The American Tribute

THE STIFF GENERATION - IF IT AIN'T STIFF, IT AIN'T WORTH A TRIBUTE (2002)

 

Seven years before the spanish tribute, an international collection featuring some famous power pop acts and others released by short-lived Groove Records (a New Jersey label)

WU TRIBUTE (489 mb)

A Spanish Tribute (Limited Edition)

TRIBUTE TO STIFF RECORDS - SI NO ES STIFF, NO MERECE UN TRIBUTO (2009)

During the 2009 edition of the CulturaPOP Festival, a limited edition of a tribute to Stiff Records was released. 
The album featured 24 cover versions of songs originally released by Stiff Records, performed by a majority of Spanish artists. The album quickly sold out.

WU TRIBUTO (544 mb)

The 2026 Expanded Edition of "Many Sides of SSA" (PPA exclusive)

THE MANY SIDES OF SHAKE SOME ACTION (2022, Expanded 2026)

Shake Some Action is no less than a contender for the best rock'n'roll song ever written. It's that good. It's the '72 version recorded alongside "Slow Death. In fact, the band wanted the Capitol demo cut on the album but the Dave Edmunds produced one is a masterpiece. Six overdubbed lead guitars descend into a strident riff of epic quality. Beat boom maracas help along the infectious rhythm and the chorus is pure pop excitement. "Shake Some Action's what i need...so let me buts out at full speed". (Bucketfull of Brains 1986)

So, i've compiled all the covers (66 exactly while only 17 are listed on the "secondhandsongs" site) i have been able to find for a mere 289 minutes memorabilia of one of the greatest rock songs ever written. And as a bonus, both 1972 and 1976 versions of this classic have been included on the collection.

 

Maybe some covers are hit or miss, but it is really interesting to note that most of them are really faithful to the song. No artist has tried to change the epic riff or rhythm.

 

And now are you ready to listen 4 hours 49 minutes & 41 seconds of "Action At Full Speed" ?

WU ACTION NOW (658 mb)

New York Power Pop (Never Reissued)

SILLY BOYS - WANT YOU! (1982)

 

Jordan Oakes review, Yellow Pills #6

Undoubtedly, these Silly Boys were part of the powerpop hard core, otherwise how can explain they released this kind of record ... in 1982 ? First off, the sleeve showed two guys in vintage '70s (three-piece) suits... Not quite a treasure perhaps, but sort of a buried... uh, silver dollar, this five-songer is pure new wave-era (but not new wave in sound) power-pop, which means Knack-like pounces of guitar, and gooey/lovey lyrics epitomized by the titles: "High School Crush","Corner Telephone" and "Subway Romance" (and two others). This two-man band had obviously spend some time listening to the great pop groups of the day (Shoes, Records, L.A. power-pop et al), and went about trying to recreate the magic of those bands without knowing exactly how the trick is done. And of course it wasn't a trick after all, but that other "t"-word talent, which wasn't in abundance in the Silly Boys' repertoire. Still, The EP is full of catchy hooks and the sort of specific power-pop fun -- early eighties style -- that can never, and will never, be created again.

WU SILLY (111 mb)

Short-lived Power Pop from Atlanta (Never Reissued)

THE BRAINS - THE BRAINS (1980)

 

Hailing from Atlanta, fronted by Tom Gray, the Brains first garnered widespread attention with a striking homemade single, “Money Changes Everything.” The Brains subsequently recorded their first LP (with a re-recording of "Money Changes Everything") for Mercury, but it didn't sell and subsequently they split after their second album "Electronic Eden". Both albums were produced by Steve Lillywhite  Bassist Rick Price joined The Georgia Satellites. And as an undoubtedly lucrative footnote, Cyndi Lauper covered “Money Changes Everything” on her first successful LP.

