Plenty of these feisty bands below you may not have thought about for a long time, assuming you ever did. They are so feisty, in fact, that if they got in a fight, it's hard to guess who would win. Feel free to place bets, but if I were you, I definitely wouldn't rule out the ladies.
Lula Côrtes e Zé Ramalho: Brazilian duo release a few copies of gorgeous tropical psych-sludge double album drenched in hieroglyphic feedback and prehistoric bongsmoke in 1975; pretty much nobody has a chance to hear it until three decades later. Fun fact: Both Côrtes and Ramalho seem to prefer facial hair to shirts. Recommended: Paêbirú.
Josie Cotton: Powerpoppish Dallas '80s new wave chickadee and Valley Girl actress majors in gum-snapping of '60s girl groups; accuses boyfriends of being gay decades before Katy Perry. Fun fact: Her most famous song ("Johnny Are You Queer?") is not one of her two ("He Could Be The One," "Jimmy Loves Maryann") that hit Billboard's Hot 100. Recommended: Convertible Music, From The Hip.
The Count Bishops: Pre-punk mid-'70s pub-rock greasers made their single-minded drinking man's R&B sound like they'd broken more bottles over heads than even fellow travelers Dr. Feelgood. Fun fact: Despite being based in England, they sometimes fielded a lineup entirely consisting of Australians, Irishmen, Americans and Poles, which might explain why they sounded so manly. Recommended: The Count Bishops, Speedball + 11, "Train Train."
Count Five: Five mid-'60s San Jose teens (by way of Brooklyn, Dublin, Cleveland, Indianapolis and Missouri) rip off the Yardbirds, dress in vampire capes, feel depressed and feel so bad because she's the best girl that they ever had. Fun fact: Inspired one of history's greatest pieces of rock criticism, which Lester Bangs wrote, and which was mostly a lie. Highly recommended: "Psychotic Reaction."
Country Teasers: Confrontational British crank schooled in Mark E. Smith's wicked flow yells out ironically politically incorrect harangues over weirded-out American roots rhythms. Fun fact: Front-grump Ben Wallers' solo albums as the Rebel aren't as good. Recommended: Full Moon Empty Sportsbag.
Course Of Empire: Southern Methodist University-schooled tribal-metallers worked Killing Joking jungle syncopation, undulating acid-rock arabesques and wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am glam into their '90s Texas thrash bludgeon. Fun fact: Sometimes known to situate extra drums in the middle of the audience during shows. Recommended: Telepathic Last Words.
The Cover Girls: New York trio ("girl next door" Caroline Jackson, "cool one" Angel Sabater and Sunshine Wright, "referred to as the 'Brickhouse' of the group") were basically the Supremes of Latin freestyle. Fun fact: Credited their makeup artist, Carol Williams, on cover of 1987 debut album. Highly recommended: Show Me.
Crack The Sky: Idiosnyncratic outfit emerged from Maryland in the mid-'70s, put out several unusually literate and somewhat proggish rock albums on an obscure label called Lifesong, gathered a fervent cult across middle Atlantic but never climbed higher than No. 124 on Billboard's album chart. Fun fact: Fellow Marylanders Kix, when I interviewed them, called Crack The Sky "fish music" because it's "all over the place." Highly recommended: Crack The Sky/White Music, World In Motion 1, The Best Of The Rest (And Then Some).
Crash Kelly: Riff-ful, tuneful Canucks do real good job shuffling ideas and sometimes entire songs swiped from Cheap Trick, Aerosmith, Rainbow, Alice Cooper, Mott the Hoople, Sweet and other artists in that general neighborhood. Fun fact: Sing about the '70s more than most '00s bands, fine with me. Recommended: Penny Pills, Electric Satisfaction.
- Portions of Album Content Provided by All Music Guide © 2008 All Media Guide, LLC.
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