Teenage HeadKama Sutra 2031, 1971
|
 |
Produced by Richard Robinson.
Piano: Jim Dickinson
Backgound sounds:Karin Berg, Jean-Charles Costa, and Richard Meltzer
Good atmosphere: Lisa Robinson, Lenny Kaye, Lillian Roxon, Danny Fields, Dave Marsh
Washboard (B2): The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Side A
1) High Flyin Baby (Roy A. Loney - Cyril Jordan). This song shows that this album is better produced than Flamingo. The sound is still raw, but it’s better recorded and clearer. This rocker has a fine slide guitar and is a great opening track.
2) City Lights (Roy A. Loney - Cyril Jordan). The tempo is really slowing down for this great ballad where the acoustic guitars dominates the sound. Great lyrics about travelling to NYC in the winter.
3) Have You Seen My Baby? (Randy Newman). Randy Newman wasn’t very well known when this was recorded. This great song was later covered by Ringo Starr and of course this Rocker is the ultimate version.
4) Yesterday's Numbers (Roy A. Loney - Cyril Jordan) . A true classic again and I don’t think it’s Roy singing. Maybe it’s Tim Lynch with Roy singing some harmony. A great riff which is reinforced by acoustic guitars.
Side B
1) Teenage Head (Roy A. Loney - Cyril Jordan). This is the title track and maybe the most known song from the album. It has been covered by Ducks Deluxe among others and has everything a good rock song should have with it’s classic riff and great melody.
2) 32-20 (Robert Johnson, arr by Mike Wilhelm). Mile Wilhelm from The Charlatans made this arrangement on the old Robert Johnson song and made it an acoustic rocker! Mike Wilhelm joined Flamin’ Groovies at the end of the 70´s.
3) Evil Hearted Ada (Roy A. Loney) is a very funny song where the band does it’s best to sound like an old Elvis Sun record. Roy sounds like he’s playing with a tape echo machine for the very first time!
4) Doctor Boogie (Roy A. Loney - Cyril Jordan). This song is actually a rework of a blues song called Boogie Disease by Dr. Ross.
5) Whiskey Woman (Roy A. Loney - Cyril Jordan). Here we go Stones again with this magnificent ending to this record. The song starts with acoustic guitars and soon the electric guitars and the vocals joins in this relatively slow song with great guitar interplay. At the end the tempo rises and the song fades in a storm of electric guitars.
This album is an all time classic. Some says that Mick Jagger (or was it Keith Richards?) said it was better than Sticky Fingers! I don’t know if it’s better or not, both albums are very good, but there are similarities between the albums. James Dickinson, who played piano on Wild Horses, plays piano on the Teenage Head album. A big variation of musical styles can also be found on both records. The only bad thing to say about the album is that the sound is a bit thin. 9/10
Bonus tracks on Big Beat CD CDWIK 926 (1995)
Rumble (Wray)
Shakin' All Over (Heath)
That'll Be the Day (Allison/Holly/Petty)
Around and Around (Berry)
Going Out Theme (Alexander/Jordan/Loney/Lynch/Mihm)
Bonus tracks on Buddha CD 74321 71690 2 (1999)
Shakin' All Over (Heath)
That'll Be the Day (Allison/Holly/Petty)
Louie, Louie (Berry)
Walking the Dog (Thomas)
Scratch My Back (Harpo)
Carol (Berry)
Going Out Theme (Alexander/Jordan/Loney/Lynch/Mihm)