VA- C'est Chic French Girl Singers From The Sixties

Have not posted anything in awhile however anyone who has ever followed the blog will know that I am a big fan of ye-ye and the entire French pop scene of the 1960's. The incredibly catchy tunes, extremely talented singers, and sensual overtones make the 60's French music scene a personal favorite of mine. Featuring artists like Francoise Hardy and France Gall this. compilation does a great work of putting together some of the best material from some of the various female artists of this era.
I would highly recommend this album for anyone wanting an introduction into this period and style of music. As well as for anyone who just wants to have a small taste of some amazing songs from this era all compiled in one place.

01 JACQUELINE TAIEB - Le coeur bout des doigts [1968]
02 FRANCE GALL - Laisser tomber les filles [1964]
03 ANNA KARINA - Roller girl [1967]
04 ARLETTE ZOLA - Je suis folle de tant t'aimer [1971]
05 BRIGITTE BARDOT - Ne me laisse pas l'aimer [1964]
06 CHARLOTTE LESLIE - Les filles c'est fait pour faire l'amour [1966]
07 FRANCE GALL - Le temps de la rentree [1965]
08 CHRISTIE LAUME - L'adorable femme des neiges [1967]
09 FRANCOISE HARDY - Je ne sais pas ce que je veux [1968]
10 JACQUELINE TAIEB - Ce soir je m'en vais [1967]
11 RIA BARTOK - Tu la revois [1961]
12 FRANCOISE HARDY - Voila [1967]
13 MARIE LAFORET - A demain my darling [1965]
14 ANNIE PHILIPPE - C'est la mode [1966]
15 JOCELYNE - A la fin tu gagneras [1965]
16 ALICE DONA - Un chagrin a oublier [1965]
17 LOUISE CORDET - L'amour tourne en rond [1963]
18 LES GAM'S avec ANNIE MARKAN - Impatiente (D'etre seule pour pleurer) [1964]
19 SHEILA - A la meme heure [1965]
20 LES SURFS - Chaque nuit [1964]
21 MICHELE TORR - Non, a tous les garcons [1965]
22 PETULA CLARK - Donne moi
23 LES GAM'S - L'ete reviendra [1964]
24 LIZ BRADY - Il suffit d'un jour [1965]

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Los Saicos - Punk From Peru 1965

When people talk about the precursors to punk rock bands like The Stooges or The Velvet Underground are likely to be mentioned. However there is a little known band from mid 1960's Peru that was already playing the style of music that some years later would become synonymous with punk. Fast and loud songs became a calling card of Los Saicos. Their most famous song "Demolicion" can only be described as having lyrics expressing the complete opposite of the mainstream 1960's peace and love culture. If you are interested in punk rock or garage rock then I really recommend giving Los Saicos a listen and if you would like to learn more about the band there is now even a short documentary about them on youtube worth checking out.

01- Come On

02- Ana

03- Demolición

04- Lonely Star

05- Camisa De Fuerza

06- Cementerio

07- Besando a Otra

08- Intensamente

09- Te Amo

10- Fugitivo De Alcatraz

11- Salvaje

12- El Entierro De Los Gatos

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V.A. - Central America In The 1960's and 1970's

When one thinks of the countries of Central America during the 1960's and 1970's the images that come to mind are those of military dictatorships, communist guerrillas, and wars that would have an impact on the region for decades to come. However during this same time period many countries in the region experienced what is often described as a "golden age" of music. Here is a small compilation that I have put together featuring music from various artists and various countries. Throughout you can hear the clear influence that some of the popular western genres like rock an ye-ye had on the local bands sometimes getting mixed with an added tropical flavor. Great download to check out for anyone interested in music from these two decades and for anyone curious about this part of the world that to most outsiders is not really known for its music.

1. Los Jets- Actuar Naturalmente (Guatemala)
2. The Bad Boys de Managua - Espejismo (Nicaragua)
3. La Unidad 5 - Te Quiero (Guatemala)
4. Los Catrachos Boys - Me Voy Para El Puerto (Honduras)
5. Los Traviesos - Aplanadora de Corazones (Guatemala)
6. Grupo Eva - Runaway (Guatemala)
7. Los Flame Boys - Yo Recuerdo (Honduras)
8. Los Music Masters - Karla (Nicaragua)
9. Los Panzers - Mujer Ideal (Nicaragua)
10. Los Jets - Ilusion (Guatemala)
11. Roberto Garcia y Los Speed - Un Lugar En El Cielo (Honduras)
12. Los Panzers - Viajera (Nicaragua)
13. Los Music Masters - Me Piden (Nicaragua)
14. Los Way - En El Ayer (Guatemala)
15. Victor Manuel Porras - La Gallinita Josefina (Guatemala)
16. Los Vikings de Usulutan - Y En Cambio Tu (El Salvador)
17. Los Mauraders - Asesinato En La 10a Avenida (Guatemala)
18. Los Prince - Dulce Dulce (Guatemala)
19. Pastel de Fresa - Tienes Que Volver Este Verano (Guatemala)
20. Los 007 - Tus Ojos Pardos (Nicaragua)
21. Los Jets - Un Sueno Azul (Guatemala)
22. Los Beats - Veronica (El Salvador)

