The Poppy Family - There's No Blood In Bone

A few of you may already know that my line of work, or rather that my day gig is 'moving'. The other day I worked my first 27 hour day. Probably highly illegal to work that long, but in this 'biz' 8 to 10 hour days are the 'norm', and 12, 16, and 18 hour days are not unheard of. But, this was truly a first for me. The amount of 'drivetime' alone included 16 hours. So, this particular day was a first.
It was also a first for observing our customers with quite possibly the deepest taste in tunes. It was a first that our customer was listening to The Poppy Family AND on vinyl. This was truly NOT an everyday occurrence. It's rare that anyone is listening to music when we show up. A good sign of course, but listening to music on vinyl is a step further and completely unheard of. When I first stumbled upon this LP it was in shiny mint condition. I knew that if I heard it and it was remotely good it would suffice for picking it up. The picture alone on the cover was worth the fare. A voluptuous blond in a serious hip bad ass bodysuit. A Poncherellie (Erick Estrada) lookalike in a western shirt. An Indian dude in a Turban. And, the world's first mutton chop serial killer. A bunch that looks like something truly good is in store. I thought even if the LP completely sucked, I would still be stick with this awesome cover.

Low and behold, this album turned out to be killer. A merging of pop, heavy psych, folk and country. Seemingly influenced by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood, the Combo of Susan and Terry Jacks (pictured from left to right) wrote this amazing material. They later went on to make several solo efforts including the genius soft rock classic 'Seasons In The Sun'. The Poppy Family were incredible. The blending of congas, sitar, lush strings, heavy guitar all in an LP chock full of brain melting goodness. I believe they had one other LP after this. But, only two or three releases under Susan and Terry Jacks after that.'There's No Blood In Bone' is probably the best tune on this LP, but the rest of the album is still awesome too. I believe this song was sampled by someone familiar, though at the moment I can't place it. That would be hard to resist considering the banging relentless drums in this tune. There are many other tasty sounds on this one, and I would highly recommend picking it up. This is a great and obscure psych-pop LP and thanks to our customer I was reminded of it's brilliance.


The Poppy Family - There's No Blood In Bone

Hugh Prestwood - Like A Children's Song

A few moons ago I played with Big Eagle at The Uptown in Oakland. They made quite an impression on me. They endeared me by covering one of my most favorite 'pop country' records by a female artist. It was 'I Don't Want To Play' by Ellen McIlwaine. A lesser known song, but I've got Ellen high on the 'to-do' list for a future post on this site.

Big Eagle was simply awesome.
You can check for yourself here.

Anyways, the first song that came to mind was 'Like A Children's Song' by Hugh Prestwood. Something I'd want to share with Big Eagle. Perfect tune for them to cover. Maybe if I'm lucky I'll get to see Bart and Robyn singing the sweet harmonies in this song. It's a sincere country romp that somehow fell into my clammy lil' hands. Hugh's got a rather strange tone to his voice, but it works beautifully in this song. The co-singer is uncredited but also amazing. The drums are ever present and snappy as hell and perhaps, that's what drew me in. It charges along much like the song says.. 'like cold water makin' the river sing'. In general the lyrics are heavenly. The song is a simple one, but of utter beauty and appeal. As far as I'm concerned this is the kind of genuine quality that makes country music so lovable to me. So clear is the heartbreak, the sorrow, the love, the faithfulness, and the sincere feeling in the tune.

Hugh's been a man behind the curtain and done quite well selling a few tunes here and there. He's penned songs for Judy Collins, Crystal Gayle, and Randy Travis. I'm quite surprised this tune is so completely unknown and even more flabbergasted that Hugh Prestwood didn't become a household name. Perhaps he didn't want too... In fact, this song isn't even listed on his website.
wwww.hughprestwood.com
Maybe his vocal stylings weren't appealing to 'radio' audiences. Maybe it was just the record executives. Welp, they all missed out.
I did track down a few other recent recordings by him. It seems he may have been so sincere and genuine in his music that he himself eluded any 'real' exposure. The lyrical context of his new stuff is so unconventional and un-pop that it's almost 'country underground'. At one point in one of his newer songs he declares 'I don't write these song to make a living' something my uncle laughed at when I played it for him. He said 'Well, that's pretty obvious..hehe...' Even a bluegrass lover like my uncle scoffed at it. Go figure. Sometimes real honesty in music takes people a back. But, if that's your thing, I suggest you seek him out. It may be just as hard to find his material today as it was then, back in 1972. I'm proud to say I'm a Prestwood fan. He has many of the elements I look for in this style of music. The flip, 'Louisiana Woman' is pretty good too. But, 'Children's..' is the bread winner here. We love ya Hugh Prestwood.


