Tin Huey. Worth checking out?

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Tin Huey's only album, Contents Dislodged During Shipping will be released May 6th on Collectors Choice. They seem to be the forgotten group of the 70's Cleveland punk scene. I can't recall ever hearing anything by them. Reaction is somewhat mixed. Some say they were right up there with Pere Ubu and the Electric Eels while others dismiss them as Zappa- influenced art rockers. Any opinions?

― Jeff K (jeff k), Monday, 5 May 2003 12:32 (twenty-two years ago)

I'd say they were closer to Zappa than to Pere Ubu (At least on that record) - but they used to play gigs with Ubu. The earlier singles rock a little harder .. .. The forgotton Akron punks that sound more like Ubu were the Bizarros... (Actually sound more like a Ramones/Ubu hybrid..)

Here are a few Huey tracks from Contents Dislodged:
http://verbal.kint.tripod.com/chinesecircus.mp3
http://verbal.kint.tripod.com/Icouldruletheworld.mp3
http://verbal.kint.tripod.com/puppetwipes.mp3
http://verbal.kint.tripod.com/slide.mp3

Also, there's a recent live show here:
http://wfmu.org/listen.ram?show=7228

― dave225 (Dave225), Monday, 5 May 2003 13:07 (twenty-two years ago)

(Right click the links and download - ya can't download directly.)

― dave225 (Dave225), Monday, 5 May 2003 13:09 (twenty-two years ago)

Their cover of The Monkee's "I'm A Believer" is Pomp Rock arse.

― Daniel_Rf (Daniel_Rf), Monday, 5 May 2003 13:15 (twenty-two years ago)

.. That came from a record exec trying to score a hit and make them the next Devo.

― dave225 (Dave225), Monday, 5 May 2003 13:21 (twenty-two years ago)

Thanks for the MP 3's Dave. Quite interesting! Sort of a cross between progressive and punk. I especially like I Could Rule the World.

― Jeff K (jeff k), Monday, 5 May 2003 13:56 (twenty-two years ago)

i like the Waitrsses first single CLones (which was sung by Tin hueys Chris Butler)

― Jens (brighter), Monday, 5 May 2003 17:13 (twenty-two years ago)

Bizarros really didn't sound like Ubu. Though they did sound like Ramones/Lou/V.U. and Ubu had a V.U. fetish as well so they were spiritually aligned.They (Bizarros) definitely deserve the comp treatment. They were an excellent band. The Clone and Mercury stuff is all wonderful. Where oh where is chuck eddy and his Tin Huey love? Chuck!!??

― scott seward, Tuesday, 6 May 2003 14:04 (twenty-two years ago)

Bizarros aren't a copy of Ubu, But "Lady Doubonette" sounds very Ubuish to me...

There's a great (audio) piece about Akron Punk here:
http://www.wksu.org/cgi-bin/raplay?news03_05_01__08_39_59.rm .. interview with Harvey Gold.

― dave225 (Dave225), Tuesday, 6 May 2003 14:09 (twenty-two years ago)

"i'm a believer" wasnt shoved on tin huey by the label, though the terrible producer was (the son of jerry wexler, whose name i forget right now). "im a believer" was a cover of a cover -- robert wyatt's version of the song. the prog/punk is the best description i've heard so far of the them -- a hybrid that didn't necessarily work so well, especially considering their theatricality and "wackiness" could be a little too much. still, chris butler was (and still is) a great song writer and ralph carney is always interesting (his latest solo album, This Is! Ralph Carney on Black Beauty is maybe his best solo work so far).

― jack cole (jackcole), Tuesday, 6 May 2003 15:15 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh, Scott Seward says I should post here, so I guess I will. Tin Huey were GREAT!!--both on their (recently reissued on CD!) album and the 7-inch EP that came out before (I think) and probably on sundry Akron comps with bowling balls in the title and forgoten Totzun Danbal cuts on there somewhere. Um, what else? Oh yeah, just like Tubes and MX-80 Sound, they definitely improved on Frank Zappa, who sucked. I dunno what else to say. The new Ralph Carney CD is okay, if still a little bit Tom Waits for comfort, maybe. The new Rubber City Rebels album is a lot better! Though not as good as their old stuff, obviously.

― chuck, Tuesday, 6 May 2003 15:49 (twenty-two years ago)

you got to be kidding -- the rubber city rebels reunion album is terrible, a convincing argument why old bands shouldnt get back together again decades later.

― jack cole (jackcole), Tuesday, 6 May 2003 15:59 (twenty-two years ago)

The original Rubber City Rebels records weren't all that great either...

