collage

collage

Saturday, September 28, 2013

In Dan’s Garage…#91

91 front
I haven’t got much to say today, mainly because an extremely NASTY virus infected my computer (courtesy of my loveable son) and has put me in a foul mood. But I did get it fixed so’s I can get this here post out. So please, enjoy this day’s offerings, and keep smiling!

Bobby Kent & The Kentones – Don’t Go’way / Summertime Is Through (1959)
bobbykent
Let’s start off with an early rocker from the Salem, MA area. A side is a great mover and the B is typical teen heartthrob fare. Booby Kent’s real name was Bob Kassiotis and was apparently from Lynn, Ma.

Johnny & The Jays – Baby Do / Lugene (1960)
johnnyandthejays
I can’t say I know the complete history of this particular rocker, but it was also recorded by Jackie Lee Cochran and was never released except for the acetate making a couple of appearances on various comps. A nice up-tempo rocker backed by another teen crooner.

Chartbusters – Why / Stop The Music (1964)
whychartbusters
The second 45 by these D.C. legends, and they follow up “She’s The One” with another Invasion styled doozy. The flip was written by Big Al Dowling who they backed up as the Poe Kats back in the 50’s.

Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas – Bad To Me / Little Children (1964)
billyjkramer
OK, I know this is not garage or psyche or anything related (well I stand corrected, they were a “beat” group), and yeah, it’s a common 45, but this was in the stack and I played it and…you know what??? I’ve heard countless CDs over the years proclaiming superior sound, and re-mastered this, and digitally enhanced that, and the whole argument that digital music is better than pure analog music (e.g. VINYL), and that you don’t have to deal with pops and scratches and BLAH BLAH BLAH. Well I’m here to say…FUCK CDS!!!!!!!!!. I hate those fucking things. You know what happens when a CD gets scratched?? IT’S FUCKED! You can’t play the goddamned thing anymore and it skips even worse than a piece of scratched vinyl does. Plus the sound is usually horrendous. It’s all tinny and there’s a general ice pick to the ear quality about it. Ever hear a copy of “Please Please Me” by the Beatles on VJ Records in pure mono? It’s glorious. Even with the pops and scratches, which is why I included this here 45 in this post. I played it and it just sounds so good in all it’s monophonic glory. Scratches and all. Sorry for the vulgarities, but I had to get that off my chest……..whew! Oh, yeah, Billy J. was from Liverpool (actually nearby Bootle) and a pal of the above mentioned Beatles. He was rather successful for a bit, but couldn’t keep up with the changes that the late 60s brought about. His handful of hits are excellent IMHO.

Fenways – Humpty Dumpty (1964)
FEnnWayS
Pittsburgh’s Fenways are probably best known for backing up the Vogues who also recorded a version of this tune probably using The Fenways as a backing band for that one as well. This “solo” effort, if you will, is different from the Vogues track.

Leaves – Hey Joe / Funny Little World (1965)
heyjoeleaves
Released twice by Mira records, this is the second and more famous version of the song.There is a bit of debate as to which version is better, but I think both are great. The fist one might be a bit “garagier” than the second as it lacks the prominent fuzz guitar of the second.

Leaves – Get Out Of My Life Woman (1966)
leeeeeeeves
Another one by the Leaves, this time something a little more soul influenced. I swear I have a version of this same 45 in one of my boxes that is a different mix with some atrocious horns tacked on to it.

Vejtables – I Still Love You / Anything (1965)
vjitbless
The Vejtables were one of the finest acts to come out of the Bay Area in the mid sixties before the Haight/Ashbury hype became prominent. They, along with other folk rock groups like The Beau Brummels and We Five created a unique sound that was somewhat different than their SoCal counterparts in LA. Both sides of this 45 are great and it’s too bad they never got the exposure they deserved. Drummer Jan Errico would eventually quit and join The Mojo Men who had a minor hit with Stephen Stills’ “Sit Down I Think I Love You”.

