Archive for the ‘ Garage ’ Category

Q65 “Revival”

| Garage,Psych,Punk

Along with the Outsiders this was one of Holland’s top groups. They predated the MC5 and Stooges by a few years, their sound was powerful blues derived garage rock with a nasty edge. Willem Bieler’s vocals were spit out with venom and in Frank Nuyens they possessed one of rock’s great underrated guitarists.

Revival was their second lp released in 1968/1969. Prior to that Q65 had released a superb 1966 debut, plenty of great non-lp singles and an outstanding blues rock ep titled Kjoe Blues. It was a time of transition for the group, Bieler was tired of the club circuit and opted out for military service. Other members were making new music under the name Circus. These new tracks reflected the psychedelic era but it wasn’t long before Circus folded and Hans Van Hemert released a new Q65 album titled Revival. Revival was made up of earlier singles, stray album tracks and Circus material. Much of the music had more of a psychedelic vibe but still bore many of the classic hallmarks of Q65.

Revival opened with Cry In The Night. This was one of the Q’s greatest punk rockers, a pulverizing monster that stood out for it’s vicious, out of control guitar breaks and Bieler’s deranged vocals. So High I’ve Been, So Down I Must Fall is similarly excellent but more in an acid punk style. This track has more mental guitar work and a brilliant outsider feel – a very intense, emotional track. The album’s variety could be considered it’s strength. One track, World of Birds covers the exotic folk-rock spectrum and is notable for some fine psychedelic guitar work while It Came To Me is fast and furious blues-rock. Ridin’ On A Slow Train may be the best of the 3 Circus tracks, it’s overloaded with guitar effects and distortion. The other two, Fairy Tales of Truth, a nice psych pop number highlighted by mellotron and Sundance, a bizarre psychedelic instrumental are also very worthy.

Q65 would go on to make two more albums in the early 70’s, Afghanistan and We’re Gonna Make It. These are generic hard rock albums that are nowhere near as good as their 1965-1969 peak. During their peak I would say that Q65 recorded just one bad song, a cover of Otis Redding’s Mr. Pitiful (on their debut album). The rest of their catalog is ace, a strong body of work that stands up to the best the Yardbirds, Pretty Things and Outsiders have to offer. While Revival may not be a cohesive listen, this is because many of the tracks were recorded during different periods within the group’s lifespan. Each track is strong though and you could proudly stand this along side CQ or S.F. Sorrow as one of the classic acid punk albums.

There are great cd and vinyl reissues of Revolution and Revival that are somewhat hard to find but preffered. Rev-Ola’s best of Nothin’ But Trouble is recommended but omits a few essential tracks. During their heyday Q65 were one of the best rock groups around.

“So High I’ve Been, So Down I Must Fall”

:D CD Compilation | “Nothin But Trouble | 2008 | Revola | buy from amazon ]
:) Original Vinyl | 1969 | Decca | search ebay ]

The Ugly Ducklings “Somewhere Outside”

| Garage

The Ugly Ducklings were one of Canada’s finest garage bands throughout the 60s. They were also one of Canada’s longest lived garage groups, releasing 3 lp’s (two of them reunion lps) and numerous non-lp singles. The core group consisted of Dave Bingham (vocals), Roger Mayne (lead guitar), British-born Glynn Bell (rhythm guitar), John Read (bass) and Robin Boer (Drums). Early on they were a Rolling Stones tribute band calling themselves the Strolling Bones.

In the summer of 1966 they secured a residency at Charlie Brown’s Place in Yorkville, Toronto and were given the opportunity to record their debut single, Nothin’. Reportedly the single was cut for $300 and released off Fred White’s Yorktown label. Today, Nothin’ is widely recognized as a garage classic notable for it’s snotty vocals, snarling defiant edge and frantic guitar solos. Nothin’ did well locally and enabled the band to record the above album, Somewhere Outside. The album, put out by Yorktown in 1966 is a gem with only 2 covers and plenty of fine originals in the Rolling Stones/Pretty Things tradition. One of the covers, Hey Mama Keep Your Big Mouth Shut is a blistering rocker with loads of fuzz guitar and punky vocals from Bingham. Some of the tracks are more restrained beat numbers but good ones; check out Not For Long and That’s Just The Thought I Had In My Mind. Along with Nothin’ the album’s better cuts are 10:30 Train (a fuzzy blues rocker), Windy City (a 6 minute instrumental with good guitar work and sound effects), and Just In Case You Wondered. The latter track is another classic full of punishing fuzz guitar riffs and a crazed, mind melting guitar solo. The album is very strong throughout and highly recommended to fans of mid 60s garage rock.

