Posts Tagged ‘ 1966 ’

Les Baroques “Les Baroques”

| Garage

No, not the great Midwestern psych band, these Baroques were based in Holland and had roots extending as far back as the late 50′s. Les Baroques were part of a fertile Netherlands beat scene though their sound was occasionally strange and unconventional for a bluesy garage beat group. Some of their songs were dressed up with harpsichords, bassoons and string arrangements though it was original lead singer Gary O’Shannon’s (Gerard Schoenaker is his real name) tortured vocals and unique personality that set the group apart from the competition.

O’Shannon reminds me of an early Van Morrison on speed whose vocals are carelessly sloppy but somehow compelling and original. Their first single, Silky, was released back in 1965 and was a good, dreamy European folk-rock number that was unusual but still deserved a better fate. The bizarre top 40 followup, Such A Cad, was arguably better and is a strange punky original with bassoon fills and a great O’Shannon vocal performance. Such A Cad’s flip, the western sounding Summerbeach, was just as good and highlighted by fine harmonica playing and an otherworldly atmosphere. Their third single, I Know, was another dutch hit and while still a respectable effort, it was somewhat of a letdown when compared with the previous two 45′s. But I Know’s flip, the punk rock ballad She’s Mine, was one of their great songs and had O’Shannon in top form, giving a stunning vocal performance with attitude and passion.

The group fired back with another strong garage punk single (I’ll Send You To The Moon) that had lots of strange tempo shifts and the above debut album in 1966. After the completion of the lp, O’Shannon would leave the group for military service. This effectively ended Les Baroques classic period though the lp is strong and full of great, forgotten rockers like the mysterious I Was Wrong and the Animals influenced classic, O-O, Baby, Give Me That Show. Special mention should go to I Was Wrong as it’s a killer psych punk track with great raga influenced guitar work and angry, neurotic vocals. There are also two good Booker-T-like instrumentals that have nice organ playing and really show off the band’s instrumental chops. For most bands two instrumentals would be the kiss of death but Les Baroques were a cut above the pack instrumentally and both these tracks standout as highlights. Another great track is Troubles, a good sublime rocker that features some of O’Shannon’s best tortured vocals over a dreamy backdrop.

O’Shannon’s departure pushed the band to enlist a new frontman, Michel van Dijk. The new lineup released a handful of singles and the disappointing 67 lp Barbarians With Love. Only the storming fuzz rocker Working On A Tsjing-Tsjang (late 1966) single could measure up to the O’Shannon years. In 2002 Hunte Music released an impossible to find 2 cd set including all the singles and both lps. Definitely worth searching for.

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“I Was Wrong”

:) Original Vinyl | Whamm | 1966 | search ebay ]

Paul Revere and the Raiders “The Spirit of ’67″

| Garage,Pop

Spirit of 67

Silly costumes aside, the Raiders were one of America’s great rock bands. Their costumes and top 40 pop image kept the band from being taken seriously and a later, 70′s version of the Raiders placed more emphasis on comedy and entertainment than artistic merit. Surely it was one of rock’s hardest downfalls but in their day the Raiders were something special and Spirit of ’67 was one of their unqualified triumphs.

This album was released at the tail end of 1966 and could best be described as the band’s Revolver. Mid period Raiders’ records had the benefit of a strong in-house writing team (Lindsay/Revere) and the production talents of the great Terry Melcher. The hits Good Thing and Hungry are here, and while they are a fine testament to the group’s commercial image, the rest of this record is just as impressive taking on a dizzying array of pop styles without a single stumble or fall. Highlights include the gritty Northwestern hard rock of Louise, which harkens back to the band’s early Oregon days, a jangly folk-rocker Why? Why? Why? that had a strong Byrds feel, reflective 60′s pop in the form of Oh! To Be A Man and the pulsating psychedelia of 1001 Arabian Nights. The band even found time to write Undecided Man, an excellent Eleanor Rigby cop with a prominent string arrangement and dramatic Mark Lindsay vocals.

The last track, The Great Airplane Strike, a minor top 40 hit, was one of the band’s finest ever. Airplane Strike is a hard, lean rocker with powerful, spiraling fuzz leads and Lindsay’s best Jaggeresque vocals. It’s a killer track and while the band would release another good record in Revolution, they never bettered Spirit of ’67. Recommended.

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“The Great Airplane Strike”

:D CD Reissue | Sundazed | 1996 | buy from Sundazed | amazon ]
:) Original Vinyl | 1966 | ebay ]

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The Blue Things (self-titled)

| Folk,Garage,Pop

The Blue Things
The Blue Things were a great band from the Midwest. They had a Beau Brummels Volume 2/From The Vaults sound crossed with some Gene Clark era Byrds. While they were extremely popular in the Midwest, the Blue Things never reached fame at a national level despite a great folk-rock album and some groundbreaking early psychedelic singles.