Combenashuns – What’cha Gonna Do? / Hey! Uncle Sam (1966)
coenashuns
All I know about this somewhat lo-fi 45 is that they were from Bethlehem, PA. Anyone out there know more????

Life – Snake Bite / One O'clock Noon Time (1967)
life
A group that was based in Auburn, AL, they formed in college and travelled up to Memphis and recorded this neat two sider at Hi studios. I could tell you more, but if you click HERE, It’ll take you to a very nice blog that’ll give you tons more info than I can offer.

Happy Return – To Give Your Lovin’ / I Thought I Loved Her (1969)
happy return
I found a little bit of info on this group from St. Louis. The band members consisted of Steve Noack (vocals, lead guitar), Tom Noack (rhythm guitar), Jim Cunningham (organ), Jimmy Albright (bass), and Rich Carroll (drums). Apparently Norman Petty was involved in this affair as it shows up on a website of Norman Petty Productions. Nice fuzzed out heaviness on the A side with a much softer B side.

Movers – Leave Me Loose / Birmingham (1969)
movers
Another hard edged 45 from ‘69. Pretty good for something that came out so late in the decade. From New Port Richey, FL.

End – Shades Of Orange / Loving, Sacred Loving (1968)
end2
Long thought to be The Rolling Stones incognito because of Bill Wyman’s involvement, it appeared on many bootleg LPs before people finally realized they were in fact NOT the Stones. Their debut 45 which is more ‘mod’ than psyche can be found on IDG# 25.

Genesis – Angeline / Suzanne (1969)
Genesis2
I’ll just politely point out that this is not the British super group, but an entirely different crew from the USA. They recorded an LP which was a mixed bag of pop and psyche, but this heavy number really stands out.

Hype – Waiting For The Man / White Light, White Heat (1970)
hype
Well, this 45 appeared in my stack and I wasn't sure whether to include it or not. For those who are unaware, The Hype was a band that was formed by David Bowie in 1970, and were sort of a bridge between Space Oddity and Hunky Dory, although you can hear what was to become the basis for Ziggy Stardust on both sides, which are covers of two famous Velvet Underground songs. Band members were Mick Ronson [guitar], Tony Visconti [bass] and John Cambridge [drums] as well as Bowie who played rhythm and sang vocals (naturally). The Hype never really had many performances except for a few appearances on the BBC which is where these recordings were most likely taken from. This 45 is obviously some sort of a bootleg and I’m including it here more for historical value, although I must say they’re both excellent performances and don’t really seem too out of place. I thought this was some kind of super rarity, but it turns out it really doesn’t fetch very much $$$ on the market.

get it here

16 comments:

  1. Well Dan, I guess it's better for the computer to have a virus then for you to have one.
    Thanks for another great comp.

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    1. Yeah, I guess, but it's such an unbelievable pain in my ass. I'm not a slave to my PC, but I really feel paralyzed when I can't be "fully functional". FYI, this little bug would stream Internet ads through my speakers without having a browser open. I was hearing about 20 or so at once and in different languages to boot! My Malware Bytes program did not catch it so I installed Zone Alarm Free (I'm on a budget you know) and their firewall took care of it pronto. Highly recommended for those who want good protection on the cheap.

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  2. Dan,

    Another stellar set. So who really wrote Hey Joe: Dino or Billy Roberts?

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    1. Billy Roberts. Somehow (as I understand) Valenti was given credit possibly because he, and David Crosby as well, made it part of their early folk repertoire. In other words Valenti sort of made it a signature song of his, but by no means did he actually write it. "Rights to the song were administered from 1966 into the 2000s by the music publisher Third Story Music (now Third Palm Music); there the author is listed as Billy Roberts." so says Wikipedia. I hope that may clear things up a bit.

