Touchy (album)

Touchy is a 1974 album by Luie Luie. Self-produced by the outsider musician and nightclub performer Luis Johnston, the album initially sold no more than 25 copies. Touchy was included in a list of the "101 strangest records on Spotify".

Touchy
Studio album by
Luie Luie
Released1974
GenreLatin, funk, soul
LabelPenstar

Album

Touchy was an LP that was self-funded by Luie Luie. When Touchy was released in 1974, up to 25 copies were sold. The album included a "Touchy" button affixed to the sleeve of the LP. A listener could attach the button to their body, in a spot their dance partner could "pay special attention to" with a "Touchy" button of their own. Luie Luie painted the picture used for the album's cover.[1]

Touchy is a conceptual album aimed at getting listeners into a "touchy mood". Luie later described how people were disconnected from each other and using drugs in the 1970s—"People lost contact with reality, and at that time we saw the dancers — I was playing in the nightclubs — and there was no more romance. The heart was not involved; it was movement. They lost the touch."[2] Luie played all of the instruments used for the album, including trumpet, guitar, drums, and Moog. Each track is prefaced with a spoken word introduction by Luie. The track "Touch of Light" has Luie playing "up to 14 trumpets".[2] His music has been described as outsider music and his voice has been compared to that of Hervé Villechaize.[3]

Touchy was reissued in 2008 by Companion Records with a 20-page booklet.[1] The reissue includes an additional track, "A Message from Luie Luie", in which he condemns "music pirates in Switzerland and New Jersey" who bootlegged his album without permission.[2] Touchy was included in The Guardian's 2012 list of the "101 strangest records on Spotify", which described Luie as a "tremendously brave trumpeter".[1]

Luie Luie

Luie Luie is the stage name of Luis Johnston, a painter, screenwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Victorville, California.[2] He released a few 45s and the album Touchy in the 1970s. From the 1970s onward he toured nightclubs and bars of the United States, playing music described as a "Mariachi-infused lounge-bar easy-listening" blend. Johnston has described himself as "The Greatest Single Act in the World".[1]

Luie Luie and his song "El Touchy" were included in the outsider music book and compilation Songs in the Key of Z.[4]

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."El Touchy"3:35
2."Tastee Touchy"3:41
3."Touch Me With All Your Heart"6:11
4."Tortilla Touchy"2:43
5."Sweet And Tender Touchy"4:25
6."Touch Of San Antone"3:34
7."Lost"3:59
8."Touch Of The Pharaohs"3:46
9."Touch Of The Light"5:09
10."Lord What A Wonderful World"4:10

References
  1. Fitzpatrick, Rob (6 November 2012). "The 101 strangest records on Spotify: Luie Luie – Touchy". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 24 September 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  2. "Luie Luie stands out as a genuine oddball in a world of faux freaks". SF Weekly. 23 April 2008. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  3. Chusid, Irwin (2000). Songs in the Key of Z: The Curious Universe of Outsider Music. Chicago Review Press. p. 212. ISBN 978-1-56976-493-0. Archived from the original on 2023-10-26. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
  4. Weisbard, Eric (August 2000). "Geeks and Freaks". Spin. No. 8. p. 158. Archived from the original on 2023-10-26. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
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