Bad Part Of Town

The 1983 compilation LP Bad Part Of Town on Eva Records collects some of Sky Saxon’s early pre-Seeds singles as well as all six Seeds songs from the three 1970-1972 singles. This was the first Sky Saxon compilation to include any of these tracks, which were missing from 1977’s Fallin' Off The Edge rarities compilation that only included songs recorded for GNP/Crescendo. The CD version of Bad Part Of Town features a few extra tracks.

The vinyl version

The original vinyl release of Bad Part Of Town has six of the twelve known early Sky Saxon solo songs, plus all six early 1970s Seeds songs. Included are both sides of the 1961 Richie Marsh and The Hoodwinks single, "Baby Baby Baby" and "Half Angel"; both Sky Saxon and The Soul-Rockers sides from 1964, "Go Ahead And Cry" and the re-recorded version of "They Say"; and both Sky Saxon and The Electra-Fires tracks from 1964, "Do The Swim" and "Trouble With My Baby".

Of more interest to psychedelia and Seeds fans, both MGM singles by The Seeds from 1970 are here — "Bad Part Of Town" b/w "Did He Die", and "Love In A Summer Basket" b/w "Wish Me Up" — and, most impressively, the obscure, privately-released 1972 single "Shuckin' And Jiving" b/w "You Took Me By Surprise". (Sky does not appear to be involved in "Shuckin' And Jiving", a song written and sung by then-Seed Richard Barcelona.)

The CD versions

The original CD version of Bad Part Of Town included six extra tracks: one more early Sky Saxon song (“Darling I Swear That It’s True” from 1962, credited to Ritchie Marsh) and five live songs by Firewall, a Sky Saxon-led band from the mid-1980s. The crowd on these seems to be full of screaming girls, somewhat unexpectedly — Sky could hardly be said to have retained his 60s teen idol status at this point. He mentions his “new band” Firewall between songs. Sky introduces a guitarist he calls “Rainbow Starburst” at one point, presumably the same Rainbow as on the live 1977 album Heavenly Earth – Fruitarians Vegitarians.

The band play fun, heavy-metal versions of the Seeds classics "Mr. Farmer", "No Escape", and "Can't Seem To Make You Mine". An otherwise unavailable song called "Red Shoes High Sky Dancer" comes next, then a version of "Pushin' Too Hard" that Sky groggily introduces as "Pushin' Too Hard Too Far", the name dutifully used on the CD. The musicians create a riotous racket, tearing through the songs with sweaty ferocity. Sky is as manic as ever. The fidelity of the five live tracks is bootleg quality.

Recent reissues of this CD by Eva excise all the live 1980s tracks but keep "Darling, I Swear That It's True".

Promo single

Eva Records, to promote the Bad Part Of Town album, also released a single around 1983-4, pairing "Bad Part Of Town" (the song) with “Darling, I Swear It’s True”.

Availability today

Vinyl copies and certainly CD copies of Bad Part Of Town are easy to find, and highly recommended, especially for the six 1970-1972 Seeds tracks and the live 1980s recordings on the original CD version. The early 1960s Sky Saxon songs are completely compiled on the Sky Saxon Presents "A Starlight Date With Richard Marsh" vinyl LP.

Vinyl LP track listing

1. "Bad Part Of Town" – 1970 single by The Seeds
2. "Baby Baby Baby" – 1961 single by Richie Marsh and The Hoodwinks
3. "Half Angel" – 1961 single by Richie Marsh and The Hoodwinks
4. "Go Ahead And Cry" – 1964 single by Sky Saxon and The Soul-Rockers
5. "They Say" – 1964 single by Sky Saxon and The Soul-Rockers
6. "Do The Swim" – 1964 single by Sky Saxon and The Electra-Fires
7. "Trouble With My Baby" – 1964 single by Sky Saxon and The Electra-Fires
8. "Did He Die" – 1970 single by The Seeds
9. "Love In A Summer Basket" – 1970 single by The Seeds
10. "Wish Me Up" – 1970 single by The Seeds
11. "Shuckin' And Jiving" – 1972 single by The Seeds [does not include Sky Saxon]
12. "You Took Me By Surprise" – 1972 single by The Seeds

CD track listing

1. "Bad Part Of Town" – 1970 single by The Seeds
2. "Baby Baby Baby" – 1961 single by Richie Marsh and The Hoodwinks
3. "Half Angel" – 1961 single by Richie Marsh and The Hoodwinks
4. "Go Ahead And Cry" – 1964 single by Sky Saxon and The Soul-Rockers
5. "They Say" – 1964 single by Sky Saxon and The Soul-Rockers
6. "Do The Swim" – 1964 single by Sky Saxon and The Electra-Fires
7. "Trouble With My Baby" – 1964 single by Sky Saxon and The Electra-Fires
8. “Darling I Swear That It’s True” – 1962 single by Ritchie Marsh (CD version only)
9. "Did He Die" – 1970 single by The Seeds
10. "Love In A Summer Basket" – 1970 single by The Seeds
11. "Wish Me Up" – 1970 single by The Seeds
12. "Shuckin' And Jiving" – 1972 single by The Seeds [does not include Sky Saxon]
13. "You Took Me By Surprise" – 1972 single by The Seeds
14. "Mr. Farmer" [live] (some CD versions only)
15. "No Escape" [live] (some CD versions only)
16. "Can't Seem To Make You Mine" [live] (some CD versions only)
17. "Red Shoes High Sky Dancer" [live] (some CD versions only)
18. "Pushin' Too Hard Too Far" [live] (some CD versions only)

* Note: CD tracks 14-18 are live recordings with Sky Saxon and a mid-1980s band.

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