ROCKADELIC 45s
EXAMINED
by Aaron
Milenski
The ROCKADELIC label should be familiar to most visitors to the Lama
Workshop, and a large number of the LPs Rockadelic has reissued (or released
from the vaults) are reviewed here. Many of you may also know that
Rockadelic released a few albums by contemporary bands (i.e. Mill Run Band,
Burnin’ Rain, Volares). It’s a lesser known fact that Rockadelic also
released a number of 45s by comtemporary bands. Despite the 90s vintage,
these singles fit in perfectly well with the overall Rockadelic oevre; the
singles are mostly hard rock, some with an old-fashioned garage feel, and
others with a psychedelic feel. Here are mini-reviews of the singles on the
label, at least two of which (Other Side and Modern Whigs) have become
instant favorites of mine:
LITHIUM XMAS: Message To Charlie/Ballad of the Hip Death Goddess
The A-side begins with some heavy feedback, and the sonic noise doesn’t let up one bit until the song ends. It’s not exactly melodic, but the guitar pretty much drowns out the languid singing anyway. This heavy garage punk song doesn’t go anywhere much after the great opening, but it’s got a great groove, and the guitar solos are insane. The B-side is a shortened cover of the Ultimate Spinach song, jam packed with reverb. The eerie voice, mixed way into the background, is a reasonably good approximation of the original. It’s a pretty cool choice for a cover version, and it’s got more over-the-top lead guitar, which here goes back and forth from speaker to speaker in a particularly disorienting way.
HASH PALACE: White Trash/Biting Nails
This one is driving hard rock that lives up to the title of the A-side. The lead guitar is buried way down in the mix, leaving a sound that’s punkier and less Chuck Berry-inspired that they seem to have intended. The lyrics are as stoned as the band’s name. The A-side is kind of tedious until the tempo slows for an unexpected bluesy guitar solo. This part is pretty funny, as the singer riffs on the song title while the solo raves on. I prefer the B-side, which has a more distinctive riff and a vocal that’s a dead ringer for Glenn Danzig and/or the Cult’s Ian Astbury but sloppy fuzzy guitar that’s much less slick than either of those guy’s bands would ever tolerate. That’s a compliment. 
ACHING VOID: Swirling Colors/Voices
The titles and band name promise some pretty hardcore neo-psych, and the A-side single delivers, from the heavily reverbed bass riffs to the incessant, spastic lead guitar to the sound effects on the vocals to the absurd scream that ends the verses. There’s a scattershot feel to this one, and it comes off as a random burst of wacked-out energy. The B-side is a bit slower, but has the same spaced out, crude feel to it (at one point it seems like the bass player or the drummer misses a cue), and plenty more of the fuzz guitar. Fun, indeed.
OTHER SIDE 4-song EP: People Always; Shangrala / Everywhere; I Want You
This neo-garage EP was the first 7-inch released on the label, and it’s a doozy. It’s less heavy than the other singles on the label, but rocks just as convincingly, if not more so, and is my favorite of the bunch. “People Always” has a driving bass part and an appealing trebly rhythm guitar sound, and lots of wah-wah on the lead guitar. Elsewhere is that ubiquitous reverb, and “Shangrala” has the strongest melodies on any of these singles. “Everywhere” builds powerfully, has a truly monstrous guitar break and a ton of surprises for a song that doesn’t hit three minutes. The closing “I Want You” colors its driving rhythm with some eerie sitar. The guitar playing throughout these four songs is stellar. It’s not especially complicated, but is exactly the right thing at the right time.
MODERN WHIGS: Under The Moonglow/Dreamshine
Like Hash Palace, the singer here has a powerful, deep voice that works really well with the effects-heavy guitar and raunchy fuzz. The “don’t give me the evil eye” screams on the A-side are totally convincing, and the intensity level is great. As with the singles reviewed above, the lead guitar is relentless. The B-side has tons more wild lead guitar and, if possible, more insane lead vocals. It’s not as catchy, but it’s equally effective. This single is a killer.
BURNIN' RAIN
Burnin’ Rain released five LPs on Rockadelic, making them the most well-represented band on the label. They also have three singles released by, or distributed by, Rockadelic. All three of these singles by this a musically exciting and faithful garage band have something to offer, though consistently the vocals and melodies are weak and the vocals buried in the mix, keeping this band from really reaching their potential. They also tend to mix the tambourine louder than the drums, adding to the old-time low-fi effect. The singles are:
(Live): Piece Of Your Love/All Night Long.
This crude, mono live recording doesn’t represent them at their best, but is still a likeable modern garage record. The fuzz guitar and Farfisa organ are truly NUGGETS-esque.
Climb To The Sky/Crystal Colored Cloud.
This single is on the Mind & Eye label but distributed by Rockadelic. The A-side has great fuzz guitar, echoed vocals and a cool driving bass part. There’s not much fidelity and the overall sound is quite tinny, but it has a cool vintage feel to it. The guitar plays great snaky Eastern-sounding parts throughout. There’s not a lot of variety to the composition, but just as you start noticing that it’s repetitive it ends. The B-side is more subtle, with a series of guitar licks and a change of speed. This offers the structural surprises that the A-side lacks, and has some cool violin.
Flying Saucers/Run and Hide
This is also on Mind & Eye and was pressed on red vinyl. It starts with a guitar simulating the noise of the title subject and moves into a moody minor key groove. The guitar break after the first verse is killer. If only this had a melody it would be classic. The B-side is more straight garage pop and is the least interesting song on the Mind & Eye singles.
PURPLE MERKINS: Ain’t Got Enough/The Wind Blows Your Hair.
This was the last single released on the label, in 1994. That’s one heck of a band name, appropriate for the post-new wave era, I suppose, though I doubt the makers of “Manic Panic” foresaw this use of their product. These guys are a retro-garage band with lots of organ, heavily reverbed vocals and heavily-tremeloed guitars. Only the modern-sounding vocal style gives them away as a contemporary act. The B-side is a Seeds cover, on which the singer sounds like he took lessons from the B-52s Fred Schneider. This is pretty fun, but not as exciting as, say, the Modern Whigs. A retrospective CD by the band was released in Italy in 1998, and finally on CD in 2005 in the US.
THE END