Teenage Treats Vol. 1
- title
Teenage Treats Vol. 1
- label
Xerox Records
- format
- various artists LP
A still limited repress of the insanely limited 1st edition of this compilation series, which Volumes 2 & 3 have done so well at WZBC when they were on the playlist a year ago. This series compiles late 70's UK punk singles that are completely obscure. On this first volume the slant is less mod than on the subsequent volumes. My faves from this one are The Wasps "Teenage Treat" (The Wasps gave us 'Can't wait Till '78' on the Live At the Vortex compilation in 1977), The Tours 'Language School' (which I'd swear is on either Vol. 2 or 3 as well), Moskow's 'The Man From U.N.C.L.E' (a punk song almost as crucial as The Times Mod classic 'I Helped Patrick McGoohan Escape'), and Vibrant Thigh's 'Wooden Gangsters' (which has a really great sound).
---Carl, Nov.2 1999
Omplatten is the NYC label associated with the store Other Music, which put out the first three Os Mutantes CD re-issues earlier this year. This disc contains the demos that The Monks used to try to get a recording deal back in '65 with. The recordings were made a full year earlier than those on Black Monk Time, and are all good quality studio takes recorded at Hilversum in Germany. There are 2 songs which we've never heard before ('Pretty Suzanne' & 'Hushie Pushie') accompanying 9 others which we know different versions of from the Black Monk time CD. Of those 9 we know, 2 are presented here in pre-Monks form, as they were recorded in 1964 when The Monks were called 'Five Torquays'. Those 2 songs are the last 2 on this disc, 'There She Walks' & 'Boys Are Boys' (a version which is also on this disc from the '65 sessions).
The A-side of this single sounds like Fantastic Plastic Machine playing a song based on a Hawian version of the 'E-I-E-I-O' at the end of "Old McDonald's Farm", with a touch of Trio's 'Da Da Da'. Most importantly, it works! B-side is an instrumental with an island feel of intoxication through it's repetitive almost reggae-ish beat. 
A re-naming of the Japanese NYC band Kumari. Many releases on Clover records are ultra simplistic boy/girl vocal & sparse guitar songs, with no drums or bass. Of the 4 such songs on this minty colored 7", 'Sleepy & Sleeper' is the standout. It is a really great song that sings about his difficulty leaving his soft pillow in the morning. The first song on the B-side ('Flash On Me') is pretty good too. 
The first song on the A-side centers on a riff borrowed from "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" (most strongly remembered as covered by REM one night mid-80's at The Rat when Husker Du opened, after Husker Du had played at Harvard's stadium the night before). It is a very good song; my fave on this EP. The second song on the A-side is a fifties styled cuddle-up instrumental. On the B-side, a long-ish "dub" instrumental w/lazy reggae guitar.
Very nice new sound on the debut single from this band. They sound like a more organic Charles Brown Superstar or Volume All*Stars, with Pink Floyd 'Wish You Were Here' acoustic Guitar replacing analog synths. Most importantly, they write great songs, like all 3 of these. Through repeated listenings this may be my favorite of the 7"s (except Saint Etienne) added this week, and it came entirely unexpectedly.
Hipster music that sounds like you would expect Chocolate Watch Band or The Electric Prunes to play if they were launched today. Photon Band is from Philly. They rock hard, and have a heart full of psyche, if this single is to be the judge of it. Both songs are very good.
The A-side of this single would sound perfectly in place played right after The Grass Roots 'Sooner or Later', in a set with Three Dog night 'Joy To The World' and Mumbo Jerry's 'In The Summertime'. The Minders (from Denver CO) sound less starry eyed than most Elephant 6 bands on this single. 
This single is very rare AND very great. Each band remixes a song of the other. Fugu is a Parisian band who have a baroque sound and even entitle all their songs as fugues, such as the song here, "F32". Fugu's treatment of Saint Etienne's "Saturday" (from the Japanese 'The MisAdventures Of Saint Etienne' CD) is spectacular. The main advantage of Saint etienne's treatment of the Fugu song is that more people will get to hear Fugu! Fugu have out a 7" from a few years ago on the Sugarfrost label , a split 7" w/Stereolab (w 'F24' & 'F30'), a self-titled CDEP on their own label in France (w 'F24', 'F4', 'F15', 'F22', & 'F26'), and most recently a 7" on Elefant ('F31' b-w 'F1'). I can't wait to see what this band comes up with when they reach their peak. This split single has on it my most favorite band, and a band that I anxiously watch for the future.