The Day After The Sabbath 150: Lovely Jugglies Part 1 - Very Rare 45s From the DJ Juggles Collection

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Reaching another milestone for TDATS with volume 150, nearing the webzine's 15th year of existence, I decided to do something special. As you may have seen with various other volumes like v30: Halloween Special with Zischkale,  v110: Mik Kay interview and v115: Top of the Scott's [Scott Blackerby Interview], sometimes it's good to mix things up by inviting fellow musical explorers to collaborate on the blog. In this case we have a stunning bunch of obscure 45s made available to us by Australia's DJ Juggles. Since the mid '70s he's been collecting exactly the kind of music that TDATS adores, not only collecting, but also championing such bands as a radio and live DJ.

Here we have a selection of fourteen 45s, from the USA and Australia, ranging from 1967 to 1979 and spanning all styles of hard 'n heavy, psych, prog, hard rock and metal. I listened to a lot of singles that Juggles has revealed to us over recent years and I personally selected these 14 sides according to their excellence and apparent obscurity, so I'm sure that this will be a real adventure into genuinely unknown territory for the large majority of readers! This is part 1, part 2 will follow soon. [EDITOR: Part 2 has now been published, November 2023 (link)]

TRACKS

01. Enalpria (Florida) - You Keep Me Hanging On (1967)
02. Christopher Cross (Texas) - Talkin' About Her (1976)
03. Imagination (Massachusetts?) - Fat Man ('70s)
04. Copperfield (Kentucky) - Eleanor Rigby (1976)
05. Crystal Crank (Ohio) - Too Late For Romance (1977)
06. Chantz Brothers (New Mexico) - Stealer (1976)
07. Speed Limit (Massachusetts) - Space Party (1977)
08. Bruce Carr Band (Michigan) - I Don't Need You (1978)
09. Tahanako (Oregon) - Nite Thunder (1976)
10. Clem East (Sydney, Australia) - Jupiter (1979)
11. Sid (Illinois) - Snow White Horse (1975)
12. English Garden (Pennsylvania) - Not Your Lover (1975)
13. Savage Grace (Florida) - Trying To Say I Love You (1975)
14. Hot Candy (Pennsylvania) - Darkened Passage (1978)

Juggles clearly appreciated the value of music from lesser-known bands from an early age, his fascination began as a teenager during his first jobs in record stores, and he wisely took advantage of that situation to build his knowledge, importing records from all over the world. At the same time his record store connections allowed him to become a radio DJ, playing obscure rock on his own shows, and he started doing this in the seventies, so this was a genuine passion coming through a long time before many others started recognising the huge breadth and value of hard rock obscurities.

DJ Juggles Interview part 1

DJ Juggles, '70s pre-show green room

You have been collecting records since a teenager working in record shops. Is that how you got into DJing?

Yes I started work part time when I was 13 at Town Hall Import Records. They would import stuff that wasn't released down under as well as bring in ship loads of records that the owner would travel overseas to buy. That's how I got stuff like Josefus in the bargain bin many years before anyone even had picked up on them. [Editor: I found some reminiscences of Sydney's Town Hall record store scene at Vanessa Berry's website (link)]

I started DJing at the same time as the assistant manager of the shop was a DJ, and he taught me how. It all went from there when Lobby Loyde (featured in TDATS 21 & 42) got me a job at a new underground radio station in Sydney as the messenger boy! I was 14 and within a short time at 15 I was doing obscure heavy rock shows 2 nights a week on the radio. That station started being involved in bands coming out here and I was DJing with Black Sabbath etc as a 15 year old......things just moved on from that point progressively.

DJing for classic Aussie bands!

I guess you also were involved in some well-known festivals too if bands like Black Sabbath were involved? 

Bands were at festivals, their own gigs, clubs and pubs. One of my favorites was with Thin Lizzy at the Sydney Opera House steps. I've also enjoyed the early days where I would have bands like AC/DC, Buffalo, Coloured Balls and Rabbit up to the 80's days of INXS, Midnight Oil etc in clubs and pubs where I was booked to spin. Too many to mention haha.

What kind of events do you get invited to DJ these days? Could you tell us some favourite songs to spin?

I'm still rocking and flipping pancakes now and then, this year has mainly been festivals since covid restrictions were lifted. I have worked with a few bands lately including my favorite modern psych band...Earthless, Love these guys, the world's best humans around. [Editor: Earthless featured in TDATS v40 (link)]. I've also done a series of warehouse gigs that are very underground.

Favorite tracks for me are hard to explain, my thought patterns don't allow a favorite!  I'm always looking and digging for that nugget that will be my Nirvana. Thankfully to this day it has never happened! That way the search and dig continues for my holy grail.

