IT'S ALL MEAT - S/T (1970)
So what did His Eminence spin most heavily in 2007? Glad you didn't ask! I'll bet ya already figgered it wasn't something actually released in 20-Good-Fucking-Riddance-07... and you'd be right. It was an album released 37 years ago by some astute malcontents from Toronto.
Along with Simply Saucer, It's All Meat are perhaps the band that most fills me with pride for my Canuck Heritage. I have no idea if they spent countless hours spinning the Velvet Underground's self-titled third LP, but along with say, "Beggar's Banquet" and "Morrison Hotel", it provides a fairly accurate point of reference for their proto-punk sound. Consisting of Jed MacKay (keys and lead vocals), Rick Aston (bass and vocals), Rick McKim (drums) & guitarists Wayne Roworth and Norm White, they chose their name not in homage to the Animals song (as I've read elsewhere) but from a a dog food commercial that boasted "100% meat - no filler". Their ultra-sneerin' first single, "Feel It" (which you may know from Pebbles #9, included as a bonus here) and this lone LP were released by Columbia in Canada only.
So many highlights! This band exuded such an effortless cocky swagger, it's mind-boggling that they didn't at least merit wider distribution-- they definitely sounded like they were ready to grab the planet by its short 'n' curlies... "Listen to THIS, Fuckers!" The anthemic "You Don't Notice the Time You Waste" could pass for a New York Dolls outtake, if it wasn't recorded three years earlier. The snotty vocal spitting out streetwise words of warning is there, so's the slap-happy drums and so-sloppy-they're-perfect bastardized Chuck Berry licks. The nine-minute epic, "Crying Into the Deep Lake" invokes the Lizard King & Co. if you stripped away the pretentious, pseudo-poetic nonsense Jim dabbled in far too often-- pure psychedelic bliss, I tell ya! Atmospheric ballad "Sunday Love" is the kinda track Doug Yule woulda been grateful to wrap his tonsils around if Lou'd handed it to him... bah, what's the use? There's so much to obsess over when it comes to this platter. All I can do is give it Thee Highest SLN Recommendation & suggest you look in the comments.
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Part 2:
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pw = sln2008
...you have outdone yourself with this one... post Altamont psychedelic music with a darker edge and a palpable joy in the band making this great music....since i first heard this, this morning, it continues to get better... a good sign for any recording never mind a classic unknown relic ...an amazing post....It's All Meat's psychedelic opus masterpiece has to be Crying Into the Deep Lake...a song that evokes a dozen classic archetypal psychedelic memories...there are no weak songs here actually.... everything is evidence of a creative band that knew how to write a hook...what the fuck happened....oh right...yeah...probably a combination of public indifference...record company fuck-ups...and great drugs...
ReplyDeleteI agree 100 % with every word you typed. This was a really special band poised on the precipice of Total World Domination if they'd been given the chance. Since I laid my mitts on it 8-9 months ago, I still play it nearly every day which is something that hasn't happened to me since my early 20's-- it's great to have music that wraps itself around your psyche to that degree again!
ReplyDeleteWoah ! Never heard about them until now, just listened to it and I'm speechless... Thanks a billion for this ! One of the greatest garage/psyche lp of all time, no less !
ReplyDeletewow - used to wonder what this sounded like. Thanks. This is pretty cool (1970!?) and I'm only a few songs in...
ReplyDeleteMust say that I'm thrilled that folks are diggin' this one. Albums like this are the only reason this blog needs to exist.
ReplyDeleteI was surfing and came across this site. It thrills me to no end to hear that this music I recorded way back still has it. I'm still playing and writing and residing in North Florida. Music is truly our global communicator.
ReplyDeleteStill "has it"? Are you kidding? This is one of the great lost masterpieces of the era! It is a pleasure to hear from you-- I've been spinning your album pretty much daily for ages now. If you ever have the time, I'd LOVE to pick your brain about the creation of this classic and add it to this post. Email me at jakethepope@hotmail.com if you're interested. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYou got it, Jake. We lived and played for people like you and your readers.
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