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    2. This blog post explains everything about Hey Joe and it also explains the 3 versions, not 2, by the Leaves and let's you listen to them all.
      http://nowitsthesameoldsong.blogspot.com/2012/09/hey-joe.html

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  3. Another excellent volume Dan. I had forgotten the Chartbusters "WHY". And I always love hearing "Hey Joe" by the Leaves. Those are highlights for me. The rest is good too. Thanks! hotrodmike

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  4. Just recently began enjoying your site. Oh, boy, more great stuff! Sorry about the virus. My delightful offspring, the Three Demons of the Apocalypse, do stuff like that, then try to convince their mother, She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed, that it's me at fault. Fie upon them.

    I'm with you on vinyl vs CD. After several years without a working turntable, I got one for Christmas. I put The Duke and His Men on it, and practically wept at the wondrous sounds coming out of the speakers. I had almost forgotten what real music was supposed to sound like. Listening to digital is like hearing it from the wrong end of a megaphone. If it's all you got, then fine, but it sure is nice to be able to play a real record once again. :)

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    1. Of course they do nothing wrong. It's all your fault don't you know that???? "I was only on there for 10 minutes" he said. Well that was long enough for my PC to get infected.
      Vinyl vs. CD..... I once had an argument with my older brother, a man who believes that I can't possibly know more than he does simply because he's older than I am. This was back in '89 or '90 I think and CDs were starting to take over and he was telling me how great they were and I politely pointed out how not everyone in the industry was down with them, Neil Young in particular who lamented their harsh sound and made his music sound crappy. My brother then launched into an unusually abusive tirade about how I was a "dinosaur", and how you can now hear Sgt. Pepper sequenced the way The Beatles intended, as if anyone really wants to hear it that way anyway. Just because they wanted it that way doesn't mean it was a great idea. I also pointed out how the CD was pushed on the market because they were cheaper to make and offered bigger profits to record companies, not that there's anything wrong with that, I firmly believe in capitalism but it is the truth. I also pointed out that the aesthetic beauty of the album cover and its art would be lost and confined to a 7"X7" plastic jewel case which would get scratched and dulled, and how when a CD itself gets damaged it is UNPLAYABLE. This sent him right over the cliff and he became even more abusive because he really couldn't argue against that. I've HATED those things ever since. Yeah, I have a few of them. I eventually bought a CD player because I had to. I have 50 or so in a box somewhere and a few more collecting dust in a rack down in my basement. I do not have my CD player hooked up to my stereo system because the stupid lens needs cleaning. My brother has over the years mellowed his stance and to his credit is far less abusive than he was when we were younger. I simply chalk that up to sibling rivalry. He's even come around the beauty of vinyl. Last Thanksgiving we were enjoying some cocktails and I put a copy of "Highway 61 Revisited" on the turntable and listened to those first few moments of "Like A Rolling Stone" before Dylan starts singing. Wondrous? You bet. I couldn't have said it better myself. Thanks for writing and please come back as often as you like.
      Dan

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  5. Hi Dan:
    Now I may be getting blind in my old age, but can you tell me if there is a second part to #47.
    Have had recent computer problems, and I have download 47B.
    Can you help????????
    Great site.

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    1. Sure. I was having supposed "copyright issues" with Mediafire and they yanked #47 off the site. I figured I'd try to rename the file and fool them and so far it's worked. You have the one and only Vol. 47.

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  6. Keep up the good work, it's much appreciated.

    best wishes.

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  7. mindblowingly awesome comp, thanks!

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  8. Hey Dan, I don't comment on every one of your gob-smacking comps that I download but I sure as hell am grateful. I'm only half-way through this one and so far it's another cracker. It's hard to believe that after all these years it's possible to hear so much unfamiliar - and uncompiled - stuff from a period that's been so well mined, and which I'm pretty familiar with (though not nearly as familiar as you are!). Thanks as ever, and I hope you've got some powerful AV software on there now or we'll all be the poorer!
    Jeremy

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  9. That first Rockin' Tune made my day ... thanks!

    JiM (Belgium)

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  10. ...and of course the Hype single was released on Major Tom records. :)

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