Fox's Ziggy Stardust is a number that I have finished my shows off for as long as I can remember. I think it all came about as a kid I loved Bowie and truthfully still do. When Fox released this it gave me an excuse to play Bowie in my Obscure heavy shows without having to feel I was selling out the underground rock world... shallow at the time? YES!  but it got a cracking track into my shows on a permanent basis. [Editor: Fox appear on TDATS v80 (link)]

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DJ Juggles' interview continues in the next volume of Lovely Jugglies, including his travels abroad in search of those elusive 45s! 

TDATS #150 Singles

All technical details are taken initially from Discogs.com, with some further details found in various places online. I've done my best to describe each track for you too! Some of these bands are barely documented anywhere, so there will surely be some inaccuracies below. If you know anything more about any of these acts then please contact me at aftersabbath@live.co.uk and I will make corrections accordingly!

The Enalpria - You Keep Me Hanging On (1967)
Cocoa, Florida. Members: Danny Rodriguez, Kim Holmes, Lenny Maddock.
This is an excellent and suitably heavy rendition of the classic Supremes song, no doubt inspired by Vanilla Fudge doing the same, in the same year, and the flipside is a cover of Purple Haze. There are three singles by Enalpria ('Airplane' backwards) on Discogs, making them one of the most documented bands here. "Sliding", from their 1970 single was used in a 2019 comp called "Down In The Valley 3", seemingly from a German label, so who knows if that was officially licensed? You can see a few interesting comments made by band members and associates on the youtube upload of another side of theirs, "Speed Limit" (link).

Christopher Cross - Talkin' About Her (1976)

Recorded at Odyssey Sound Ltd. Austin. Written by Chris Geppert.

No doubt well-known to many of you with hits like Ride Like The Wind and Sailing, but less known for starting-out in 70s hard rock bands! This is a great piece of hard riffing Texas rock and you can see some of the original lineup from this single playing this track in recent years on youtube. (link)

After posting this tune on youtube, drummer/singer/songwriter Tommy Taylor, long-time musical cohort of Chris Cross, left some comments you can read here. He told me: "Actually...Just for historical correctness...

The line up here is really not the same as the "original" line up. Chris wrote and sang this here.  A version actually was done with Gaylen Latimer doing the vocal.  

The guitar trader Kurt Linhoff is playing the bass. Jim Newhouse is on the drums if memory serves.  

The slide solo is Eric Johnson. Rob Meurer does the synth solo.

We used to do this live for an encore and really confuse our later audiences.

Here (video above) we did it at a reunion for Van Wilks birthday because he loves it so. Chris and I split the vocals.

The flip side is on my channel (link).  Talkin' 'Bout Her was written to sort of capitalize on the ZZ texas kind of verve in hopes of getting some label interest.  It wasn't really a direction that the band was really about. "It's All With You" is probably more of a bridge between what CC was really all about and what made it on the debut.  Things changed very rapidly after. 

It's a fairly rare record.  I don't think they pressed more than 500 or 1000 at most.  It didn't get airplay or sell really.  Most people don't realize it is Eric Johnson (who I also have played with for nearly 40 years) is on the slide solo.  Rob Meurer used to have all the copies that were left.  He had stacks of boxes of 25 each.  He has passed on now."

Another viewer made this further contribution to the history of this track:
"'Talkin' About Her' is also included on the Christopher Cross - The Complete Works Box Set, which was released in 2020. It's on the bonus CD included in the package.

Also, the 1974 7" vinyl single of 'Talkin' About Her'/'It's All With You' is included as an "exclusive extra" on the European limited edition version of Cross's 2011 album Doctor Faith. 

The Doctor Faith liner notes for the above mentioned 7" vinyl single, in particular 'Talkin' About Her' is noted below:

Christopher Cross - vocals and guitar

Eric Johnson - guitar

Rob Meurer - Piano and Arp 2600

Kurt Linhof - Bass

Jimmy Newhouse - Drums

To note Kurf Linhoff's surname only has on 'f' at the end not two.

On a side note, TommyTaylorOfficial's comments are beneficial as well. I showed Tommy the upload of the song initially from you (The Day After The Sabbath) from your YouTube channel."

Imagination - Fat Man (1970s?)

Going by a few other artists on the independent Alma label, I'll take a guess that Imagination is from Massachusetts, but this is pure speculation.

This is a simple and direct track with one of those fat fuzzy riffs that hits the spot immediately in the best TDATS tradition of songs like Maternal Joy's Fat, back on vol70 (link).

