ROCKETS:Guinness Detroit hard rock blues tax scam LP

$

25

Artist:ROCKETS

Title:S/T

Label:GUINNESS (36043)

Released:1977

Cover:VG (sw/cc/rw/bc/cw)

Record:VG+ (1 mark nap)

Description:Heavy Detroit blues rock w/members of Amboy Dukes, Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels, on the tax loss label Guinness Records.  An obscure one on Guinness and (strangely) not listed in the Acid Archives.

Listen to the clip!

from Bad Cat Records:

I guess it shouldn't come as a major surprise, but I've never seen a Rockets discography that includes this 1977 release.  Similarly I've never seen the album discussed by any of the band members in an interview.  The fact that the cleverly titled "Rockets" was issued by the tax scam Guinness label and may have been of questionable legality probably had something to do with those omissions ...  who knows.

The Rockets started out as a post Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels/Detroit enterprise led by singer/drummer  John "The Bee" Badanjek.  The line up was rounded out by bassist John Fraga, keyboardist Marc Marcano, and former Detroit wheel lead guitarist Jim McCarty.  Their earlier successes with the Detroit Wheels were of little help when it came to scoring a recording contract and the the quartet spent several years plugging away on Michigan's club circuit.  

In 1976 the band underwent a personnel shake up that saw former Amboy Duke vocalist Steve Gilbert added to the line up (Ted Nugent had kicked him out of the band for his drinking and drugging).

Released in 1977, "Rockets" seems to have been an effort to capitalize on the strong reviews surrounding the release of the band's 1977 RCA Victor debut "Love Transfusion".  Unfortunately, as typical for a Guinness release, the liner notes provided little information on the set.  The vocals were split between Badanjek and Gilbert indicating at least some of the track were recorded post-1975 when Gilbert was added to the line up.  This is nothing but speculation on my part, but I'm guessing the material was culled from tracks the band had previously recorded when they signed with Don Davis' Tortoise label.  That, or it may have reflected outtakes from sessions for their debut album.  Another story that I've heard is that the material reflected tapes the band had financed themselves, but abandoned in a dispute with the studio owner.  The studio subsequently unloaded the master tapes on Guinness at a heavy discount.  Regardless, produced by William S. Evans, the six tracks all featured surprisingly good sound quality.  So what do the songs actually sound like?

- In spite of the odd title (which seems to be a girl's name), powered by Gilbert's amazing bluesy voice 'Lufrania' was a first rate rocker that had considerable commercial potential.

- The extended instrumental 'Juke Box' was a plodding blues number that was almost salvaged by McCarty's nice slide guitar work.       

- Another bar band blues number, 'Rocket Car Wash Blues' featured Badanjek on lead vocals.  Not bad, but easy to see why the band decided to bring in Gilbert as lead singer.  Keyboardist Marcano and guitarist McCarty shared the spotlight on this one.

- With Gilbert handling vocals, 'Feel Alright' was another feel-good party anthem that had considerable commercial potential.  In fact this one was as good, if not better than anything on the RC debut.  Great McCarty solo too boot !  With a little judicious editing (the track clocked in at over seven minutes), it could've been a hit.

- The less-than-original title wouldn't give you much hope, which made the rocking boogie 'Rock 'n' Roll' an even bigger surprise.  True, there wasn't a single original note or though on this one, but kicked along by keyboardist Marcano and guitarist McCarty, this one actually managed to generate quite a bit of energy by the time it concluded.  Very nice and perhaps my favorite track.

- An atypical acoustic blues number, 'Working Band Blues' was a major surprise.  Gilbert was a major surprise on this one, turning in a surprisingly restrained and impressive performance.  McCarty turned in an amazing slide performance.  Fantastic track that should even appeal to folks who don't like acoustic blues.

- In this instance the the throwaway title was a pretty good indicator of what to expect ...  throwaway boogie rocker.  It probably sounded a lot better in a club setting after you'd had a couple of beers.  Maybe not ...

