Author Archive

2013 REISSUES PODCAST

| Podcast

 

The RISING STORM podcast is back! In this installment, listen to tracks from our favorite reissues of 2013. Check out the many fine releases this year and support the great labels making it happen:

Action Woman – The Litter – Distortions (Sundazed)
Calm Me Down – Human Expression – Love at Psychedelic Velocity (Mississippi)
I Wanna Go – Los Mockers – Los Nuggetz (Rockbeat)
You Turn Me Around – Tandyn Almer – Along Comes Tandyn (Sundazed)
Buttermilk (Pt. 1) – Sly Stone – Higher! (Sony Legacy)
Cantec Fulger – Rodion G.A. – The Lost Tapes (Strut)
Come Out and Play – The Paley Brothers – Complete Recordings (Real Gone)
Mine Mine Mind – Roky Erickson (Light in the Attic)

You’re A Good Girl – Michael Fennelly – Love Can Change Everything (Sundazed)
Rodeo – Robbie Basho – Visions of the Country (Gnome Life)
Who Do You Love – Townes Van Zandt – Sunshine Boy (Omnivore)
Forget Marie – Lee Hazlewood – There’s a Dream I’ve Been Saving (LITA)
Only a Hobo – Bob Dylan – Another Self Portrait (Columbia)
The Shape I’m In – The Band – Live at the Academy of Music (Capitol)
Subterranean Homesick Blues – Nilsson – The RCA Albums Collection (Sony)
Creeping Away – Swamp Dogg – Rat On! (Alive Naturalsound)

Download: 2013Reissues.mp3
To subscribe to this podcast: https://therisingstorm.net/podcast.xml [?]

Gene Clark “Two Sides To Every Story”

| Americana,Classic Rock,Country Rock

Two Sides To Every Story

It was three years after Gene Clark’s infamous, cocaine-fueled mid 70s masterpiece No Other, teaming again with Thomas Jefferson Kaye as producer and employing the best musicians of the era, Doug Dillard, Emmylou Harris, Jeff Baxter, Al Perkins, John Hartford to name a few, Clark took things down a notch while retaining a tight (but not overly slick) studio sound on 1977’s Two Sides To Every Story. Even judging the albums by their cover, the excess of No Other gets stripped away to reveal a regular, humble Gene Clark in its wake. On the surface what appears to be a late, perhaps too-safe offering from a washed up Gene Clark (it did turn out to be another commercial failure) in hindsight is one of his finest moments on record.

A little bit a country, a litte bit rock n roll, a heavy dose of Gene’s trademark ballads and tender vocal deliveries, you’ll probably fall for one of the styles offered up on Two Sides more than another, but the varied mix works. Album starter “Home Run King” is an oddly great track as good as anything from the Fantastic Expedition, though Dillard’s pronounced banjo picking will surely turn off the less country inclined. In the same kind of feel, the band lends traditional “In The Pines” as much a ‘Gene Clark’ sound as Nirvana would do for themselves some fifteen years later. I’m less inclined to stay around for the barroom rock sound on his own “Kansas City Southern,” previously recorded for Dillard & Clark’s Through The Morning Through The Night, and a cover of Young Jessie’s “Mary Lou,” but these are still strong cuts.

The key to this record is to not let the soft ones sneak by. Like all good Clark tunes the slower numbers here are moody, dynamic, dramatic rides that pay off more and more with each new listen. The beautiful “Sister Moon” could have easily found a home on No Other.  “Give My Love To Marie” is a tender take on a sad track penned by the underrated James Talley. The final trio of ballads, “Hear The Wind,” “Past Addresses,” and “Silent Crusade” all originals where he does his thing; the growing beauty of this album further solidifies Gene Clark as one of my favorite singer/songwriters (a shame I hadn’t found this one sooner).

