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Sunday, December 5, 2010

In Dan's Garage...#48

Greetings music lovers! Sorry for the slow trickle of posts these days, but the recent holiday and extensive road trip last month really took quite a bit of my time. Without getting into more detail, I think I've nailed down a good process for transferring these 45s and I hope the results sound good to all of your ears. Speaking of road trip, I was dreaming of roadside antique and collector shops brimming with records, but unfortunately a guy like me would need an extra two weeks, a boatload of $$$, and a truck to pull something like that off. I just never had the time to detour myself away from more important events on the trip. Thanks again to all for the little tidbits of info, and especially to Laura Talon who's dad recorded the fabulously nutty "I Think There's Something Sleeping In My Refrigerator" on Columbia records (IDG #15). We hope to hear more in the future. As usual I've assembled another pastiche of groovy 45s from the 60s that run the gamut from early rockers to some heavy stuff, with a healthy dose of garage as you would expect. So let's get with it shall we????

Bobby Comstock & The Counts - Bony Maronie / Do That Little Thing (1960)
Every once and a while I like to throw in an early rocker or "proto garage" 45 if you will, and this is a great one. Bobby Comstock from Ithaca was a very popular entertainer here in Central New York and toured with the likes of The Rolling Stones, Dave Clark 5, and Gerry & The Pacemakers. His "Let's Stomp" and "I Wanna Do It" are classics. You can read an interview with him here.

Castells - Save A Chance / Children Who Dream (1965)
 Oh yeah! This is absolutely one of my favorite 45s ever! It just moves along so nicely with those neat drums, the jangly 12 string guitar, and that cool bass line. The "British accents" are great too! The Castells were from Memphis and were led by twin brothers Dave and Don Miller. This was actually the second version of this song as it was previously recorded and released on Wildfire Records. I have it on a comp somewhere but I'm having trouble finding it. You can read more about The Castells here.

Kingsmen - Death Of An Angel / Searching For Love (1964)
 In the wake "Louie Louie's" success, the Kingsmen proceeded to release a mother lode of 45s. There were 16 on Wand records alone and this is one of my favorites. A great, moody garage number.

Knickerbockers - One Track Mind / I Must Be Doing Something Right (1966)
 This is the follow up to their smash hit "Lies", and although it's relatively well known, what gets overlooked is the superb B side which I think is a genius piece of beat/pop.

Charity Shayne - Ain't It?, Babe (1965)
 Brought to us by the same folks who gave us The Beau Brummels, this is a rather obscure one on this label and I've not seen it around quite often. It's a nice, if not lightweight folk rocker, and Charity has a nice innocent vocal style. Charity reportedly ended up in Charlie Manson's crew and is now a born again Christian.

Dillons - Simple Way Of Living (1965)
 Way cool folk rocker from California that was produced by none other than Dorsey Burnette of Rock And Roll Trio fame. Impression put out some excellent records including The Sloth's unbelievably rare "Makin' Love".

Outsiders - I'm Not Trying To Hurt You (1967)
 Not to be confused with the over hyped Dutch band (I know. I'm gonna take a lot of heat for that comment, but I stand by it.) these guys were from Cleveland, OH and had a hit with "Time Won't Let Me". Most of their stuff was pretty ordinary but once and a while they'd cut loose with a great one like this.

Palace Guard - Saturday's Child / Party Lights (1966)
 One of the last 45s released by this bunch from L.A. Emit Rhodes was in the Palace Guard and would go on to record with "The Merry Go Round" whose "Live" is one of my favorites. I'm not sure whose version of "Saturday's Child" came first The Monkees or these guys, but this one's awfully good.

Shades Of Time - I Need Some Love / Teardrops (196?)
 Every once and a while I'll score a truly ace 45 for cheap and this is one of them. I know absolutely nothing about this real crude, inept effort, but it's one of the coolest garage 45s I've ever heard. I'm not certain of the date, but it's not a mid 60s thing. My guess would be that it's some obscure group playing around with fuzz boxes and especially wah wahs which weren't popular until 67or 68.

