Geek Factor: Obscure Great Recordings: Lost in the Grooves by Kim Cooper and David Smay

How many of you are unmitigated music geeks? A person for whom each obscure album that gets a glimmer of praise becomes a new holy grail, becomes an excuse (not that you need one, really) to go to every second hand shop within a 150 mile radius or endlessly surf the net, because you MUST have this slab of bliss? More importantly, you don't just hoard your latest find. You then make the rounds stopping by friends' flats or calling them to spread the news (and perhaps play the thang), and hopping on to e-mail lists and bulletin boards, to share this wonderful, new-to-you music that has made your life just a bit better.

If this description is in any way accurate, then let me recommend a book to you. Lost In The Grooves will keep you busy for a while. Let me also recommend buying some small Post-Its or some highlighter markers, because it's possible you might destroy the book if you just dog ear the pages every time your interest is piqued.

This tome is the latest inspired creation from Kim Cooper and David Smay, the folks behind Scram magazine and the editors of the excellent book Bubblegum Music Is The Naked Truth. The premise of this book is quite simple – have a bunch of music experts write about their favorite obscure and overlooked albums. There are no other restrictions. Going alphabetically by artist, the book ranges far and wide, from outsider music to jazz, from bubblegum (natch) to ‘80s college rock, from funk to power pop.

The quality of the writing is surprisingly high. There are a few dud reviews, where the writer either just mailed it in, or simply didn't adequately describe the work to allow for even a scintilla of appreciation. However, most of the entries are well done, and give you a firm understanding of why the writer is still ga-ga about the record. Indeed, the book is saturated in enthusiasm – these aren't, for the most part, guilty pleasures, but secrets that have remained secrets too long.

Cooper and Smay have tapped a wide variety of writers (though I suspect they could have easily filled 200 pages with their own personal entries), including some musicians and other inspired choices. Off the top of my head, I recall that Sonic Youth's Jim O'Rourke (who praises the dickens out of Propaganda by Sparks – my kinda guy!), The Dream Syndicate's Steve Wynn, Radio Birdman's Deniz Tek, The Long Ryders' Sid Griffin, Deke Dickerson, Doug Gillard and cartoonist Peter Bagge have some entries. (NOTE: Speaking of cartoons, props to Tom Neely's excellent illustrations, which meld the indie style of Bagge with a ‘50s jazz record sensibility). There are plenty of first rate rock writers, including the late Greg Shaw, Gene Sculati, Domenic Priore, Carl Cafarelli and Fufkin scribes Gary Pig Gold and Michael Lynch. Heck, even novelist Rick (The Ice Storm) Moody contributes.

Let me string together some entries, just by randomly opening the book. Starting on page 139, you go from the arty power pop of The Loud Family to the hi-fi organ of The Magic Fingers Of Merlin And His Trio, to the Mickey Mouse parody rock concept album from Frenchman Michel Magne. Let's go to page 64 – Swamp Dogg's oddball soul, Johnny Dowd's dark country sounds and the Dream Lake Ukelele Band, followed by the rap group Dream Warriors. One more for the road – page 179 starts with Brit folkies Pentangle, followed by the one and only Pere Ubu, and then the song poems of dental assistant Linda Perhacs, and next, the top Papa, John Phillips. Here is where someone can defend Yes's Tormato in the same volume that Buckner and Garcia's Pac-Man Fever gets sincere props.

Yep, this book is a winner. And inspired by the book, I thought I'd select 10 albums that I would have picked for this book (or a sequel???):

A House – I Want Too Much (1990): Any of the first four albums by this Irish band could have made my list. This was album number two, when they were still rocking out, in a manner similar to James, The Smiths and The Woodentops, but a bit crazier. Hard charging guitar anthems mixed with poppier gems, as lead vocalist David Couse sings with wild abandon, which is a deal breaker for some, but for me, it's the point. All the better for lyrics that are sarcastic and/or ironic, hidden in seemingly mundane or po-faced expressions.

The Boomtown Rats – Mondo Bongo (1981): Back in the early ‘80s, every British band made a foray into reggae, ska, funk or African rhythms. From The Jam to Haircut One Hundred, it was the rage. The Rats were no exception, and with a perfect conspirator in producer Tony Visconti, this album is jammed full of ideas, from the percussive title track to the ska version of The Rolling Stones's "Under My Thumb" to the reggae "Banana Republic". There's also giddy pop silliness on "Go Man Go", trenchant piano ballad politics on "Another Piece of Red", trashy garage rock that's somehow not garage on "Hurt Hurts" and the pointed Costello-esque "Elephant's Graveyard". This is a funhouse with an edge.