Perhaps a little more thought on the sleeve design (not that Gene’s big goofy grin on the back is without its charm) might have ensured Two Sides would be properly recognized as the classic it is. On the other hand, most of Clark’s material remains woefully unrecognized today, Two Sides no exception.

The fairly new High Moon Records issued Two Sides To Every Story on vinyl (with 16-page booklet) earlier this year. They plan to also put it out on CD for the first time this spring, included with an extra disc of bonus material. Apparently vinyl buyers will eventually be able to get their hands on the extra material as well through a download card. You can’t be a Gene Clark fan without this one.

mp3: Home Run King
mp3: Sister Moon

:) Reissue | 2013 | High Moon Records | buy from highmoon ]
:) Original | 1977 | RSO Records | search ebay ]

Buck Owens and his Buckaroos “Carnegie Hall Concert / In Japan!”

, | Country Rock

It’s certainly not a lost gem or unknown by any means. In fact this one is considered one of the best live country albums of all time,  holding the #1 country album slot for five weeks in 1966, and is often cited as Buck and his Buckaroos’ greatest record. But I’ll be damned if the Carnegie Hall Concert doesn’t have its place on this page (especially in concert with its sister album In Japan!) as a great live document of a great band in its own right, but mostly as a model for all the country rock that would closely follow in the steps of Buck’s classic Bakersfield Sound, right down to the Nudie suit.

So what is it about Carnegie Hall that’s makes it worth hundreds of listens? Sure, it’s filled with corny bits that don’t necessarily make the transition to audio, Buck always playing the consummate ham (“pure pork”), and manages to condense a quantity of hits into medleys where any would serve to stand on its own.  Just, dang me, find me a Buck tune that sounds better in the studio than on Carnegie. We’re talking about a band at the top of its game, tighter than a tick, in the prime of its prime. Led by Buck’s right hand, “Dangerous” Don Rich, who’s simple licks would come to define Telecaster country guitar, “Tender” Tom Brumley on pedal steel, “Dashing” Doyle Holly on bass, and “Wonderful” Willie Cantu on the drums, the Buckaroos never had a better lineup. And yet they play it so straight: no virtuosic runs or fancy orchestrations, just pure, honest electrified country.

The classic self-titled instrumental “Buckaroo,” covered later by the Byrds, Burritos, and Leo Kottke, is evidence enough of their significance to the sound of late sixties country rock. Don’s high harmony reinvents “Together Again,” rendering the studio version limp in comparison. “Love’s Gonna Live Here,” “Act Naturally,” “Tiger By The Tail,” and one of Buck’s latest #1 singles “Waitin’ In Your Welfare Line” get full, lively treatments. The medleys serve as a great introduction and reminder to Buck’s library of classic tunes and move the record along well in contrast to wacky comedy stuff like “Fun ‘N’ Games with Don and Doyle” and “Twist and Shout.” The Sundazed reissue even restores the full concert so not a moment is cut (like the original LP).

Amazingly, not a single track is repeated on live follow-up In Japan! While not loaded quite like its older sis, this is more or less a continuation of where we left off (only replacing Doyle Holly with Wayne Wilson on bass), the band every bit as good, and featuring lots of Buck’s less appreciated classics. My favorites obviously include “Open Up Your Heart,” the ungrammatical “Where Does The Good Times Go,” and the very sweet “We Were Made For Each Other.” Also the ballad, “I Was Born To Be In Love With You,”  is quite lovely and for some odd reason appears only on this album.

