Singles (early stuff)

CAN’T GET ENOUGH

7″ Single
Ostrich G.T. Cat. No: GT1

Side One: Can’t Get Enough
Side Two: There’s A Place (In My Heart) / G.T.O.

This limited edition 7″ vinyl single on Jack’s own Ostrich G.T. label was sold mostly at early (circa 1992) gigs.

The A-side is the perfect calling card for BB’s hot rod aesthetic (“Can’t get enough of this street-racing stuff / Can’t get enough of this quarter-mile stuff”) and opens up with a burst of fuel-injected fury from Jacks open-top 1960 Ford Galaxie. Cool!

B-side “There’s A Place (In My Heart)” showcases the band’s early Velvets influences, mentions dancing bears (seriously!) and is so long it plays at 33.3 rpm. Hey, that’s really cool!

G.T.O. has Warren Oates banging on about testing jets (this audio later turns up on the intro to General Electric Pilot).

 

CHRYSLER 440

7″ Single
Ostrich G.T. Cat. No: GT2

Side One: Chrysler 440
Side Two: Fuel Injection (it’s better) / DeTomaso

In which Jack gives us the lowdown on his lates ride – you know, the kind of technical jargon only serious petrol-heads could give a damn about – then just admits, “that’s how I get my kicks”. Yeah, whatever Jack – just sing the frikkin’ song, OK?. The Velvets influences are still there despite Jack’s admission that, “I’m in a rock ‘n’ roll band and we sound like the Rolling Stones” (thankfully, they don’t).

“Fuel Injection (it’s better)” manages to name-check Jack’s cool WWII motor sidecar (“it’s not real fast / it’s heavy duty, it’s built to last”) over a cool hypnotic bass line.

All these early Ostrich GT releases included cool paper inserts like the ones shown here.

 

GENERAL ELECTRIC PILOT

7″ Single
Ostrich G.T. Cat. No: GT4

Side One: General Electric Pilot / Bonneville
Side Two: (We don’t have) A Machine

Okay, we know the drill by now – songs about cars played in VU-style, right? Wrong! Jack surprises us by going all glam and sticking in some bad-ass backing vocals (think of Blockbuster by The Sweet, but with better hair an cool race-suits).

And he’s graduated from cars to planes – well, jets to be precise (but don’t try this at home kids, “it’s really dangerous”!) Warren Oates gets in on the act again on the intro – will someone ask that guy to get the Hell outta the studio – we’re makin’ a record here!!

“We don’t have a machine”, says Jack on the plod-along B-side, “for looking inside a man’s mind”. Which is a relief.

 

FIREBIRD SPECIAL

7″ Single
Sympathy for the Record Industry. Cat. No: SFTRI499

Side One: Firebird Special
Side Two: Midwest

Jack drags (geddit?) the guys back to the race track for their first release on US label Sympathy For The Record Industry (but some of us are lucky enough to own a promo tape copy on Ostrich G.T. Cat. No. GT5).

Rocket Ron does his screamy thing all over this taster for the first BB full length album, which suffers only from being over too quickly. (Hey, when you’re going at 160mph whaddya expect?).

 

YA JUST A LITTLE PUNK

7″ Single
555 Recordings. Cat. No: 55518

Side One: Ya Just A Little Punk
Side Two: The Chauffeur

Another US-only single – this time on Flagstaff, Arizona’s 555 Recordings.

A-side is BB’s most sinister-sounding track to date (“I got it in the trunk / It’s just a little blood”) and is the prototype for the later version on the “Sport Fury” album (tho Jack says this is better).