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Please visit the page that DrSeuss created for this. It even has links to his tracks.

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Tower of Power

Fanfare/You Know It

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Ruben Blades

The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul

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Glenda Faye

Orange Blossom Special

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Game Theory

Sleeping Through Heaven

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John Gorka

BB King Was Wrong

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David Bowie

Love You Till Tuesday

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Nick Cave

The Alta Virago or The Vargus Barking Spider

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Tom Waits

On the Nickel

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Never the Bride

Going to California

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World Entertainment War

In a Crisis

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Malcolm McClaren

World's Famous

 

DRSEUSS - Volume 1

 

Ok...so it's a weird collection.  I'll admit that ahead of time, and save you the trouble.

 

It comes as a result of trying to find obscure songs I like, versus finding songs I like that are obscure.  It's a subtle difference, but worth noting.

 

Track listing:

1) Fanfare/You Know It - Tower of Power.  Album: "Prime Cuts".

Most of my best sampler albums came from the Logos Earthquake Emporium, (where I had many chances to buy (but didn't) "Y Kant Tori Read)" and this album is one of them.  Sheffield Labs records everything live to two-track tape, with no overdubs or any fancy recording tricks.  Just musicians performing together, creating a live-ish album in the studio.  I like the exuberance of the song, and it's no coincidince that both I and Sheffield Labs led off with this song.

 

2) The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul - Ruben Blades.  Album: "A Testimonial

Dinner". 

This album is an XTC tribute album.  I'm a sucker for tribute albums for artists I know, generally enjoying other interpretations of songs I know.  This version of the song is in English, but still has an unmistakable Latin beat.

 

3) Orange Blossom Special - Glenda Faye.  Album: "All-Ears Review, Vol 5".

The song is a bluegrass standard, and it's one of those songs where, if you can play it, you're playing it well, and she plays it well.  All-Ears Review tried to be a CD magazine of obscure music.  I have volumes 2-5, and, no surprise, picked these up at Logos, at the old location.

 

4) Sleeping Through Heaven - Game Theory.  Album: "Distortion of Glory".

Game Theory is one of my favorite groups.  This is a fun little song, reasonably reflective of the rest of their material.  Describing their sound as "jangly guitar-pop" probably wouldn't be inaccurate.  This song is from a compilation album of the original EP's, and was recorded in Scott Miller's bedroom.  A more cleaned up version can be found on the album "Tinkers to Evers to Chance", which is a best-of album.  I chose this version simply for obscurity.

 

5) BB King Was Wrong - John Gorka.  Album: "All-Ears Review, Vol 3".

I just like this song.  A nice "dig" at a classic song, with good energy.

 

6) Love You Till Tuesday - David Bowie.  Album: "Alterno-Daze".

The title track to a Bowie album I never heard of, it's a song I'd never heard before I found it on a sampler album I picked up at half price at a Longs.  To me this song is David Bowie imitating Ray Davies.  Research shows this was originally a video, released in 1969, which accounts for it's obscurity and style.  In any case, it's a fun Bowie tune that only the hardcore fans are familiar with.

 

7) The Alta Virago, or Vargus Barking Spider - Nick Cave.  Album: "Smack

My Crack".

Nick Cave reading from _And the Ass Saw the Angel_.  A nice, if eerie track, from an album compiled by John Giorno.  The album was released in England, and is another Logos find for me.  I originally picked it up for the Tom Waits track on it, with all the other tracks being gravy.

 

8) On the Nickel - Tom Waits.  Album: "Heartattack and Vine".

A fantastic song from my favorite artist.  I thought I had a bootleg version of the song somewhere, but was only able to find the studio version of any length - the one bootleg I found was considerably condensed.  To be "On the Nickel" is to be on skid row; living under I-5 in Los Angeles.  Or so the story I couldn't find goes.

 

9) Going to California - Never the Bride.  Album: "Encomium".

"Encomium" is a Led Zeppelin tribute album that I've had, but never really listened to.  I found this track and fell in love with it.  A discovery for me, as well as probably many other people.  A pity that Never the Bride only made one album in 1995 and then disappeared.

 

10) In a Crisis - World Entertainment War.  Album: "World Entertainment War".

Rob Breszny, before he became famous for his Freewill Astrology became  famous in the Santa Cruz area for his band World Entertainment War.  They eventually released an album, and then a CD, and then, almost inevitably, broke up.  There is, apparently, a new album out, available on his web site, but it seems to feature most material on this album from 1990. Probably worth seeking out.

11) World's Famous - Malcolm McClaren.  Album: "Duck Rock".

Malcolm McClaren and Trevor Horn's (producer) look at and interpretation of African music, combined with one of the first instances of rap/scratchin' music on a major album.  This track features the World's Famous Supreme Team,and could only come at the end of the album.

Hope you enoy the songs.

David (or Dave), aka Dr. Seuss

 

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