Underground Buttons

Bill N. got to Martucci very early on, he went to his house and bought a bunch of 45s, but he didn't get the Underground Buttons 45. I asked him to check it out.

The "heavy hitters" (guys who would would spend $$$ and not play the nickle and dime game) I knew of back then are mostly inactive yet still with 45s, deceased, or have sold off their collections by now. George would probably know best who might have ended up with the Underground Buttons 45. I just surmised that a Texas based collector was the best possibility, as the 45 was way under the radar to most other collectors back in 1985. I never came across the 45 when I traveled across the USA to document 45s in collections.

Heck, maybe Jim Atwood got it. Kesteloo didn't get it, I've got his entire collection for sale list when he offered to sell the entire contents (45s and LPs) for something like 40 to 50 grand. I think today that price would have been worth it!
 
I don't have any idea. I would have mentioned Barry E. as a possible owner but obviously he didn't get it. I never asked Martucci about the Buttons. I was much more interested in getting the Shepherd's Heard from him (which I did) and a few others that were more of a priority.

Atwood? He seems to also have sold off his collection (including the Vikings that he scooped from under me in 1986) as well.

Regarding Martucci, when I was buying from him, he said that his collection of UK beat and freakbeat was in some ways better than his collection of US records. No idea what happened to those records. During the 1970s there were several people in the US who were seriously into UK records, more so than US records. He was from (or had ties) to Michigan and was chasing Fenton and other MI records early in the game. He was one of very few people with telephone privileges to Frank Merrill so he would call Frank and get first crack at garage records.
 
Just to dampen the level of enthusiasm...there are dozens of under-the-radar obscurities that are probably better than Underground Buttons. It seems over-hyped in my opinion, and I doubt it would make the TBM top 2000. On second thoughts, it could take the place of "Message To Pretty"...

Still, it's quite good and that's just my opinion. Soon you can be the judge for yourself.
 
bosshoss said:
Just to dampen the level of enthusiasm...there are dozens of under-the-radar obscurities that are probably better than Underground Buttons. It seems over-hyped in my opinion, and I doubt it would make the TBM top 2000. On second thoughts, it could take the place of "Message To Pretty"... Still, it's quite good and that's just my opinion. Soon you can be the judge for yourself.
Click to expand...

Man...I love 'Message To Pretty'...
 
As promised...

Buttons1.jpg

Buttons2.jpg


http://www.g45central.com/posts/UndergroundButtons_ImTellingYou.mp3
http://www.g45central.com/posts/UndergroundButtons_IThinkThatImInLove.mp3

tiny text spacing modifications have been made to scans, to foil bootleggers.
Once I recorded it properly and played it a few times, I like it a lot better. Maybe a 7, instead of a 6?
Nah, I'll stick with 6.
 
bosshoss said:
As promised...

Buttons1.jpg

Buttons2.jpg


http://www.g45central.com/posts/UndergroundButtons_ImTellingYou.mp3
http://www.g45central.com/posts/UndergroundButtons_IThinkThatImInLove.mp3

tiny text spacing modifications have been made to scans, to foil bootleggers.
Once I recorded it properly and played it a few times, I like it a lot better. Maybe a 7, instead of a 6?
Click to expand...

Nice record...after several plays the nasal/off-key "junior lowrider" vocals actually become an asset instead of a distraction. I even like the ballad flip, which owes a lot to The Thirteenth Floor Elevators Splash 1 in its baroque, Rolling Stones-influenced arrangement.

Port Isabel lowrider ("Charp Chebby"):

th
 
Wow! So cool to finally get to hear this record. Thanks Bosshoss.
I like it... The tempo shifts keep the rocker side interesting, and the little fuzz melody sections are nice. I like the amateur vocals too, though I am often partial to that kind of thing. I give it a 6.
The flip has an interesting moody chord progression, totally not a throw away. Id give that side a 5 for a ballad.
 
I Think That I'm In Love = 2
I'm Telling You = 5 could have been a 6, the garage bits are great but the slow, crooning sections are dull and last too long, so I lost interest.
Thanks for posting.
 
Michael W said:
I Think That I'm In Love = 2
I'm Telling You = 5 could have been a 6, the garage bits are great but the slow, crooning sections are dull and last too long, so I lost interest.
Thanks for posting.
Click to expand...

Every garage 45 (even there rarest of the rare) can't be of BFTG quality.
That's what made BFTG so refreshing in the first place. Shutt's original
rating of this record as ** out of a possible **** is still an accurate
metric IMO.
 
I don't think bootleggers or those who go the freebie recycle route via youtube, blogs, will care about correcting the label scans.

Great to finally hear these!
I like them equally, the flipside is a shade better than the a side but not by enough to elevate my rating to the next numeric level.

5/5
 
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