Some FEATURED ARTISTS on this week’s Stronger Than Dirt (Saturday, October 8, 8-10pm) include the Easybeats, Soul Survivors, Sweet, Wazmo Nariz, Holly and the Italians, Television Personalities, Flashing Lights, Giuda, Limiñanas, lots of new music, as well as the weekly Dusty Diamond.
COVER ART OF THE WEEK: This week’s pick has little to do with cover art, and everything to do with 70s Euro glam aesthetic. Perhaps no band embodied that in sound and look than UK rockers The Sweet. Their 1973 single “The Ballroom Blitz” remains an enduring glam rock classic from the period. Penned by the tunesmith team of Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, it was inspired by an incident when the band was driven from the stage by a raucous Scottish crowd. It was an international hit, and even reached number 5 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Since then, it has appeared in numerous film soundtracks including “Wayne’s World.” This is a German pressing on RCA Victor with the same uncredited photo of the band on both sides. Click on image to enlarge.
DUSTY DIAMOND OF THE WEEK (a forgotten gem from the STD vaults): The Monkeywrench were a supergroup that included among others Mark Arm and Steve Turner of Mudhoney, and Austin legend Tim Kerr. Their music combined elements of blues, punk, and garage rock. They were an on again off again band, releasing three full length albums and some singles between the years 1992 and 2008. “Solar Revelations” is a crisp upbeat garage rocker featuring a very tight band and Arm’s distinctive vocals. It appeared in 2000 as the opening track on the ”Electric Children” album on Estrus Records. Listen to it here:
Promo art from “The Easybeats – The Definitive Anthology” CD collection on Repertoire Records. Photo by Gered Mankowitz.