1985 Screamin' Jay Hawkins and the Fuzztones LP "Live!"
US: Midnight MIRLP-134
| A 01 () | Alligator wine (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) |
| A 02 () | I put a spell on you (Jalacy Hawkins) |
| B 01 () | It's that time again () |
| B 02 () | Constipation blues (Jalacy Hawkins) |
- Recording: 1984 or 1985.12.19 ..., Irving Plaza
- Note: They were part of a line-up to benefit MIDNIGHT RECORDS, the NYC record shop & label for all things rock'n'roll, r&b, garage and psychedelic. Sadly, the retail store on 23rd Street closed recently, but they still run a fine mail order business.
- "It's that time again" is described as "a funky little Christmas thing".
All issues
| 1985 Screamin' Jay Hawkins and the Fuzztones | LP LIVE! | US: Midnight MIRLP-134
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Reviews
- East Village Eye- Dec./Jan. 1986
- SCREAMIN' JAY HAWKINS & THE FUZZTONES- Live!
- "Screamin' Jay Hawkins, the man who can scream, bellow, and holler longest and loudest, with nary a polyp nor wheeze to show for it, has recruited G-meisters The Fuzztones to assist him. "Alligator Wine," "It's That Time Again," (a Christmas song), the unsurpassed "I Put A Spell On You," and the slightly tired "Constipation Blues" add up to about 21 heart-stopping minutes on this beautifully illustrated low-cost disc. Buy this or you'll have no one but yourself to blame if Screamin' Jay "Blows the moonlight clean through yo bald head." ...Henry Beck
- The Island Ear-12/23/85 Circulation
- 30,000
- SCREAMIN' JAY HAWKINS & THE FUZZTONES- Live!
- "Hooking up veteran soul singer Screamin' Jay Hawkins, a guy who has been singing since the fifties, with New York garage band heroes The Fuzztones is not as strange a combination as at first it seems. This four cut EP, recorded live at a benefit Christmas party last year at Irving Plaza, finds Jay in good voice and raunchy good humor, and as he puts it, the young band really seems to give him a kick. He somehow manages to slip a reference to AIDS in 'Alligator Wine,' and 'Constipation Blues' is almost painful to listen to, with Hawkins doing his best impression of an outhouse. Yet the classic "I Put A Spell On You" never sounded better than in this raunch revisionist setting. And there's even a Christmas song for people who hate Christmas songs, a truly wonderful piece called 'It's That Time Again.' It's mostly good fun, and Screamin' Jay sounds like he's having a blast. Everyone should have so much fun after doing their thing for so long." ...Hank Bordowitz
- CMJ New Music Report- #81 Dec.6, 1985
- SCREAMIN' JAY HAWKINS & THE FUZZTONES- Live!
- "With a bone through his nose, cape on his back, and Henry (a skull on a stick), the original swamp blues voodoo man returns. Recorded live at NYC's Irving Plaza with the Fuzztones as backing band,Screamin' Jay belts out his classic "I Put A Spell On You," a hot rendition of "Alligator Wine" plus the legendary "Constipation Blues," a song so tasteless even Dr. Demento stays clear. And for those in the spirit, there's his Christmas song, "It's That Time Again."
- Sounds-(UK) - January 18, 1986
- SCREAMIN JAY HAWKINS & THE FUZZTONES- Live!
- "Recorded damn near a year ago, 'Live' is the vinyl epitaph of Screamin' Jay and The Fuzztones' historic union at New York's Irving Plaza. The backing throws a whole new light onto the 'tones' musical capabilities, the keyboards in particular. No chance of descending to caberet horror rock with a foundation like these guys kick up. In fact, it'd be nice if some of this marsh gas were to turn up in the band's own efforts..." ...Lindsay Hutton
- Rockpool-(UK) - January 24, 1986
- SCREAMIN' JAY HAWKINS & THE FUZZTONES- Live!
