Archive for the ‘ Garage ’ Category

Todd Rundgren “Something/Anything?”

| Classic Rock,Garage,Pop

Something /Anything

Released in 1972 as Todd Rundgren’s 3rd solo album, all the parts were played and produced by Runtgreen himself, excluding side 4 which was performed with a backing band. Though most of it would feel about right on Lite 97, there’s no denying the cool, and when people doubt you for throwing it on, they miss the point.

The big hits here are “I Saw The Light,” easily recognized from pop radio, and the beautiful Nazz redo, “Hello It’s Me.” Electric bass guitar, piano and electric keyboard, clean drums, a variety of percussion instruments, large-scale vocal layering comprise some elements on these familiar, warm tracks. Furthermore, some rockist yelps in “Slut” and “Piss Aaron” and straight up weird songs like “I Went To The Mirror.” It’s a long double record, so we have tracks like the vocoded “Breathless,” the Wurlitzer (?) led “Carousel Burnt Down” with its psychy meltdown. Elsewhere: bits of dialog and blubs, tricks with analog tape, all sorts of things you would do with a pet project, I guess.

This is one of those records that if trimmed from a double album to a single album would have been utterly perfect.

Todd Rundgren is a gift to the history of recorded music and we better just buckle down and get used to the record. The Beach Boys are universally cool now, so there’s no reason to deny this light pop masterpiece. Previously we covered Todd’s brilliant A Wizard, A True Star.

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“The Night The Carousel Burnt Down”

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The Outsiders “Songbook”

| Garage

Songbook

After the Outsiders delivered their super raw, half live half studio lp in 1966, they released perhaps one of the finest records of the mid 60′s, Songbook (1967). At the time, this record was viewed as a proper sophomore release. In recent years Songbook has been seen as a compilation, consisting of 3 compositions from the debut album along with 11 singles only tracks recorded throughout late 1966 to mid 1967.

Songbook showed that Wally Tax and the band within a years time, had grown substantially as musicians and songwriters. The first four songs of the album were out of the box classics. Bird In A Cage is a sizzling live cut with studio quality fidelity that opened the album. The excellent static fuzz blues of Bird In A Cage gives way to two classic folk-rockers, Keep On Trying and Lying All The Time. This is arguably the Outsiders at their peak, making tough engaging outlaw rock n roll that few have equaled before or since. Filthy Rich was one of the few cuts from the debut, a proto slice of pure punk rock and angst.

It’s been reported that they even upstaged and outplayed the Rolling Stones at around the time of these recordings.

Other killers on this classic Nederbeat record are an eloquent european folk ballad, Summer Is Here, a forlorning but stately I’ve Been Loving You So Long and the bitter Monkey On Your Back. The latest recording sessions yielded the above fruits and hinted at the direction the Outsiders would take on a future release, the immortal CQ. Monkey On Your Back is a catchy pop rocker with Tax’s soulful world weary vocals and it’s priceless stuff. Tax’s vocals were always so brutally honest and had a matter of fact quality about them. It’s what made the Outsider’s so special, along with Ron Splinter’s blazing fuzz leads. Touch was another frantic, brutal rocker that had a unique euro-folk bridge and wild guitar riffs.

The Outsiders were one of the best of a fertile Holland scene that produced great bands like the Q65, Ro-d-y’s, Group 1850, Sandy Coast, Focus, the Zipps, Brainbox, the Motions, and the Golden Earring amongst many others. In recent years I have seen quotes floating around the rock critic world claiming the Outsiders to be one of the greatest unknown rock bands of the 60′s that are from a non-English speaking territory. I believe them to be one of the greatest underground groups period, regardless of territory or timeframe.

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“Summer Is Here”

Below, one of their earlier tracks, the great punk classic, Won’t You Listen:

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“Won’t You Listen”

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Link Wray (self-titled)

| Country Rock,Garage

Link Wray

This is a great record with which to understand the appeal of raw lo-fidelity recordings. Modern bands like Whiskeytown and early Wilco wrote music that could equal the work of alt-country masters of the past, but their tunes are hampered by modern recording technology, sounding so pretty and sterile that there is no authenticity or character. When you learn to love the toneless piano, acoustic guitar riffin, unaffected treblelectric guitar, and clanky assortment of found percussion objects driving this record, you might wonder why audiophiles ever bothered to enhance recording technology beyond 1971.