Most of anything, these records are plain fun. The way Buck will introduce a tune saying “this one’s called…” and launch into the chorus; the perfect timing and interplay of a band that wouldn’t even think to rehearse. You can just hear the smiles on their faces, even the audience.

mp3: Buckaroo
mp3: I Was Born To Be In Love With You

:) Original | 1966, 1967 | Capitol | search carnegie | search japan ]
:D Reissue | 2000 | Sundazed | buy carnegie | buy japan ]

Paul Williams

| Uncategorized

Paul Williams, pioneering chronicler of rock music

The Groundhogs “Split”

| Classic Rock,Concept Albums,Garage,Prog,Psych

Here’s one I can’t believe I haven’t heard before. For a record with such a commanding presence, excellent would-be classic tunes, and an ahead of its time Nirvanesque sound it’s a shock I can find too scant mention of it around these parts or elsewhere. In reality, it’s my shame I haven’t run across the Groundhogs before now, as their legendary run through most of the 60s’ British blues scene and subsequent forays in hard jam-rock are not to be overlooked.

Not at all “blues” and too cool for the prog tag, Split is more like a psych-tinged  insanity-fueled classic rock opus. Side A, a continuing amalgam of anthemic classic rock jams, “Split Parts 1-4” (the lyrics apparently inspired by a panic attack), is the kind of amped-up music it can be dangerous to drive to; “Part 1” is so juiced it makes me want to join a frantic crime spree. “Part 2” may be the catchiest song with its driving wah-guitar lead and chop chords. Tony McPhee is clearly running the show, his guitar playing so effortless, dynamic, reeking of virtuosity; this is as in the zone as it gets. Not to diminish the efforts of Peter Cruikshank on guitar and bass and Ken Pustelnik wildly beating away, this band can fucking play.

“Cherry Red” may be the sickest, meanest classic I’ve never heard. How this masterpiece has evaded classic rock radio, movie soundtracks, and my ears altogether I’ll never understand. (Instead of the endless barrage of Black Keys and Jack Whites on the airwaves, music supervisors would do well to score something like this, both for the better of their budgets and our sanities.) On the self-titled “Groundhog,” McPhee proves he can swat the devil blues out of his electrified acoustic as fine as Robert Johnson, providing the album’s only real taste of blues.

Grab this mean, mighty bastard as soon as you can find it.

mp3: Split (Part One)
mp3: Cherry Red

:) Original | 1971 | Liberty | search ebay ]
:D Reissue | 2003 | Caroline | buy here ]
8-) Spotify link | listen ]

Tandyn Almer “Along Comes Tandyn”

, | Pop,Psych

We recently lost another unsung genius from the cracks and crevices of 60s pop/psych. Tandyn Almer, who sadly passed in early 2013, would never become a household name, but you’ve definitely heard his work. Penning major tunes like “Along Comes Mary” for the Association, “Sail on Sailor” and “Marcella” for the Beach Boys, and countless other psych-tinged gems, Almer left behind a distinguished trail of well-crafted compositions. Luckily, and ironically (as I’m sure he would have enjoyed to see its official release), we have gained a new trove of lost work in Along Comes Tandyn, a collection of Almer’s demos from 1965-1966.

Originally written and recorded for Davon music, a small number of acetates labeled “The New Songs of Tandyn Almer” was circulated in order to shop his tunes to other recording artists. While some acts like The Sure Cure and Curt Boettcher’s The Ballroom took the bait, most of these tracks have remained unheard. The sound is definitely demo quality (all the better), the band generally led by a clangy electric guitar and sprinkled with bits of piano and harpsichord. The vocals soar with typical 60s harmony, the lyrics quite often along the same vein. You can tell Almer was a real musician’s musician, his tunes never compromise, always taking an unexpected turn and often for something quite complicated. Take a listen to the surprisingly hip “Everytime I Take You Back To Me” and just try to follow the changes; or check the classical piano work on “There’s Gotta Be a Way.” Even “Along Comes Mary” (not included here) ducks and weaves at every chance, delivering it’s punch where you’d least expect it.

