Sunday, May 8, 2011


Paisley Underground Series, #7: The Salvation Army- Happen Happened (1992) MP3 & FLAC


"Memories and as time goes by, memories will age your mind."

Michael Quercio was one of the pivotal figures of The Paisley Underground, not only because he gave the scene its moniker (which most, including himself, eventually came to hate because of its emphasis on image over musical substance), but also as the leader of The Salvation Army, a punky garage-pysch band who would later become the more overtly psychedelic and equally important The Three O'Clock. If you're only familiar with the latter, then Happen Happened will come as something of a surprise because The Salvation Army had a much darker, grittier sound than the later, renamed version of the band, and the album itself, which collects all of The Salvation Army's recordings, happens to be one of the most vivid documents of the early days of the paisley scene in L.A. The album begins with one of Quercio's earliest recording sessions (for The Minutemen's New Alliance label), which yielded the excellent 1981 "Happen Happens / Mind Gardens" single. This early version of "Mind Gardens" is built around a simple Punk-inspired chord progression and Quercio's snarling vocals, and represents quite a contrast to the album version recorded the following year, which loses much of its directness beneath all the reverb and jangle. Despite this, The Salvation Army's sole original album is full of great Nuggets-inspired tracks such as the blues-psych cover of The Great Society's "Going Home," a song featuring a swaggering guitar-based hook and one of Quercio's better early vocal performances. Happen Happened is one of the most essential releases related to The Paisley Underground, as it both a great album and a rare snapshot of the scene's early roots in the L.A. Hardcore/Punk movement.

Happen Happened
 1. Happen Happened (1981 New Alliance Single)  (3:04)
 2. For Hours (Unreleased)  (2:36)
 3. Fight Songs (Unreleased)  (2:15)
 4. Mind Gardens (1981 New Alliance Single)  (2:45)
 5. She Turns to Flowers (Alternate Version- Unreleased)  (2:15)
 6. Grimly Forming (Unreleased)  (3:26)
 7. The Seventeen Forever (Unreleased)  (1:52)
 8. Going Home  (1:50)
 9. Cellophane Nirvana (Unreleased)  (1:56)

The Salvation Army (1982)
10. She Turns to Flowers  (2:33)
11. Upside Down  (2:10)
12. The Seventeen Forever  (1:58)
13. Mind Gardens  (2:36)
14. Grimly Forming  (3:30)
15. While We Were in Your Room Talking to Your Wall  (3:23)
16. Minuet  (1:49)
17. Happen Happened  (2:58)
18. I Am Your Guru  (2:51)
19. Going Home  (1:58)



20 comments:

  1. Great post.
    "She Turns To Flowers" is one my favs.
    Thank you very much.

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  2. Now this is one I don't have. Thanks!

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  3. Doc Marquis, great song and you're welcome!

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  4. leakingwater, you're welcome. This series will run very deep. I plan to post most, if not all, of the discographies of the obvious bands, but I've got a lot of very obscure stuff, though some of it is MP3-only.

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  5. thanks Voix, one of my missing pcs of the paisley puzzle.

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  6. ranxerox, hopefully I'll provide many more :)

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  7. frankroo, yes, this is one of my favorite Paisley U records

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  8. I heard only a few songs many years ago.

    Your comments make me very curious.

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  9. Lon, let me know what you think. I will be posting some Three O'Clock, Permanent Greenlight, and Jupiter Affect (all Quercio bands) during the series

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  10. thank you very much your blog is super cool. Do you have by chance Crispy Ambulance - Scissorgun album and Accessory After The Fact album. That will be fantastic. Many thanks xxx Natacha

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  11. Natacha, thank you for your comment. Unfortunately, I have no Crispy Ambulance- these are very hard to find in lossless, but I will look around and see if I can find something

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  12. thank you Vox

    xxx Natacha

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  13. BABIS, as far as I know, Scott is alive and well. John Walker (of The Walker Brothers) died yesterday

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  14. Thanks so much :-)

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  15. Voixature, I've listened and to me it sounds as a very good example for a punk making first steps into post-punk.
    There is energy & rawness but a bit more stylish and a softer approach.

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  16. Lon, nice description. The later stuff with The Three O'Clock is more overtly psychedelic and power-pop

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