Link Wray was a guitar sensation in the late 50s and 60s who had instrumental hits in songs like Rumble and Jack the Ripper. He has the truly awesome distinction of being called the first guitar player to use overdrive and power chords! It wasn’t until 1971, however, during Link’s comeback that his masterpiece works emerged, in a style and sound akin to that of the Stones and V. Morrison, but a roots rock swamp muddy and smokin’. These albums were recorded in a converted chicken shack on Link’s Maryland farm using makeshift equipment.

Link Wray self-titled is an album that was hard to find in recent years. I had to get it on an OOP box set called Guitar Preacher which was a good, if incomplete, collection of Link’s comeback stuff. Now we are blessed with Wray’s Three Track Shack, a 2005 collection of these three excellent albums from 1971-1974. Beans & Fatback is every bit the equal of the self-titled record, and Mordicai Jones features singer Bobby Howard taking a Little Feat white-soul approach on lead vocals for the album. However, I do prefer Link’s tattered and gritty voice on the other records.

Songs on these records range from fuzz git rockers to country-grass interludes, but the best of them just drive with that laid back Stones feel that gets everyone to nod in time. This compilation is a one of a kind treat that should appeal to all roots rock and music lovers.

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“Fire And Brimstone”

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“From Tulsa To North Carolina”

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The Music Machine “The Bonniwell Music Machine”

| Garage,Psych

Bonniwell Music Machine

Fans of garage and psych are probably familiar with this LA band of Talk Talk fame. Sean Bonniwell and the Music Machine released two records and a plethora of quality outtakes and are sadly remembered, if at all, for their sole hit record, Talk Talk.

The Music Machine covered themselves in black and played a grinding, relentless form of experimental garage rock.

Their music was full of tension and uneasiness, and many consider Bonniwell a tortured genuis.

Sean Bonniwell is really one of the grandfathers of punk rock. Rock critics and fans alike often forget how good the original band was. Talk Talk’s follow up was the brilliant People In Me which barely dented the charts and in early 66 Bonniwell unleashed Point of No Return, a track with a swirling mass of organ and futuristic blasts of guitar.

The Bonniwell Music Machine album above was recorded mostly with the original lineup who had recorded the 1966 debut. That debut was sabotaged, managers and producers forced Bonniwell to fill half the record with cover versions of current popular hits. Stellar originals battled it out with covers of Neil Diamonds’ Cherry Cherry and a respectable gutsy stab at Hey Joe. Their second album was released in 1967 and was a small victory for a band who had fought for absolute creative control. The recording sessions were tension fuelled wars between management, Bonniwell, and the band. Eventually, the band left Bonniwell, feeling that he sided with management and ruled with an iron fist. Bonniwell Music Machine saw the band forge ahead and move beyond their garage roots.

The most popular song off the album, Double Yellow Line, was a real flame thrower, supposedly written while Sean was behind the wheel driving to the recording sessions! It was a unique statement that featured Bonniewell’s rants and hangups over some razor sharp guitars, a killer beat and strange fish bowl-like organ. Talk Me Down, Bottom of the Soul and the Eagle Never Hunts the Fly were just as vital and displayed Bonniewell’s alienation in spades. The Eagle Hunts was a monstrous, intense rocker with a wonderful fuzz meltdown that was supposedly disowned by the band during the recording sessions. Other strange pop songs like the psychedelic harpsichord-laden, harmony-rich Trap were a welcomed change in direction. Absolutely Positively was a fantastic fist pounding garage-punk anthem and Discrepancy was notable for two distinct vocalizations.

It’s always great to see a garage band enter the studio stoked about the possibilities of recording and come out creating their acid punk masterpiece. Bonniwell was definitely a rock star in his own mind, making this record their definitive statement. In 1969 Bonniewell would take a drastic left turn and release Close, a solo album of crooner pop that showed little signs of the Music Machine’s past glories.

