Remembering Charlie Watts, born on this day in 1941. —Ed.

Few albums have been as vilified or written off as colossal missteps as The Rolling Stones’ Their Satanic Majesties Request. There’s Taylor Swift Sings the Songs of Captain Beefheart, and Arnold Schwarzenegger Sings Barbra Streisand, but neither of these albums can hold a candle to the Stones’ 1967 answer to the Beatles’ acid-influenced Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Their Satanic Majesties Request was quickly dismissed as a shameless attempt to keep up with the psychedelic Jones’s, and the critical blowback was so negative that the Stones promptly hopped to it and followed Satanic Majesties with Beggars Banquet, an LP so down to earth a filthy toilet graces its cover.

Aside from “She’s a Rainbow” and “2000 Light Years from Home” you’re highly unlikely to hear any of Satanic Majesties’ songs anywhere, and the Stones themselves haven’t had much good to say about it over the years. Keith Richards called it “a load of crap,” while Mick Jagger said “there’s a lot of rubbish” on it. But it has its fair share of cultists, whole heaps of them in fact, and they love it to death. And their waxing enthusiastic over the LP finally got the better of me. Just how bad could it be, after all?

Not bad at all is the short answer. Strange, far stranger than Sgt. Pepper for that matter, Their Satanic Majesties Request has more than its fair share of fine moments, along with a few dubious tunes that don’t quite make the grade. Me, I’ll take it over Sgt. Pepper any day, and I think the Stones should be commended for putting out an LP that was even more experimental than its Beatles counterpart. Mick and the boys took real chances on the LP, and if they didn’t always work, at least the Stones tried.

The album’s problems have been variously attributed to there being too many people in the studio, and there being too many hallucinogens in the studio (Mick Jagger once told me, “We were eating whole sheets of acid, just cramming them into our mouths and washing them down with brandy spiked with DMT”). Then there was the desertion of the band’s disgusted producer and manager, Andrew Loog Oldham, which left the band to produce the album themselves. Oldham’s decision to jump ship hurt; Jagger attributed the LP’s shortcomings to the lack of a producer who would say enough is enough, let’s get on with it lads.

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Utterly inspiring in their dogged perseverance while aging like a fine vino, the Mekons returned last year with yet another solid album, Horror, its dozen songs easily up to the band’s usual high standard as they steadfastly refused to stagnate. Backslide? Absolutely fucking not. As evidence, here comes Horrorble (Mekons vs Tony Maimone in Dub Conference).

As one might ascertain, a decidedly psychedelic strain of Jamaican roots is part of the method in collaboration with the veteran New York City-based drummer-producer and friend of the Mekons, Tony Maimone, formerly of Pere Ubu and numerous other concerns. This new set further invigorates a still-fresh batch of tunes while presenting alternate sonic avenues and avoiding any trite stylistic maneuvers. The album is available June 5 on vinyl, compact disc, and digital with a bonus track.

The most overtly Jamaican-tinged moment in the Mekons’ recent scheme comes at the beginning of Horror, with the beautifully sour Brit post-punk reggae-rock buoyance of “The Western Design” and its deliciously bent dubbing-out, which lands as track five on Horrorble. And it becomes clear that Jon Langford, Sally Timms, Tom Greenhalgh, Dave Trumfio, Susie Honeyman, Rico Bell, Steve Goulding, and Lu Edmonds, the current and long-established lineup of the Mekons, are disinterested in any predictable linear moves.

That’s not to say that Horrorble isn’t a fully dubbed-up affair. It’s just that the warpage is more in line with NYC or London than Kingston. The pretty carnival-esque indie pop of “Sad and Sad and Sad” and its corresponding version, brighter and bigger and revealing a timidly strange Brit-folk root, are sequenced second on both albums.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Yes celebrates the 50th anniversary of one of its most storied performances on July 17 with Live At Roosevelt Stadium, Jersey City, 17 June 1976.

The live album’s first official release arrives on the heels of the band’s new studio album, Aurora, debuting on June 12.