The band started out releasing singles on independent (private) labels around 1964/65 with a strong Searchers/early Beatles flavor. Some of these singles such as Pretty Things-Oh! were very strong and deserved more attention. Eventually they evolved into a tight folk-rock band that strongly recalled Help/Rubber Soul era Beatles.

Val Stocklein wrote most of the compositions and his vocals are a world weary mixture of Gene Clark and Help era John Lennon. They released their only self-titled album (commonly referred to as Listen & See) in 1966 and by this time, the band had already been experimenting with a psychedelic sound. The album is one of folk-rock’s highlights. A singled released from the album, Doll House/Man On The Street was spectacular. Both songs dealt with subjects uncommon for rock in that era (or any era), prostitution and social injustice.They are both characterized by glittering guitars, thoughtful lyrics, great harmonies, tambourine and a driving beat. There is no doubt that this was one of the defining moments of the folk-rock revolution. Other album tracks highlighted the group’s influences. Honor The Hearse was very Dylan-like but still effective while High Life, I Must Be Doing Something Wrong, It Ain’t No Big Thing Babe and Now’s The Time were also really strong, classy folk-rockers.

There were a few raw covers of old rock standards as well, that recalled their club and bar days. Ain’t That Lovin’ You Babe is particularly noteworthy for a blistering guitar solo. Desert Wind, an outtake from this era, is another great melancholy folk-rock winner. The Blue Things would eventually release two classic psychedelic singles before Val Stocklein left, effectively putting an end to the original group. Orange Rooftops Of Your Mind was their creative zenith, an explosion of sound, featuring violin-like fuzz guitar tones, echoed vocals, a great folk-rock bridge and an organ rave up. The B-side, One Hour Cleaners, was almost as good, with some strange lyrics and a good beat. This single was released in 1966 just when psychedelia was beginning and may have been the first genuine Midwest acid-rock single. You Can Live In Our Tree, another good A-side paired with a great psych version of Twist and Shout was more of the same.

The inability to sell records or become commercially viable frustrated the group and left them bitter. One more single was released in 1967 after Val’s departure and without his involvement. Yes My Friend paired with Somebody Help Me did not recall the band’s heyday in any way and was actually pretty weak. The Blue Things soldiered on for a while playing live but eventually decided to call it a day before the end of the decade.

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“Doll House”

:D 2CD Reissue | 2008 | Cicadelic | Buy @ Cicadelic Records ]
reposted from March, 2007. Check out the brand new 65-song reissue.

Don Covay “See-Saw”

| RnB,Soul

Seesaw

I’ll forever be indebted to British R&B bands like the Rolling Stones, the Pretty Things and the Downliner’s Sect for not only changing my life with their incredible music, but for also infecting me with an incurable obsession with American roots music. Noticing that their early albums were almost entirely comprised of cover songs sent me scrambling all over the place to track down the raw blues of Howlin’ Wolf and Slim Harpo, the trailblazing country of Hank Snow and Buck Owens, and lots of Southern soul.

Mick Jagger was no Solomon Burke. Well aware of his limitations, he found a way to make it work by studying less technically accomplished singers like Don Covay. One listen to those falsetto notes he hits and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

Covay was a prolific songwriter who penned an impressive string of hits for the likes of Aretha Franklin, Burke and Wilson Pickett. He was also one of the most overlooked soul singers of his generation. His first single, “Bip Bop Bip,” is a frantic ‘50s shouter wild enough to make Little Richard (who he once chauffeured for) sound like Fabian. After releasing a few more sides that were a bit derivative but great nonetheless, Covay finally hit his stride in 64’ with the genre blurring cut “Mercy, Mercy.” A solid R&B groove was intact, but the prominent raw guitars (rumored to have been played by a young Hendrix) and crashing drums gave it a strong rocknroll edge, anticipating the garage boom that was just on the horizon. His pleading vocals convey a sense of desperation that even surpasses Pickett’s stellar rendition of the song.

This single along with some equally crude tracks from the same era were collected on the 1966 LP See Saw. “Everything Gonna Be Everything” is an all-out stomper that’ll make you to wonder if he’s not being backed by the Pretties. Also included are some more straight-ahead soul songs he cut at Stax, featuring the tight, horn dominated sound and Steve Cropper licks that made the label famous. On the title cut and “Iron Out the Rough Spots” we find Covay neck and neck with best talent on the formidable Stax roster.

See Saw is the epitome of a great mid-‘60s Southern soul album, perfectly balanced with the right amount of dance tunes and ballads. It was reissued on CD as a twofer with his terrific first LP Mercy. Razor and Tie released a decent anthology, which includes some of his earlier and later efforts.