Sheep - Hide & Seek / Twelve Months Later (1966)
 I guess this was the Strangeloves in disguise as it sounds a lot like them and has Feldman, Goldstein, & Gottherer all over the label. Terrific cover of Bunker Hill's classic. A real pounder and great party music.

Dino, Desi, & Billy - She's So Far Out She's In (1966)
 In IDG #46 we heard the Power Plant's version of this tune. This time around we have Dino, Desi, & Billy, not exactly the most respected combo in Rock & Roll's rich history. The sons of mega stars, they were as fabricated a group as say The Monkees and most of their output is pretty bland although they had a few winners, not that they actually played on any of their records. They were accused, and rightfully so of stealing away resources from Reprise Records from more deserving groups such as The Kinks for example, although The Kinks had many more hits than this bunch anyway. I like this one though.

Flowerz - Flyte / Talken About Love (1968)
 Cool as hell 45 from this Reading, PA group. Great guitars and cheesy organ.

Seeds - A Thousand Shadows / March Of The Flower Children (1967)
  Sky Saxon and The Seeds were genius. Only they could take the same riff and make it work twice (at least). The flip of this one is truly hilarious, and I had to include it even if it's real goofy.

Sagittarius - My World Fell Down (1967)
 Speaking of genius, it doesn't get a whole lot better than this. Cut from the same mold as The Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds", this "studio" group which featured Gary Usher and Terry Melcher released this gem in '67. Apparently Glen Campbell was also in on the session and sang the vocals, but I don't think it sounds anything like him, although I could be wrong. This song is truly a thing of beauty and along with Pet Sounds, the gold standard for this type of beautiful pop/psyche from the 60s.

Young Savages - Sitting On A Plane / Wait A Minute Baby (1968)
 I'm not sure if this is the same as the Wisconsin group that had "The Invasion Is Coming". In fact it probably isn't because this is a heavier psyche/rock thing. Very good though.

Smokestack Lightnin' - Somethings Got A Hold On Me (1969)
 This definitely is not a garage 45, more of a soul tune, but it is from the 60s and it moves along very nicely with great vocals, although the gospel like background chicks are a bit annoying. I like it though so I bring it here to you.

 Catfish - Hound Dog / 2120 South Michigan Avenue (1969)
 I always have trouble locating info on this heavy rock group. Gruff vocals on this heavy take of Elvis' classic. The flip is pretty good too. I have another one by this band and it's in the same style. You can't blame 'em for being consistent.

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15 comments:

  1. A fuzzy, warpie, monotone thank you!

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  2. Thanks for another great compilation! More things I've never heard before is always a good thing.Hope you had a fine holiday.

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  3. Never had much use for Dutch Outsiders either.

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  4. Hi Dan
    I have now managed to download all your compilations. I even found the hidden volume, but unfortunately not the cover to #1 (did you ever do it?). Anyway, as you are coming up to #50 and it will probably be on xmas day (or close to it), I suggest you do something special. Not some corny xmas theme, but a best of - Dan's Fifty Favourite (Favorite) Fuzz Freakouts, Garage's Greatest Groovers, Twenty Top Tripsters.....You get the idea.

    Paul (Australia)

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  5. Another stellar compilation. I love that Hide and Seek track. I bought a copy some months ago, and it always has a place in my current playstack. Can't wait for number 49. Thanks as always.

    Peace and blessings.

