A mate of mine in the music industry gave me this CD. In around 2007. At the time we were working on an compilation proposal. Pulling together some of Andrew Weatherall`s lesser known remixes. My friend considered me an expert**. Since I`d followed my unwilling guru from Kazoo, in a basement on Praed street, to Bloodsugar, at Hoxton`s Blue Note. From 1989, to somewhere way past healthy in the late-90s. There are a lot of Weatherall Experts / Obsessives out there. I figure I was just the one within closest reach. This was pre-A Love From Outer Space. I`d moved to Japan by the time that phenomenon began. I`ve still never been. Would like to. The CD contains a mix of music that`s likely a demo for the Sci-Fi-Lo-Fi Vol. 1. set that ended up on Soma. Since eleven of the twenty-four tracks overlap.

In the case of Skull And Crossbones, there`s less Post-Punk. More of the stuff that “Floorboard” George Gastin might have played in his pure white, mint condition ’59 Cadillac. On his journey, via The Double-Gone Chapel, through Jim Dodge`s Not Fade Away. Rockabillies, Psychobillies, Titty-Shakers, and bad music for bad people. Guitar rumbles, creepy Disco covers, and girl groups out for revenge. Switchblades, brass knuckles, and fuzzed out Blues. Psyche tales of femme fatales. Malcolm McLaren`s Proto-Punk Sex jukebox. The Burundi via Bo Diddley that birthed Bow Wow Wow. Junkie Glitter Glam, Teenage rampage, and Alex Chilton`s jailbait jive. The mighty Mark E. Smith.

I can find no reference to Skull And Crossbones on-line. Posting it here, is in part a call for IDs. After eleven years, my track-list is still incomplete. It rides with me in the car. In a box marked “In case of emergency, break glass”. Since it helps blow away the exhaustion that can set in if I`m listening to new music constantly for extended stints. I`ve been writing about music for so long now, that like Pavlov`s dog and its bell, as soon as a tune starts, my mind starts barking out “prose”. In an attempt to describe it. Put it context. Tourette`s-like, shouting “notes” into my phone as I taxi my kids around. It gets a bit tiring. For everyone. So as The Chairman himself has oft said, it`s good, nay, important, to sometimes stick in / on something old. Preferably non-electronic. “Roots Music”. Be that the literal reading of `70s Reggae, or Country, Folk, Funk, Soul or Rock & Roll. For me, preferably something I can sing along to. Singing these old songs while driving makes me feel (more) alive. Stronger. Younger, maybe. These songs from my past reminding me of who really I am, when it can be easy to forget. As I ponce about the Japanese countryside. The token Englishman. In Harris Tweed, or crumpled Navigator`s suit. Doing my best to pronounce my “H”s, clip those vowel sounds, and limit the expletives. Doing my darnedest to integrate myself into this polite landscape.

**To illustrate my level of geek-dom, when we presented the list of selected remixes to Andrew he didn’t remember doing half of them.

A big “Thank You!” to Mr. Blunt, and Mr. Weatherall.

Track-list

Joe Boot And The Fabulous Winds – Rock And Roll Radio

Ray Stanley – Love Charms

? (Jack Cardwell – Whadaya Want, ID`d by Jolyon Green)

The Cramps – New Kind Of Kick

The Rebs – Renegade

Link Wray – 5-10-15-20

The Preachers – Who Do You Love?

? (Bo Diddley – 16 Tons – Thank you!)

The Strangeloves – I Want Candy

? (Bow Wow Wow – Orang Outang, ID`d by Jolyon Green)

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The Tropics Of Cancer – Upside Down

Fabienne Delsol – I`m Gonna Haunt You

The Meteors – Love You To Death

The Fall – New Big Prinz

The Flaming Stars – Spilled Your Pint

Hello – New York Groove

Alex Chilton – Hey Little Child

T Rex – Free Angel

Johnny Burnette – Wampus Cat

Hipbone Slim & The Knee Tremblers – Snake Pit

? (The Milkshakes – Grim Reaper, ID`d by Jolyon Green)

?

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