Some of Almer’s other happenings of note include an interview in Leonard Bernstein’s Inside Pop – The Rock Revolution (a “serious” investigation into pop’s emergence as an art form), as well as a short-lived best friendship with Brian Wilson, allegedly ending in an enstranging three-way.  While not exactly loaded with clear winners (Face Down in the Mud” is a downright weirdo blues offering that would sound at home on FZ’s Only in it for the Money and some tracks sound a bit like psychedelic filler), Along Comes Tandyn is still an excellent comp of lost pop-psych with a satisfying garage sound. Essential for fans of complex pop, the full package includes excellent liners (with lots of information provided by Tandyn himself) and will turn anyone into a hardcore Tandyn fan. Count me a Fandyn.

mp3: You Turn Me Around
mp3: Everytime I Take You Back To Me

:) LP | 2013 | Sundazed | buy at sundazed | amazon ]
:D CD | 2013 | Sundazed | buy at sundazed | amazon ]

Borderline “Sweet Dreams & Quiet Desires”

| Americana,Classic Rock,Country Rock

Here’s yet another gem I found tucked within these pages at the The Band’s best fan site. Involvement from a Band member or two can’t guarantee a record’s gonna be a good one, but most of the time, you can count on it.  Richard Manuel and Garth Hudson both grace this class act recording credited respectively as “Dick Handle” and “Campo Malaqua,” but they’re no show stealers next to some heavy hitting session men, a fine set of original tunes and Borderline’s down home, roaming feel.

Sweet Dreams and Quiet Desires somehow manages to blend classic rock with the Bearsville sound, Nashville country, even as far as bluegrass – albeit more of a laid-back and stoned grass-rock than that of the Dillards, Brummels or Goose Creek. Brothers David and Jon Gershen turn in 8 original numbers ranging from swampy groovers like David’s “Don’t Know Where I’m Going” to Jon’s strung-out, anthemic ballads “Please Help Me Forget” and “Dragonfly.” Traditional numbers arranged by producer and guitarist Jim Rooney (“Clinch Mountain,” “Good Womans Love,” and “Handsome Molly”) seamlessly flow next to classic sounding country numbers by David Gershen (“Marble Eyes,” Sweet Dreams”). In addition to the Band members, Band producer John Simon appears on piano as well as Billy Mundi on drums and Vassar Clements on fiddle.

Sadly, Sweet Dreams and the ill-fated Second Album remain criminally unissued.  For now, get yer Borderline info/story here. This record certainly deserves as much recognition as any other genre-forging classic country rock record I’ve heard.

Update:  Borderline is finally being issued, along with their never before released Second Album, by Real Gone Music! The CD includes new liners with a limited amount autographed by the band. Scoop this edition up before it leaves us again.

mp3: Don’t Know Where I’m Going
mp3: Please Help Me Forget

:D 2CD Reissue | 2012 | Real Gone Music | buy from real gone ]
:) Original Vinyl | 1972 | Avalanche | search ebay ]

The Best Reissues of 2012

| Featured Reissues

Here are some of our top picks for records reissued in 2012 (in no particular order):