2CD and 3LP versions of Live At Roosevelt Stadium are available to pre-order HERE. Rhino is offering an exclusive vinyl LP edition (limited to 500) that includes a 12×12 lithograph of of new original album artwork by Roger Dean. A special Spirit of ’76 vinyl edition will also be available at select independent retailers with an insert. The album will also be available to download and stream.

On June 17, 1976, the formidable Relayer lineup of Yes—Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Chris Squire, Alan White, and Patrick Moraz—performed in front of a capacity crowd at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, NJ. The quintet was captured mid-tour during a live broadcast on New York’s WNEW-FM. While the performance has remained one of the band’s most popular bootlegs for decades, this release marks its first official appearance.

The recording finds the band at a creative peak during the “Solo Albums Tour.” Following the success of Relayer (1974), the members spent 1975 recording five individual solo projects; this 1976 tour was the first time these new arrangements were integrated into the live set.

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Celebrating Ronnie Wood on his 79th birthday. —Ed.

In 1972 French-Canadian actor Alexis Kanner approached Faces’ bassist and vocalist Ronnie Lane about composing the soundtrack for the film Mahoney’s Last Stand, which I’ve never seen but from what I’ve read about it sounds like a non-comedic Green Acres. Lane accepted and enlisted Faces guitarist Ron Wood to join the project, then recruited a lot of whizz-bang rock and roll talent as farm hands. The result is this 1972 LP, which oozes a rustic charm that more than makes up for its lack of lofty ambition. This is the sound of musicians hanging out and having fun, and producing some very likable off-the-cuff music while they’re at it.

Lane—who succumbed in 1997 to multiple sclerosis at the tragically young age of 51—was the heart (he had a huge one) and soul (he oozed the stuff) of the Faces. Rod Stewart got the attention—too much of it towards the end—but Ronnie embodied the band’s rambunctious approach to rock and roll and wrote (or co-wrote) some of the band’s most endearing and poignant songs, including “Ooh La La,” “Glad and Sorry,” and “Debris.”

And that doesn’t include the great songs he produced for the Small Faces and his wonderful 1977 collaboration with Pete Townshend, Rough Mix. As for Ron Wood, he exemplified the shambolic and always joyous spirit of the Faces as well, and I’ll argue to my dying day that he did (by far) his best work with them. He may be better remembered for his years with the Rolling Stones, but I would gladly trade it all for the jet engine guitar he plays on “Stay with Me” and his down-to-earth vocal turn on “Ooh La La.”

The motley crew who played on the sessions for the film score included the likes of Townshend, Faces keyboardist Ian McLagan, R&R saxophone legend Bobby Keys, Blind Faith and Traffic bassist Ric Grech, Rolling Stones’ road manager and pianist Ian Stewart, Faces (and later Who) drummer Kenney Jones, trumpet player Jim Price, Grease Band/Fairport Convention drummer Bruce Rowland and various other odds and sods. Conspicuous by his absence was Rod Stewart—Lane was justifiably angry at the time with Stewart’s rapidly fading interest in the Faces due to his solo success, and he was particularly galled by the fact that the Faces were increasingly being looked upon as Stewart’s backing band.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Craft Latino celebrates the 55th anniversary of Cheo Feliciano’s record-breaking solo debut, Cheo, with the album’s first US vinyl reissue in over half a century.

Co-produced and co-written by the celebrated composer Tite Curet Alonso, whose centennial falls this year, the 1971 album features Feliciano’s breakout hit, “Anacaona,” plus a handful of other salsa classics, including “Pa’ que afinquen” and “Mi triste problema.” Joining Feliciano on the album are some of the era’s most renowned musicians, including Fania Records founder Johnny Pacheco, Larry Harlow, Bobby Valentín, Louie Ramirez, and Orestes Vilató, among others.

Set for release on July 17th, just days after his 91st birthday, and available for pre-order, Cheo features all-analog (AAA) lacquers cut from the original master tapes by Dave Polster and Clint Holley at Well Made Music and is pressed on 180-gram vinyl for an exceptional listening experience. Rounding out the package is a gatefold jacket that faithfully replicates the album’s original Vaya Records cover art.

