"Look For Your Mind!": The Lemon Twigs Are Bigger, Better And Smarter

 

 

The Lemon Twigs' new one, "Look For Your Mind!" had me right out of the gate with the title cut, a brilliant homage to one of my favorite Who songs, "Disguises." By the end of track three, I had to stop, take a breath and start all over again. That third track "Nothin' But You" finds Michael D'Addario channeling Alex Chilton on a jangler that could have been on Big Star's "Radio City." That would have been enough, but they tag on the Raspberries' "Overnight Sensation" coda as this song's coda and well, I needed to hear it all over again.

Yes, I am gushing, and at the time of this writing, I've only heard the first three songs, twice. But I can't think of an active band or artist that manages to push all of my pop music buttons they way these kids do. 

Okay, back to the record. 

I've just listened to four more songs, including one called "Gather Round" that has a Jellyfish vibe, and the next stunner "Fire & Gold," which stopped me again. At this point I need to stop trying to figure out what I am hearing and just listen. It's fun to recognize chord changes, or quoted bits from older songs, like a nod to Todd Rundgren's melody on "Road To Utopia" in "Fire & Gold." But The D'Addarios are so good at calling up the past, whether in a production trick like phasing on a guitar, or a simple call and answer vocal from a 60's classic, it hardly matters where you first heard it. I'm thrilled to be hearing it all again in a fresh context.  

This isn't Rutles parody. The Lemon Twigs know better. This is hours and hours of playing records and proving it wasn't a waste of time. 

"Paul's Boutique," the Beastie Boys masterpiece, is said to have sampled between 100-150 songs. There is no sampling on this record. The D'Addarios have hundreds of their favorite songs in their heads that they seem to effortlessly call back whenever they deem necessary. 

Contrived? I don't hear it that way. It's been working thus far, so I have no issue with it now, especially when every Tom, Dick and Chilton wannabe power pop band releases the same weak Beatles meets Big Star record over and over again. The Lemon Twigs songwriting is miles ahead of most in their field and if they feel like winking and nudging their production with obvious references to Brian Wilson or Pete Townshend, more power to them.

If "Everything Harmony" was their folk rock record and "A Dream Is All We Know" was their sunshine/power pop record, "Look To Your Mind" feels like a deliberate tip of the hat to both Big Star and the Raspberries. I keep hearing both bands. Whether it's Michael doing that Eric Carmen scream or using chord changes from "I Can Remember," from the Raspberries debut, or the Ardent Studio tone of the guitars, "Look For Your Mind!" is a triumphant affair and should please not just fans of the aformentioned bands, but all fans of melody, harmony and of course, record making.

 

 

Songs Of The Week, 2026: 5/2-5/8

 

Lovely- Suicidal Tendencies
Heaven Tonight- Hole
J'ai Connais Pas- Rickie Lee Jones
Idle Hands- Harlem River Drive
I Won't Cry- Johnny Adams
Bassanova- DJ Smash
Look Out Mabel- G. Davey Crockett

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"Soul (See Deep)": THE WEEKEND MIX

 

Obscure funk and R&B, deep soul and wacky jazz has taken up a good portion of my listening time for the last two weeks, spurred on by the discovery of a old hard drive filled with music that was mostly new to me. Not all of it was new and a good chunk of it wasn't very good. But I've been having fun with it, especially when gems like Jimmy Lewis, Gloria Jones and Spanky Wilson pop up.

Maybe you'll have some fun with this mix. Some of these tracks are from those CDs I mentioned in the Jimmy Lewis post. Others are recent discoveries. A few are faves of mine that I may or may not have shared before.

I think they sound good altogether.

TRACKLIST:

Sunshine Of Your Love- Spanky Wilson
Reach Out, I'll Be There- Lee Moses
Non Support- Ironing Board Sam
Fruitman- Kool & The Gang
Lulu Was That You- Cal Wayman
Taxman- Junior Parker
Biggest Fool In Town- Gorgeous George
Light My Fire- Rhetta Hughes
The Girls from Texas- Jimmy Lewis
Rubber Neckin' (Chick Checkin')- Lou Courtney
A Whiter Shade Of Pale- The Dells
Cold Duck Time, Pts. 1 & 2- Melvin Jackson

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Jimmy Lewis From Itta Bena

 

Many moons ago, a friend gave me a half dozen or so CDs he created, all featuring deep soul and obscure R&B tracks. For every song I was familiar with, there were four that were new to me. And almost all of the tracks were special for one reason or another. From Ironing Board Sam and Cal Wayman to Gorgeous George and Ned Towns, these CDs brought endless pleasure.

One track that stood out was "It Ain't What's On A Woman" by Jimmy Lewis. This slice of soul from 1974 features a classic rap that would certainly not get beyond the studio walls if recorded in 2026. But I loved every second of it. It took over 20 years, but I finally listened to Jimmy's 1974 album, "Totally Involved" and it did not disappoint.

