In Dan's Garage...#42

OK!!! I got everything up and running, so it's back to business here at Dan's Garage. Summer is almost over, and with that comes the new football season, (that's "American" Football to all those overseas...), and the start of baseball's post season. Truly the finest time of the year if you're a sports fan in the US! Whoever your team is, go to a game (if you can afford it) or enjoy the spectacle on your TV in the comfort of your living room, with some chicken wings and a pizza perhaps. Oh yes. DO NOT forget the beer. If you really hate those dorky sports announcers you can play some of the fine rock and roll I've posted here while watching. It really works well with the beer and pizza. Hope you enjoy this latest offering. As usual it goes all over the place with some very interesting cuts. Cheers!

Casuals - Mustang 2+2 / Play Me A Sad Song (1965)

Cool hot rod/surf from a very unknown band.

Chris & Craig - I Need You / Isha (1966)

 Another obscurity, this time a terrific pop/psych two sider.

Stonemen - No More / Where Did Our Love Go (1966)

 According to Fuzz, Acid, & Flowers this is considered a "significant" recording. I'm not so sure about that, but it definitely is a very crude, inept garage two sider. The top a ballad and the flip a mid tempo number. From Fall River, MA.

M.H. Royals - She's Gone Forever / Tomorrow's Dread (1967)

One of my all time favorites!!! Although this 45 is from '67 and on a major label, it's also pretty crude and simple compared to similar records of this time. From Chicago.

Vacels - I'm A Poor Boy (1966)

 Formerly known as Ricky & The Vacels, these guys went from do-wop to garage/beat with this 45 and another "You're My Baby". This is definitely the better of the two.

Romans - You Do Something To Me / I'll Find A Way (1966)

Cool as hell two sider from Little Rock, AK. I'm not sure if the flanged out sound on the A side was deliberate, or if someone was leaning on the tape deck, but it sure is pretty neat and a very early example of this effect.

Wig/Wags - I'm On My Way Down The Road / The Goofy Google (1966)

 A real classic. Probably a Texas group but I have no way of knowing for sure. The sadly overlooked B side is a great slice of garagey frat-rock.

Bare Facts - To Think / The Only Thing (1967)

 The same guys who cut the superb "Bad Part Of Town", this is a more psychedelic effort with some cool eastern style guitar effects. From Portsmouth, OH

Del Shannon - Under My Thumb / She Was Mine (1966)

 I saw Del Shannon around 1989 on a "package tour" of oldies artists. He was with The Angels, Gene Chandler, who had recently suffered a stroke and put on a depressing performance, Joey Dee & The Starlighters who were real goofy, and Del Shannon, who played all of his great hits and blew every pathetic oldie act off the stage. Even The Starlighters (the backing band for all the acts) who were relatively comatose during the entire program lit up as Del did his thing. He played guitar (an Epiphone Coronet) and sang without missing a note. I was really sad when I learned he committed suicide shortly after this performance. I really thought he could have made some kind of resurgence given the accolades every other "big"rock star was giving him at the time. Fortunately he left all of us a great catalog of music, this being one of them. Thanks Del.

Everpresent Fullness- Fine And Dandy (1967)

 The second flip of "Wild About My Lovin'" featured on IDG #35

Thomas Group - Ordinary Girl (1968)

 A real good psych/pop 45 with some Pet Sounds style vocals and that mystic harpsichord in the foreground. A Sloan/Barri production......

Him - It's A Man Down There / 4A.M. (196?)

 One listen to the vocals on this, and you'll know who "Him" is.

Silver Fleet - Look Out World (1971)

 Yup, you read it right. 1971. That's when Led Zeppelin released "Stairway To Heaven". I'm not sure what is up with this 45, but it's been rumored to have connections to 10c.c. Well....maybe on the hard rock A side (not featured here) but I'm going out on a limb. I think the group that did this particular cut was probably The Music Explosion working as a studio group for Kasenetz and Katz, the producers of this fine cut.

Herman's Hermits - For Love (1966)

 I think Herman's Hermits get a bad rap. Yeah, they played a lot of lightweight crud, and were wrongly accused of not playing their own instruments, but you knew they actually had something in them when they recorded this fabulous B side. An original no less!

Kingsmen - Wolf Of Manhattan / Children's Caretaker (1967)

 What have we here???? I was stunned when I heard this, primarily because most of their output was frat rock and essentially an extension of the "Louie Louie" aesthetic. They ventured into British Invasion/Folk Rock with "If I Needed Someone", but much of it was predictable. This on the other hand is superb psych pop which is nothing like "Louie Louie".

King Biscut Entertainers - Take My Thoughts Away (1968)

 A group that evolved from The Furys, Don & The Goodtimes, and The Wilde Knights, they had several 45s with mixed results. This side here is pretty good.

Group Image - Hiya (1968)

 A collection of New York/New Jersey hippies that had some kind of commune or something and released an album of Jefferson Airplane styled psyche. The wildest cut was "Hiya" which is an out of control screamer that lasts 6:00 and ends with a lot of noise. The side featured here is the shortened B side. I would have liked to have posted the long version, but the level is so low on the 45 you can barely hear it above the pops and crackles.

Wicked - The Spider And The Fly (1979)

 A 1979 remake of the psychotic "tune" recorded by The Monacles and featured on Pebbles Volume 3.

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