In Dan’s Garage..#72

HAPPY EASTER!!!! Time really flies when you’re busy as hell and trying to keep up with your fave hobby. Another month has gone by with little or no activity here at Dan’s Garage Central, so I had to remedy that by having a few hours of “therapeutic record spinning”. AHHHHHH!!!! Now I feel better! Things are a bit nutty here at the homestead as we prepare to make our exodus from one domicile to another, but I swear the last thing I’m going to do is unplug this turntable from this PC, but when I do, I’ll give you all a heads up because I think I’ll be going dark for a few weeks. Of course, things may go a lot smoother, and I may be ready sooner, but I like to be cautious. For now though, let’s wade through another fist full of 45s here and dig into into DAN’s GARAGE NUMBER 72!!!!!

Seeburg Spotlite Band – Hi Heeled Sneakers (1965) OK, I promise! THIS IS THE LAST ONE IN MY COLLECTION!!!!!!! Obviously a great take on another “standard” by an unknown Chicago group who also recorded as The Curiosities, and The Look Outs.

Mustangs – Dartell Stomp (1963) New Jersey group originally known as Sandy & The Beachcombers recorded this in 1963 and was a cover version of The Viceroys tune on Bolo records. You can get a more in depth story by clicking HERE.

Keith & Troy – You Got Me Running / My Babe (1964) Strange, obscure 45 that may have some involvement with Jimmy Messina. Slow, loopy garage takes on two blues classics.

Pack – The Colour Of Our Love / The Tears Come Rollin’ (1965) First attempt at stardom from Terry Knight and his Pack. This one’s a real garage winner and less Hi-Fi than their Lucky Eleven releases (with the exception of “How Much More”).

Shawkey Se’au and John Broughton w/ The Muffins – Just One More Time / Walk Alone (1966) Oh jeez, this is definitely one of thee crudest recordings ever. Although it doesn’t rank with stuff like “Green Fuz” or “Leave My House”, it deserves an honorable mention here. The A side is a wild upbeat frat rocker and the B side is a real weeper. The odd thing about this 45 is that Planet Records was an enterprise of genius producer Shel Talmy, but he obviously had NOTHING to do with this mess. We also do not know who The Muffins, Shawkey, or John Broughton were but Rhode Island has been a popular guess. There was a group called The Muffins who had a 45 on RCA, but I don’t think they are the same band.

Swingin’ Medallions – She Drives Me Out Of My Mind / You Gotta Have Faith (1966) The follow up to “Double Shot”. You can tell these guys had a winning formula mixing frat rock and “beach music”, but unfortunately this one wasn’t as successful as their big hit. They perform around the south to this day.

Bats – Nothing At All / Big Bright Eyes (1965) A very interesting 45 here. This is almost a straight folk two sider but it does have a few “rock” elements to it, most notably a drummer of some sort in the background. This most likely was a studio affair though, featuring Danny Hutton, who would later join Cory Wells in the Enemys and eventually team up with Chuck Negron to become Three Dog Night.

Little John & The Monks – Black Winds / Needles And Pins (1965) A superb example of what I like to call “tragedy rock”. Unlike the stuff that was delivered by J. Frank Wilson with “Last Kiss” and Nightmare” by The Whyte Boots, this gives the genre a whole new meaning. “Black Winds” is a tale of possible murder/suicide where a guy gets cheated on by his girlfriend and then goes out in the night, confronts his ex and her new beau, and STABS THEM TO DEATH!!!!  AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! Well, this chap is so upset that he contemplates killing himself too as he realizes the error of his ways. A true classic. Oh yeah….there’s a cover of Sonny Bono’s “Needles & Pins” on the flip side.

Mavericks – Life Ain’t No Bucket Of Roses (Tenement Boy) / When I’m Gone (1966) Another depressing tale of a guy who’s so poor he’s gotta work two jobs to feed his wife and kids. This was a Feldman, Goldstein, Gottherer production so it might have a Strangeloves connection as well as being written by Layng Martine Jr. a famous country songwriter . His “Crazy Daisy” is featured in IDG #14.

Swamp Rats – It’s Not Easy / In The Midnight Hour (1966) Pittsburgh's finest run through a couple of good ones here in typical Swamp Rats fashion.

Reasonable Facsimile – He Was A Friend Of Mine / Every Day (1966) A nice folky cover cover of the Byrds classic. The flip has a nice Mamas & Papas flair to it.

Shaprels – Dare I Weep, Dare I Mourn (1967) Intense, fuzzed out psychedelia from a Milwaukee, WI group. Extremely cool.

Finders Keepers – Friday Kind Of Monday / On The Beach (1967) Great psyche/pop from a British group which featured Glenn Hughes and Mel Galley who would later go on to form progressive hard rock trio Trapeze. Hughes would later join Deep Purple’s “Mark III” lineup that released “Burn” in 1974.

New Breed – The Sound Of The Music (1967) The same guys who gave us “Green Eyed Woman” and “Want Ad Reader” deliver this Lovin’ Spoonful-ish number. From Sacramento, CA.

Skunks – Listen To The News Today / Doing Nothing (1969) Another 45 telling the tale of JFK’s assassination, although this one isn’t quite as good as “He Was A Friend Of Mine” and is about 6 years late…..

Southwest F.O.B. – Smell Of Incense / Green Skies (1968) A sizeable hit for this Dallas, TX band who’s members included England Dan and John Ford Coley. Those two would have a huge AM hit in 1976 with “I’d Really Love To See You Tonight”

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