Pictures From Life's Other Side

Some of you guys may recall that last September I discovered my 70s band's DIY single was going for twenty-five bucks on eBay, a turn of events that I for one am still convinced was a clear sign of the End Times.


After I first posted about it, a couple of obviously morbidly curious folks asked me what the record sounded like, and at the time, I didn't have a digital copy at the ready, so I couldn't embarass myself by sharing.

Well, I no longer have that excuse. So here it is -- The Hounds and the a-side of their 1976 single, the hopefully entertaining pop-Stones pastiche "Call Me." Professionally remastered on vintage analog equipment for the exorbitant fee of fifty bucks, which spells quality in my book.

You can listen to it by clicking the link below.



If I understand the new file sharing service I'm using, you can also actually download it from there as well, and apparently their authorizations don't expire. If I'm wrong on either count, just e-mail me and I'll send you the mp3.

The guitar on the right channel doing the lame little Chuck Berry riff thingy between verses is me, BTW. The guy doing the amazing Nicky Hopkins piano impression throughout is an old friend named Alfred Marcelli. The song was written by the guitar player on the left channel, my pal Tony Forte, whose legendary Rickenbacker twelve-string I blogged about when it turned 40.

But...here's the deal. Out of obviously collossal preening vanity, I thought it might be a good idea to do a sort of limited edition CD reissue of the record, mostly to give to the other band members (now scattered to the winds) and to some old friends who suffered through countless bad gigs back in the day.

Well, mirabile dictu, I've actually done it -- with extensive production credits and four bonus tracks from the original master tapes, including a brand new digital mix of the b-side and our stellar white girl cover of Smokey Robinson's "You Beat Me to the Punch." All the stuff that didn't get us signed to a major label, in other words.

Anyway, the reissue comes in a spiffy new package that looks for all the world like a real commercial CD, complete with hitherto unsuspected group pix and a disc that reproduces the look of the original 45. So -- if you liked the clip and are so perverse of ears as to want to hear more, I'll be happy to send you a copy if you send me the postage.



Or, barring that, simply beg me. Within reason, I'm easy.

And don't hold any of this stuff against us -- we were kids.