Bizarros are putting out a new CD someday soon... based on their recent performance, I'd guess it would be alright .. Don Parkins is still a hell of a guitar player.. Nicholis still sounds snotty.. Just don't look at the pictues, if there are any.

― dave225 (Dave225), Tuesday, 6 May 2003 16:07 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm NOT kidding! Best songs on the the Rubber City Rebels' album are "(I Wanna) Piere My Brain," "Grip of Fear," "Talk Talk" (Music Machine cover) and "Pinhead." It's even better than the new Rubinoos album!! (Though not as good as the new ZZ Top, obviously.)

― c huck, Tuesday, 6 May 2003 16:12 (twenty-two years ago)

I meant PIERCE my brain, not "Piere." (Which is French.)

― chuck, Tuesday, 6 May 2003 16:15 (twenty-two years ago)

eleven years pass...

Several months ago somebody posted a video of some version of Tin Huey and Chi Pig doing a live set including a version of "Tumbling Dice" and it was awesome.

― That's How Strong My Dub Is (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 19 June 2014 04:29 (eleven years ago)

i like the Waitrsses first single CLones (which was sung by Tin hueys Chris Butler)

tin huey's chris butler was the creative force behind the waitresses. (though he found a better singer to sing most of their songs.)

― fact checking cuz, Thursday, 19 June 2014 04:43 (eleven years ago)

I loved Contents Dislodged back in the day. Although their influences are apparent (Devo, Ubu, Zappa, Beefheart, I'm guessing Residents, plus a debt to Soft Machine that I didn't pick up on at the time) they combined them in interesting ways, and bits of many of their songs pop up in my head on a regular basis.

HEADS! PUPPET HEADS! MY CAR IS FILLED WITH...

― wild-eyed, high-volume bursts of pious indignation (Dan Peterson), Thursday, 19 June 2014 16:03 (eleven years ago)

three years pass...

Here is link to video I mentioned above: https://www.facebook.com/hugh.aylward.9/videos/756327181053549/
A little further digging reveals that it is from April 1st, 1978 at a place called JBs in Kent. Jerry Wexler (and perhaps some other record company execs) was apparently in the audience, calling them “The Next Rolling Stones” and they were offered a recording contract, I think.

― Some Dusty in Here (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 4 February 2018 18:08 (eight years ago)

https://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/rockers-rally-round/Content?oid=1490259

― Some Dusty in Here (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 4 February 2018 18:09 (eight years ago)

https://bluerailroad.wordpress.com/ralph-carney-sound-virtuoso/

― Some Dusty in Here (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 4 February 2018 18:13 (eight years ago)

I still have Ralph Carney's phone number in one of my old address books. I talked to him on the phone once--I think he called me when I was first starting to write about music seriously, and the conversation was great, a very nice guy. I wish I could remember more of it, but I was kind of gobsmacked he got in touch.

― eddhurt, Sunday, 4 February 2018 18:52 (eight years ago)

That interview is great, I posted the link before fully reading it just now

― Some Dusty in Here (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 4 February 2018 18:58 (eight years ago)

Did we do an RIP Ralph Carney?

― Some Dusty in Here (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 4 February 2018 19:13 (eight years ago)

Yes, we did. Plus there was this: RFI Ralph Carney

― Some Dusty in Here (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 4 February 2018 19:19 (eight years ago)

three years pass...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7h5lwYi-wg

― A Stop at Quilloughby (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 5 May 2021 12:03 (four years ago)

goddamn that is great, especially from the sax break til the end

― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 5 May 2021 13:03 (four years ago)

When’s the last time you listened to it?

― A Stop at Quilloughby (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 5 May 2021 13:13 (four years ago)

Think I might start a thread just for that

― A Stop at Quilloughby (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 5 May 2021 13:13 (four years ago)

one month passes...

I think Disinformation may have been the first cd I ever bought on eBay back in 1999. Played it couple times, thought it was nowhere near as interesting as the debut, and filed it away. I’ve recently dug it out and reevaluated it. Not as overtly wacky as Contents Dislodged, it’s still plenty odd. Liner notes give props to Yardbirds, Beefheart, T Rex and Bartok, none of which I really hear. I hear Rundgren, Split Enz maybe, and hints of where The Waitresses were headed. And there’s a Robert Wyatt cover, but there’s a lot I can’t quite pinpoint.

― Three Rings for the Elven Bishop (Dan Peterson), Friday, 11 June 2021 02:55 (four years ago)

Okay, the Devo/Boingo stuff is still there too.

― Three Rings for the Elven Bishop (Dan Peterson), Friday, 11 June 2021 03:16 (four years ago)

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