- "...Then there's Screamin' Jay. He couldn't help but be original even if he was only blowing his nose (he'd use an alligator skin hankie, if you must ask.)... Though there's no new material on Hawkins' four track, there is the added fun of a prime original boiling over in public, and the Fuzztones conduct themsleves admirably. Loud, shrill, voluble loonies are OK as far as this recording is concerned...." ...Andy Dunkley
- Forced Exposure- # 9, Winter '86
- SCREAMIN' JAY HAWKINS & THE FUZZTONES- Live!
- "....With a good solid backing by the Fuzztones (a band that always sounds at least ten times better than I expect them to), the four tracks presented here...move like no old crip EVER did...." ...Byron Coley
- W.A.R.D.(Western Association of Rock Disc Jockeys) 1/20/86
- MORLOCKS- Emerge
- DIMENTIA 13- (-)
- UNDERTAKERS- Greatest Stories Ever Told
- SCREAMIN' JAY HAWKINS & THE FUZZTONES- Live!
- "...admirable in their utter rejection of the slick, ready-made pop dominating today's commercial slots... The Morlocks seem to have taken the 1:56 of the Music Machine's 'Talk Talk' as Old and new Testament.... The B-side [of the Undertakers' LP], with 'Silver, Dirt, and Gold' begins to move towards something distinctive, but only within the tight stylistic stricures of the form. The Dimentia 13 LP is definitely the most interesting slab o' nostalgia here. There's some occasionally white hot string strangling and open and relatively unaffected vocals. 'I Am A Whale' and 'The Lizard' are especially engaging, basically acoustic cuts, surfacing somewhere between the Meat Puppets and Jonathan Richman....
- '...Hawkins is a genuine eccentic who cut some frighteningly strange material 25 to 30 years ago. he reprises his classic'I put A Spell On You' here and the lesser known but weirder 'Alligator Wine." ...Tracy Santa
- Jet Lag Magazine-(St. Louis MO) January 1986
- SCREAMIN' JAY HAWKINS & THE FUZZTONES- Live!
- "...Long before there was an Ozzy Osbourne, Screamin Hay Hawkins invented shock rock. He would enter the stage in a closed coffin only to burst out in a cloud of smoke, carrying his skull on a cane named 'Henry.' All that would be well and good, but in addition, Screamin' Jay wrote and sang some definitive tunes right on the blues / R & B / r'n'r borders.
- The best known song is 'I Put A Spell On You,' now famous for its role in the best film I saw in 1985, 'Stranger Than Paradise.' This classic minor key blues shows Screamin' Jay is still capable of crying out at the top of his lungs for the woman who left him.
In addition, there's 'Alligator Wine,' a fun trip through a house of horrors that now includes a case of AIDS. The Christmas song, 'It's That Time Again,' is a bouncy, R & B tune that puts you in the spirit without feeling schmaltzy. And finally, there's 'Constipation Blues,' one of the world's most tasteless and funniest songs, and one in which Screamin' Jay pulls out all the stops in the vocal effects department.
- The backing by the Fuzztones, a young group of psychedelic - oriented rockers, is more than capable. This EP as good as it is, only serves to whet your appetite for more of the man's original recordings. But this is a whitting you'll enjoy. This is an excellent addition to any record library." ...Steve Pick
- Pipe Dream-(SUNY @ Binghampton,NY) 2/7/86
- "...If this is a gross-out contest, Screamin'Jay Hawkins come in last but, for his age and background, the man is uncommonly weird. Hawkins got his reputation fro strangeness mainly from past concerts where he would be carried on stage in a closed coffin (that once didn't open). Screamin' Jay Hawkins and the Fuzztones (Midnight Records) is a live EP with four of his cult hits. "I Put a Spell on You" is a downright good ballad that stinks of the swamp. On "Constipation Blues" Hawkins even illustrates his point with bathroom sound effects. I guess this must be the roots of sicko rock and roll." ...Eric Anderson
- Village Voice- 2/16/86
- "...And the Fuzztones and Screamin' Jay Hawkin's "Constipation Blues," a cut from the Live EP (Midnight Records) that's unfortunately in rotation on WFMU and WNYU, stinks..." R.J. Smith
- Sound Choice-#4, Spring 1986
- "Recorded live at Irving Plaza in New York but unfortunately, not much was going on. Hawkin's singing is in fine form, with some talking in tongues and voodoo mumbling. The backing by the Fuzztones is competent but not much more, consisting mainly of sparse guitar chords and keyboards. Save your cash for the Screamin' Jay LP recorded years ago, in which Hawkins put a spell on us all."
