MODERN SOUNDS Hank Williams 1969 INSANE EXPLOITO FUZZ GARAGE PSYCH LP must HEAR

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THE MODERN SOUNDS "FAMOUS SONGS OF HANK WILLIAMS" LP

ORIGINAL 1969 LP ON THE US ALSHIRE LABEL, STEREO S-5136

COVER IN EXCELLENT SHAPE, SMALL CORNER DINGS IS ALL

VINYL IS SUPER CLEAN AND SHINY, PLAYS EXCELLENT

ONE OF THE BEST EXAMPLES OF THIS RARE RECORD I'VE SEEN!

The basic premise behind this, the most insane exploito psych cash-in album of them all, is (as the back cover liner notes say), “to bring Hank Williams’ great music to the modern young generation,” as opposed to, say, the out-of-date young generation I guess.  This was back in 1969, mind you, when country music wasn’t as popular as it is today (although infinitely better) – so the trick here is somehow getting the “modern young generation” to actually want to listen to some classic country tunes, as opposed to Santana and the Doors and the latest Strawberry Alarm Clock single .  So what’s a marketing executive to do?  I know, let’s get the Alshire studio band to take Hank’s timeless songs, turn ‘em into funky little go-go swamp rock, and then dump truckloads of fuzz guitar on top.  And if that don’t get the little rugrats into country music, then maybe we oughta consider giving Freddie Fender a sitar.

If you’re still with me, it helps to know that “Famous Songs of Hank Williams” was cut from the same cloth as those other brilliant bargain-basement exploito psych albums, like the Animated Egg and the 101 Strings Astro Sounds album.  The reason why this one’s so much more fun is because this time, the crack team goes out and gets a gen-yoo-wine poker-faced Nashville hillbilly crooner to actually sing over the space age bachelor pad fuzzed-out madness.  And, as any Huey Lewis and the News fan can tell you, sometimes it’s hip to be square.

If you like cheesy psychedelic fun, this is about as priceless a combination of disparate elements as you’ll ever hear.  If you’re a big Hank Williams fan, however, hearing these renditions is probably akin to having large sharpened darning needles shoved deep inside your ear canals.  Bring an open mind and a good sense of humor, though, and it’s hard not to be entertained by the thrashing English freakbeat take on “Jambalaya,” as if the Spencer Davis Group was backing Conway Twitty on stage inside a Mississippi riverboat casino.  Or the funky stutterstep rendition of “Mansion on the Hill,” whose video would require a half dozen mini-skirted dolly birds with neon bullwhips.  Too bad Russell Mulcahy was only a little boy.

It’s hard to get the weepy old chestnut “Your Cheating Heart” to appeal to anyone beyond recently-jilted squirrel skinners from just outside of Selma, but the Modern Sounds pull a clever little fast one on the still-stunned hippies who actually bought this thing.  After a 30-second supper club piano introduction that makes it sound like they’re gonna go all Richard Clayderman on us, they suddenly break out a massive, strangled, heavy wah wah guitar, along with some electrified fuzz, and turn this miserable tale of infidelity into an incredible Jimi Hendrix gone go-go barnstormer!  And if you can’t see the genius in that, then perhaps I can interest you in some Maroon 5 CDs.

Of course the so-called Modern Sounds don’t appeal to the modern generation – that’s the beauty of this record.  You can’t throw fuzz guitar and go-go beats on top of old country tunes and expect to call the result modern – even though they do about 63 times in the liner notes.  But not since Mae West was backed by Somebody’s Chyldren have so freakishly polar musical generations been jammed together on one record.  A disparity best shown on the Modern Sounds’ cover of “Kaw-Liga,” which features a fuzzed-out, distorted psychedelic Syd Barrett electric guitar scraping and clawing its way through the right channel, while a banjo picks mournfully in the left.  These styles were never meant to meet – and in this case, they don’t.  They just kinda play alongside each other at the same time.  But whereas Mae West overpowered her garage band with that paint-peeling vibrato shriek of hers, here the country-cool Grand Ole Opry crooner is overpowered by the groove-shredding layers of electric fuzz and thrashing upfront go-go dancefloor beats.  And that makes this a much more entertaining listen.  Still a trainwreck in the marketing history books, but a genuine psychedelic sugar lump of fun for us.

HEAR IT!

PLEASE NOTE I NO LONGER SHIP TO ITALY DUE TO A CORRUPT POSTAL SYSTEM (THERE, NOT HERE).  BUYERS FROM ITALY AGREE TO PAY FOR GLOBAL PRIORITY MAIL INSURED ONLY!

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Media mail shipping with delivery confirmation starts at $4.00 in the US, with each additional record only $1 additional shipping.  I accept payments through Paypal. 

I try to grade as best as I can, and I list as many blemishes/imperfections I can find (writing, ringwear, scuff marks, etc.) – Also, please note that I DO listen to these albums – I may not listen to every track, but my grades are based on LISTENING, not just looking at it, since chances are you’ll be listening to the record you buy, not just looking at it.  Most of the albums I sell are the ones I’ve enjoyed for years – and I treat my records with kid gloves.  But sounds speak louder than words, so check out the sound clips below – they’re from the actual record you’re bidding on. 

SHIPPING AND PACKAGING

Listen, I buy a bunch of records too (when I’m not getting outbid at the last second, which is more often than not) – and I know what it’s like to get a rare, one-of-a-kind album packaged dangerously in a flimsy bubblewrap package.  I hate that too.  So rest assured, I ALWAYS package albums with stiff cardboard reinforcements, same for 45s.  And yes, the records are removed from the sleeves (for albums).  I ship out once a week, every Friday, because I have a regular day job.  But I’d be willing to give that up if you’d all be so kind as to bid my items up to stupidly high amounts. 

 For more security and international tracking, you may request GLOBAL PRIORITY MAIL - but bear in mind the cost of this service is upwards of $30.  For expensive items, however, it may be well worth it.  Unfortunately, there isn’t a cost-effective way of tracking parcels to foreign countries yet, and shipping times vary depending on your country’s postal system.   Italy in particular seems to be really bad at delivering packages quickly, or delivering packages at all, now that you mention it.  I will always email you when your package ships, but once it’s on its way, please don’t ask me when it will arrive because I don’t know.  If the world’s postal systems can ever agree on a universal tracking system that’s affordable, I’ll be the first to use it.

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN…

I will always leave positive feedback for successful transactions, and would appreciate the same in return.  All I ask of you is the following – please pay for your items within 14 days of the close of auction.  Compared to other sellers, that’s a generous amount of time, so if you don’t pay within 2 weeks, then I have to assume something’s wrong.  You’ll get an Ebay payment reminder at that point, and possibly a decapitated horse head in your bed.  If, after 30 days, you still haven’t forked up the cash, I’ll relist the item and yell at you if I ever see you in town.