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elcome to the Digital Meltd0wn Music Blog. The aim of this blog is to introduce the readers to music that is out of print, commercially unavailable, released under a creative commons license, or with approval by the featured artist. The majority of the music posted here would be considered underground. Don't let that fool you into thinking that the music featured here might be any less enjoyable than that of the mainstream artists you hear on the radio, as this couldn't be further from the truth. Please keep in mind that the majority of the artists that appear on this blog, along with their respective record labels, are not wealthy and need your support. If you enjoy the material that you find here, please support the artists/labels by purchasing their material afterwards. If you are an artist/label that would prefer to have your material removed from this blog, simply leave me a comment, and I would be more than happy to promptly remove the offending post. In addition to running this blog, I also work on a few other projects during my spare time. You can find links to those, as well as a few other important links associated with Digital Meltd0wn in the menu bar above.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Moving Sidewalks - Flash


The sole album by the Moving Sidewalks is as fascinating as it is unremarkable. As the birthing ground for legendary blues-rock guitarist Billy Gibbons, one would expect at least a taste of what would later make ZZ Top one of the best touring and recording bands on the planet; sadly, the album offers little in the way of revelation in its 15 tracks. Admittedly, at the time of ZZ Top's 1970 debut, Gibbons' transformation from a journeyman bandleader into a boogie-blues demigod was still not fully realized, but his chops were miles away from what is heard here. Part of that lies in the fact that ZZ Top was less about psychedelia than straight blues; whatever psychedelic touches made their way onto the studio albums were largely an accessory. (They would eventually fully integrate on 1979's Deguello.) The Moving Sidewalks, on the other hand, were psychedelic rockers whose songs hinted at the blues without fully diving in. The songs show little of Gibbons' future promise, and in fact are so thoroughly mediocre (both in writing and playing) that it's amazing to think he was only a few years away from international success. "Pluto-Sept. 31st" shows a clear Hendrix influence (the two guitarists openly admired each other), and as a bonus, Akarma's reissue includes five bonus singles that are some of the strongest material on the album, especially "Need Me," "I Want to Hold Your Hand," and the legendary single "99th Floor."

Track List:
1. Flashback
2. Scoun da Be
3. You Make Me Shake
4. You Don't Know the Life
5. Pluto-Sept. 31st.
6. No Good to Cry
7. Crimson Witch
8. Joe Blues
9. Eclipse
10. Reclipse
11. 99th Floor
12. What Are You Doing to Do
13. I Want to Hold Your Hand
14. Need Me
15. Every Night a New Surpise

Download: Moving Sidewalks - Flash (50.7MB)

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

hello...havent had a chance to grab this one yet but plan on it...just wanted to drop a line to say thanks for postings so far. its nice to stumble onto a blog with some across the board taste.....

Anonymous said...

Many thanx for this one.........Ive been a big fan of gibbons since the early dayz. I used to have this one in my collection years ago, but was lost in a flood.....nice to have it back in the fold once again

Cheers
=Psychotronic420=

Zer0_II said...

Thank you both for the comments. I was beginning to wonder if the stuff that I've uploaded recently appealed to anyone because of the lack of comments recently. It's nice to know that someone out there enjoys it.

Thee Midnighter said...

great record, much appreciated.

Unknown said...

Hi,
This is great. Visit myspace if you like as I'm doing a book on this subject. (Houston 60's music)

www.myspace.com/texasmusicwriter

Thanks,
V

zappahead said...

Sounds a like a good album from a very underated guitarist ......obviously nothing like zz top but thats why this sounds interesting...thanks for the share.