- Option- March/April 1986
- "Putting this record on the turntable is like walking into the twilight zone. It looks like blues, it sounds like blues, but it's... different. The Fuzztones are best known as a hot garage/neopsychedelic band, but here they are backing Jay with blues from the netherworld. Hawkins screams, hollers, whoops, moans, groans, and even sings his way through exciting performances of 'Alligator Wine,' 'I Put A Spell On You,' 'It's that Time Again,' and 'Constipation Blues.' As an added bonus, the audience at New York's Irving Plaza provides cheering noises." - Todd Kristel
- Blitz-#59, January/February 1986
- "The legendary Screamin' Jay Hawkins herein proves to ba as potent a musical force in a concert setting as he is in a recording studio. With masterful backing by New York's garage-rocking Fuzztones, Hawkins offers inspired and personable reading of such essentials from his repertoire as 'Alligator Wine' and Constipation Blues'. His voice remains in peak form and the audience responds accordingly, making this live album a worthwile addition to the collection of Hawkins and Fuzztones enthusiasts alike."
- New York Daily News- Sunday, February 23, 1986
- "Worth owning just for Hawkin's truly bizarre monologues. Music's not bad, either." - David Hinckley
- The Bob- #26, March/April 1986
- "The 'Tones lay down da blues while Screamin' Jay Hawkins does his "Magic." As only Screamin' Jay can do! Try the appetizing 'Alligator Wine' or the scary, scary,'I Put A Spell On You' with simple two finger organ pumping out the melody, calliope style. Flip da disc for a honky tonk Christmas tune and open up to 'Constipation Blues' -- repleat with the appropriate moans and groans. It's been years since I heard a record like this. Buy now or forever regret it!" ...Greg Beaudoin
- Beef- #18, Spring 1986
- "A spirited record, listening to Screamin' Jay always produces a kind of low down, revved up joy. The first side is wonderful with "Alligator Wine" and the now anthemic "I Put A Spell On You." His crazy gravelly voice sends shivers spiralling up and down my black cat's back bone. The second side is a little thin, the Fuzztones are mixed way down, there isn't enough spunk in the bottom, and the final song "Constipation Blues" is truly disgusting. There is no denying this is a fun record, get it or beware the voodoo curse." ...Durant
- The Morning Call- Saturday, March 1, 1986
- "Hawkins has always been wild as a 1950's R & B man and the Fuzztones have usually been wild as an '80's garage band, so you'd expect more spark per groove than this, expecially for a New Year's Eve showl. Wag a finger at the 'tones, whose obvious idolation of Hawkins seems to have turned them into awe-struck zombies. But I do love those funny noises Screamin' Jay makes on 'Constipation Blues." ....Rich Harry
- NEW MUSICAL EXPRESS -JULY 1986 PAGE 22
- TWO PAGE ARTICLE AND INTERVIEW WITH JAY ABOUT HIS LIFE AND WHAT HE'S DOING NOW-- NO MENTION OF ANY CURRENT RECORDS..
- NXOS- Hi-Fi--1987
- ("Eight Miles High:...": A full page article in a Greek magazine mentioning the Fuzztones and their records, "Bad News Travels Fast"/"Brand New Man", "Leave Your Mind At Home". Also mentions Thee Fourgiven, FROSTED FLAYKES, Club 57, Blues Magoos, the Archies, the VIPERS, the TRYFLES, the CHEEPSKATES, the Pandoras, the Miracle Workers, "Lysergic Love (Purple Helmut)", "Gravedigger V" and Jethro Tull. ---With a photo of the FUZZTONES and a reproduction of the FROSTED FLAYKES cover--reversed.)
- NXOS- Hi-Fi--1987
- (A short review in Greek of SCREAMIN' JAY HAWKINS & THE FUZZTONES: LIVE. "All black and hairy.")