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“Mercy Mercy”

:D CD Reissue: 2000 | Koch Records | Buy Mercy!/See-Saw @ Amazon ]
:) Vinyl Reissue: 2000? | Atlantic | Search eBay for Don Covay See Saw ]

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David Blue (self-titled)

| Folk

David Blue

At first listen (and glance, just check out the cover) it’s hard not to dismiss David Blue’s first LP as a shameless Bob Dylan imitation. And that would be a fair assessment. From the drunken delivery of his pal’s (yes, they were actually friends) unmistakable drawl to the grittier interpretation of Highway 61’s revved-up folk, Blue seems to be doing everything possible and more to convince the world that he is Bob Dylan.

So why even bother? Because the songs are actually pretty decent. It’s definitely the harder-driving ones that’ll snag you like a rusty old nail. A Bo Diddley beat is shredded to pieces on “If Your Monkey Can’t Get It,” a grinding cut that’s further damaged by a dissonant collision of overdriven guitars and screaming keyboards. Another standout, “It Tastes Like Candy,” closes the album with some fuzz guitar savage enough to find a permanent home on a Seeds record. And it’s all propelled by a primitive thump that never lets up.

Slightly less engaging are the quieter moments where he proves to be a fairly competent balladeer. The best of these are “Midnight Through Morning” and “Grand Hotel,” with their graceful piano/keyboard work and Blue’s attempts to actually hit a note here and there. And, no, the lyrics are not spared the treatment as he gets us tangled up in obscure, imagery evoking language we know we’ve heard somewhere before.

Although this album could only be crowned a masterpiece in some dreadful Dylan impersonator contest, it is a consistent, enjoyable ride if you give it a chance. And let’s be thankful that someone had enough sense to snatch that harmonica (conspicuously absent from the recordings) away from him before he really made a fool of himself.

Blue toned down the Dylanisms and continued releasing material into the 70s, occasionally under his real name (Cohen). David Blue was reissued on Collector’s Choice Music.

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“If Your Monkey Can’t Get It”

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The New Colony Six “Breakthrough”

| Garage

Breakthrough

This midwesterner is jam packed full of great songs in the classic garage tradition. The New Colony Six was founded by lead vocalist Ray Graffia but included a fine guitarist by the name of Jerry VanKollenburg, organist Wally Kemp, bassist Craig Kemp, vocalist Pat McBride and drummer Chic James.

They took Chicago by storm on their debut Centaur single I Confess (1965) which is featured on the above lp. It was a tough British Invasion powered single that reached the #2 position on the WLS Silver Dollar Survey. Confess was only kept from being a #1 local hit by Lou Christie’s “Lightning Strikes” and notable for the inventive guitar sound created by VanKollenburg feeding his instrument through a Leslie speaker.

Around the time of recording their debut lp, the band decided to release the legendary At The River’s Edge single. Although the very good flip I Lie Awake received airplay, At The River’s Edge was really their moment in the sun. It was a menacing garage punk single driven by frantic pace and wild harmonica playing, At The River’s Edge was Chicago’s version of Them’s fantastic Mystic Eyes single. At this point the New Colony Six were a popular live act throughout Chicago and were known to raise hell on stage. During the summer of 1966 Breakthrough was released, and if there was any flaw at all with the lp it came down to the two lunk headed covers of current pop rock singles Hang On Sloopy and Mr. You’re A Better Man Than I. The other 10 songs were sterling group originals ranging from tough gritty rockers to softer more melodic folk-rockers. Besides the superb singles other highlights were the Raiders-like A Heart Is Made Of Many Things and the dreamy Don’t You Think It’s Time To Stop You’re Crying which featured more ace guitar work from VanKollenburg. Another song worth pointing out is The Time Of The Year Is Sunset. Other reviewers have mentioned that this reflective gem could be a counter part to the Rising Storm’s killer Frozen Laughter.

All in all this is a very strong debut that will appeal to fans of the early Guess Who, Outburst era Wailers, and mid period Paul Revere and the Raiders. The band released some other fine singles and a respectable though less aggressive garage pop album titled Colonization before transforming into a bubblegum-hit-making act.

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“I Confess”

Below is one of the highlights from their second album Colonization. Let Me Love You was one of their last true classics and underneath the psychedelic production and monstrous fuzz leads is a folk-rock song with a soft, pretty middle section and glittering 12-string guitar runs. They rerecorded a much better version of Mr. You’re a Better Man Than I that works quite well too. While not as good nor as raw as Breakthrough, Colonization is still a solid pop record that hinted at their bubblegum future.