  Mad Music
Drag City/Yoga Records [LP/MP3]
“A privately funded record of lavishly produced instrumental music originally published in 1977 and now reissued by Drag City / Yoga Records.” Mysterious and unreleased so-called “trance” music from anonymous creators.
  Van Dyke Parks “Song Cycle”
Bella [LP/CD]
Not just Van Dyke’s first album Song Cycle, but also his other records Clang of the Yankee Reaper and Discover America. If you are unfamiliar with his works these three are the place to start.
  Lee Hazlewood “Singles Nudes & Backsides”
Light in the Attic [LP/CD/MP3]
“The best of Lee’s solo songs and duets from his LHI (Lee Hazlewood Industries) imprint. Acid-folk and country-rock to pop-psych and soul, re-mastered for the first time from the original analog tapes, along with Lee’s output for other labels, rarities, and unreleased gems.”
  Davy Jones “The Bell Recordings”
Friday Music [CD]
“Davy Jones’ self titled 1971 masterwork featuring the hit single “Rainy Jane.” Long out of print album that became a pop classic finally available for the first time on CD.”
Steve Miller Band (first five albums)
Edsel [CD]
“Digitally remastered digipak editions of the first five records from SMB containing all the lyrics, interviews with Steve Miller, and photos from Steve’s own collection.”
The Velvet Underground 5 LP Box Set
Sundazed [LP]
“Includes the rare mono versions of the VU’s first three albums, the mono version of Nico’s Chelsea Girl and a definitive edition of the band’s unfinished fourth album. Housed in a deluxe box with all original LP artwork along with two bonus poster inserts.”
  The Fame Studios Story 1961-1973
Kent Records [CD]
“UK three CD collection focusing on the famed Alabama recording studio. Special attention is paid to those acts closely associated with the Fame label, such as Candi Staton, Jimmy Hughes and Clarence Carter, as well as its stable of writers and producers, including Dan Penn, Spooner Oldham and George Jackson.”
  The Kinks at the BBC
Sanctuary [CD]
“Limited five CD box set collated from all of the BBC owned Kinks recordings that still exist in the archive. Included also is a DVD of the bands sought after appearances on Top of the Pops and the Old Grey Whistle Test a well as concerts from throughout the band’s career.”
  R. Stevie Moore “Hearing Aid”
Knock Em Dead [LP]
Compiled over the course of 17 years, digging deep into Stevie’s cassette catalog, Hearing Aid is a collection of Stevie’s songs that cover a wide range of variety. The end result is not a greatest hits collection but rather a diverse sculpture of the early world of R. Stevie Moore.”
  Suzanne Ciani “Lixiviation”
B-Music [CD/LP]
A fine selection of tracks that will appeal to fans of early electronic experiments and electronic music in general. Cleverly sequenced tracks combining short audio logos with lengthy soundscapes for an album-like listening experience. Sprinkled with brilliant sonic logos  non-commercial pieces teetering between psychedelia and ambient music.
  Laurie Spiegel “The Expanding Universe”
Unseen Worlds [LP/CD/MP3]
“Debut album by composer and computer music pioneer Laurie Spiegel. Composed and realized between 1974 and 1977 on the GROOVE system developed by Max Mathews and F.R. Moore at Bell Laboratories, the pieces on this album were far ahead of their time both in musical content and in how they were made.”
  Donnie & Joe Emerson “Dreamin’ Wild”
Light in the Attic [CD/LP/MP3]
“The sonic vision of the talented Emerson boys, recorded in a family built home studio in rural Washington State. Far removed from the late 1970s punk movement and the larger disco boom, Donnie and Joe tilled their own musical soil, channeling bedroom pop jams, raw funk, and yacht rock.'”
  Karen Dalton “1966”
Delmore [LP/MP3]
“Archive collection of previously unreleased impromptu recordings.” Featuring covers of Fred Neil and Tim Hardin songs, among others, captured by a friend on a portable reel-to-reel.
  Ray Stinnett “A Fire Somewhere”
Light in the Attic [LP/CD/MP3]
“Original guitarist in Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs recorded this masterpiece for A&M at the legendary Fame and Ardent Studios with assistance from Booker T. and co-mixer/ engineer Richard Rosebrough. Available now for the first time in 41 years.”
  Can “The Lost Tapes”
Spoon/Mute [CD]
“3CD box set of unreleased studio, soundtrack and live
material. Years of archived material, not outtakes, but rather tracks which had been shelved for a variety of reasons.”

