Brownsville Station

Thanks, I know it's totally inexplicable that someone would think "Kings of the Party" is way more dynamite than "We're an American Band."

that first GFR album, ON TIME, sounds might boogie-jammy to me.

as far as brownsville station...i have all seven of their albums and all are great except for MOTOR CITY CONNECTION and AIR SPECIAL. ya see, the "old-timey rock & roll" feel of the other elpees (that urnst kouch referred to up above) is what attracted me to them in the first place. what's more, when they broke up, punk was just starting to heat up, and the roots/punk sound of NO B.S. or YEAH! would have fit right in. and that's why I never got it with M.C. CONNECTION or AIR SPECIAL. the punkish detroit thing just went out the window, and they basically became just another undistinguished speedway metal band on those albums. and i like Grand Funk and Black Oak Arkansas, but i expect different from Brownsville.

now as far as the self-titled album from 1977 with the red cover...that came in between CONNECTION and SPECIAL and they seemed to get the old boppin' fever back for a MINUTE. but when SPECIAL came out, they were going all Nugent on us, and that wasnt working for me.

ever hear CUB KODA & THE POINTS, which was a 1980 album (on the Baron label) by Cub's next band after Brownsville broke up? now THAT is what Brownsville's last album shoulda sounded like! basically it was back to the roots-rocking fervor of early Brownsville Station albums before they started trying to be a Detroit Molly Hatchet. even Cub himself once said that the band kinda lost direction towards the end there.

You have no idea what you're talking about. I had a radio show that played their albums and my band, the Highway Kings, copied Brownsville from this period. And it was not what any punk rockers wanted. It was what biker rockers and roadhouse power drinkers liked. You'd be closer if you said old timey rock 'n' roll and country flavors.

>>and they basically became just another undistinguished speedway >>metal band on those albums. and i like Grand Funk and Black Oak >>Arkansas, but i expect different from Brownsville.

They were never big enough to compete with Ted or Aerosmith, those undistinguished speedway metal bands. There was little sin in being a speedway metal band, undistinguished or otherwise. Nugent was a speedway metal act, so was Foghat, so was GF. So was Kiss.

>>SPECIAL came out, they were going all Nugent on us, and that wasnt >>working for me.

One album produced by Tom Werman. Not much difference between it and the last except no "Martian Boogie" and "Lady" (and you not liking it.)

>>ever hear CUB KODA & THE POINTS, which was a 1980 album (on the >>Baron label) by Cub's next band after Brownsville broke up? now >>THAT is what Brownsville's last album shoulda sounded like! >>basically it was back to the roots-rocking fervor of early

They were never a Detroit Molly Hatchet. And I had the Points album.

It's a less produced iteration of "Air Special" without any vocals by Mike Lutz.

And it's about the same as Noise Monkeys, which was the last album by Cub and Points about two months before he died. There's a lot of metallic work on it, some Link Wray, tunes that bridge "speedway metal" and roadhouse rock.

>>himself once said that the band kinda lost direction towards the >>end there.

Yes he did.

>>were going all Nugent on us,

And the Nuge was making good albums during the same period. I doubt BS would have begrudged him the rating, considering Lutz played on one of the Nuge's records.

I'll cop to the former but link you to the latter, Scott. So I have bad taste? Tell me something I haven't been told countless times in the last twenty-thirty years. But so do you. Black, white/red, green. Paraphrasing Tip O'Neill and such: Your view depends upon where ya stand.

saw these guys play around ann arbor 1979-80, more "roots" oriented than BS I guess. the Points were 3 guys from the popular cover band Mugsy, good musicians stuck in the Top 40 4-sets-a-nite rut.

Here tis.. Cool Fred Schmidt, Quick Joey Gaydos, and Pete Bankert. Et al.