Vinyl enthusiasts can also find a limited-edition Medianoche Morada (Midnight Purple) color pressing (only 300 copies), as a stand-alone or bundled with a collectible Vaya Records T-shirt available at Fania.com. Fans can also enjoy the remastered album in both standard and hi-res audio available now on digital music platforms.

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Let’s get a few things out of the way first. The late Ray Sawyer was not Dr. Hook. He was not even the lead singer (despite his bravura vocal performance on “Cover of the Rolling Stone”). But he was the face of Dr. Hook, thanks to his trademark eye patch and cowboy hat.

I should also note that Sawyer lost his eye in a logging accident, or rather, in an automobile accident on the way to his first day on the job as a logger. Sawyer (which, ironically, means ‘person who saws wood’) never sawed wood in his life. Instead, he returned to rock ’n’ roll, which he’d given up because:

“I must have played all the clubs from Houston to Charleston, until I decided I was going insane from too much beans and music, and I gave it up. I saw a John Wayne movie and then proceeded to Portland, Oregon, to be a logger, complete with plaid shirt, caulk boots, and pike pole. On the way, my car slipped on the road, and the accident left me with the eye patch I now wear. When I recovered, I ran straight back to the beans and music and vowed, ‘Here, I’ll stay’.”

That out of the way, Dr. Hook specialized in zany songs (most of them penned by genius children’s book author Shel Silverstein, who wrote some of the weirdest and most perverted songs of his time). Dr. Hook (originally Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show) was similarly Janus-faced—the same band that gave us the polymorphous perverse “Freakin’ at the Freaker’s Ball” and doper anthem “I Got Stoned and I missed It” also gave us the parents-approved “Sylvia’s Mother” and other tradpop ballads like “When You’re in Love with a Beautiful Woman.”

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We’ve closed TVD’s HQ to attend the Making Vinyl conference in Alexandria, VA for the balance of the week. While we’re away, why not fire up our Record Store Locator app and visit one of your local indie record stores?

Perhaps there’s an interview, review, or feature you might have missed? Catch up, and we’ll see you back here Monday, 6/1.

VIA PRESS RELEASE | In his trailblazing and incredibly prolific career, artist, composer and all-around musical pioneer Frank Zappa released 62 albums during his lifetime, both as a solo artist and with the Mothers of Invention and the Mothers. Coupled with more than 70 posthumous releases since his death in 1993, figuring out where to begin exploring Zappa’s vast, genre-leaping catalog can be daunting. Most recently, archival release No. 134, Zappa ’66 Vol. 1: Live At TTG Studios, arrived this month.

Cue ZAPPAtite – Frank Zappa’s Tastiest Tracks, a career-spanning collection of some of Zappa’s best-known and most beloved compositions, originally released in 2016 as a gateway into the visionary musician’s many sonic worlds. Originally available only on CD and digitally, ZAPPAtite now arrives on vinyl for the first time in celebration of its 10th anniversary. The vinyl offerings include a 2LP set on black vinyl and a limited-edition 2LP color exclusive on pink swirl vinyl, both featuring a gatefold jacket and “menu” insert. Additionally, the CD will once again be available.

Curated by Ahmet Zappa and Zappa Vaultmeister Joe Travers, ZAPPAtite collects 18 tracks ranging from Zappa’s early psychedelic rock beginnings to his avant-garde experimentation, jazz-rock explorations, symphonic suites, and satirical send-ups. The collection serves as an inviting entry point into the more rock-oriented side of his expansive repertoire.

