Sunday, June 15, 2008

THE WILDWEEDS - Greatest Hits... & More!


NRBQ rule, that's out of question.
Big Al Anderson was in a band called the Wildweeds first, whose material may appeal to any NRBQ fan, that's out of question too.
You can find a short bio here. Myself, I dig the first and second version of the Wildweeds just the same. I can't recommend their 1970 self titled album enough.

This Lp was released in the late 80s and again in 1991, and features some rare singles and demos. My belief is that this was a grey area release, but even Mr. R.Unterberger talks about it, so:

A fine collection that presents most of the songs that appeared on their four Cadet singles (including "No Good to Cry"), some unreleased cuts, a live track, and demos that they used to get their Vanguard deal. Even by the standards of obscure latter-day '60s reissues, this LP (probably issued in the 1980s) is hard to find. It's certainly worth picking up if you find it, or worth buying the material if it shows up on some future, more widely available compilation.

In fact, such compilation finally did see the light of day, first in Japan in 2001, and then in the U.S. a year later, featuring a couple more songs (two more versions of No Good To Cry). You can listen to generous samples and buy it here.

However, some of the stuff featured on that rare Lp wasn't used in the compilation after all, and they are needed for completists like you & me (am I correct?), so here they are.

Excuse Me Baby
No Good To Cry (Live at Windsor High School with the Al Lepak Big Band)

John King's Fair

Fantasy Child

There You Go (Johnny Cash)

Belle