Ahhh, the 70's...pet rocks, moon boots, Farrah slacks, and K-tel Records. Remember the television ads? "Not available in any stores!" K-tel Records would basically take the popular one hit wonder tracks, and re-package them into easily digestible compilations. "It's a nugget cuz you dug it!" And people dug it...I mean, how could you go wrong? The idea was sound...take a smattering of hook-laden recent hit and semi-hit songs licensed from the original labels, lay 'em down on a shiny vinyl platter creating an instant greatest hits album, buy some cheap air time on local television stations, sell direct to the customer cutting out the brick and mortar middlemen, and rake in the do-re-mi.
Pravda Records Inc. revives the heyday of K-tel Records in '20 Explosive Dynamic Super Hit Explosions!' by presenting 20 choice ditties performed by various artists, some popular, some not so much, but all pretty darn good...the tracks are as follows;
Track 1 Hooked on a Feeling, performed by The Slugs (originally by Blue Swede) complete with the immensely inane "ooga chaka, ooga chaka' hook.
Track 2 I Wanna Be With You, performed by The Sneetches with Shoes (originally by The Rasberries) sounding almost Beatlesque, if the Beatles were really incredibly lame...let's face it; there are some songs that defy any amount of 'coolin' up'.
Track 3 Jackie Blue, performed by the Smashing Pumpkins (originally by the Ozark Mountain Daredevils) sounding very electrified and slightly down-trodden, as was the Pumpkins signature style.
Track 4 Crocodile Rock, performed by The Farmers (originally by Elton John) The Farmers took this 70's staples and put an early sixties spin, sounding similar to the straight forward rock and roll of the time, i.e. the Big Bopper, Buddy Holly, the Everly Brothers.
Track 5 Little Willy, performed by Material Issue (originally by Sweet) Material Issue actually stayed pretty close to the original stylings (including the cowbell) of the song, adding an extra layer of smoothness...
Track 6 That's the Way (I Like It), performed by Trenchmouth (originally by KC and the Sunshine Band) certainly adds a level of hardness to the song, but maintains the singability.
Track 7 Brandy (You're A Fine Girl), performed by The Reivers (originally by Looking Glass) The Reivers take this perennial 70's classic and add a twinge of lounge while staying fairly faithful to the original.
Track 8 The Night Chicago Died performed by No Empathy (originally by Paper Lace ) I will say that while these guys really beat the hell out of this song, it still managed to maintain it's shape of just an incredibly cheesy song. Good effort, and a lot of fun, though...
Track 9 Shannon, performed by The Sinatras (originally by Henry Gross) Oh man, this is one of the soppiest, sappiest songs to come out of that era, and these guys work it pretty close to the original.
Track 10 Theme From Shaft, performed by Cheer-Accident (originally by Isaac Hayes) This is probably the most unique interpretation of this song I've ever heard...imagine Nine Inch Nails doing the song...it's sort of like that, but more experimental...
Track 11 Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes), performed by The Service (originally by Edison Lighthouse ) Another perennial 70's favorite...interesting take on the song, forgoing the smoothness of the original for a more bouncy, choppy feel, losing the distinctiveness in the process.
Track 12 Black Betty, performed by Young Fresh Fellows (originally by Ram Jam) This one just didn't work for me, as it seemed like a lot of the intensity was drained out comparing this version to the original.
Track 13 Hocus Pocus, performed by Spies Who Surf (originally by Focus) Pretty good remake, and they even managed to add a bit of twangy Hawaiian guitar into the mix.
Track 14 Convoy, performed by The New Duncan Imperials (originally by C.W. McCall) Okay, it seems pretty redundant to redo a novelty song, but they did, and here it is...
Track 15 Everything I Own, performed by 13 Nightmares (originally by Bread) I like this version...they took the original and just ripped the guts out, turning it into something pretty scary...despite the fact it's supposed to be a love song...
Track 16 Dancing In The Moonlight, performed by M.O.T.O (Master Of The Obvious) (originally by King Harvest) kind of a loungey version, keeping the original bouncy tempo of the original version.
Track 17 Mississippi Queen, performed by God's Acre (originally by Mountain) While I still favor the original version, this one rocked almost as hard...not quite as heavy, but certainly edged...
Track 18 I Feel Love, performed by Poster Children (originally by Donna Summer) There's certainly an interesting mix of styles on this album, including this pop disco song. Enjoy the punky disco stylings...
Track 19 Jimmy Loves Mary-Anne, performed by Boom Hank (originally by Looking Glass) I never really cared for Boom Hank too much, and I cared for the song even less...
Track 20 Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In), performed by Mojo Nixon & The Second Edition (originally by Kenny Rodgers and the First Edition) Nobody does cow-punk better than Mojo Nixon, and he proves that here...
If you enjoy this album, then you'll be happy to hear there are two more in this series, '20 More Explosive Fantastic Rockin' Mega Smash Hit Explosions!' and 'Star Power', both by Pravda Records.
Cookieman108
A Dy-No-Mite tribute to K-tel Records...
The Sinatras are the best!
20 tracks