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  6. The OUTSIDERS...well, I think in a way you said it yourself, while you consider the Dutch band over-hyped you also say about the US guys "Most of their stuff was pretty ordinary..."
    and that's it!
    Fair enough you and others might not "get" the Dutch Outsiders and call them whatever you like, but I don't think "ordinary" would apply to them (but yes the Americans!)
    The OUTSIDERS from the Netherlands were totally EXTRA-ordinary, in what they did,the originality of it, the way it was performed, the way they looked,and I put them at the very very top of my fave bands of all time!
    In fact the Netherlands were quite an extra-ordinary place in Europe and the world for the sheer greatness of so many bands in the 60s...and such a little country!
    Going back to this particular track, I really like it and first heard it in the 80s as it was covered by Italy's Garage kings The Sick Rose...but quickly realized that those particular Outsiders weren't nowhere near the best bands let alone their Dutch namesakes!

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  7. Aldo,
    You misunderstood my comment on The (Dutch) Outsiders. While I still think they (The Dutch Outsiders) are over hyped, it's The (American) Outsiders who I said were pretty ordinary. Don't get me wrong. Just because I think they (The Dutch Outsiders) are over hyped, that doesn't mean I don't like them. In fact I think the Dutch group is WAY better than the American group. I personally think The Dutch Outsiders were a great band, but I certainly wouldn't put them in my top 10, or top 20 for that matter. "Touch" is one of my favorite songs of all time, and, my old band The Projectiles covered "That's Your Problem". I loved singing that one. On the other hand, I think the "C. Q." album is dreadful. Hey, we all have our own opinions, and that's what life and the love of Rock And Roll is all about. Generally speaking, I think that the U.S., Britain, Europe, The Netherlands in particular, and Australia each had their own unique style of music within this thing we call Garage/Beat/Psychedelic. There are so many songs and groups out there that speak to us in different ways, it's impossible to get everyone to like the same things at the same time. I hope I cleared things up a bit. I'm glad you're enjoying the posts, and most importantly expressing YOUR opinion and contributing to this blog. These little discussions certainly make things more interesting. I'll try to get a new one out before the end of the weekend but in the meantime keep rockin'.
    Cheers! Dan

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  8. Hi Dan,

    I totally respect yours and others opinion/taste...and I was sure you rated the Dutch Ousiders as a good band, even though not as much as me (I love CQ!) but that's cool, diversity is the spice of the life as they say...or something like that, right?
    I realized as soon as I sent my comment that it might have been misunderstood a little bit...

    It was clear to me that ordinary were the US guys...that's why I say, YOU said it yourself.
    I should have phrased it better, that on the other day that same word could hardly describe Wally Tax and co.

    I just wanted to give you some of the "heat" you expected (but in a very friendly way, let me assure you!)
    thanks a lot!

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  9. Aldo,
    you are very welcome. Thanks for the heat also. I really need it the way the weather has been here lately.....

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  10. Hi There,
    Didn't know any other way to contact you,but through here.
    I really enjoy your blog!
    In your very 1st garage compilation you posted a group named Paraphenalia playing "Quicksand" on Earth records.Great song!
    Any chance I could get a label scan of that 45?
    Many thanks in advance,
    Darren J Wallace
    phonospud@aol.com

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  11. Just found your awesome blog. Downloaded a few files and will spend the morning listening to them. Enjoy the comments, the scans, and just wanted to thank you for all the effort you put out to provide the songs.

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  12. just discovered your blog. It is very very good. thank you so much for your time and effort for these posts.

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  13. Just stumbled upon yer awesome site! "Save A Chance" is also one of my favs. I have it on the 'Fuzz, Flaykes & Shakes' Vol. 3 comp. (probably the same one you are looking for) I made a video with this song on my YouTube site you might dig: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2245i2Um_E

    Cheers!

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  14. On that Catfish 45.That's Catfish Hodge on vocals there.On their first lp they had a killer song called "The Hawk".Hodge went on to go solo.Had a single in or around "73" called "the boogie mans gonna get you" on Eastbound records.

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  15. Dan, you really are the man. Your collection is VAST, and you SHARE it! Really appreciate that.

    I've been hunting high and (especially) low for Charity Shayne's 'Then, You Try', which I've heard is the B-side of 'Ain't It?, Babe'. Any chance you could rip it for us?

    Regardless, great job!

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