The Slapp - Naughty Little Secrets / Paper Woman. 1981 USA-Chicago

The Slapp, of unknown origin (possibly the Chicago area), definitely have the sound of the early 80s. More of a straightforward, hard driving rock, that reminds me of Cheap Trick at times. The songwriting on both tracks is a cut above the usual, and could easily have been radio hits in their era. Best of all is each track features a raw hard rock guitar solo, more rooted in the mid 70s which recalls Ted Nugent or even Frank Marino at times. Excellent little pickup here.

Ownership: SP: 1981 Rock Candy. With picture sleeve. Online acquisition.

6/25/20 (first listen / review / new entry)

Damrod - Once Again / Twelve Hour Man. 1975 USA-Chicago

Damrod were one of those classic proggy hard rock bands we often find in the Midwest part of the USA, though very few ever made much of a splash in their era. Similar to early 70s Uriah Heep but mixed with a mid 70s progressive rock awareness. Great organ, fuzzed electric guitar leads, and synthesizer. One SP is their total output and both tracks are excellent. Would love to know more about these guys - and do they have more material? Presumed to be from Chicago since that's where the label is from.

Ownership: SP: 1975 Ruby. Apparently a stash of new copies had been discovered in the last few years. I just bought one of them. Seems to be going out of stock again.

6/25/20 (first listen /  review / new entry)

Last Episode - Take a Second Look (short and long). 1975 USA-Detroit

Last Episode lyrically - and in harmony - remind me of The Temptations circa 'Papa was a Rolling Stone'. Socially charged that is to say. But the music is hard funk, just the way I like it, with great guitar, horns, and keyboards. It's the same song on each side, but the longer version (by about a minute) has more instrumental work.

I can't find any history of the group. Both Wade Marcus and Melvin Davis were said to be in Detroit by this time, so we'll go with that until further notice.

As far as I know it's never been comp'd. It was a promo only with no accompanying LP. 1975 was probably just a tad late for this kind of angry-on-the-streets sound, as good-times disco was on the horizon. This is exactly the type of 45 that find themselves going for hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. But there's plenty of supply, so it remains bargain basement. If you're a collector of such music, this comes as an easy recommendation.

Ownership: SP: 1975 A&M. From a garage sale (2019)

8/15/19 (first listen); 6/18/20 (review / new entry)

King Midas and the Muflers - Mellow Moonlight / Tramp. 1968 USA-Kansas

This 45 leaves off the RnB from the predecessor and gets down to garage funky psych business, which is more to my tastes. From McPherson.

Ownership: SP: 1968 Kanwic. From a local estate sale.

6/14/20 (first listen / review / new entry)

King Midas and the Muflers - Sadim (Beaver Shot '69) / Get Down With It. 1967 USA-Kansas

Full name of Side 1 from the 1967 release is 'Sadim (Beaver Shot '69)'. Sooo... what's that supposed to mean? Ha... it looks like it may have been a title of a book. Anyway, this track is a solid instrumental funk number - the type of music that The Budos Band brought back to life in the 2000s. The other side 'Get Down With It' is a bit more typical funk / RnB with vocals. Despite the title, the general consensus is this 45 is from 1967.

King Midas and the Muflers (great name!) were from McPherson (been there many a time as it turns out). 

Ownership: SP: 1967 Chrome. From an estate sale. Thinking the homeowner must have lived in the area once as there was little else like it in the collection.

6/14/20 (first listen / review / new entry)