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Various Artists - Cracks in The Iron Curtain Part 1

Today's post comes from the great blog over at http://michaelvee.livejournal.com which I highly recommend checking out if you are a fan of pure 60's rock. This compilation basically captures what were many of the 60's era artists in Eastern Europe. Of course what one must keep in mind is that at this time period in almost any East European country playing any form of rock or western music could get you a lot of unwanted attention from the government. Records and recordings for a lot of these groups were often quite rare since the material was almost entirely homemade. If you are a fan of any type of rock music especially the classic stuff from the 60's then I highly recommend giving this compilation a listen.

01/ Franke Echo Quintett - Show-Beat (GDR)
02/ Ruth Brandin & Sputniks - Mich hat noch keiner beim Twist geküsst (GDR)
03/ Eolika – Minikleitina (RU, LAT)
04/ Henryk Fabian & Czerwono-Czarni - Nie o tobie dzisiaj myślę (PL)
05/ Frank Schöbel & Team 4 - Es gibt nicht nur Dich (GDR)
06/ Siostry Panas - Wakacyjna piosenka (PL)
07/ Miki Volek & Olympic - Skinny Minnie (CZ)
08/ Lel' - Карие глаза (RU)
09/ Pięciolinie - Roztańczone niebo (PL)
10/ Pięć Linii - Pożegnanie ze szkołą (PL)
11/ Wojciech Gąssowsk & Tajfuny - Przejdzmy Wreszcie Na Ty (PL)
12/ Mètro- Boys (HU)
13/ George & Beatovens - Why Do You Leave Me (CZ)
14/ Chochoły - Amor a kysz (PL)
15/ Polanie- Dlaczego tak traktujesz mnie (PL)
16/ Atlantis -Drága bakter úr (HU)
17/ Beatmen- Keby som bol Nór (CZ)
18/ Ada Rusowicz & Niebiesko Czarni - Nie pukaj do moich drzwi (PL)
19/ Beatings -Znám muže (CZ)
20/ Niebiesko-Czarni - Tak mi źle (PL)
21/ Illes- Little Richard (HU)
22/ Maria Mitseva & Shturcite- Pticite nyamat senki (BU)
23/ Synkopy 61 - Byl jednou jeden král (CZ)
24/ Czerwone Gitary- Cztery Pory Roku (PL)
25/ Skaldowie- Medytacje wiejskiego listonosza (PL)
26/ Koncz Zsuzsa & Illes - Szoke Anni Balladaja (HU)

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Grand Prix (1966)

Someone recently brought to my attention that while the blog is called "Lightning Strikes Music and Whatever Else" the blog is mostly made up of music and little to go into the "whatever else" category. So to help remedy this I thought I would share one of my favorite movies the 1960's classic Grand Prix. The movie revolves around the professional and personal lives of a few Formula 1 drivers as they struggle to deal with the pressures and dangers of motorsport. Grand Prix does an excellent job of capturing what early
Formula 1 consisted of...fast cars, good looking girls, and danger in every corner.  This is a relatively long movie at almost 4 hours however there is plenty of action and drama throughout to keep you more than entertained and I should mention that even though auto racing is obviously a main part of the plot even someone who has never seen a Formula 1 race in their lives or knows nothing of the sport can enjoy this great movie.

 

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Various Artists - El Lado Mexicano Part 1

Today we go back to Mexico but this time for some pure classic 60's rock. Much the same as I mentioned with Mexican SKA in my previous post early Mexican rock never really received much recognition outside of the country. The Mexican rock scene of the 1960's was very large and obviously influenced by the artists in Britain and the US. Many Mexican bands in fact focused on doing Spanish covers of British and American songs while others just developed a sound of their own. "El Lado Mexicano" is a series with various parts that gives an introduction into the wide world of what is early Mexican rock. I highly recommend this download to anyone with any interest in pure rock music as you will not be disappointed with all the great material that this download contains.
01 Famous Finks - C'mon and Swim
02 Las Chics - Samba Lulu
03 Los Gliders - Algo Un Poco Diferente
04 Los Hooligans - Revoltosa
05 Los Intocables - No hay que ser
06 Los Tepetatles - Teotihuacan A Go Go
07 Los Temerarios - Extrañado
08 Los Happy Boys - Tarzan el Hombre Mono
09 Los Flammers - Vallery
10 Apocalipsis - Lovey Dovey
11 Apocalipsis - Try It (Pruebalo)
12 Los Fugitivos - Borracho
13 Los Fugitivos - El Tren
14 Los Fugitivos - Marcando el paso
15 Los Fugitivos - Stop
16 Los Monstruous - Vamos hay
17 Los Monjes - Apresurat
18 Los Monjes - No debes mentir
19 Los Monjes - Los ruidos en la ciudad
20 Los Yaki - Sor ye ye
21 Los Ovnis - Cuando era niño
22 Los Ovnis - Mary Mary
23 Los Sleepers - Hermanita
24 Los Sleepers - Ojos De Araña
25 Los Profetas - Herido
26 Los Profetas - Loco estaré
27 Los Zignos - Pop yo te quiero
28 Los Zignos - Puedo amarte
29 Flying Karpets - Winter song