Copperfield - Eleanor Rigby (1976)

On the Louisville, Kentucky label, Bridges.
This is a fantastic Beatles cover with touches of metallic / heavy prog pomp that come in at the beginning and reappear throughout the song, including some nice duel guitar and driving keyboards. Excellent musicianship really brings this one home!

Crystal Crank - Too Late For Romance (1977)

Written by K. Seuberling. Manufactured at QCA Custom Pressing, Cincinnati, Ohio.
This is one of the most metallic songs in this set, in the style of early Van Halen and maybe even a bit of Judas Priest in the vocal department. It's great, Enjoy!

Chantz Brothers - Stealer (1976)

Written by S. Smith & M. Seitz.

Released by New Mexico's Goldust Records.

Time for a change of pace with this slow-burner, which is no less heavy on emotion and tension-building performance, right up to the excellent closing guitar solo.

Speed Limit - Space Party (1977)

Released on Reading, Massachusetts' Rocky Coast Records label, Piano arranged By Russ Moschetto.

This is one big 'ol good-time bar room boogie monster, beer bottles spilling and rugs getting cut. I always loved Elton John's "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" and this is the big brother to that song with all the piano and a heavier guitar!

Bruce Carr Band - I Don't Need You (1978)

Released on Kalamazoo, Michigan's Pro GRESSIVE Productions label.
Good hard rock with some Queen harmony singing and perpetual synthesizers that give the song some extra period charm.

Tahanako - Nite Thunder (1976)
Written by Holt, Harmon, Watson & Harmon.

Recorded at Recording Associates, Portland, Oregon.

Engineers: Jay Webster & Roger Cota.

Here's another of the more metallic offerings in the set, maintaining a galloping pace throughout and bristling with dexterous guitar flourishes, totally killer hard rock that invokes images of guys rocking the fuck out on stage and loving every minute of it!

Clem East - Jupiter (1979)

Here's some information kindly offered by long-time blog follower, Rich Schell: "Clem East, AKA Clem Mizrahi, was involved with the Nutwood Rug Band and Sydney band Man O’War around 1977/8. He produced this single, sang and played bass. The guitarist is probably Chris Turner (Buffalo/Rose Tattoo etc), with Fred Mangion - Drums and Roger Delernia - Guitar.
This is a long and complex hard rock instrumental with touches of progressive rock, and it's totally brilliant!

Sid - Snow White Horse (1975)

Sid appears to be a project of one David Chalmers, and the flipside of this single is a solo effort under his own name. Chalmers seems to have been somewhat prolific with various labels and bands all run by himself, and he made three solo albums in the late '70s, but this is the only track recorded under the name of "Sid". I wasn't able to pin much else down other than he may have been based in Illinois, rather than Texas as the lyrics might convey, but this again is only speculation going by some scant information on Discogs. This is a great partner to the Tahanako track, packed with superb double-tracked guitars that never let up once.

English Garden - Not Your Lover (1975)

Producer – Steve Craiter

Written By – Steve Craiter

Written By – Rapp

Produced For – Nise Productions, Inc

Published By – Bleak City Music

Recorded At – Society Hill Sound, Philadelphia

A great track with more melodic intentions and commercial accessibility than others here, it has a great pop structure with a few twists and turns and superb guitar throughout.

Savage Grace - Trying To Say I Love You (1975)

P.O. Box in Jacksonville, Florida
Songwriter – Jamey Williams

Producer – John W. Cobb, III

Like Clem East before, this one stands out as being more on the epic progressive rock side of things, with a long dramatic build-up and ending on a big crescendo, it's a trip right until the end!

Hot Candy - Darkened Passage (1978)

Writers: P. Johansen & N. Trask.

I found an unverified comment from some Googling, saying that these guys are from Pennsylvania, and that's all I can tell you for now.
This is a unique track, it's funk rock as much as it's progressive rock, and the main funky riff reminds me of a cross between Iron Knowledge - Showstopper from TDATS funk vol52 (link) and Blackwater Park's epic "Rock Song" on vol3 (link). I chose this to end the set as it fades out on a dreamy atmospheric note, a tangent that comes up twice in the song, and you'd think would be at odds with the funk but it works in a soothing, film soundtrack type way!

Thanks again hugely to DJ David Juggles for making this milestone volume of TDATS possible, you can follow him on instagram at jugglesrecordcollection ! And thanks to all the un-sung bands that made all this fantastic music!

See you on the next one! Rich

Related listening:

The Day After The Sabbath 70: School Daze [all heavy singles]

The Day After The Sabbath 91: Forced Landing [Heavy US AOR & pomp special]

The Day After The Sabbath 140: Greetings From Ohio [Obscure Ohio 45s]

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