Rock... And Indeed Roll!

Guitar Wolf - Summertime Blues
Guitar Wolf - Jet Generation

Trash, pure trash....
There's something about Japanese bands, no matter what genre, they just throw themselves into everything completely.
Guitar Wolf have been going a good few years now, my introduction to them was via the wonderful Rough Trade Rock And Roll Vol.1, which basically everyone who has a passing interest in trashy Rock And Roll should own.
Summertime Blues, you all know the song, and there's been many a version of it, but none as rough and raw energy fuelled as this... Corking stuff.
Summertime Blues and Jet Generation can be found on their 5th long player Jet Generation.
From the albums I've got or heard by them this is the one that really does it for me, highly recommended.

UPDATE (thanks to Adnan Y)
I've just found out that Hideaki Sekiguchi, Guitar Wolf's bass player (known as Billy to their fans) died in March from a heart attack aged 38, leaving a wife and two children.

Rest In Peace Billy.
-----------------------


These following songs are a couple of great versions of Guitar Wolf tracks taken from the tribute album I Love Guitar Wolf Very Much, which was released last year and features other such luminaries as The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Snuff, The Wildhearts, Jim O'Rourke, The D4 and J.Mascis And The Fog amongst others.
Class.

Lightning Bolt - Planet Of The Wolves

I don't think there has ever been a more filthy dirty gorgeously distorted sound recorded in the whole history of the recording business... Nuff said.
And how come I haven't done a full Lightning Bolt post yet...

Puffy AmiYumi - Can-Nana Fever

Picture the scene....
There's a couple of sexy Japanese girls on stage coming on like an even more cabaret version of Shampoo than Shampoo were, and their backing band is Senor Coconut.
Wonderful.
Go visit their site for a bunch of power pop punk and 60's tinged pop tracks to listen to, great fun.


Buy - Guitar Wolf - Jet Generation
Buy - I Love Guitar Wolf Very Much
Buy - Rough Trade Shops: Rock and Roll Vol.1
Visit - Guitar Wolf
Visit - Lightning Bolt
Visit - Puffy AmiYumi




The Golden Cups - Hey Joe

I don't know too much about The Golden Cups, apart from the fact that they are still going to this day... and they were the first Japanese band to get a distortion peddle imported, and my god did they use it on this 1968 rip roaring version of the old classic.
This is taken from their debut album The Golden Cups Album, which also features versions of A Whiter Shade Of Pale and Unchained Melody amongst others... but this is THE track to crank up really loud.
I've got this on Pebbles Vol.14, part of that great collection of 60's garage punk, psychedelia and trash... but I can't find it for you on CD anywhere, try ebay or something eh!.


Buy - The Golden Cups Album
Visit - The Golden Cups


Simon
x