The group also managed to released some fine non-lp singles throughout the 60s. Gaslight, released in 1967, was their biggest hit and a good mixture of garage-pop and psychedelia. Also that same year they released the Epilogue/I Know What You Say single. The a-side is an acoustic number while its flip is a decent foray into psychedelic pop notable for its sitar work and swirling backwards tapes toward the end. The Ducks also have some respectable outtakes from the 60s which include a good hard rock version of I Wish You Would.

There have been numerous reissues of Ducks’ material on cd and vinyl throughout the years. There is a good cd version of the above album by Unidisc but does not include any bonus tracks. Also worthwhile is a self-titled compilation (with a humorous cartoon ducks album cover!) with choice tracks from the 66 album, outtakes and all the non-lp singles.

Can anyone provide info on the Ugly Ducklings’ 1973 ep?

“Not For Long”

:D CD Reissue | 2001 | Yorktown | buy from amazon ]
:) Original Vinyl | 1966 | Yorktown | search ebay ]

The Gants “Gants Again”

| Folk,Garage,Pop

The Gants were a mid 60s garage/folk-rock band from Mississippi whose biggest commercial success was a billboard charting cover of Bo Diddley’s Road Runner. This minor hit was enough to secure them the release of 3 LPs on Liberty, Gants Again being the third. Lack of original material and a sound that’s often far too derivative of their British heroes (especially the Beatles) keeps it from being a great album by any stretch. But there are many fine moments here.

Wonderful tracks like I Wonder and the moody, near suicidal Somebody Please prove that they certainly had tons of potential. And it really is unfortunate because an album’s worth of originals on par with these tracks may have ranked up there with the Nightcrawlers LP or the Beau Brummels vol. 2. Not that all the cover tunes are boring. Some (Rain and You Better Run) are actually very well done and breathe new life into the songs. But it still leaves the listener longing to hear what the Gants and other groups of this ilk would have sounded like if they were given more creative license instead of having managers and labels pad up their records with mediocre filler.

Unless you stumble across this in a bargain bin (or for less than ten bucks), you’re better off grabbing the Bam Caruso collection I Wonder which compiles the best material from all three albums, including some cool unreleased forays into baroque pop.

Gants Again

“I Wonder”

:D CD Compilation | 2000 | RPM Records | buy from amazon ]
:) Original Vinyl | 1966 | Liberty | search ebay ]

The Long Ryders “Native Sons”

| Americana,Country Rock,Folk,Garage

One of the best from the 80s underground, right up there with top albums by the Dream Syndicate, the Wipers, the Meat Puppets, the Minutemen and the Replacements. The Long Ryders had more of a genuine 60s sound though and this record, Native Sons, was their first album (not counting their debut ep, 10-5-60). This group hailed from Los Angeles California and was led by Kentucky native Sid Griffin, a man well versed in the history of rock n roll. Griffin headed out to LA when he heard about the city’s thriving punk scene. Over time Griffin would meet up with guitarist Steve McCarthy, bassist Barry Shank, and drummer Greg Sowders. Prior to the Long Ryders Griffin and Shank had been in garage revival band the Unclaimed. Over time Tom Stevens would become the group’s full-time bass player and this period would see them gain a respectable live following. The group would eventually become the Long Ryders and fuse 60s style garage rock and folk-rock with a country-rock feel. Native Sons was a brilliant debut lp and in some ways similar to the Byrds’ Younger Than Yesterday, in its unique fusion of folk, country, pop and psychedelia. Also, Native Sons’ album cover strongly recalled Buffalo Springfield’s shelved album, Stampede.

There is real importance in Native Sons though, as the Long Ryders among others, put country-rock back on the map and made the style credible again. In the mid 70s groups like the Eagles were responsible for tarnishing the genre’s reputation, turning something that was intelligent and underground into glossy creampuff pop. So it took a few years and a couple of great albums by groups like Jason and the Scorchers and Rank and File to restore country-rock’s credibility among the underground. On Ivory Tower, Griffin managed to get Gene Clark in the studio to provide backup vocals. Ivory Tower ended up being one of the great lost 80s tracks, downbeat and moody, sounding like a really terrific fusion of mid 60s Byrds and the early 70s solo work of Gene Clark. Sweet Mental Revenge, the album’s only cover (Mel Tillis), was an excellent reading notable for its appealing vocals and fuzz guitar work – a style that is referred to today as cowpunk. Another superb track, the humorous Fair Game, is closer in spirit to blue grass and foreshadowed Griffin’s work with the Cole Porters. I Had a Dream and Wreck of the 809 are underrated gems that listeners often forget about. These tracks display the Long Ryders’ garage band roots and are full of jangly guitars, aggressive vocals, feedback and lots of fuzz. This album is an absolute joy and a must for paisley underground fans and 60s rock junkies.