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Clasicos del Ska Mexicano (Classic Mexican Ska)

When the genre of Ska comes up the two countries that most people instantaneously think of are Jamaica and England. Jamaica being the birthplace of this music and England were it reached a wider audience. However there is one country that unfortunately has been largely forgotten in the history of Ska and that is Mexico. As any Mexican can tell you Mexico is a very diverse country with influences from just about every corner of the globe and the music is a prime example of this. Now looking at the music industry of Mexico and Jamaica in the 1960's both shared one crucial similarity and that was that record labels were all competing trying to put out the best "sounds" be it things influenced from the rock n' roll scene in the US and in Britain or homegrown stuff. In 1965 though a musician by the name of Toño Quirazco traveled to Jamaica and brought back the beats and sounds of Ska making it a huge hit in the country and also making Mexico one of the first countries outside of the Caribbean to start playing the new music genre. Unfortunately many of the artists and Ska songs from this era are almost impossible to find as the majority of people and even some record labels had no idea of their Jamaican heritage and thus just labeled them under the generic rock or tropical music genre labels making any mention of Mexican Ska in the history books almost non-existent.
Here I have put together a small compilation of some of the best of early Mexican Ska with a main focus on
Toño Quirazco who is the one that brought the genre to Mexico. For anyone who is familiar with this style of music you will be able to see in these songs some major influences from classic Jamaican bands like The Skatalites and Toots & The Maytals.
If you are a fan of ska, reggae, Jamaican or Mexican music than I highly recommend you give this a listen as you will not be disappointed 

1. Pily Gao - Mi Novio Esquimal (My Boy Lolipop)
2. Toño Quirazco - Merida Ska
3. Toño Quirazco - La Familia (Shame And Scandal)
4. Jorge Querol con Los Go-Go - Rudi Enamorado (Rudy's In Love)
5. Toño Quirazco - Jala De La Cuerda (Monkey Man)
6. Mayte Gaos - Susi La Coqueta (Runaround Sue)
7. Toño Quirazco - La Mucura
8. Las Misioneras de La Montaña (Monjitas A Go-Go) - Sonreir
9. Toño Quirazco - Ska de Los Santos
10. Toño Quirazco - Xalapa Ska
11. Toño Quirazco - Estambul Ska (Freedom Sounds) 

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The Standells - The Hot Ones

The Standells are a garage rock band from 1960's California, the first Standells song I ever heard was the cover of Good Guys Don't Wear White done by punk band Minor Threat. The Standells own style is very much almost like a mix of 60's rock and roll with what would later become known as punk rock in the 1970's. They were known by some people as "The Beatles of North America". The album that I am sharing here is one that compiles somewhat rare Standells covers of songs done by other artists such as The Beatles, The Monkees, Sam The Sham and The Pharaohs, etc. and is definitely worth downloading and giving a listen to.

1. Last Train To Clarksville

2. Wild Thing

3. Sunshine Superman

4. Sunny Afternoon

5. Lil' Red Riding Hood

6. Eleanor Rigby

 7. Black Is Black

8. Summer In The City

9. You Were The One

10. School Girl

 11. Ten O'Clock Scholar

12. When I Was A Cowboy

13. Don't Tell Me What To Do

14. Misty Lane

15. Standells' Love Theme

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Nirvana (60's) - All Of Us

Unknown to many there was a band in 1960's UK named Nirvana way before, Kurt Cobain and his group came along and stole the name of the (in my opinion) much better 1960's group. Though Nirvana had a very unique rock style they only achieved limited commercial success and never became as famous as some other British bands to come out of the 60's, their music is still definitely worth checking out. And unlike the 90's US group of the same name which made depression and frustration and the such "cool" the original Nirvana tried to inspire a positive feeling and to look at all the good things in life. Which at least in my book already puts them miles ahead of the 90's group that most people have heard of.

1. Rainbow Chaser
2. Tiny Goddess
3. The Touchables (All Of Us)
4. Melanie Blue
5. Trapeze
6. The Show Must Go On
7. Girl In The Park
8. Miami Masquerade
9. Frankie The Great
10. You Can Try It
11. Everybody Loves The Clown
12. St. John's Wood Affair


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