WU MONEY (225 mb)

Arms & Legs (Joe Jackson's First Band) Guitarist Goes Solo (Never Reissued)

MARK ANDREWS & THE GENTS - BIG BOY (1980)

 

Mark Andrews was Joe Jackson's bandmate in Arms & Legs during the latter's formative years in Portsmouth, England. Funnily enough, shortly after Jackson's initial success, Andrews wound up on the same label, playing a not terribly dissimilar style of music; unfortunately for him, he's not Jackson's equal as a singer or songwriter. Some may find that Big Boy (produced by Advertising / Live Wire's Simon Boswell) shares many attributes with Jackson's Look Sharp. Track #6 "Laid On A Plate" can be found on the compilation Shake Some Action Vol 5. According to Joe Jackson's excellent book "A Cure for Gravity", Mark Andrews is now a chef.

WU BIG MARK (236 mb)

FG 12" 45 RPM (UK Single)

FLAMIN' GROOVIES - FEEL A WHOLE LOT BETTER (1978)

 

Taken from "Now", "Feel a Whole lot Better" was coupled with a cover of "Paint It Black" (not on the UK edition of "Now") and the Capitol version (1973) of "Shake Some Action" with Terry Rae (Hollywood Stars) on drums. A brilliant version which is harder and faster than the original Rockfield recording (available on the "Shake Some Action" LP).

WU FEEL 12" (87 mb)

Bucketfull Of Groovies Promo Flexi + Fanzine

FLAMIN' GROOVIES - THANKS JOHN (1987)

 

In 1987, the fanzine published a special issue "Bucketfull Of Groovies - The Flamin' Groovies Story".

It traced the Groovies twenty-two year history. A tribute to a great rock'n'roll band.

 

The 36 page fanzine has been scanned in 400dpi, and then printed in PDF. The bookmarks have been added

.

A free flexi disc was included with a then previously unreleased tribute to John. "Thanks John".  Click on pix below for the lyrics.

WU BoB FG (36 mb)

The Groovies Down Under (Double A Side)

FLAMIN' GROOVIES - WAY OVER MY HEAD / SHAKIN' (1987)

 

After some difficult years, Cyril Jordan and George Alexander formed a new line-up with drummer Paul Zahl (SVT, Yanks) and guitarist / lead vocals Jack Johnson (Yanks). Invited by Peter Noble, head of the australian label Aim Records (who would become manager of the Groovies) released the first Groovies single in many years with two new Cyril Jordan songs recorded in Sausalito two years earlier. Actually the songs. "Way Over My Head" (a terrific and classic Groovies tune) and "Shakin'" were demos which would be re-recorded for their excellent album "Rock Juice" (1992).

WU WAY (56 mb)

French Power Pop

THE FROGGIES - GET FROGG'D! (1985)

 

Imagine a french band called the Froggies with an album entitled "Get Frogg'd!". Fronted by Johan Asherton (a Marc Bolan fan, he wrote a T.Rex biography and released an album of Bolan's songs) and Paul Pechenaert (ex-Dogs guitarist). After a first "garage" album "Hour Of The Froggies", the Froggies moved to a more sophiscated power pop and released "Get Frogg'd!" in 1985 to extatic reviews on the french label Madrigal (home of the Fortunate Sons). Also note the presence of Jim Lowry with The Froggies, the very same Jim Lowry who was in the Roulettes (the USA 80's band). Johan Asherton went solo after the second Froggies album and a brief stay with Liquid Gang. He released several solo albums.

WU FROGGIES (344 mb)

The Iovine / Pannunzio LP Remix (Never Reissued)

THE TEXTONES - MIDNIGHT MISSION (1984)

 

It exists 3 different reissues in CD format (1996 on Varèse Sarabande, 2001 on Acadia and 2015 on Omnivore) every release being more and more brickwalled...). The original LP was released in 1984 but this one differs from the other vinyl editions because of a sticker "Album Remix by Jimmy Iovine and Thom Pannunzio except "Midnight Mission" by Jimmy Iovine".As far as i know, this edition has never been reissued.

