Impossible But True: The Kim Fowley Story Various Artists (Producer Series)

£11.70

Genre:
Pop
Label:
Ace Records
Format:
CD
Catalogue Id:
CDCHD 888

IMPOSSIBLE BUT TRUE celebrates the life and times, the triumphs and heroic failures of one of rock's most colourful, not to say eccentric, characters and the last true Underground legend. A songwriter, producer, music publisher, talent scout, scene-maker extraordinaire and occasional recording artist, the physically distinctive Fowley - he is 6' 4 3/4 and insect thin - is the Forrest Gump of rock'n'roll, a man who has seen it all from 50s rock'n'roll to psychedelia, through to punk and metal in over 40 years of recording activity and has the tales to support his first-hand experiences.

Fowley rarely played the system (and when he did, it was usually on his own terms), shied away from working within a formal business environment, spent 40 years sleeping on other people's divans, or so it seemed - he has never settled in one place for long or owned a permanent home - doesn't bother to drive, and cares little for material possessions. Now 64, he has yet to even consider 'retirement'. He has endured because, as he puts it, I have a modern brain.

Though capable of lording it with the most sophisticated of label heads, Fowley's preferred milieu was slumming it at street level with the flotsam and jetsam of rock'n'roll. In fact, at the start of his career, he would hang around Hollywood's Greyhound station and approach anyone he saw carrying a guitar case.

If Fowley always seemed to be in the thick of the action in the 1960s and 70s, he also continued to display the curious detachment of an outsider, a man whose finely tuned sense of his own destiny did not easily lend itself to glib categorisation. This, perhaps, was the key: he was not a musician or a vocalist in the accepted sense (nor did he ever claim to be), nor a producer, nor a label owner, or a music publisher or a talent scout, but a combination of some, or all, of these things as and when it suited his purposes. I sometimes think I'm playing the lead role in the Kim Fowley Story, he once remarked.

As a producer barely out of his teens, his early hits included Alley-Oop, Nut Rocker and Popsicles And Icicles. A regular visitor to the UK at the height of the Swinging Sixties, Fowley was the first to record Slade when they were a Midlands garage band known as the N' Betweens, co-wrote the B-side of Cat Stevens' first hit I Love My Dog and discovered and first recorded the Soft Machine. He tipped off Reprise Records in the US about Jimi Hendrix and tried to sign the Mamas & Papas when they were four penniless itinerants. Always to be found in the thick of the action, Fowley was 21 when he booked Eddie Cochran's last ever US gig in 1960 and compered John Lennon's Live Peace in Toronto a decade later.

Painstakingly assembled with Kim's full co-operation, Impossible But True features 32 titles spanning 1960-69, many of which appear on CD for the first time, including gems such as The Comedown Song by Spider (actually P J Proby's hairdresser - he wasn't gay says Kim)-.-Reelin' Feelin' Squealin' by the Soft Machine, (the B-side of their first ultra-rare 45), To Die Alone, a US garage band classic by the Bush (some of whom joined the legendary Misunderstood) and Fowley solo classics such as The Trip, and Animal Man. Also making its CD debut is Pink Dominos by the Crescents, a Hot 100 hit from 1963. Fowley describes this as the last of the surf instrumental hits. It was recorded late at night in a shoe store out in Oxnard, California and features an Asian female guitar teacher and some of her teenage pupils!

Featuring classic cover art by Phil Smee, extensive annotation by compiler Rob Finnis (with input from Mr. Fowley himself) and a stunning selection of illustrations, all contained in the accompanying action-packed 36-page mega booklet, Impossible But True is the soundtrack to those first ten years. It's 'Mondo' magic!

By Rob Finnis

Share

Track listing

Show

Side 1

  • 01 Preview Animal Man - Kim Fowley

  • 02 Preview Bubblegum - Kim Fowley

  • 03 Preview Justine - The Rangers

  • 04 Preview To Die Alone - The Bush

  • 05 Preview Alley-Oop - The Hollywood Argyles

  • 06 Preview Reputation - The Rangers

  • 07 Preview Nut Rocker - B Bumble & The Stingers

  • 08 Preview Popsicles And Icicles - The Murmaids

  • 09 Preview Shush-Boomer - The Alpines

  • 10 Preview The Trip - Kim Fowley

  • 11 Preview The Comedown Song - Spider

  • 12 Preview Security - 'N Betweens

  • 13 Preview Daydreaming Of You - The Hellions

  • 14 Preview Portobello Road - Cat Stevens

  • 15 Preview Satan's Holiday - The Lancasters

  • 16 Preview Charge! - The Renegades

  • 17 Preview You Been Torturing Me - Gary "Alley-Oop" Paxton & the Hollywood Argyles

  • 18 Preview Like Long Hair - Paul Revere & The Raiders

  • 19 Preview Heads Up, High Hopes Over You - The Pharaohs

  • 20 Preview Gloria's Dream - The Belfast Gypsies

  • 21 Preview Ski Storm (Part 1) - The Snowmen

  • 22 Preview No More - Little Victor & the Vistas

  • 23 Preview Louisiana Teardrops - Elfstone

  • 24 Preview Wild Thing - Cathy Rich

  • 25 Preview Space Odyssey - Kim Fowley

  • 26 Preview Fallin' Off The Edge Of My Mind - The Seeds

  • 27 Preview Rainbow At Midnight - Gene Vincent

  • 28 Preview Feelin' Reelin' Squeelin' - The Soft Machine

  • 29 Preview People! Let's Freak Out - Freaks Of Nature

  • 30 Preview Pink Dominos - Chiyo & The Crescents

  • 31 Preview Honest I Do - The Innocents

  • 32 Preview Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow - The Rivingtons

Delivery & Returns

Show

We offer free P&P to UK addresses. For all other territories packaging is free and postage is charged on a weight basis.

We use Royal Mail First Class for UK deliveries and standard Air Mail for all other territories, very large orders will usually be sent via parcelforce. You may cancel your order at any time prior to your order being dispatched by emailing us at orders@acerecords.com ensuring that you quote your name, address and order reference number or by telephoning +44 (0) 208 453 1311 between 9am and 5pm GMT/BST, Monday to Friday. Please note: As music downloads are dispatched immediately after purchase, there is no possibility of cancelling these orders.

In the event that any products supplied to you by us are damaged or defective, we agree to replace or repair the damaged or defective products or refund the amount you paid for such goods (including postage & packaging) providing you notify us (either via post at or e-mail: orders@acerecords.com ) and return the goods within 28 days of purchase. Physical goods should be sent back to us in the same condition you received them to: “Returns” Ace Records, Such Close, Letchworth Garden City SG6 1JF, United Kingdom. Music downloads should be returned to us via the e-mail address above including a copy of your notification.

You have the right to cancel your order within seven days of purchase, or seven days of receipt of the goods (whichever is the longer). If you choose to cancel your order, full payment will be returned to you. Returned items should be sent to: “Returns” c/o Ace Records, Such Close, Letchworth Garden City SG6 1JF, United Kingdom. Music downloads should be returned to us via the email address: orders@acerecords.com including a copy of your notice of cancellation and order number.

Press quotes

Show

Marvellous. ★★★★

Mojo

These gory gems are a full-fat rave. 

Uncut

A major release which allows a thumpingly good wallow in Fowley's particular corner of pop's swamp.

Record Collector

Customer reviews

Show

Related products

Customers who bought this item also bought