The Long Ryders were one of the great American underground groups of the 80s. They made recordings that have proven to be timeless and inventive, records that balanced intensity with humor. Besides writing great songs, their talent lies in the ability to take from the past and create something totally fresh and original. Their live shows were spectacular and the group garnered much respect from their peers. All three of their original albums are highly recommended.

“Ivory Tower”

:D CD Reissue | 1993 | Frontier | buy from amazon ]
:) Original Vinyl | 1984 | Frontier | search ebay ]
;) MP3 Album | download at amazon ]

The Mystery Meat “Profiles”

| Garage

Profiles

The Mystery Meat record was privately pressed by five Illinois college students in 1968. Only around 25 copies, each now fetching upwards of $6K, were made. The extreme rarity, combined with the provocative cover art and the visceral sounds underneath it all have made Profiles a garage LP of legends.

Legendary lost albums are not loved for their rarity alone. The Mystery Meat has a primitive sound as any dirty garage recording and then some, but the quality of the songs shine through as early as your first listen and maintain Profiles’ unique longevity.  Soft spoken, innocent vocals and sensitive lyrics contrast frightening drums recorded, it would seem, under a blanket. The muffled rhythm section is really distinct, recorded in the cavernous basement of a school building at Blackburn College, rounded on the high end with fierce Farfisa organ and trebly electric rhythm guitar.

It’s not all about loud scary beat rock, but good, strong songwriting, courtesy of Wayne Joplin, and a tender angle. “Both Have To Pay” and “You Won’t Believe It” stick out for their melancholy sound; the melodies alone seem to convey a love lost. Lead singer Dick Leighninger clearly knew how to put emotion into his vocal, and I can just picture the girl in his mind during these makeshift sessions.  “Don’t Take Me” is an exceptionally bizarre ode to death, “Sunshine Makes It” a swirling and slightly experimental piece. The rest make up an album of tunes so great any listener should be surprised. All originals.

“Give Me Your Love”

:D CD Reissue | 2005 | Shadoks | buy from amazon ]

The Litter “Distortions”

| Garage

The Litter were one of Minneapolis’ most popular garage bands. Their orgins can be traced back to two mid 60s garage bands, the Victors and the Tabs. In late 1966 the Litter recorded their first single, Action Woman backed by a cover of the Who’s Legal Matter. The A side was not a Litter original but a Ted Kendrick composition. Ted Kendrick produced Action Woman which was eventually released off the Scotty label sometime in early 67.

From the intro, Action Woman is a flame thrower garage punk single with snarling vocals and one of the great extended guitar solos courtesy of Bill Strandlof. Many feel this single was one of rock n roll’s finest ever and quite possibly Minnesota’s answer to the Stones’ Satisfaction. At this point the group were asked to record an album, since Action Woman enjoyed modest local success. Bill Strandlof recorded a great conventional garage track in Soul Searching (another Kendrick original) before he was replaced with Zippy Caplan.

Over the years the Litter’s impact has dimmed, possibly due to the group’s lack of original material and the recent excavation of other, newer great 60s rock rarities (which emphasize original material). With the exception of one brief guitar instrumental The Mummy and the above tracks, all of Distortions is padded out with covers of classic British Invasion singles. The group stumble when covering the Who’s Substitute but give Legal Matter a good punky reading with some nice fuzz guitar breaks. I’m a Man is given the Yardbirds’ treatment with tons of swirling feedback, thick guitar distortion, and insane white noise – this is one of the best versions I’ve ever heard! Codine displays some solid folk rock chops with powerful drum work and a slowed down arrangement. Somebody Help Me (Spencer Davis Group), Rock My Mind (Yardbirds) and What’cha Gonna Do About It? (Small Faces) are energetic and full of fuzz, angry vocals, driving guitars, and pummeling beats.

