4.27.2008

Do It Bop!




Various Do It Bop! EP (Ridge)

And now we turn to the bootleg. The bootleg is, in case you do not know, the unauthorized release of previously unissued live recordings, demos, or studio outtakes, usually of a particular band. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s the "previously unreleased" album was the primary form of bootleg. The second kind of bootleg, which started in the 1960s but really took off in the late 70s and dominates to this day, is the unauthorized compilation of previous released but rare and/or out of print recordings. Record hounds and music freaks are very familiar with this kind of bootleg for that is what the Pebbles series of 60s garage, The Stompin' series of R&B, the Las Vegas Grind series of schmaltz, the Killed By Death series of 70s punk, and the Sound of Funk series of rare funk are. Add to that list any number of collections of rare rockabilly, Thai pop, YeYe, international psych, Afrobeat, etc. Name a genre of exotic, neglected, or underground music and I bet there is a comp of it. The flood of these bootlegs inspired authorized collections of similar material, many which you can buy today. However for years the only way one was to hear a rare rockabilly single - say something as vital and important as Charlie Feathers' "I Can't Hardly Stand It" was to shell out hundreds of dollars for it or find it on a bootleg. Many a youngster without mad cash bought bootlegs to educate themselves about rock & roll. It can be argued that the Punk Revolution of the mid to late 70s was fueled, in part, by bootlegs of old garage and rockabilly bands. Though rabid diggers, many hip hop dejays used bootlegs as tip sheets, cliff notes, or want lists. The 90s garage punk scene was hooked on 60s and 70s punk bootlegs. And the growing interest in 70s/80s DIY punk came about thanks to the then-bootleg series Methetics. Though bootlegs were sold (and sometimes profitable) and the artists did not get paid (something that distinguishes boots from reissues), money was not the primary motive (or even a motive at all) of the bootlegger. What drove the bootlegger is pretty much the same thing that drives the mp3 blogger of out of print and forgotten tunes: a madness for music. Unfortunately, many people confuse bootlegging with pirating, which is the unauthorized replication of a current release. Those who pirate could care less about the music. Those that pirate aren't uber fans, but organized crime and countries such as China. Pirates are bad. Bootleggers are, mostly, in theory, good. Yea! for the bootlegger.

The three tunes here come off a 7" bootleg EP issued in France, probably in the late 70s. Probably pressed in a batch of 500, the goal of this boot was to turn people onto some rare rockabilly. I, in turn, am bootlegging the bootlegger in order to turn you on to some of these songs. Of the three here, you might be familiar with Bobby Roberts' "Big Sandy," as it is a classic early rock & roll song. It was originally released in the early to mid 50s. I assume the other two songs came out about the same time. The originals on these things would have cost you thousands back when this boot was made. Nowadays, combined they would run you five figures. The boot probably cost three bucks. I got it for a buck in a used shop.


# posted by Scott Soriano : 20:07
Comments:
Wonderful Blog Scott

I recognised the Billy Prager track from an album called Jukebox at Erics (Erics was a club here in Liverpool in the 80s that people like Teardrop Explodes and OMD played on a regular basis)- is it possible the Bootleg ripped the track from the Erics album? Theres tracklisting and some soundclips here-

http://rcs.law.emory.edu/rcs/comps/e/eri1657.htm

all of them have "class" but Jackie Lowells Rocket Trip(oh for an original copy of that!) and Duke Mitchells The Lion are stand out tracks (along with Do it bop!) for me

Fantstic stuff - keep it up
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 07:04
 
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