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“Double Yellow Line”

Their brilliant 1966 single:

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“Point Of No Return”

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The C.A. Quintet “Trip Thru Hell”

| Art,Garage,Pop,Psych

Trip Thru Hell

The C.A. Quintet’s Trip Thru Hell is one of the most unique LPs from the 60s. It was a small indie pressing of under 500 from the Candy Floss label, making it a very rare 1968/1969 release. Originals will set you back a pretty penny (possibly over $1,000) but are worth it considering the CD version does not faithfully recreate the back side of the LP.

Prior to this LP, the Minneapolis-based C.A. Quintet had released a few respectable, though restrained, garage rock singles. Then something tweaked in the mind of Ken Erwin, the mastermind behind the Quintet, and the band’s frat rock would become infused with a dark, weird edge.  The Trip came housed in a classic, striking jacket and was a truly original acid concept album chronicling the hells of earth. It’s an album that takes you into another world, another mind, and there are some deep, lysergic excursions to behold.  The title track is a 9-minute instrumental with a prominent bass groove, angelic and eerie background vocals, shimmering organ, a suprisingly effective phased drum solo, and demented guitar distortions. The track may not sound as demonic as its title implies, but  it was unlike anything recorded before or since, and certainly worth the trip.  ”Cold Spider” has Ken Erwin screaming his lungs out over some nice whacked out raga leads and Hendrix-style feedback. They bust out the brass for “Colorado,” “Sleepy Hollow Lane,” “Smooth As Silk,” “Trip Thru Hell (Part 2)” and “Underground Music,” which are dark oddities and compelling highlights.

Listening to this record may be an overwhelming experience for some, so in one sense it’s definitely an acquired taste. It’s pure psychedelia with a strong vision, and does not fit the ‘incredibly strange music’ tag at all. The C.A. Quintet were an engmatic band that was full of life but by the end of the 60s they faded into obscurity.  A 2LP vinyl reissue is available from Sundazed.

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“Underground Music”

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The Guess Who? “It’s Time”

| Garage

It’s Time

There is no doubt that It’s Time was the best album from the early Guess Who. This 1966 LP was the first Guess Who record to feature the wild Burton Cummings. It’s Time was the third Guess Who album in 3 years, featuring mostly original/self-penned group compositions.

The album featured a nice balance of personalities: the original band leader Chad Allen, who favored a moody beat style tempered by a rough, hard edge Rolling Stone’s influenced Burton Cummings (future band leader along with Randy Bachman and vocalist on American Woman). Special praise must go to Randy Bachman as well: he conjures a very dirty, fuzzy guitar tone throughout the record. Every song on this album is well-crafted and one can hear the clear influence of the Who, beat era Kinks, Rolling Stones, Zombies, and Byrds. Songs like Clock On The Wall, Believe Me and Don’t Act So Bad are a long way from Guess Who radio classics These Eyes, Laughing, No Time, and Share The Land. Clock On The Wall is the killer undisputed classic on this record. At the time, Neil Young made special note of this single for it’s dramatic Cummings’ vocals and heavily reverbed guitars. Believe Me is also an excellent piece of Kink’s style garage grunge with some interesting keyboard work. Cummings’ vocals come thru again with the Animals influenced Seven Long Years and the raunchy Pretty Things-like Don’t Act So Bad. Chad Allen really shines on the acoustic beat downer Guess I’ll Find A Place while the Bachman penned And She’s Mine has an appealing rural folk-rock Byrd’s feel. And while the album cannot hide it’s influences, It’s Time really is a classic piece of Canadian rock music.

This album holds as one of the best ever garage albums because vocally and instrumentally the Guess Who were way ahead of the pack. They released plenty of excellent garage/beat era 45′s as well, track done excellent singles such as It’s My Pride or If You Don’t Want Me for more proof of their early raw sound. This would be the last Guess Who album featuring Chad Allan. After this, Allan would go on to form Brave Belt with Randy Bachman, who would release two albums in the early 70′s. Brave Belt’s debut record is a fantastic mix of country, folk, pop rock, and psychedelia. Fans of country-rock or of this website are strongly urged to track this record down.

