40 Year Itch : A Dog Name of Grotski

Wigwam : Eddie and the Boys

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   Wigwam were Finnish Prog Rockers with a sarcastic UK vocalist named Jim Pembroke. The band followed up Nuclear Nightclub, one of my favorite discoveries as writer of the 1001Songs blog, with Lucky Golden Stripes and Starpose, another album that deliciously blended pop and funk influences. It wasn't the break out album fans and critics were expecting so it is my honor to introduce Wigwam to those who haven't heard them.

40 Year Itch : We Play Wigwam

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    This 1975 image of a Virgin Records store in Plymouth has been making the rounds recently on Twitter. It's probably late Summer 1975, judging by the posters. My eyes are drawn to the Nuclear Nightclub poster and the two green stickers that read "We Play Wigwam".

   This incarnation of Wigwam was an imaginative Finnish prog rock band that knew its way around an infectious pop hook.  The classic album may be 1974's space-jazzy Being, after which two founding members left. 

   The remaining members went commercial on the follow-up, Nuclear Nightclub, which was #1 in Finland, released by Virgin Records in the UK  and has delighted just about every listener who has discovered its quirky tunes. Check out the single  "Freddie Are You Ready".

40 Year Itch: Those We Missed Feb '74

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They were one of the biggest bands in America and by the sounds of this album, they weren't going to do anything to jeopardize that. What's surprising is America didn't fall for all of the "Long Train Runnin'" sound alikes on Vices, they made deep cut "Black Water" (US#1) and the Chicago-by-way-of-Steely-Dan single "Another Park, Another Sunday" (US#32) the hits.

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Produced by George Martin, the third album from those whimsical British melody makers, Stackridge,  carries on where one of 1972's true nuggets, Friendliness, left off. It's like discovering XTC years before they existed. The band still tours.

{out of print}

Former Fairport Conventioneer , Southern Comforter and Plainsinger Ian Matthews sounds comfortable on this California-set collection of mostly covers. David Lindley is in the house on Matthews's cover of Jesse Winchester's "Biloxi" and that's Jeff "Skunk" Baxter on the Tom Waits cover "Ol'55".

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Well we know what side of the abortion debate these soft rockers stand on. I hate them for setting the standard for church rock. Seriously, every time I'm at a service and somebody pulls out a guitar I know I'm in for some lesser Seals And Crofts -styled proseltyzing . At least someone brought in a drum set for "King of Nothing".

[Purchase]

Dense progressive jazz and oddly sung English lyrics are what you get from the Finnish group Wigwam .

[out of print]

Legendary keyboardist Ahmad Jamal's Jamalca features soft jazz takes on recent soul hits by The Spinners, Sylvers and Marvin Gaye.