Listen here:   El Touchy

Buy it, and check out the other cool reissues, here:   Companion Records!

Some years ago, a Los Angeles area collector stumbled across an orphaned copy of the “Touchy” in a thrift store. It was shared through tape trading networks and bootlegged on vinyl — now, Companion Records is proudly offering this first official “Touchy” CD release.

Luie Luie has to be the most jaw-dropping one-man-band lounge act found to date. The “Touchy” serves as an conceptual dance album, an experimental album, as well as a sort of healing LP for ’60s burn-outs. What can his music be compared to? Nothing that we know of.

Luis Johnston is a Southern California screenwriter, painter, and musician who’s spent the past 30 years working in almost complete obscurity. But he’s also written and starred in a feature film and shaken hands with Elvis Presley. Luie has been playing live at various restaurants, lounges, and country clubs for three decades and is still going strong. He released a handful of 45s in the ’70s and one full-length LP, “Touchy” in 1974. And he continues to record unknown quantities of yet to be released CDs.

This deluxe CD version is housed in a digipak sleeve, includes a 20 page page booklet with rare photos, concert flyers, art work, and a new introduction from Luie himself which sheds some light on his original inspiration for the album. As an added bonus, we’ve printed up 500 “Touchy” buttons!   Each “Touchy” CD ordered from our website will receive a pair of these buttons, one for him/herself and one for his/her dancing partner. They are inspired by the original “Touchy” buttons issued with the original LP and read “Touchy Me Here” — instructions (from a song on the CD) will be included. According to public record, former Germs drummer Don Bolles is the only collector known to own an original “Touchy” button although it would make sense that the estate of Sun Ra and Queens rapper Biz Markie have originals filed as well.

(36 votes, average: 3.11 out of 5)

 Loading ...