Let us know in the comments what records you would have included in this year’s list…

Featured Reissues September 2012

| Featured Reissues

Laurie Spiegel “The Expanding Universe”

[Unseen Worlds]

‘Debut album by composer and computer music pioneer Laurie Spiegel. John Fahey and J. S. Bach are both cited as major influences in the original cover’s notes, all built of electronic sounds. Composed and realized between 1974 and 1977 on the GROOVE system developed by Max Mathews and F.R. Moore at Bell Laboratories, the pieces on this album were far ahead of their time both in musical content and in how they were made.’

listen: Patchwork

:D 2CD | buy from unseenworlds ]

R. Stevie Moore “Hearing Aid” [Knock ‘Em Dead]

“R Stevie’s friend Jason Willett compiled this record over the course of 17 years, digging deep into Stevie’s cassette catalog. Hearing Aid is a collection of Stevie’s songs that cover a wide range of variety: pop genius, sublime instrumental country surf, electronic experiments, bizarre spoken-word theater, dark disco rock, field recordings, etc. The end result is not a “greatest hits” collection but rather a diverse sculpture of the early world of R. Stevie Moore.

listen: Your Daughter and I

:) Limited Gatefold Double LP | buy from rstevie ]

V/A “Glimpses” [Spiral Groove]

‘Volume 1 of this legendary series of moody ’60s punk and garage compilations is available on 180 gram vinyl for the first time. Originally issued in the early 1980s, and featuring some of the greatest and rarest American 45 sides of the 1960s (from all over the U.S.), it’s downright essential for fans of heavy rock and roll, and is presented here with a full-color insert offering biographical information on all artists, plus rare pictures.’

listen: Balloon Farm – A Question of Temperature

:) 180G Vinyl | buy from weirdorecords ]
Donnie & Joe Emerson “Dreamin’ Wild” [LITA]

‘Originally released in 1979, Dreamin’ Wild is the sonic vision of the talented Emerson boys, recorded in a family built home studio in rural Washington State. Situated in the unlikely blink-and-you-missed-it town of Fruitland and far removed from the late 1970s punk movement and the larger disco boom, Donnie and Joe tilled their own musical soil, channeling bedroom pop jams, raw funk, and yacht rock.’

listen: Baby

:) Vinyl | buy from lita]
Tully “Sea of Joy” [Chapter Music]

‘Australian psychedelic icons Tully‘s solemn, dreamy 1971 surf soundtrack Sea of Joy. Sea of Joy documents a period of massive change for the band. Humble, disarming and sublime, Sea of Joy is a record like very few others in the Australian rock canon. But like Tully’s other albums, it has had to wait far too long to be rediscovered. Includes free mp3 download.’

listen: Thank You

:) Vinyl Reissue | buy from chaptermusic ]

Ray Stinnett “A Fire Somewhere” [LITA]

‘Summer of ’67. Ray Stinnett, original guitarist in Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs, finds himself drawn to Haight Ashbury. Fast forward to ˜71 and Ray is back in Memphis recording his masterpiece for A&M at the legendary Fame and Ardent Studios with assistance from Booker T. and co-mixer/ engineer Richard Rosebrough (Chris Bell, Big Star). A&M shelves the album, and now, 41
years later, the record is finally available for the first time.

listen: Honey Suckle Song

:) Double LP | buy from lita ]

Rotomagus “The Sky Turns Red, Complete Anthology”
[Lion Productions]

‘The entire output of Rotomagus, including an album-length demo from 1971, the band’s tumultuous, thunderous swansong, recorded as a super jam (live with no overdubs). Hard to believe this is all pre-1971, as much of the demo is not just proto punk but proto hardcore – with enough fiery attitude to make you want to scream along. The vocals are wild, while the guitar riffs and grinds and approaches a Stooges via Motorhead apocalyptic grandeur.’

listen: Eros

:) Gatefold Double LP | buy from amazon ]

Brain Police “Brain Police” [Guerssen]

‘”San Diego’s only psychedelic cops” is how this brilliant California band presented themselves in their promo posters. Psychedelic they certainly were, though they might better be described as a British-influenced garage/psychedelic band. They recorded a demo LP back in 1968, in a plain white cover, that is a top rarity only living in a few of the warmest collectors’ houses. Unavailable on vinyl for some time now, here’s a welcome new reissue of this powerful organ/guitar garage rock beauty. Housed in a silk-screened fabric bag with insert, pressed on 180 gram vinyl. New liner notes courtesy of music historian Clark Faville.’

