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28.1.15

Ben Vaughn & Kim Fowley-"The King of Saturday Night" from "Kings of Satu...

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The unlikely duo of Kim Fowley and Ben Vaughn joined for 11 bendy and bluesy tracks on Kings of Saturday Night. Fowley, who contributed all of the vocals, and Vaughn, who contributed all the instrumentals, have a sound that resembles where the Doors might be if Jim Morrison had stuck around; older, sadder, and wiser. With songs about drugs, sex, and life, Kings of Saturday Night is a diamond in the rough.

Though younger, Vaughn is no stranger to the studio, having recorded four albums for Restless/Enigma Records. Vaughn has also worked on many film and T.V. projects, and compiled and annotated the acclaimed Johnny Otis collection, The Capitol Years.

Kim Fowley has been making music for 35 years, and wrote songs for such acts as Warren Zevon, Alice Cooper, Steppenwolf and the Flying Burrito Brothers (proving that he cuts across many genres). In addition, he produced albums for Gene Vincent, Helen Reddy and Dave Mason.

While his resume is pop-oriented, Fowley's lyrics are based in the beat-poets, as he sings of life in an apartment ("A cubicle full of people"), pollution ("This planet is nowhere to live. Someone has to stop it or the whole world will stop"), and the future ("We are stranded in the future and have been since man landed on the moon").

The album is a coast-to-coast collaboration between the Hollywood-based Fowley and the New Jersey-based Vaughn. Vaughn cut instrumental tracks and sent them to California, where Fowley cut his vocals.

Says Fowley, "I sang to these pre-recorded tracks. I put vocals on and then sent the tapes back to Ben to mix. I like making a record this way...I had a John Fogarty version of Slim Harpo sitting in The Standell's studio that was transmitted back through time into a Louisiana swamp, with Cajun visions of Spanish goddesses. I don't think of myself as a Southern California artist. I think of myself as a musical Christopher Walken."

Fowley adds, "Ben Vaughn is the American Nick Lowe with a Sam Phillips brain. He's got the pocket down, the mix of rockabilly and folk-rock...As for the folk-rock aspects of the music tracks, [remember that] I co-wrote 15 songs for The Byrds out of five albums. Leo Kottke and Cat Stevens both recorded the songs."

Fowley's description of the brooding and sometimes ethically-challenged nature of his songs is accurate. From stark beauties like "Born to Die" to rockabilly/punkers like "Bad Man Bangin'," Kings of Saturday Night delivers the goods. The best cuts are "King of Saturday Night," a Seattle-influenced rocker, and the jaunty skittle-rocker, "21st Century Blues."

Kings of Saturday Night is an unusual collaboration that works well. When Fowley and Vaughn find their groove, they're rock solid. Kings of Saturday Night will never make the radio airwaves, but it's well-deserving.

4 commentaires:

Everett W. Gilles a dit…

Yo !
Let's find it here :
http://www17.zippyshare.com/v/biovNBJC/file.html

Association géniale, d'ailleurs Fowley se trompait rarement d'associé ...
Quant au Ben, la même tendance que Chuckie à se glisser dans les bons plans !
On en reparle bientôt si tu veux .
Thanx Bro

Ma a dit…

Merci mon King
- tu veux parler des Music séries TV de Chuck & Ben ?
Thanx Amigo

Ma a dit…

Psycho Beach Party ?

Everett W. Gilles a dit…

Naaah, un peu plus déviant ... Un petit post demain ? (Teaser !!)