Hugh Prestwood - Like A Children's Song

Fat Back - What Do You Want From Me / Take Your Time

Another Soundboutique Exclusive
You won't find this anywhere else...

Probably one of the best little 'rock' 45 rpm discoveries I've ever turned up. And, a good example of just how awesome the 45 format is. An example of how intricate and diverse a groups sound can truly be within the confines of the 3 minute art form.
I'm not sure which side I like better. They are both completely brilliant. I found nothing about this band 'Fat Back' other than both websites and people confusing them with the funk group 'The Fatback Band'. It proves frustrating when you hope for more offerings from a group of this caliber. They're funky as hell and prove they have some serious chops. From the sweet and pleasant harmonies to the sax solo they illustrate not only a rad take on things, but the skills of execution as well.
It's obvious they were inspired and influenced by Chicago, Grand Funk, The Guess Who and many others, yet they put their own stamp on it too. Back and forth with soft rock melodies to hard funk without a care in the world. Truly campy lyrics from a skewed psychedelic perspective. All of it makes for a hell of an odd ball experience. The musicianship is tops as far as I'm concerned. So much thought went into the production. A long lost era of music, nothing like it is made these days.
Let's take a closer inspection...

1. What Do You Want From Me
Part garage, part soft country, with a dash of hippie funk.
It starts off oh-so kinda sweet and soft. A perfect melody to trick us right into a seemingly angry little chant?! Early Bee Gee's style backing vocals. Amazingly tight and perfectly mixed horns..Excellent lyrics..'had a chance but I was a fool', and 'a paper tiger lives in a cage, rosey words perceived in a rage' Huh?? What the fuck! I love it. Honestly, I can barely make out what they're saying most of the time, but what I can pick up is fantastic. Scat whisper drum fills?? I'm truly floored by this number. Fades out with a goofy trumpet solo!? my goodness gracious folks..me thinks (with this outro) they may have out 'Chicagoed' Chicago. I gotta say I wanna know who the hell was behind the production on this one..because it's really incredible.

2. Take Your Time
oh good lord. Bell Bottom funk rock really hits like a ton of bricks. Almost thuggish intro, the singer pauses with a lazy bass voice 'yeah'. OK, this is all kindsa badassyness. Instantly the lyrics reference 'breakin' records' as if speaking about the DJ in the next room. Again, the production is massive. Congas, a wicked vibraslap, deep baritone sax, and is that Moog I hear in there?? Holy shit y'all!! I love the chorus.."Sometimes the hill's too steep to climb, sometimes it's hard to find a sign, you've got to learn to take the time". I'm not a huge sax solo lover, yet I love this one. More tasty psychedelic lyrics.. 'All the distortion you see along the way' well, they are truly on one. And, I love 'em. Dear Fat Back, I wished I knew which shelf your entire unreleased masterpiece LP was sittin' on.


Now if you've ever been diggin' in certain areas of this good ole' u.s. in a. (as Borat would say) you'll find tons of records that look like incredible funk records. Yet, you throw them on only to hear Jethro Billy Bob bangin' out a country knee slapper. Now, I've got nothing against knee slappers or country music in general. In fact I hope to illustrate that on this here blog (yup, yup yessiree) but, when your expecting unknown funk holy grail madness and you get 'kuntray pickins' it can be a bit deflating. I'm only mentioning this because this may be the story behind this little 45. If I remember right, I think I picked it up in Denver, Co. of all places. It was of many country titles I flipped through hoping for nasty funkiness. It is however proof that my ears are indeed wide open. All of you that think I'm a country or roots music hater, be warned! Alright fuckit.....I'll start working on the next post right now....YOU'LL SEE!




1. Fat Back - What Do You Want From Me
2. Fat Back - Take Your Time