And don't fear random browsers, I would never recommend Air Special to the ILM standard. Shun it. It's too hammerheaded. Heh. Start with Yeah!. Or more succinctly, "Smokin' In the Boys Room," which is of the three most hard rock songs which align with the electricity of the period on the LP, then go to "Martian Boogie." And if you like all that, get the Wounded Bird reissue of No BS, too.

i was kidding! and drunk! i like your tastes. probably cuz they correspond with my own quite often.

And, uh, MX-80!

">>punk was just starting to heat up, and the roots/punk sound of NO >>B.S. or YEAH! would have fit right in.
You have no idea what you're talking about. I had a radio show that played their albums and my band, the Highway Kings, copied Brownsville from this period. And it was not what any punk rockers wanted. It was what biker rockers and roadhouse power drinkers liked. You'd be closer if you said old timey rock 'n' roll and country flavors."

Man, early punk was nothing BUT old timey rock & roll. ("Old timey"...you make the shit sound like it's DIXIELAND or something.) When the Ramones first album came out, it wasn't about Anarchy In The U.S. so much as it was restoring rock & roll to its' pre-psych roots. It is NO accident that the first neo-garage, surf and rockabilly bands went over so well in punk clubs in the late seventies and early eighties. And when the Flamin' Groovies made their mid-70's comeback on Sire, it was mainly the nascent punk scenes that were getting into them. And I'd put NO B.S.-era Brownsville in there.

">>and they basically became just another undistinguished speedway >>metal band on those albums. and i like Grand Funk and Black Oak >>Arkansas, but i expect different from Brownsville.

They were never big enough to compete with Ted or Aerosmith"

But they probably played on the same bill with them, so close enough. (Aerosmith were still only a regional attraction with their first LP when Brownsville had "Smokin'", so I wouldn't be surprised if Aerosmith opened for THEM early on.)

"There was little sin in being a speedway metal band, undistinguished or otherwise. Nugent was a speedway metal act"

I have no use for Nugent outside of early Amboy Dukes (on the Mainstream label). Why the fuck should I be impressed?

"so was Foghat"

I haven't listened to them in a good 20 years. Not a fan antymore. Why should I be impressed?

"so was GF. So was Kiss."

I have no retort, here. These bands are cool with me!

">>SPECIAL came out, they were going all Nugent on us, and that wasnt >>working for me.

One album produced by Tom Werman. Not much difference between it and the last except no "Martian Boogie" and "Lady" (and you not liking it.)"

You got that right. Cain't help it that the "Martian Boogie" LP had the better songs. All AIR SPECIAL had was "Cooda Crawlin'", which woulda been a real good Ram Jam song.

"They were never a Detroit Molly Hatchet."

That's what I said! Before I found AIR SPECIAL and M.C. CONNECTION. No thanks, I'm stickin' with SCHOOL PUNKS.

"And I had the Points album."

HAD? Shit, I still got mine. (I BETTER hold on to that fucker, since it doesn't show up everyday! Pink vinyl, hey!)

">>himself once said that the band kinda lost direction towards the >>end there.

Yes he did."

And he didn't lie.

">>were going all Nugent on us,

And the Nuge was making good albums during the same period."

You're preaching to the wrong choir. Didn't I just say that the Nuge didn't impress me?

I'm not as big on mullethead music as you are. Nah, I take it back, seeing as how I own 86 of the 500 albums in that STAIRWAY TO HELL heavy metal guide. But, I'm probably a bigger rockabilly/garage/punk fan, and since CONNECTION and SPECIAL have NONE of those elements, those two rekkids have been gathering dust since I got 'em. However, if some Mahogany Rush fan like yourself wants to defend them LP's, have at it, bro...

And I prefer the Allman Joys to the Allman Brothers Band, too.

I might even spend five.

Been listening to School Punks, really terrible pressing that has surface noise but just seems like that's how it's supposed to be heard

Lotta Boogie Rock Hardmanning upthread!

Picked a nice vinyl copy of No BS for cheap this weekend. Really charming mix of 50s Rock revivalism and Power Pop before they really amped up the Arena Boogie aspect of their sound.