With the exception of Substitute, Distortions is a very good garage rock platter worth owning. In some ways Distortions is similar to another classic cover heavy lp, garage band T.C. Atlantic’s Live At The Bel-Rae Ballroom. The Litter would go on to record two more lps before breaking up. Caplan would go on to record a very worthwhile early 70’s hard rock lp with Lightning.

“I’m A Man”

:D CD Reissue | 1999 | Arf Arf | buy from amazon ]
:) Vinyl | 1999 | Get Hip | search ebay ]

Bohemian Vendetta “Enough”

| Garage,Pop,Psych

Bohemian Vendetta

A melee of clangy guitars, screeching Vox Contintental, thick fuzz, angst, acid, and pure energy make Bohemeian Vendetta’s album one of the best garage finds ever reissued. It’s maybe no masterpiece, waiting to change your life or blow your mind, but it is the essence of rock music, and too powerful to miss out on.

After a series of ripping beat demos and a single for United Artists, even scoring a tv spot on Dick Clark’s Rate-A-Record, the Long Island bred Bohemians got a shot at a full LP on the legendary Mainstream label in 1968. Given the chance, this small group of teenage acid punks let loose with their monster, penning some excellent original numbers and warping a couple of very popular covers. The label delayed their album and hardly promoted it, relegating Enough to the cracks in the floor, but it screams.

While the album’s lead-off, Riddles & Fairytales is a little too good for words, songs like I Wanna Touch Your Heart combine a healthy Rnb feel with psychedelic interludes, and suprisingly well played vocal backups. Love Can Make Your Mind Go Wild shows the band could write and sing tunes on par with The Remains, adding their own touch with the fuzz lead breakdowns. And narrated segments and operatic interludes in numbers like Deaf Dumb & Blind and Paradox City reveal the band’s psychedelic tendencies. The two non-originals are daring and disturbingly drawn-out cover versions of Satisfaction and House of the Rising Sun. It makes you wonder why modern groups fear the notion to cover songs of their contemporaries – it’s part of the tradition of rock and roll, and so many rediscovered garage bands make that exceedingly clear.

After their album went nowhere, members of Bohemian Vendetta formed the backing band for Faine Jade. Today the record is available on an anthology put out by Distortions Records, including all the singles leading up to the album and unreleased acetates. There are also several fairly recent LP reissues. Enough is strange, but a record to reaffirm your love of garage rock.

“Riddles & Fairytales”

:D CD Reissue | Distortions | buy from amazon ]
:) Vinyl Reissue | 2006 | Tapestry | search ebay ]

The Turtles “Present the Battle of the Bands”

| Classic Rock,Concept Albums,Garage,Pop,Sunshine

Battle of the Bands

One of their very best, the Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands was released in 1968 off the White Whale label. The concept is pretty clear for once, with the Turtles presenting a different band on each track (greasers, a country band, surf rock group, indian tribe, psychedelicists, and so forth). This makes for an eclectic listening experience for sure but somehow the band makes the album gel together quite well.

Battle of the Bands is the kind of record that would have been too eccentric for top 40 fans but not underground enough for diehard freaks. Perhaps this is why Battle of the Bands never found the audience it deserved. It’s a confusing, jarring album at first listen but eventually the band and their songs worm their way into your head like some strange, fatal disease. Elenore and You Showed Me (written by Gene Clark and Jim McGuinn) were big top 10 hits but very worthy in their own right, coloured by a sarcastic sense of humor and gorgeous harmonies. If anything, these tracks prove the Turtles had a genuine gift of melody and a knack for creating 60s commercial pop gold. Other tracks like the semi fuzz guitar instrumental Buzzsaw, the Beach Boys parody Surfer Dan, and the wild, banjo-fuelled Chicken Little Was Right are over the top quirky rockers that are muscially entertaining and overlooked highlights. Food reminds us of the Beach Boys’ Vegetables, a wacky, tuneful psychedelic track with a few primitive snyth stabs and lyrics that recite a brownie recipe. The album closes with an undisputed sunshine folk-pop classic, Earth Anthem, which stands out for its pretty horn arrangement, heavenly harmonies, and sparse accoustic guitars. Earth Anthem, also notable for its ecology theme, was supposedly recorded at 3:00 A.M. by candlelight, to capture the exact mood the Turtles wanted.

