Ramones covered: Pushing too hard!

[Gun nuts]

Friday, June 26, 2009

Jackson Overshadows Saxon
Not since Darby Crash died on the exact day John Lennon did, has a
garage royalty death has been ignored. Sky Sunlight Saxon was at the
top of the Class of 1966; he died at St.David’s hospital in Austin
Texas. The cause of death is unknown.
This whole Michael Jackson media circus is living proof that the
corporate news broadcasters view U.S. Americans as simpletons who care
only about a mentally ill, song-and-dance man. It’s beyond my
comprehension what Gen X kids saw in this nut! And--since we are on
the subject--consider Elvis! I didn’t get the abnormal attraction to
him, either! Yeah, he was cool in the 1950’s but, shit, howdy! After
he left the army, he became a plastic android and a religious figure
to every plebeian who graced the stage of Jerry Springer!
Richard Marsh, aka: Sky Saxon, started his school of rock semester in
the early ‘60s as a doo-wop singer, then he joined The Seeds in ‘65.
The independent label, GNP Crescendo, signed the band to a recording
contract and they were off to the races! They were a local favorite
on the Los Angeles scene in 1966; however, they didn’t hit the charts
until early ‘67. Their song, “Pushing Too Hard” is the one they are
most known for. Their follow up, “I Can’t Seem to Make You Mine” is
one of the most intense blues songs ever recorded. Saxon emotes the
most angst-ridden vocals I’d ever heard. I guess it was too much for
top 40 radio. Their sound was really unusual for the times. It was
Daryl Hooper’s melodica keyboards that gave their sound a weird edge.
Well, Saxon went from garage punk pioneer in ‘66 to a flower child in
‘67. The Seeds’ second album, A Web of Sound, was released in 1967.
Like Arthur Lee and Love’s album, Da Capo, its second side featured a
lengthy track, “Up in Her Room.” They released a 45 rpm record
“Mister Farmer,” about a pot farmer, but it never charted. Neither
did a song about a drug dealer called, “Trip Maker.” Then came the
L.P. that killed their careers, Future. Their single off the album, “A
Thousand Shadows,” sounded too much like “Pushing Too Hard.” The
album’s sound proved too bizarre for popular consumption. They
utilized a lot of instruments that were incongruous for rock; i.e.
they used a tuba for the song, “March of the Flower Children.” Sky
sounded drunk on this atrocity. This album was so bad it was good--in
an avant-garde way. In 1968, The Seeds broke up and re-materialized
as, “The Sky Saxon Blues Band” (sic). That same year, GNP Crescendo
released an L.P., A Full Spoon of Seedy Blues. It didn’t sound like a
blues album, it sounded like The Seeds. The label dumped them. After
1970, Sky became a hermit, popping up every so often to do a revival
concert.
The Seeds were one of the many bands of the Class of ’66, but in the
80s, a new generation of punk bands idolized them. The Ramones covered
“Pushing Too Hard,” on their album, Acid Eaters. Many bands covered
The Seeds’ catalogue during that decade.
So another garage legend bites the dust. I raise a can of Bud and
propose a toast: Here’s to you, Sky Saxon! Gulp!
Off topic alert! This is a musical video I want to share people who
appreciate rock & Roll
If you like this sort of entertainment please click on link. If you
don’t, do not click link!
Thank you!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTU95oI_ZT8

[Jack Johnson]

Thanks for your post. It's sad these days how few people are posting
on usenet groups. Ramones.......great group.