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“Clock On The Wall”

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The Flamin’ Groovies “Sneakers”

| Garage

Sneakers

This was their 10 inch 7 song debut, released in early 1968. Throughout their career the Flamin’ Groovies went through multiple phases though many feel that the Sneakers to Teenage Head era was the band’s finest. During this period the band produced some of the best proto punk hard rock records around.

In the late 70′s people started realizing the band’s importance and influence on the emerging punk scene. The band finally received an enormous amount of respect from the rock press during this period. This late 70′s version was led by Cyril Jordan, releasing a trio of superb British Invasion style garage albums. The Sneakers/Roy Loney led Flamin’ Groovies were a totally different animal. They resided in San Fransisco and played a greasy old fashioned brand of rock n roll that was also influenced by monster British Invasion bands such as the The Who, Rolling Stones and Kinks (started circa 1965/66). The Groovies played the same psychedelic ballrooms as Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead, thus making them hopelessly out of step with the acid daze.

This little album will most likely appeal to psych fans though, as there are plenty of excellent fuzz solos traded through Sneaker’s seven songs. Some of the songs have a charming Lovin’ Spoonful folk-rock jugband influence as heard on Lovetime and Babes In The Sky. My Yada is somewhat similar and a definite highlight, being the strangest amalgam of jugband music and psychedelia ever recorded. Golden Clouds, I’m Drowning and Slider are the real highlights. The Groovies recklessly blast through these Roy Loney originals.

They are perfect mixtures of 1967 Rolling Stones and 50′s Sun label rockabilly sound spiked with a tinge of San Fransisco acid.

I have to point out Golden Clouds in particular. It sounds like a classic, the band in all their glory, something you would have heard late at night on underground radio. The guitar solo is positively brilliant, Loney’s vocals surge and strut with confidence and it puts to shame many of today’s more vaunted, though unoriginal corporate cheese acts like the White Stripes, Strokes, Black Keys, and John Spencer.

This 10 inch album was the first of four releases from the Roy Loney era Groovies. During this period their lineup also included Cyril Jordan, Danny Mihm, Tim Lynch and George Alexander. Although they would release two bonafide classics in Flamingo and Teenage Head, Sneakers remains their most honest, fun record to date.

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“Golden Clouds”

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The Amboy Dukes “The Amboy Dukes”

| Garage,Psych

Amboy Dukes

The Amboy Dukes were Ted Nugent’s first band (or one of). They came from the same Detroit scene as SRC, The Stooges, Mitch Ryder, Bob Seger, The Frost, The Rationals, MC5 and so forth. They began playing the clubs and ballrooms of Detroit in the mid 1960′s. In 1967 they released their self-titled debut. It was a legendary mix of psychedelia, blues, garage rock, and folk.

The album/music above is also a far cry from Ted Nugent’s mid to late 70′s prime cock rock anthems. At the time, Nugent was content playing his guitar in a rock n roll band. The reality shows, money, politics, redneck concerns and overproduced rock to come had not yet inflated his ego.

The five and a half minute version of Baby Please Don’t Go is an absolute acid garage classic with some fantastic feedback and great guitar sustain. Nugent creates some serious guitar noise on this number and shows off his brilliant chops. The album closes with another garage classic, Gimme Love. This song has some laser fuzz guitar riffs and angry Mike Drake vocals. In between these two garage monsters are many other great compositions. There are a few covers, two work really well (the splendidly bluesy Let’s Go Get Stoned and the gritty Who cover It’s Not True) while the Cream song I Feel Free is ill-advised (it’s the album’s only weak spot). The Amboy Dukes hit real hard with Colors, a furious acid rock song with some sinister soloing. Other psych songs like The Lovely Lady are excellent, recalling the Velvet Underground at their trippiest with spiraling guitar pyrotechnics. Phillip’s Escalator is very Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd with brit vocals, clanging chords and first class guitar scrape. It’s a true classic on this exceptional outing. Night Time and Young Love show the band effectively sticking to their garage band roots.

The Amboy Dukes would go on to release two or three other great albums throughout the late 60′s and early 70′s. None of them have that vintage, exciting 66/67 sound like this debut. The guitar freakouts, Who-like energy and great songs make this debut a prime slice of early Detroit rock.