Pop Art – A Perfect Mental Picture (1984): I love Pop Art. This California band trafficked in the same jangle rock as so many other U.S. band of their era, and early R.E.M. and The Connells would be good reference points. There is also a hint of the romanticism of some of the British indie pop of the era. They had two things that made them special. First, singer David Steinhart has a powerful, vulnerable voice that fits his erudite lyrics – he may overenunicate and be prolix at times, but that's because he cares. Second, the songs are fiendishly catch, as the band quickly perfected a way to make verses and choruses flow so smoothly, rising and falling in endearing fashion.

Bad Religion – Into The Unknown (1983): This is the album Bad Religion doesn't want you to hear. This was their second effort, and here, Greg Graffin, Brett Gurewitz and the gang show a strong inclination for prog rock moves. This isn't an ELP album by any standard, but the songs are laden with synthesizers, acoustic guitars and a certain warbling folk music quality that is, obviously, unlike anything else the band has ever recorded. Moreover, it works. Whether it's the goofy "Billy Gnosis" (which the band recently told Jack Rabid in Big Takeover magazine was a rip of Steve Miller Band's "Take the Money and Run") or the driving "It's Only Over When", there aren't any real missteps here. The production could be better, but it's not cheesy, just underrecorded.

Kid Creole & The Coconuts – In Praise Of Older Women And Other Crimes (1985): This is where the hits quit coming for the Kid in Europe, although this is, to me, clearly the band's best album. The mix of soul, R & B, funk, reggae, salsa, samba, tango, Broadway and other styles was never better and the writing was never sharper. August Darnell (The Kid) divided the album into a side about relationships and a side about society. The first side starts with the brilliant "Endicott", about the man he'll never be, contains two awesome straight love songs ("Name It" and "Particul'y Interested"), while the flip has fiery critiques like "The Animal Cop" and "Caroline Was a Drop Out". Next to Ron Mael of Sparks, I would say that August Darnell is the greatest unrecognized songwriter of his generation.

Chris Hickey – Frames Of Mind, Boundaries Of Time (1985): I had the pleasure of reviewing Hickey's most recent release in 2003, and, like A House, all three of his records deserve so much more attention. Hickey has a voice that cuts right down to the bone, simmering with intensity. His lyrics are either blunt and direct, or mysterious and poetic. And he constructs some of simplest and most enduring folk pop melodies I have ever heard.

Steve Miller Band – Italian X-Rays (1984): Okay, I won't claim greatness for this platter. But this is one hell of an entertaining record, that stiffed grandly as the follow up to the platinum *Abracadabra*. On this disc, Miller and his band went crazy with the use of synthesizers. A few of the songs are the usual hippy-dippy cotton candy mellow blues that had become Miller's trademark. They are joined by songs like "Bongo Bongo", a bubblegum synth song that is one of the stupidest things every recorded, "Hollywood Dreams", which mixes a repetitive Phillip Glass-like rhythm part with airy harmony vocals in a psychedelic manner, and the one straight rock number, "Golden Opportunity", a song that some power pop band should cover right now.

Black Sabbath – Never Say Die (1980): This was Ozzy Osbourne's swan song. The band here was trying to catch up with the Van Halens of the world, and attempted to make their music more accessible. Well, it worked. I'm sure a lot of Sabbath fans just retch when they listen to this, but I find the mix of that great Sabbath sound, cleaned up a little bit, with stronger melodic structures to be irresistible. The title cut is simply one of the best things the band ever did, and almost every other song has at least one strong hook and lots of great Tony Iommi guitar bits.

Cheap Trick – One On One (1982): I think this album is only a notch below the band's first three studio classics. Working with Roy Thomas Baker, the band combines incredible ferocity with highly stylized recordings. How neither "If You Want My Love" nor "She's Tight" shot to the top of the charts is a question only Epic Records can answer, but there's so much more here, from the gonzo "I Want You" (Zander at his most frightful) to the anthemic "One on One", the first side is awesome. And the second side is a trip, as the band leaps from style to style so gleefully, you can practically here them cackling all the while. Disco, Buddy Holly, ELO and heavy metal are all touched upon, and it all works.

The Hardship Post – "Somebody Spoke" (1995): This Canadian band had a bushel full of edgy guitar riffs, all the better to make hooky mysterious indie pop songs. With sore throated vocals and a sound that, at times, found the midpoint between Television and Sloan (buddies of theirs from the Great White North), this was music that could charm a liberal power pop fan while satisfying post-grungesters concerned with cred.

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