There are a lot of campy films, those that hold undeniable charm that only naivete and extreme hard-work and persistence can achieve, as well as huge doses of ingenuity and unfiltered creativity, many of them become cult classics. In music, there are also those cases, and one of them may be “Music to suffer by” recorded in 1956 by actress Leona Anderson. Best known as her work in silent films, Leona recorded an album that became revitalized in the early 2000’s and achieved some sort of infamy due to Leona Anderson’s proclaiming herself “the world’s most horrible singer”, a different approach to let’s say, Florence Foster Jenkins.
With a vocal deliverance reminiscent of Mrs. Miller, Leona Anderson creates an aura of awkwardness that manages to be charming and good humoured. The lyrics are goofy and sentimental at times, providing extra charm to this novelty, especially when Leona Anderson attempts to sing in German and other languages other than English.
The song that became most famous called “Rats in my room” is a fun slice of outrageous cacophony with shrill and raspy vocals with a highly infectious chorus that announces rats are in the room. There remains a web of uncertainty if Leona Anderson was trying to do comedy music, but most testimonies of acquaintances tend to guarantee that.
The songs have orchestral arrangements which add to the grandiosity of this campy classic.
Shuggie Otis is one of the names that represent the 70’s psychedelia in all its glory. Born in 1953, Shuggie has collaborated with many musicians like Frank Zappa, Bo Diddley, Preston Love, among others. Here comes Shuggie Otis was released in 1970 and showcases all of Shuggie Otis musical skills in a variety of genres, raging from psych, to blues, motown, and soul. A true melting pot of different styles and genres from this talented musician who was only 17 at the time of this recording.
Sceptre was formed in 1981 in Birmingham (UK) and played high-quality roots reggae with passionate and mellow vocals as well as daring yet laid back melodies. Neglected by the labels at the time, the band still managed to release this LP but with limited distribution and in small number which made their music unavailable to be fully appreciated. With time, thankfully, the LP has been reissued and has gained a following and has gained the deserved status of a classic of british reggae.