listen: Adler

:) 180G Vinyl | buy from guerssen ]
Drywater “Backbone of the Nation” [Time-Lag]
‘First ever reissue of this rare 1973 rural Pennsylvania private press jewel, originally released on the legendary RPC custom label in an edition of only 25 copies. Melancholy folkrock with howling, proto-punk garage fuzz. The album was recorded and mixed direct to tape in just a few hours, without overdubs or even the option to mix down. Exact reproduction heavy weight reverse tip-on cover, with exact repro label art, a heavy double sided insert with loads of vintage color photos and extensive liner notes, plus a bonus heavy vinyl 45 rpm 7-inch.’

listen: Backbone of the Nation

:) Limited Vinyl | buy from time-lag]
Creme Soda “Tricky Zingers” [Trinity]

‘Exact repro of this utterly cool US album from 1975. Championed by the great Greg Shaw of Bomp Records, Creme Soda were one of those amazing anomalies: a band from 1975 playing garage-psych music which sounded straight from 1966-67. A very eclectic album which runs the gamut from psych-fuzz rockers to mellow deamy psych, garage R&B and Velvet Underground influenced acid-psych. Not forgetting the killer ‘Chewing Gum,’ a proto-punk track which sounds like early Cramps! Perfect remastered sound, original artwork and labels.’

listen: Daydreaming

:) Vinyl | buy from recordsale ]

Faine Jade “It Ain’t True”

, | Garage,Pop,Psych

Many of the artists that made the classic psych/garage comps Nuggets and Pebbles tend to have a disappointing discography, other than that one killer track. Whether they recorded an album full of filler or no album at all, diving in based on one single is a risk. But damn, the search pays off when you dig up just one well-buried record that should have been a classic.

Long Island’s Chuck Laskowski began his recording career, along with friend and collaborator Nick Manzi, as The Rustics, an overlooked yet top-notch mid-60s garage combo (whose material comprises much of this record). Donning the name Faine Jade in 1967 with the single “It Ain’t True,” Jade went on to record the psych opus Introspection: A Faine Jade Recital. It’s commonly known as a collector’s piece and the best of Jade’s material, but my money is on this 90s comp of Faine’s earlier stuff. I guess I just like it stripped down and dirty, tape warble and hum. While the sound can be cavernous, dark, moody (clearly aided by members of the Bohemian Vendetta, who were part of The Rustics and backed Faine on Introspection) the writing is an ingeniously catchy mix of pop and garage rock.

“Look at Me” boasts the cleanest sound on the record, propelled by a commanding electric rhythm and a lovely slop of tambourine. Wild surf guitar leads take us through “Cant Get You Out of My Heart,” a rumbling, poppy driver I can’t get out my head. Then there’s a sad and out take very much like a ballad from Bermuda’s wild Savages,  “I’m a Wanderer Too,” featuring shimmery electric piano and some downright evil-sounding bass guitar. Though a compilation, the record flows like a well-thought out album, moving from dingy marches (“Don’t Underestimate Me”) to downers (“Gonna Love You Anyway,” “December’s Children”) highlighted by great,  memorable rockers (“Can’t Let You Go,” “Look Before You Leap,” “I Lived Tomorrow Yesterday”), light psychedelia (“Cold Winter Sun”,) and genuine garage thrash (“It Ain’t True”).

This may be a collection of discarded tracks from a little-known band’s early beginnings, but It Ain’t True plays like a best-of record, one of the better garage collections from any artist. Make an effort to get your hands on this underrated classic.

Faine Jade, along with Nick Manzi, would later record a promising country rock departure, 1971’s Dust Bowl Clementine.

mp3: Look At Me
mp3: Can’t Let You Go

:) Compilation | 1992 | Distortions | buy from Faine Jade ]
8-) Spotify link | listen ]