Flat Duo Jets — I’ll have a merry x-mas without you

45-031
Norton Records
7"
Released: 1994

In the spirit of x-mas I realized I have a couple of funny x-mas 45s to share here. So here's the first one.

My first record posted on this blog and Instagram was a Flat Duo Jets record and for good reason. I love love love Flat Duo Jets. I found this beautiful near mint copy of this at the amazing Euclid Records in New Orleans when we visited back in 2012ish. I went back to this record store just about every day we were there.

Released in 1994 so this is 3 years after "Go Go Harlem Baby" and right before "Introducing" and "Red Tango". So about 2/3s through their recording career which sadly ended in 1998.

The cover art for this one is quite, well, sad, judge for yourself.

Somebody getting a Dear John letter which for the millenials reading this is the 90s equivalent of breaking up with someone over Facebook messenger or text.

This letter might have served as the inspiration for the A-side: I'll have a merry x-mas without you. A raunchy bluesy guitar driving track. That I've listened to a million times since getting this record. Could only find it on YouTube, here it is:

While I love the A-side the B-side might be more interesting. It's credited to Ellington-Tizol-Mills. Yes that Ellington. See for yourself:

Isn't that amazing - a rock'n'roll version of an Ellington composition. Amazing.. They are quite different though. Here's a Youtube version of the Flat Duo Jets "Caravan".

For the Ellington, Tizol, Mills version there's like a million versions of it, but this version was the one I could find which resembles the Flat Duo Jets version the most, which is still not a lot TBH.

(For some reason it's not embedding here, not sure why, sorry about that, so please click the link above). There's something about that descending trumpet that is slightly similar to Dex's descending guitar pattern. At least I think that must have been what he was going for. Needless to say the versions are quite different. But both very cool.

Finally, we make it to the backside of the cover which I guess must represent what Dex and Crow wanted for x-mas, clearly for Dex an Electro-Harmonix Big Muff and for Crow new drumsticks.