The album is divided into four courses—Appetizers, Entrées, Second Course and Desserts—and the food-centric theme carries throughout the artwork, which features Zappa in a diner on the cover, a tracklist designed like a menu and references to some of Zappa’s favorite foods.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | It was back in summer 1977 that Larry Wallis—already ex-Pink Fairies and the first incarnation of Motörhead—delivered “Police Car,” his first solo single, but also one of that select collection of 45s that truly soundtracked 1977.
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It was the year of punk, of course, but Larry fit in perfectly. It was he who produced the first two singles by The Adverts, including the hit “Gary Gilmore’s Eyes”; he who first captured the wonders of The Members’ “Sound Of The Suburbs”; he who handled Wreckless Eric’s debut album. He even called Eddie and the Hot Rods’ rhythm section in to play on “Police Car” itself, and toured alongside Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello, Ian Dury, and Wreckless.
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The news that he was back in the studio to record a solo album was among the most exciting stories of the age. Only that’s all it was, a story. First the years, and then the decades, passed and there was no sign of the album. True, a few of the songs that he wrote and recorded for it would resurface for future projects… a killer single here, a tremendous album there, a Pink Fairies reunion somewhere else. One or two tracks from the original sessions even made it onto sundry Wallis anthologies.
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But the complete tapes remained locked in the cupboard and, as Larry was so fond of saying whenever he was asked about them, “I’m not an archivist.”

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The Zombies are often remembered almost exclusively as a British Invasion 1960s pop group, best known for such delightful hits as “She’s Not There,” “Tell Her No,” and “Time of the Season.” The group’s full career, however, reveals a much more varied and fascinating story.

For starters, “Time of the Season” was from what would turn out to be a highly influential album, Odessey and Oracle, released in 1968. The album was to be the group’s swansong, and on initial release, while garnering some good press, it didn’t really catch on. It took a while for “Time of the Season” to finally become a hit, and the album has gone on to become one of the cult ’60s masterpieces whose stature has only grown over the years.

After The Zombies broke up, the group’s lead singer, Colin Blunstone, released some fine solo albums, and keyboardist Rod Argent had success with his band Argent, whose music received considerable FM airplay during their heyday. In the late 1970s, the group Santana scored big with a cover of “She’s Not There,” turning the catchy pop tune into a sizzling rocker. Finally, in 1989, various members of the group reformed in different iterations, leading to a full-fledged reunion that tentatively kicked off in the early 1990s and became even more regular in 2004, with continued touring and their first fully realized new albums since the 1960s.

While the group has now wound down due to Rod Argent’s inability to tour, they have, through their Beachwood Park Records, been involved in an ambitious and successful series of reissues of their albums. The latest reissue, Begin Here, like all the rest so far, is an excellent release. While there have been reissues of their 1964 debut album before, this new one is presented in glorious mono.

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I recently spoke with Dave W. and Ego Sensation of White Hills. For nearly two decades, White Hills have been gifting us with a unique mix of neo-psychedelia, art rock, and post-punk. Their first release was shepherded by Julian Cope, you’ve seen them in Jim Jarmusch’s sultry vampire romance Only Lovers Left Alive as the band in the Detroit club, and they’ve collaborated with Martin Bisi often. They are both consummately New York while also holding the borderless spirit of all true artists.

The duo has toured vigorously since their inception and have recorded over fifty releases, which include 12 full-length studio albums and numerous collaborations, EPs, and live records. The latest, Leave This World Behind, came out in March on their own label, Heads On Fire Industries. Five tracks built around a Sonic Rituals live series they’re performing through 2026. We talked about how Dave and Ego met, the birth of the band, and the deeply grounded and spiritual point of view that this light filled and heavy music is born of.

You’ll be able to catch them in San Francisco on June 7th for the second of their Sonic Rituals this year. A deluxe vinyl edition of rarities entitled Collected Consciousness will arrive in the fall via Argonauta Records, with a new full length coming in early 2027. Follow them at @whitehillsmusic on Instagram and on the web to keep up with the heavy spirit engine.

Radar features discussions with artists and industry leaders who are creators and devotees of music and is produced by Dylan Hundley and The Vinyl District. Dylan Hundley is an artist and performer, and the co-creator and lead singer of Lulu Lewis and all things at Darling Black. She co-curates and hosts Salon Lulu which is a New York based multidisciplinary performance series. She is also a cast member of the iconic New York film Metropolitan.