Digging for records as a bargain hunter, 2020 edition, may not be an essential task, but it is as fraught as many other things in our current lives. As an activity it has proven to be far less people-filled than, say, the grocery store...and since it's inessential it's easy to bail if a crowd happens.
Since March 2020, there have been fewer opportunities than during a normal summer — limited rummage sales, the shutdown and still-limited hours at stores — and always the nagging thought: "Should I even be out and about?" Masks, hand sanitizer and thorough hand-washing aside, it gradually felt somewhat normal-ish to be out while COVID-19 cases trended downward in Dane County. But that is not so much the case here in early October, as state case numbers remain alarmingly high. Good thing I found some things during the summer, now that it looks like I’ll be mostly staying home all winter, I guess. (Of course, there's always online, but that's sort of like cheating for a dedicated crate digger, and nowhere near as fun.) Rather than a batch of LPs, let's switch it up and highlight some 45s this time around. Fair warning: It might get even nerdier than usual.
I've only seen a few singles over the years on the 1960s Oshkosh label Kel, even though it apparently operated during a good chunk of the decade; a sketchy list on discography site Global Dog Productions mentions the label started in 1958, but I suspect that is incorrect and refers to a different label. Gary Myers' Wisconsin rock 'n roll history Do You Hear That Beat lists the label head as Kelly DiCianni and the label’s first record release as 1963. So it was a providential find when a friend found that first 45 and passed it along to me. There is nothing on the internet about Karl Fields & the Sands of Time, except for that Global Dog discography listing. Both sides are solid songs, if tentatively performed. "I Was Wrong" is a minor key folk number; "Just Like That" presages folk rock with the addition of tambourine and drums. Both sides were written by K. and S. DiCianni. According to Discogs, S. is Sally DiCianni, also a co-writer on a later Kel 45 by Luci D'Mari. That disc intriguingly lists a Chicago address on its picture sleeve, and is a stereo 45 … which means Kel made it to the ’70s, and possibly re-located to Illinois. (Kel K-1141, about 1963)
Axis & the Rim is another super-obscure Wisconsin record. This one has defeated all my internet attempts to find any information, which doesn’t happen often these days. It's a private press record, with a rural route Elkhorn address given on the label. "Typical" is a nice mid-tempo guitar rock number, with a good closing solo and some de rigueur though not distracting '80s synth added. "Plain Talk" is even better, a guitar jangler that wouldn't sound out of place on any California Paisley Underground album of the era. Both sides are credited to Richardson/Richardson. Digging deeper, there is what appears to be a pressing plant code (PRL 84153) which led to a previous "PRL" number on an Otis Clay record from 1984. That finally led to Precision Record Labs Limited from Chicago. Which is an answer, but a dead end as far as Axis & the Rim. Does anyone out there remember this band? (ATR 5884, possibly 1984)
Records on the Jo-Cur label show up occasionally when digging through 45 bins in Wisconsin. Gary Myers' second Wisconsin book, On That Wisconsin Beat, provides some background on the name: It's a combination of Johnny Howard, a DJ for WMAD radio whose real name was Donald Lee Riis, and Curley Fields, a country performer who worked in the Midwest and also did some recording for Cuca. I always pick up the 45s if I see them, partly because they are typically solid country outings and partly because the discography includes several early 45s and an LP by Bobby G. Rice, born in Boscobel, Wisconsin — just up the road from where I grew up. This time around I found a 45 by Larry Fayne, another artist with no info to be found via simple internet searches, except for some discography listings. And, like most Jo-Cur records, this is an above-average hometown country record. Fayne wrote both songs, is a decent singer, and the band is cooking. But that's about all I can tell you about this one. (Jo-Cur 113)
The clue that tipped me off that Denny Bloom & the Sidemen might be a Wisconsin 45 was a co-writing credit by S. Williams on "Hair of the Dog," a speedy ode to fixing a hangover by drinking more. Sonny Williams was a prolific country recording artist who was based in the Milwaukee area for quite some time. Doing a bit of searching for this record also turns up some info, thanks to comments on yet another discography site, 45cat.com. It turns out Jaybird was related to a couple of the more active and longer-lived labels up north, Wausau’s Northland and Big Sound. Also, those comments included a link to an interesting Facebook page for northern Wisconsin rock 'n’ rollers, which includes a recent picture of Denny Bloom from a revival show. The flip of this 45, "The Chase," is a "bad man who must run" ballad that includes some very distinctive steel guitar playing. (Jaybird 815N-1000).
I perked up when I ran across The Brite Set in a box of junked-out chud, because the label design is awesome. But judging from the sound, this record is likely a few years past my preferred 1965-'67 garage band era, and a bit too middle-of-the-road for my tastes. At least, the organ-drenched A-side, "Karen," is. The flip side, however, is enough into the "what?!?" category to make this a keeper. It's a horn rock cover of "In the Ghetto," which features an arrangement with some clever horn charts but an extremely herky-jerky overall effect. (And, was the singer really supposed to stomp all over the end of the middle horn break like that?) Curiously, the Mac Davis song is credited to Bob Hilliard and "Bert" Bacharach...I guess whoever was responsible for copying down the credits read the wrong side of the Elvis 45. Snarkiness aside, I do like this side; they take an interesting approach to the song. There is not much on the internet about the band, but a reference to a Brite Set playing at the Lake Geneva Playboy Club in a PDF of the Sept. 5, 1970, issue of Cash Box is a clue. Newspaper archive sites turn up some other references from the 1970s and early '80s to a Brite Set playing in the Lake Geneva and Chicagoland areas. And Castle Studios was also in Lake Geneva, which is where this album was recorded, so it's likely the same Brite Set. (Fox River 959C-2998)