WU REMIX (344 mb)

The First Steps of P.Hux (Never Reissued)

THE BLAZERS - HOW TO ROCK (1980)

 

Rick Miller's recording career began with the 1980 release of The Blazers' "How To Rock", an album produced by Don Dixon for local label Moonlight Records. The Blazers were essentially a bar band led by a jittery Rolling Stones-loving frontman named Shakin' Sherman Tate. Rick Miller took the band in a new Brit Pop direction when he and his roommate/mentor/bassist Lee Gildersleeve joined the band. Miller penned six songs for the album. "How To Rock" was a local hit in the Chapel Hill-Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina and Miller's songs drew comparisons to work by The Beatles, Tom Petty and Dwight Twilley. Rick Miller left The Blazers to form The Dads. He then went to form Rick Rock who released "Buddha, Buddha", "One of the ten best records ever made in North Carolina". He's better known today as Parthenon Huxley (aka P.Hux). Sadly, Parthenon passed away in January 2026.

WU HOW TO ROCK (218 mb)

GP Comes Alive (Soundboard)

GRAHAM PARKER & BRINSLEY SCHWARZ - LOCO CLUB, VALENCIA (2014)

 

Semi-acoustic concert from Graham Parker and Brinsley Schwarz. A soundboard recorded at Loco Club in Valencia. Courtesy of Alta Tension, a spanish association which gave me the lossless audio, then i split the songs and made a custom artwork for PPC.

WU LOCO CLUB (412 mb)

The Last Before The Split (Never Reissued)

THE SOFT BOYS - TWO HALVES FOR THE PRICE OF ONE (1981)

 

"Two Halves for the Price of One" was released posthumously on Armageddon Records in 1981. That album is actually two, with individually titled sides and cover art: "Lope at the Hive" was recorded at London's Hope and Anchor, while "Only the Stones Remain" contains otherwise unreleased oddities mixed in both chronology and quality. Though some of the songs featured here have been reissued in CD format (see "Anthology 76-81"), the album itself has never been made available again and will be of particular interest to fans of this fine group.

WU TWO HALVES (269 mb)

Cassette Edition (Never Reissued on CD)

THE SOFT BOYS - LIVE AT THE PORTLAND ARMS (1983)

 

First released in 1983 on Midnight Records as a Cassette only edition, it was reissued a few years later (1987) on Glass Fish Records (with a new artwork) but since then it has never been available on cd even though some memorable moments (2 songs) can be heard on the 2cd anthology "1976-81". An acoustic performance recorded at the Portland Arms, Cambridge in November 1978. The delay to get the item lasted more than 2 years (see voucher included).

WU CASSETTE (320 mb)

French LP (Never Reissued)

STIV BATORS - THE LORD AND THE NEW CREATURES (1983)

 

After the Dead Boys breakup, Stiv Bators moved to Los Angeles, and with the help of Frank Secich (Blue Ash) (credited as Jeff Jones on the Bomp singles) cut "Disconnected", a tremendous album of melodic rock tunes. Playing down his outrageous side, Bators' first solo record maintains an Iggy-like persona while replacing chaotic garage-punk with thoughtful music that owes power pop a sizable debt. With some powerful tunes mostly penned by Frank Secich (aka Jeff Jones) and the band (David Quinton, Georgie Harrison (aka George Cabaniss) and a couple of covers. Originally released in 1980 on Bomp Records, the album was expanded by the French label Lolita. It has never been reissued in CD format. Sadly "Disconnected" didn't sell, then it was time for the Lords Of The New Church to come.

 

Note: 

The Lord And The New Creatures on back cover and label side B
The Church And The New Creatures on spine and label side A.

WU LORD (296 mb)

The Released LP Mix (Never Reissued)

PHIL SEYMOUR  - PHIL SEYMOUR 2 (1982)

 

Prior to be released, the Richard Polodor / Bill Cooper mix was remixed by Val Garay. Garay's work was hit or miss, and his original mix held back an otherwise decent album.

Phil Seymour 2 has been reissued in 2011 (and 2022) but none of those releases were a proper reissue of the LP version commercially released in 1982. It should also be noted that his cover of Dwight Twilley's "Looking For The Magic" was actually recorded during the sessions for his first album, and is not present on the CD (but it was included on the Archive release Volume 1).

 

WU PS2 (245 mb)