Already a veteran performer on several LA-scene novelty/psych singles, Simon Stokes put together his own band and made his vinyl debut on MGM in 1968 with this rather uneven collection of swampy sex-prowler psych and screechy ballads. Comparisons with Beefheart are inevitable, if only because this is crazy-dude blues backed with genuine accomplishment; but there’s something altogether less cerebral about Stokes, who sings like a wrestler.
Back in the day, roughneck tales mixing violence, sex and humour – the ultimate taboo – won few friends among the peace’n’love pushers, but plenty among the outlaw biker fraternity. “The Bible says thou shalt not kill/But man, I heard that line before/If the Bible says thou shalt not kill/What excuse has the law?” Best bits are Big City Blues (a rework of Mini Skirt Blues by the Flower Children, aka Stokes, later covered in a Cramps/Iggy duet) and the redneck stomper Voodoo Woman, which was a Billboard hit and jukebox regular in a certain kind of bar in a certain kind of state.
by Derek Hammond
1. Big City Blues (Simon Stokes) - 2:49
2. Where Are You Going (Simon Stokes) - 2:53
3. Jambalaya (On The Bayou) (Hank Williams) - 3:03
4. Sugar Ann - 2:45
5. Southern Girl - 2:15
6. Which Way - 5:43
7. Voodoo Woman - 2:27
8. Rhode Island Red - 3:19
9. Cajun Lil - 1:48
10.Down In Mexico (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) - 3:13
11.You've Been In - 3:52
12.Ride On Angel (Simon Stokes) - 4:02
All songs by Randall Keith, Simon Stokes except where noted
Simon Stokes And The Nighthawks
*Nick Robbins - Keyboard
*Simon Stokes - Vocals
*Robert Ledger - Bass
*Joe Yuele - Drums
*Joe Foster - Keyboard
*Randall Keith - Guitar
*Butch Senneville - Guitar
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Estoy con el de Mark Fry, muchÃsimas gracias!
ReplyDeleteExcellent shouters... Thank you my friend
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