounded, and I’ll need to stop here and submit this to the editor. Don’t want to get on his bad side. Ha. Thanks for reading. Thanks for supporting independent record stores like us. We appreciate you and love you.
Cheers - Dom