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“Let Me Love You”

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The Remains (self-titled)

| Garage,Pop,RnB

The Remains

This album was out of print when I initially reviewed it here, and I’ve got the old flashy yellow cover, which is a Greatest Hits collection but still a blazing hot disc. A month later their self-titled debut lp was reissued featuring the original album artwork, which is an important update. The yellow cover makes the Remains look like some novelty rock act, whereas the cover above restores their authenticity and edge. The Remains are positively one of the best rock bands you’ve never heard.

Barry Tashian and The Remains used to cook it up for Boston audiences back in the mid 60s (they were originally from Brookline), and this record, though none of it recorded live, is still proof. The beauty is in their by-the-book formula: loud rhythm guitars, electric piano, bluesy bass riffs, and most importantly, great songs.

The Remains get it started every time. But apparently they had trouble doing so for Beatles fans. The Remains toured with the fab four a short while, playing to a screaming mob who were impatiently awaiting one of the all time historic rock concerts. But the truth is, the Remains deserved all the same attention back then, and now we can give it back, for the first time in style. Will I be buying the reissue just for the packaging? Yes, I think I will.

Literally, every song on this record is good. Each one a gem so surprisingly radio friendly it’s astonishing to think we haven’t heard these before. They are quick friends with instant familiarity and appreciating resonance.

If you’d like to hear The Remains tear it apart in a live setting, check out A Session With The Remains from Sundazed, a live studio audition recording.

Barry Tashian used to play with Gram Parsons on GP and some stuff for the Burritos. Currently he is playing and recording bluegrass music with his wife, Holly.

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“Time Of Day”

[ Buy from Amazon | iTunes | The Remains' brand new web site ]

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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Tim Hardin “1″

| Folk,Pop

1

Here is one of America’s best songwriters. Just ask Colin Blunstone, Gandalf, Scott Walker, The Small Faces, or the hundreds of other well known artists to have recorded his tunes. He is best known for If I Were A Carpenter, though you probably have heard many of Tim’s songs without realizing it.

Tunes you’d probably know on 1? Let’s see, Reason to Believe has got to be the most popular, it’s a well known and beautiful song. Misty Roses you will recognize from Colin Blunstone’s One Year. Never Too Far and How Can We Hang On To A Dream both show up on Gandalf’s self-titled debut.

As for how Tim sings ‘em, well, all due respect to his many coverers, and maybe Tim doesn’t own the definitive version for any of his songs, but you need to hear this record. It’s laid-back and incredibly sparse folk music with jazz drumming and delicate, stunning production. String sections, apparently added without his knowledge feature here and there, and fill some holes in this certainly understated recording. It’s satisfying to identify each instrument immediately as you listen, to have them all under control, but not to need another sound.

If you are looking for a compact disc, get Hang On To A Dream, The Verve Recordings, which has 1 and 2 as well as outtakes spread over 2 discs, a great deal (if you get it used).

mp3: Don’t Make Promises

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P.F. Sloan “Twelve More Times”

| Folk,Garage,Pop

Twelve More Times

P.F. Sloan is one of America’s great artists. It’s truly a shame that his work is not as celebrated (or in print) as other pop figures from the 1960′s. From 1965 to 1967 few artists were as prolific as Sloan.

He released 2 great albums, numerous quality singles, an album under the Grass Roots name in 1966 and produced a plethora of outtakes which are currently unavailable on compact disc. Sloan also wrote numerous folk-pop hits for many popular acts of the day which include the Turtles, Barry McGuire and many others. One of the best songwriters of his generation, Sloan also had good vocals that were moody and just right for rock music.

The 1966 album, Twelve More Times was an electrified folk-rock album, dealing with more sophisticated subject matter as compared to his 1965 debut. From A Distance, Here’s Where You Belong, Upon A Painted Ocean and Lollipop Train sound like they could have been hit singles. Sloan calls upon a style that mixes 1966 Bob Dylan, Tambourine era Byrds, folk-rock era Beau Brummels, and the Leaves on some of their more garage oriented efforts. I Found A Girl, is completely acoustic and a lovely naive folk lullaby in which Sloan spreads the joys of finding a girl. The above mentioned Lollipop Train is more teenage heartbreak, primitive, but an astonishing treasure.

This was a time when so many rock musicians were making great music but it was not being noticed or hitting the air waves. Halloween Mary is a great Bob Dylan cop that has some excellent girl put-down lyrics and good hooky guitar riffs. Let Me Be is also killer, a slice of proto power pop finding the singer analyzing himself over some acoustic guitars and pounding drums.

This album has a lot of character and punk bite, something that many of those great folk-rock albums had. It’s a tragedy that Sloan’s first two albums are unavailable on compact disc. They are truly lost classics!

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“Halloween Mary”