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“Down On Philip’s Escalator”

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The Poets “Scotland’s No. 1 Group”

| Garage,Pop,Psych,RnB

Scotland’s No. 1 Group

The Poets were one of Scotland’s top rock groups during the mid 1960′s. The above disc is a collection of singles (all 6 of their official singles) and rough hewn studio outtakes. The singles play like an album because most of them were recorded between 1965 to 1966. Of the studio outtakes there is one aborted single in decent studio fidelity and a handful of rough, garage blues numbers that were recorded before their singles.

It’s a shame this great band never had the opportunity to record an album, they never did record a bad song and were loaded with talent. Now We’re Thru was their first single released back in 1964 during the original, first wave of the British Invasion. It was a minor key gem with awkward vocals that reached England’s top 30. None other than John Lennon sat up and took note, claiming the single was “weird” and original. The flip, There Are Some, was another strong sob rocker highlighted by piano and good drum work.

In early 1965 they released their second single, which was even better. That’s The Way It’s Got To Be began with throbbing fat bass lines and is a great powerful mod rocker that ends with some sizzling maracas. The b-side, was I’ll Cry With The Moon, an excellent, offbeat 12-string acoustic song with strange percussion. At this point, George Gallacher, founder and principal songwriter, was frustrated with the band’s lack of success. Their records were mostly originals (they just covered one song) and of a consistently high standard. I’ll Keep My Pride, Some Things I’ll Forget , I Am So Blue and I’ll Come Home are all first-rate British Invasion minor key compositions similar to that of another underrated mid 60′s band, the Zombies.

The Poet’s 5th single was their last hurrah with George Gallacher. The optimistic, promising I’ll Come Home was a departure from their moody, gloomy approach and it was backed by their legendary Baby Don’t Do It cover. This b-side was tremendous and in terms of originality it may even eclipse the Isley Brothers’ and Marvin Gaye’s versions. It’s got everything a great mid 60′s rock single should have: thumping drums, dramatic 12-string guitar runs and nervous, passionate vocals by Gallacher. This song is stronger than 99% of the cheap punk imitations it spawned during the 1977-81 era. The Poet’s soldiered on for one last single after Gallacher’s departure. In 1967, they released the double sided psychedelia masterpiece, Wooden Spoon/In Your Tower. The A-side was a storming mod rocker with an acid tinged fuzz guitar solo while the B-side had some strange renaissance-like flute, fat raga guitar riffs and smashing cymbals. All in all, it was a great way to end the career of this legendary Scottish cult band.

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“Baby Don’t Do It”

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Ellie Pop “Ellie Pop”

| Garage,Pop,Sunshine

Ellie Pop

Some rock collectors/fans consider Ellie Pop’s only album a mid 60′s classic. The sound is straight out of 1966/early 1967 (though this album was released in 1968) with strong Beatles influenced melodies and harmonies. Other comparisons that come to mind are a guitar oriented Association (with more balls!) or the Merry-Go-Round, on their less trippy, Beatles inspired material.

There are no psychedelic freakouts, distorted vocals or backward guitar solos on this record. It’s a straight up power pop/pop record, with the occasional odd time signature and plenty of good song arrangements. The production is not as pristine as say the Left Banke’s debut, so the playing and the record itself sound rough or crude at times. The songs reward with repeated listenings though, and the Fab Four injected Whatcha Gonna Do is a personal favorite (those Yeah Yeah Yeah’s are straight out of the early Beatles songbook). Oh! My Friend has a vibe similar to Rubber Soul’s downbeat folk-rock numbers, sad and moody but a worthy song nonetheless. Can’t Be Love is also very good, with some strange twists and turns and excellent thick guitar riffs that hum like a Mustang engine.

No Thanks Mr. Mann is as psychedelic as this record gets, a classic 60′s character sketch with some superb harmonizing and frantic guitar playing toward the end. While the Beatles comparisons are inevitable, this record is still original and very solid. It’s definitely near the top of the heap of Mainstream (record label) releases.

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“No Thanks Mr. Mann”

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