Closing out this month-long trip thru record-land, I present one final goodie - a various-artists 1960s mucho loco trip thru my Mexican garage-rock discoveries. I found some of these in the little mom 'n' pop store-front Latino music discotecas (music shops) that dot the working class neighborhoods of Los Angeles. Some of these records were still in the shrink-wrap, apparently bouncing around unwanted since the '60s. I bought most of these in the '90s, so I doubt there are too many left by now, but one never knows, does one? The usual sources (thrift shops, record stores) provided the rest.
These albums aren't always solid gold - there are boring ballads, or songs sung in English that make these groups sound like just another bar band. But the right combination of teenage hormones, unusual Latin influences, covers and originals can result in wild, fun, Nuggets-worthy trash-sterpieces.
So here's an hour's worth of garage, rockabilly, crazy screaming vocals, cool surf instros, and (this being a MusicForManiacs comp, after all) a few weird novelties. Happy Cinco de Mayo!
Ya No Hay Beatles! 
Los Locos Del Ritmo - Hey Joe
Hermanos Carrion - Todo A Su Tiempo (Turn Turn Turn)
Los Apson - Ya No Hay Beatles [I think the title of this original tune translates to something like "We Ain't No Beatles"]
Los Aragon - Tema do Los Monkees
Los Teen Tops - La Plaga (Good Golly Miss Molly)
Los Rockin Devils - Hey Lupe (Hang On Sloopy) [I have a great cassette by these guys/gal, but I can't be bothered with pulling out my boom box; in any case, Amazon has some highly-recommended CDs by 'em]
Los Rebeldos del Rock - Oh Mi Nina
Los Rebeldos del Rock - La Hiedra Venenosa (Poison Ivy)
Los Locos Del Ritmo - Si Ti Tengo A Ti
Los Apson - Viaje Submarino (20,000 Leagues)
Los Belmonts - Amarrado (Glad All Over)
Hermanos Carrion - Memphis
Los Locos Del Ritmo - El Fantasma
Los Locos Del Ritmo - Chica Alborotada
Los Apson - Twist Hawaiano
Los Hooligans - Despeinada
Los Hitters - Hanky Panky
Los Locos Del Ritmo - Pan con Mantequilla (Bread and Butter) [Oh, how the retarded vox on this make me laff!]
Los Crazy Boys - Corina Corina
Los Locos Del Ritmo - El Mongol
Los Apson - Senor Apache (Mister Custer)
Hermanos Carrion - Suzy-Q [throws in a bit of "Land of 1000 Dance" as well]
Los Aragon - Paren esa Musica [don't quit listening before you get to this absolutely hysterical number; "stop the music!!"]
I should hate this album, I really should. I bet a lot of people would if they heard it - it takes Joy Division instrumentals and mixes them with pop female vocals, and that's just plain sacrilege in some quarters. But, damn it, it pretty much works a treat. The final track with Diana Ross sounds out-of-key to my ears, but otherwise Ian Curtis' psychodrama supplanted by whiny pop tarts makes a surprising amount of sense, at least on a musi
cal level. And, actually, some of these idiotic songs gain unexpected emotional heft as well, propelled by the passionate punk-derived instrumental tracks. 
Closing out this month-long trip thru record-land, I present one final goodie - a various-artists 1960s mucho loco trip thru my Mexican garage-rock discoveries. I found some of these in the little mom 'n' pop store-front Latino music discotecas (music shops) that dot the working class neighborhoods of Los Angeles. Some of these records were still in the shrink-wrap, apparently bouncing around unwanted since the '60s. I bought most of these in the '90s, so I doubt there are too many left by now, but one never knows, does one? The usual sources (thrift shops, record stores) provided the rest.
We're stretching our all-vinyl month by a few days to accommodate this demo album of a 1974 synth (the only one made by electric piano manufacturer RMI) that featured digital capabilities. Wow, this one was years ahead of its time. I'd never heard of it, and I thought I knew my electronic esoterica, but apparently it was not successful, tho Jean-Michel Jarre used one. Sounds good, tho. I especially like the percussion effects on some tracks. "Non-pipe Organ" could be Keith Emerson at a cocktail lounge. And "Funky Wah" does indeed live up to it's name.
In 1989, Solomon Solo, a native of Ghana, Africa now living in Los Angeles, spent what must have been a big chunk of change to hire a large crew of slick session musicians for his vanity album "The Wisdom of Solomon." He did not, however, hire any singers. And that's what lifts this album from competent-but-uninteresting private press release to outsider gold. All the songs are Solo's originals, a blend of American-style r'n'b with some African influences, and if anyone else sang 'em, even with Solo's idiosyncratic lyrics, they still probably would have been fairly ordinary. 
ongwriting actually is catchy - the title song has a pretty interesting West African feel to it, and I get "White Doves of Seville" (my favorite track) stuck in my head for days, even if Solos' voice causes me to occasionally wince.
Late at night, when it's all quiet, the lights are low, cocktail in hand, nothing hits the spot like old organ records - cool, creepy, atmospheric...wistfully nostalgic and romantic, but with a darkness. Best played low in the background. Aaah...
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