Poison Idea / Ray & Glover - Single At Christmas 

Label: Tim/Kerr Records; Year: 1993; Format: Picture Disc 7" Single

Last night I listened to an entertaining episode of the "Vinyl Guide" podcast with Jerry A of Poison Idea fame as a guest. The interview prompted me to go through one of my 7" boxes to see which Poison Idea EPs I have and at the very end of the box I stumbled across this nice Christmas split between Portland's finest and the Blues/Folk duo Ray & Glover. So tonight I sat down to not just listen to the two songs but to type up the last entry for this year as every blogger needs a break too, and I am certainly craving one from my job and from my hobby. Poison Idea crank out a great version of the classic "Santa Claus is back in town" while digging deep into the blues while on the other side Ray & Glover deliver a nice and slow bluesy number with "I'm mad at the fat man". 

A nice and fitting end to my blog entries for this year me thinks and with having said that I would like to extend my thanks to everybody that has read my blog these past few months since I have been active again, it is much appreciated. 2023 will bring you more of the same so be ready for a wild ride and until then enjoy the holiday festivities and a happy and healthy New Year to you all!

V/A - Let's Get Pissed - It's Christmas Volume Two LP

Label: Cult; Year: 1986(?); Format: Vinyl LP

Tis' the season they say hence I opted to pull the second Volume of the "Let's Get Pissed" Compilations off my shelves to put you dear readers in a festive mood. Let's just say that in case you have this at home or you listen to it through some streaming device, or even better on a cassette made by your friend then your drink of choice should never be too far. As for myself I haven't listened to this one in a long time but wasn't expecting any surprises as the bands on this Compilation are pretty much all well known to me. The one thing about Rot Records, or in this case Cult (a sublabel of Rot), is that their releases are really cheap and often without any information about the bands. Such is the case with this LP as there is no insert nor anything pertaining to actually anybody involved with this record, and that includes the label itself, and that's just bang out of order and I think Santa would agree with me. But, enough of my moaning here and let's get down to the music on this piece of vinyl as the nine bands from around the globe delivering you for the most part unhinged hardcore punk attacks should help you to warm up to the Christmas spirit. I must confess that I was pleasantly surprised hearing the three tracks by Yugoslavian band U.B.R, a band I remembered just being a bit too noisy even for my liking, but the songs on here are just great noisy hardcore without any hint of grindcore. Also outstanding are the two tracks by Brazilian legends Colera and Finnish Hardcore Punk gods Rattus. Killroy from Southern California and Germany's Normahl and Maniacs deliver solid and more melodic hardcore punk whereas Sweden's Fear Of War crank out tracks in Anti Cimex fashion but just really not as good. The two Italian acts Rappresaglia and Pedago Party round off this international affair that should have you slam around your Christmas tree while knocking back some tall ones. Burn down the tree! 

PS. The track by Italian band Pedago Party is not to be found on the back side of the sleeve.

Big Wheelie and the Hubcaps - Christmas Grease LP

Label: Wheelie Records; Year: 198?; Format: Vinyl LP

A day too late I arrive with this post, but I am sure most of you are still in the holiday spirit and won't mind a Christmas record post. I bought this a year ago after having just moved to Buffalo and found this for next to nothing at my local record shop. I played it twice last year, and again this Christmas and always enjoy it. Big Wheelie and the Hubcaps were a local rock'n'roll revival band that started out in the early '70s and kept going for forty and some odd years. From what I heard singer Chuck "Big Wheelie" Vicario sadly died of Covid not all that long ago. Christmas Grease was according to an interview with Chuck recorded in Florida where he lived for some years during the '80s. Since there is no release year mentioned on this record and also since it was self-released on Wheelie Records it might actually be hard to track down a copy should you be a Big Wheelie Fan or a collector of rock'n'roll revival records. Big Wheelie have in the past performed with the likes of Little Richard or Chuck Berry and have to my knowledge been hugely popular in the Western New York area. And I can see why as this record is nothing short of good tunes putting you instantly in a good mood should you enjoy Christmas at least a little bit, which personally I do so call me a sucker. Eleven rockin' and rollin' tracks will have you dance and twistin' around your tree while singing along to cheesy Christmas songs. I for one know for sure that I will put this record on again next Christmas.