Battle of the Bands was a signpost to Flo & Eddie, and is an album where the band let loose creatively and showcased their unique brand of humor. It had all the ingredients that made the Turtles so great: lush melodies, flawless harmonies and fun, pop friendly sounds. The Turtles are one of rock’s most severely underrated groups and anyone doubting this should really consider outstanding early tracks like Grim Reaper of Love, She’ll Come Back, Wanderin’ Kind, Outside Chance, and She’s My Girl – all lost classics. Most of their catalog was reissued by Sundazed back in the early 90’s but has remained out of print for years. Original vinyl lp’s of Battle of the Bands are easy to score but a cd copy will cost you $50+.

“Earth Anthem”

;) MP3 Album | download at amazon ]
:) Original Vinyl | 1968 | White Whale | search ebay ]

Al Kooper “I Stand Alone”

| Art,Garage,Pop,Prog,Psych

I Stand Alone

Al Kooper’s debut should really be heard by more people. This record was released by Columbia in 1968, sometime after Kooper had left the original Blood, Sweat and Tears. Casual listeners know Kooper as a mid-60’s Bob Dylan sideman, sometimes Mike Bloomfield/Shuggie Otis collaborator, respected record producer and keyboard player in the legendary underground New York City group, the Blues Project. Kooper left behind many fine solo records in the late 60’s and 70’s but I Stand Alone is something special, a disc that captures it’s place and time very well.

I Stand Alone is one of those records that’s inventive in a post Sgt. Pepper way, ambitious in its wide array of styles, experimental within a pop context and bound to confuse at least a few listeners. It’s amazing that Kooper’s solo work and the first Blood, Sweat and Tears record have never been reassessed for the great records they are. I Stand Alone is a strong listen all the way through, divided evenly between originals and well chosen covers. The disc opens with the title track, which was recorded in Nashville and is one of Kooper’s signature tunes. Had this strange but wonderful Nashville blue-eyed soul hybrid been released as a single it may have had a chance at reaching the charts. About half the tracks are in a pop sike vein. Kooper does a nice job covering Nilsson’s One and stretches out with the Kooperfone on an excellent reading of Traffic’s Coloured Rain. Song and Dance for the Unborn, Frightened Child is somewhat similar to one of the more arty, psychedelic cuts on Blood, Sweat and Tears debut, it’s an excellent, elaborate production though and proof that strings and horns can work well in the rock n roll format. Other tracks see Kooper cover classics by Sam & Dave (Toe Hold), Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff (Hey, Western Union Man) and Bill Monroe (Blue Moon of Kentucky). Blue Moon of Kentucky, which Elvis also covered in 1969, is a wild bluegrass rockabilly take on the classic that was clearly a homage to the Byrds’ Sweetheart of the Rodeo.

All the covers are great and Kooper gives his own individual stamp on each song but of course it’s the originals that grab your attention. The Stonesy swagger of Camille and the dreamy Impressions-like I Can’t Love A Woman are killer soul songs and two of Al Kooper’s best in this particular style. Another classic on the album, Right Now For You, sounds like a really good British psychedelic track with very trippy Kooperfone which sounds well ahead of it’s time. This is an undeniably great album by an artist who should really be looked at with the same esteem as say a John Cale, Captain Beefheart or Frank Zappa. Al Kooper is one of New York’s great musicians and his contributions to rock music have been tremendous. In 2008, Raven reissued I Stand Alone with Kooper’s 1969 followup lp, You Never Know Who Your Friends Are on compact disc. Both lps are a must.

“I Can Love A Woman”

:D CD Reissue | 2008 | Raven | buy from Raven | buy from amazon ]
:) Original Vinyl | 1968 | Columbia | search ebay ]

Mono vs. Stereo || “Psychedelic Sounds…”

| Garage,Psych

Psychedelic Sounds...

Preference towards monaural or stereophonic sound is often a point of contention. Most folks agree tho, that when it comes to the debut from Roky’s pioneering Texas psych garage band, Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators, the original mono mix takes top slot. Sundazed definitely thinks so, offering a brand new hi-def mono vinyl, carefully restored from a copy of the long-lost master tapes and the mint IA original (all the details here).

Compare these versions of the powerhouse lead-off track, from Collectable’s stereo CD and the Sundazed mono vinyl LP:

mp3: You’re Gonna Miss Me (Stereo) [ Collectables | 1996 ]
mp3: You’re Gonna Miss Me (Mono) [ Sundazed | 2008 ]

So what’s your take? Hit us up in the comments.
Any other releases you know sound better in mono or stereo?

:) Mono Vinyl Reissue | 2008 | Buy at Sundazed Store ]