For a throwaway collection this one was surprisingly enjoyable.  Certainly better than some of their latter studio sets with big name producers like Jack Douglas.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GRADING:

All records are play graded conservatively - I have never had a record returned due to bad grading (and I'd like to keep it that way).

NEAR MINT (NM): Like new.

EXCELLENT (EX): Otherwise near mint but has slight cosmetic flaws that don't affect play. Close to perfect, with minor signs of wear or age just becoming evident. The cover might have light ring-wear or minor denting to a corner, but should look close to new.

VERY GOOD PLUS (VG+): The record has been handled and played infrequently or very carefully. On a disc, there may be light paper scuffs from sliding in and out of a sleeve, a slight scratch that does not affect play, or some of the original luster may be lost.

VERY GOOD (VG): Record displays visible signs of handling and playing, such as loss of vinyl luster, light surface scratches, groove wear and spindle trails. Some audible surface noise. Cover has heavy ring wear, seam splits, bent corners, loss of gloss, stains.

VERY GOOD MINUS (VG-): Vinyl may have numerous scratches including heavy scratches that will tick, heavy surface noise. The cover might have large seam splits, tears, or writing on the cover that obscures the artwork. I usually don't list records in this condition unless it is an extremely rare title.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GRADING ABBREVIATIONS:

auto: autographed / bc: bent corner / cc: cut corner / coh: cut out hole / cw: cover wear / H20: water damage / nap: not affecting play / obc: on back cover / ofc: on front cover / ol: on label / re: reissue / rw: ring wear / saw: sawmark / soc: sticker on cover / sol: sticker on label / sps: split seam / ss: still sealed / sw: seam wear (not split) / toc: tear on cover / tol: tear on label / ts: taped seam / wlp: white label promo / woc: writing on cover / wobc: writing on back cover / wol: writing on label

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SHIPPING:

All records are removed from the outer sleeve before shipping, and packed in a corrugated record mailer with cardboard spacers on either side to prevent damage. I do not use flattened Priority Mail boxes, padded envelopes, pizza boxes, etc. I collect records & know how I would want them shipped to me. I typically ship the day after I receive payment; turnaround time is usually 1 day to 3 days at the most.

For ALL locations double LPs & multi record sets count as 2 or more LPs.

And yes, I do combine shipping for multiple items, see below for prices.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

~ UNITED STATES ~

Media Mail: $4.00 for the first LP & $1.00 for each additional LP. 

Estimated delivery time: 1-3 weeks. I've never had any problems with Media Mail when mailing records (or buying them myself), but please don't ask me when the lp is going to arrive, ok?

Priority Mail: $7.00 for the first lp & $1.00 for each additional LP.

Priority Mail is insured for up to $100.00 & will get to you in 2-4 days. It will also provide a tracking number when the lp is shipped. REQUIRED for albums over $100.00 in value.

Insurance: Available to all US buyers for an additional fee of $2.50.

Registered Mail: Available for an additional $11.00.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

~ CANADA ~

First Class: $8.00 for the first lp & $1.00 for each additional lp.

Priority Mail: $14.00 for the first lp & $1.00 each additional lp. REQUIRED for albums over $100.00 in value.

Registered Mail: Available for an additional $11.00.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

~ MEXICO ~

First Class: $12.00 for the first lp & $2.00 for each additional lp.

Priority Mail: $24.00 for the first lp & $2.00 for each additional lp. REQUIRED for albums over $100.00 in value.

Registered Mail: Available for an additional $11.00.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

~ THE REST OF THE WORLD ~

First Class International: $14.00 for the first lp & $2.00 for each additional lp.

First Class mail can be slow, you have been warned. Expect to wait anywhere from 2-5 weeks.

Priority Mail international: $30.00 for the first lp & $2.00 for each additional lp.

Much faster, provides a tracking number & insurance up to $100. REQUIRED for albums over $100.00 in value.

Registered Mail: Available for an additional $11.00.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------