museum of street semiotics:Vinyl countdown

I thought I’d update you on my recent vinyl purchases having played them they are much as I expected except for one revelation more of which later.
Firstly “musical youth”, playing it through my hi fi I’m surprised by how bassy it is, years, of crap am radio removed the bottom until. Top stuff, one of those records that always cheers you up. The Dexy’s tune turns out to be a standard single “show me” but very jolly and earnest proper Dexy‘s. The JAMC is as fuzzy and mad as ever, years before Bobby “too cool for school” Gillespie joined the noise abatement society. Cover Me by Brooce is Brooce being Brooce.
The Model by Kraftwerk is a glowing gem of a record that includes one of my favourite lines in any song which is “She's posing for consumer products now and then”
It still sounds like the day after tomorrow even though it’s older than all the sugarbabes put together.
One of the singles is still mystery, it’s by Process on the mercury label the Aside is called “something international” and is incredible, it is in the same vein as “I’m in love with German film star” by the Passion. It tries being all continental in a sort of wine bar Del Trotter way, mentioning fancy coffees and then asking the object of their desires to go to bed in various foreign languages. It sounds like Ricky Gervais’ real 80’s single and also his pretend one from “the Office“. I can find very little about it ,one of the produces Wally Brill is still around I think? A mystery.

Now we come to the really exciting find ,a sixties Spanish single by Los Marshalls om the Marfer label titled Flamenco b/w La Yenka.
Usually when I buy records like this it’s usually because they have a great cover and I resign myself to the fact that the cover will usually be the best thing about it. I don’t mind I see them as square postcardsform another time. But occasionally (very occasionally) you find something truly good, either a mad novelty or something with charm and verve that breaks out of the crackles and pops and wins you over. The Los Marshalls are just that ,a Spanish Guitar pop band (don’t they look great in the picture) who probably were a small covers band. In the typical 60’s way they rode on the back of a current hit. They have surf tinge to their sound. Flamenco was a hit for “Los Brincos” , who are often referred to as the “Los Beatles españoles“. Here they are looking cool on you tube.
I prefer Los Marshalls version it’s more up and surfy. I had a go at translating the lyrics with the help of Babel fish and my Spanish dictionary, I have idiomatically “pepped” them up. The main difference to Los Brincos is Los Marshalls, changed the “ohs” for “ahs” and on such things empires have floundered.
If you ask me where I am going
And you want to know who I am
It’s easy to guess
I am what I am
(Chorus) Ah, ah ah, ah
Don’t worry about my future
Just you let we worry about that
You’ll never change me
I say to it all
(Chorus) Ah, ah ah, ah
Ah, ah ah ,ah
Piénsalo bien y decídete
(Which I think is ”think well and decide“
Or in the Yorkshire dialect “thee think on lad and don‘t be too long abart it an' all“)
I don’t have a minute to loose
Soon you’ll be mine (or my fiancée)
I say to it all
(Chorus) Ah, ah ah, ah
You will never regret it
Because if you want tobe happy
Right by my side is the place to be.
And I’ll say to it all
Ah, ah, ah,ah
It’s not Keats but then again I’m sure Keats wasn’t always Keats . And anyway its sounds better in Spanish like most things.

The b side is that strange thing a vocal cover of an instrumental, “la yenka” which is a cover of “a melodica-driven Spanish pop-folk instrumental “ by Jonny and Charlie. It may be that Johnny and Charlie did what the Stones et al did which was to arrange a traditional songs and pocket the royalties. Los Marshalls just added the original words possibly and swapped a harmonica for a melodica. I don’t know what “Yenka” means the net wasn’t helpful, it might be a folk dance, and hopefully it’s not rude. Los hombres Marshalls take on it is pacey with some excellent counting. The counting is in that cool slightly lispy Spanish way ,un dos, tres!
Like I say I’ve tried to track down something about them but I fear they may not yet have made it on to the interweb, my 30p however might be good investment as I did find this.
“MARSHALLS
CHICO YE-YÉ / FUÉ POR CULPA DE ÉL / EL MUNDO / CANSADO DE ESPERARTE
ESP
25,00€
1965 - ORIGINAL "MARFER" M 587.”

Lastly a little Spanish lesson for you, chico is a man/youth, chica a girl/women as in “las chicas numaticas” as Baywatch is called in Spain (probably)!.
Here are a few sites I found whilst looking for the Mighty Marshalls!
Venezuelan surf music from my second fave group “Los 007” or is that “Los zero zero siete” plus a fantastic girl group site with some gorgeous “mieles españoles” plus much more besides and lastly more Spanish rockabilly than you can wave a suede shoe at, check out the streaming mp3 radio for more surftastic tunes!