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Back in the Day

4 stars

The Detroit Cobras
Original Recordings (Singles and Unre-leased 1995-1997)
Munster Records

Where did The Detroit Cobras go wrong? Was it signing to Bloodshot Records? Was it keeping the revolving door of musicians going around? Was it showing up late to all of those gigs? After a simple spin of the Munster Records compilation, Original Recordings, it has become increasingly apparent that there is only one answer to that question. Sacking Steve Shaw and Jeff Meier was the worst move ever made by The Detroit Cobras.

Allow me to take you back to a weird time in Detroit history, a time when Jack White was just an upholsterer, a time when Mick Collins was still in Black Top and a time when Brian and Pat Muldoon were expecting their first rock ‘n’ roll prodigy’s birth. A void existence had taken over the rock scene since The Gories erupted and the people were waiting for some new music. Being the only person at those early Gories gigs and hanging with their mentor Alex Chilton, 30-something Steve Shaw was inspired. Enlisting Vertical Pillows guitarist Maribel Ramirez, bassist Jeff Meier from The Nervobeats and a street punk stripper named Rachel Nagy, Shaw created a group that would become one of the most successful cover bands ever. So much so that the band was rarely ever thought of as such. Then Meier and Shaw left/were kicked out of the band. It gets a bit fuzzy from there ...

In this compilation, you get everything you’ve probably never heard. The very first Detroit Cobras single on Black Mamba with “Down in Louisiana” and “Over To My House,” followed by the ever-impressive Human Fly release of Nathaniel Mayer’s “Fortune of Love” and the Mar-Ram sung “Maria Christina.” The instability, label- wise, of the Cobras' first releases show why the band's singles are so coveted by collectors. By the third single, the group had moved to Scooch Pooch, a Los Angeles based label, and released the almost hard rock sounding ? and the Mysterians cover “Ain’t It A Shame” and the dead-on take of “Slum Lord,” originally done by The Deviants.

In addition to the rare singles, Munster has compiled a plethora of recordings that were left on the cutting room floor. Culled from the beginning of the band's earliest days until their very last seconds before imploding, the band takes on the Irma Thomas classic “It’s Raining” with an edgy proficiency lost in the latest Cobras releases. Other instant hits include the Shaw sung Supremes cover “Time Changes Things,” the loose jam of “Curly Haired Baby” and the original recording of the infamous “Cha Cha Twist.”

In a perfect world, Steve Shaw would be a millionaire. His simple formula of finding a rare soul or R&B 45, scribbling down the lyrics and recreating it into a fuzzed-out modern masterpiece is something that neo-Nagy singers like Amy Winehouse or Joss Stone could benefit from. I’ll fund the Winehouse comeback album with Shaw at the helm and make a million dollars and leave the rest of you crying in my dust. He’s that good. That’s how good The Detroit Cobras once were. — ERIC ALLEN

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Importer Exporter

4 stars

Elzhi
Euro-Pass
Libido Sounds

By now, Elzhi and Black Milk should be on your radar. With Euro- Pass, a semi-complete project to build even more anticipation for Elzhi’s much-awaited proper solo debut, the Slum Villager stamps his passport with gushing ink. Things start off heavy and Loud Records-y with “That’s That One,” with Elzhi maneuvering his mouthpiece over a rumbling, sleigh-bell jingling, Popular Demand redux pieced together by Black Milk, who is on the boards for more than half the venture. Talking down to the haters with quips like “While you mean mugging me with your eyebrow low / and your lip curl, you really need to smile, yo,” reminding us of his “versatile flow,” Elzhi is comfortable in battle-mode.

Elzhi’s flow is a unique blend of Detroit gravel in the vein of Royce and Nas, and his buzz on the Internet has grown, with many people throwing him in their top ten current MC lists, partly thanks to his stellar guest verse on Phat Kat’s “Cold Steel” last year. There’s a lot of chattering about Midwest hip-hop as of late, and while Kidz In The Hall have gotten some shine, despite delivering an album where its strongest points feature “those guys from Detroit,” Elzhi’s solo will probably get looked over nationally. But, he has his euro-pass and, unfortunately for us, they have better taste. — THOMAS MATICH

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3 stars

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Sea Of Japan
Black Out The Stars
Suburban Sprawl

You can hear the self-proclaimed Wilco and Jon Brion influences on Black Out The Stars, the first free digital release from Suburban Sprawl. A song like “The Fame” is far from Bowie, but still glam in its sprinkling of twitchy synthesizers. Sea Of Japan is a melting pot, stirring in recording sessions from attics to Slim Shady’s studio (really?). Local band family like Blanche, Zoos of Berlin and The Silent Years play on this record, giving it a Whitman’s Sampler of sounds that skew ‘60s acid rock to alt-country to AM Gold to a little grunge. But like the titular body of water, the band touches on a bit too much, making it difficult for anything to stand out.  — THOMAS MATICH

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4 stars

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The Muggs
On With The Show
Self-released

On With The Show, The Muggs' second record, displays how far the band has advanced in the past seven years. With the rhythm section of Tony DeNardo and Matt Rost in tiptop shape, the band has given room for Danny Methric to improve his vox. Methric has always been in charge of his guitar, yet was often criticized about his voice. On the new record, Methric controls his vocals especially well on songs like “Curbstone Constellation Blues” and “Slow Curve.” Methric's voice now adds something to the band's Cactus-meets- Peter Green blues sound. This band does blues like no other white men in Detroit can. — ERIC ALLEN

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in my ear
Broken Spindles

Remember The Faint? Well, they’re making a comeback with a new record, Fascination, out in August. But their bassist, Joel Peterson, is, with his electro/ambient/shoe-gaze side-project, Broken Spindles. Catch him May 30 at the Pike Room. Here’s what he digs:

Lockgroove
Calm Right Down
PJ Harvey
White Chalk
Arnold Dreyblatt
Propellers In Love
Liars
Liars
Cliff Martinez
Solaris Soundtrack
My Bloody Valentine
Loveless
Khonnor
Handwriting
Mugison
Mugimama, Is This Monkey Music?
Radiohead
In Rainbows
Beep Beep
The Enchanted Islands

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