Eno Rarities

Ian Cognito’s recent posting of the sole recorded output of 70’s weirdo supergroup 801 reminded me of just how good Brian Eno once rocked. Here’s another footnote in Eno history, his collaboration with The Winkies. In 1974, between Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) and Another Green World, Eno attempted an actual tour using glam/pub rockers The Winkies as his backing band. This disastrously ended after four gigs with Eno being rushed to the Hospital with a collapsed lung. The recordings from this period include a John Peel session featuring more rocking takes of ‘The Paw Paw Negro Blowtorch’ and ‘I’ll Come Running’ (here titled ‘Totaled’) plus ‘Baby’s on Fire’ and a version of ‘Fever’. Additionally, there’s the ‘Seven Deadly Finns’ 7”, a perverse number about some Finnish men traveling to France to fulfill their unique sexual fantasies. The flip, ‘Later On’, is an edit of the two tracks from Eno’s collaboration with Robert Fripp, No Pussyfooting. In keeping with the theme, I’ve also included ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’ and ‘King’s Lead Hat’ singles.

Hollins and Starr - Sidewalks Talking (US psych/folk 1970)

*Request for repost*
Here’s a quick one mostly due to the fact that I can’t really find much information on the duo of Chuck Hollins and Dave Starr. Chicago folk label Ovation put out their sole LP in 1970 and it’s an eccentric blend of lite-psych folk with occasional left-field outbursts. A Nick Drake gloominess prevails throughout but some cuts, like the title track, have a real groove that reminds me of downer hip-hop act Basehead’s first CD. Makes sense then that DJ Shadow used a loop from 'Twin City Prayer' for his epic track, 'What Does Your Soul Look Like'.

For your listening pleasure, choose between the side one/side two transfer (recommended for the full experience as the tunes tend to flow into each other) or edited into individual tracks for today's short attention span ipod listening youth.