The band includes Wilton Felder on bass, Ed Greene on drums, with backing vocals by Oma Heard and Gloria Jones. Every track is a winner. Sometimes Lewis channels Bobby Womack and other times, Otis Redding. But, when Lewis raps or screams, he sounds like no one but Jimmy Lewis. This is definitely the best album I've heard by a singer from Itta Bena.

 

 

 

 

It's Time For "Time"

 

Taj Mahal has made a lot of music and worn many different hats in the last 60 years, and very little of that music is bad. From The Rising Sons with Ry Cooder through his classic Columbia releases, as well as his hula band and collaborations with renowned world artists, Taj has been pretty convincing through all of it. But for what may be obvious reasons, two of my favorite Taj records are the two he recorded with the Phantom Blues band in the late 90's. Both "Senor Blues" and "Phantom Blues" feature a New Orleans favorite of mine, Jon Cleary, as well as Johnny Lee Schell, Mick Weaver, Tony Braunagel, Darrell Leonard and Joe Sublett, and both albums have that good time New Orleans vibe.

Apparently, a third session took place in 2010 but was then shelved before completion. Since then, tapes have been sent around, and the Phantom Blues band, along with Jon Cleary put finishing touches on what has just been released as "Time." As much as I love the first two, it seems that third time's the charm. 

I'll let Jon Cleary take over for a minute. This was something Jon sent out to his Substack members.

 

 

 

The single. ‘Time’, is a tune that was mostly recorded by me here at my studio, Funk Headquarters, in New Orleans. I was sent a Bill Withers demo, something he’d written and made a rough recording of but that was unfinished. They asked if I could come up with a completed idea for Taj so I set about putting together an arrangement, playing and recording acoustic guitars, electric guitars, bass, drums, percussion, piano, keyboards and background vocals. I ran off a rough mix sent it back to my compadres in the Phantom Blues band in Los Angeles who then added some stuff, replaced some stuff and mixed it with Taj’s new vocal.

Also on the record, is a favourite of mine, a song written by a cat called Johnny ‘Snakehips’ Johnson who happens to be my Uncle. The song is called ‘Crazy about a Jukebox’ and is, in my opinion, a mini masterpiece. The lyric tells the story of an attempt to win a girl’s affection by getting her the one thing she craves, a Jukebox. Having got it, she just spends all her time listening to the records and completely ignores him! Cleverly, every line is a reference to an artist or song title of the era, and at the same time is a compendium of all of his favourite classic tunes from that time.

When I first played ‘Crazy about a Jukebox’ to Taj, he flipped. Every single reference meant something personally to him and he insisted that we record it.

 

 

 

 

Another song I'd like to point out is "You Put The Whammy On Me," which sounds a heck of a lot like Cleary's "Cheatin' On You," which was covered on "Phantom Blues." I wonder if the similarity is what kept "Whammy" on the shelf. In any event, it's here now, on "Time." 

Give this record a spin and if it moves you even a bit, check out both "Senor Blues" & "Phantom Blues." 

Songs Of The Week, 2026: 4/25-5/1

 

Baby Loves To Rock- Cheap Trick
Fabulous- Charlie Gracie
Oh Bondage! Up Yours!- X-Ray Spex
You Can't Take Love For Granted- Graham Parker
You Got To Have A Job (If You Don't Work, You Can't Eat)- Marva Whitney
Come Go With Me- Gloria Jones
Break It Down Again- Tears For Fears

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Baby Loves To Rock- Cheap Trick
(George Martin produces The Beatles of Rockford, Illinois! What could go wrong? Well, at the time, I thought everything. I did not like this record, especially after "Dream Police." But I've warmed to it, at least Side One.)

Fabulous- Charlie Gracie
(I believe this was the first release on Philly's Cameo-Parkway records. Macca does a nice cover of it, too.)

Oh Bondage! Up Yours!- X-Ray Spex
(Two exclamation points in the title! For good reason!)

You Can't Take Love For Granted- Graham Parker
(I've got a few more GP albums in the listening queue today. "The Real Macaw" is an underrated favorite. I love the jump from minor to major on "I get so hungry and I...")

You Got To Have A Job (If You Don't Work, You Can't Eat)- Marva Whitney
(True dat! This may too be funky for a Sunday.)

Come Go With Me- Gloria Jones
(Mrs. Marc Bolan revs up the Dell-Vikings doo wop classic. I highly recommend the whole album, which clocks in at a very cheap 21 minutes. Worth your time.)

Break It Down Again- Tears For Fears 
(This band has fans, of course. They're popular, of course. Yet, it still feels like not enough people know anything beyond "Shout." Playlist below. And it's a damn good one, if I do say so myself.)

Tears For Fears Playlist

OH...and BY THE WAY!

I put up about 30-35 really solid records for sale at my usual below wholesale prices! Please take a look, because as Marva and James say, if you don't work, you can't eat.

Go shopping HERE!