Lulu’s Marble’s Index: CDs; Other Projects

--The rockin'est, all-gal, garage band to ever stomp new life back into your favorite classics--

LULU’S MARBLE

Akko--vocal & guitar (Sadly, Akko died in February 1999)
Toshie--bass & bg vocal
Miwa--drums
Oka--organ & bg vocal

Lulu’s Marble -- (27:50) -- (1994) -- Sexcite Records -- TECW-20601

  1. Road Runner
  2. Ah! So!
  3. Koi Suru La La La (Love La La La)
  4. Psych De Go Go Go (Psychedelic Go Go Go)
  5. Blue Mow Mow
  6. Louie Louie
  7. Psych Very Good
  8. Money
  9. Omae No Subete Wo (All Of You)
  10. Psych De Go Go Go~Live (Psychedelic Go Go Go)
  11. Louie Louie~Live
  12. Omae No Subete Wo~Alternate Take (All Of You)

Thanks to Simon Fagioli for enabling me to finally get my hands on this disc!

This one’s a bit more primitive, but the screaming doesn’t start until ‘Blue Mow Mow’, as if they didn’t discover their signature till that point in the recording session. It’s all classic! ‘Louie Louie’ is great! Of course, they do THE SONICS’ version. ‘Money’ is even better, and ‘Omae No Subete Wo’ is a stunner, both times! The band freaks on a ‘Manic Depression’ like riff, rolling it over and over, while Akko coos her love on the first take, and shouts it out on the second. They don’t always get all the lyrics right whilst stomping out the classics, but it doesn’t matter, ‘cause they’ve got the spirit in spades!
 

Live! -- (32:40) -- (1995) -- Sexcite Records --TECW-20602

  1. Louie Louie
  2. Blue Mow Mow
  3. Jack The Ripper
  4. Candy
  5. Psych-De-Go-Go-Go
  6. (I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone
  7. Fire
  8. Peter Gunn Loco-Motion
  9. Love Rock
  10. Witch
  11. Fire
  1. The Dog
  2. Comanche
  3. Peter Gunn Loco-Motion
This is my favorite of LULU’S MARBLE’s releases. Live! is four young women kicking out some classics in a ruthless garage mode. This powerful, rockin’ band’s signature is the background screaming (nearly every song). I swear, it doesn’t get better, or wilder, or crazier than this! Technically, they could be better, which only proves how totally unnecessary that would be. The whole band’s great, and there’s a definite SONICS influence in the way they pound these songs out like they own them all! That night they did! 11-14 are studio tracks--there’s almost no difference! Aaiiiigghhhh!!!!!!!!
 

Love Rock -- (35:19) -- (1995) -- Sexcite Records -- TECW-22603

  1. I Feel Alright
  2. Roadrunner
  3. Sturnin’ Bread (Shortnin’ Bread)
  4. Hey Darlin’
  5. Rhythm Tengoku~Lau La La Love (Heaven Of Rhythm)
  6. Candy
  7. My Boy Friend’s Guitar
  8. Tsuki Yo Onegai~Thrill Machine (Pray To The Moon)
  9. Love Rock
  10. Witch
  11. Jack The Ripper
  1. Hanky Panky
  2. Rizuma Tengoku~Alternate Mix (Heaven Of Rhythm)
  3. Tsuki Yo Onegai~Alternate Mix (Pray To The Moon)
  4. I Feel Alright~Alternate Mix
  5. Hanky Panky~Complete Version
Starting off with THE STOOGES’ ‘I Feel Alright’ says it all. They also do ‘Hanky Panky’, ‘Jack The Ripper’, THE SONICS’ ‘The Witch’, and Bo Diddley’s ‘Roadrunner’, and the originals are performed with as much gritty guts as the classics. The vocals are in your face, when they’re not screaming their heads off, and Oka’s churning organ gives this band the power to stomp its way through any damn classic it wants to shake some new life into. This was a band that came through the starting gates like they owned the block! They kick total ass, but it’s the screams that make it all go wild.
 

Afro Girl -- (31:29) -- (1997) -- Sexcite Records -- TECW-22604

  1. Afro Girl Go A Go
  2. Lulu & Lover’s Lover
  3. How Much Is Love
  4. New Orleans
  5. Kitsch Girl
  6. High & Low
  7. Spice Powder
  8. Girl Give Me Love
  9. Hey Mother
  10. Inside Looking Out
  11. Choc Ice (Chocolate Ice)
  12. Choc Ice~Mono Mix
A slightly better production and some real innovation gives them a considerably bigger sound, and the screams continue. Though it remains based in the pounding garage mode that was theirs, the growth here is exciting, and much of it is in their songwriting. This is my favorite version of ‘Inside Looking Out’, but ‘Spice Powder’ is a promise of the future this band could have had, with dancing girls in scarves and caravans rolling through your mind. This band was growing, and yet not losing any of what made them great, until they lost Akko, their singer/guitarist in ‘99, and then it was gone.

OTHER PROJECTS

KING BROTHERS & OKKER T

Masafumi Koyama--guitar & vocal
Keizo Matsuo--guitar & vocal
Jun Fujimoto--drums
Okker T--organ & bg vocal

(red) -- (23:32) -- (2000) -- Deckrec Records -- DCRC-0015

  1. Lulu
  2. Introduction
  3. Spy Boys
  4. Kusottare No Uta (Asshole’s Song)
  5. Mushakusha (I’m Pissed Off)
  6. Organism
  7. Deko Voko Deko
  8. Nori Nori Tengoku (Ride On Heaven)
Okker T joins THE KING BROTHERS here. It’s the only fact disclosed in the CD. Word is that Okker T is Oka of LULU’S MARBLE. That organ! Those screams! It has to be her! THE KING BROTHERS were starting to add more structure to their songs, but the mania remained. The structure added strength and the songs crawled from their evil, rockin’ swamp-pit like snarling, angry creatures. Okker T’s organ and female screams make this my favorite KING BROTHERS release. Imagine, THE KING BROTHERS and Oka screaming together! For crazy, rockin’ dementia you can’t beat primal therapy like this!

LULU’S
Oka--organ & vocal
Toshie--bass & vocal
Miwa--drums & bg vocal

Lulu -- (14:45) -- (2001) -- Tinstar Records -- MSR-TIN-036

  1. Don’t You Stand In My Way
  2. A Fool In Love
  3. I Want To Be Loved
  4. Twinky Lee
  5. Talkin’ About You
  6. Don’t Bring Me Down
Oka and Toshie are OK singers, and certainly have a good amount of the ballsiness that Akko had, and yet, it’s not the same. Having said that, this is still a rocking band, and though they’re not LULU’S MARBLE, they know how to party down. You won’t be disappointed when they rip into any of these classics that you happen to have a particular fondness for. There’s even the occasional scream, and now and again, when Oka and the band really ride into a riff, it’s as good as we could ever have hoped for. LULU’S MARBLE is gone, but LULU’S is a tribute, and helps to fulfill some of the promise.