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Sunday, March 29, 2015

In Dan’s Garage…#109

109 front
Hi everyone! I think I’m going to keep things simple today. Winter still hangs on here in Upstate NY and it’s been unusually frigid for the month of March. Aside from that we’re still rolling along here at Dan’s Garage central and as long as the 45s keep rolling in, I’ll be sharing them with you. Since spring is right around the corner and summer is on it’s way, I was planning a special post of sorts that touches on the subject of summertime food, specifically, hot dogs and hamburgers, and where to get the best. I know many of you out there have your local favorites, but I just wanted to share the Rochester, NY dining experience which I think is somewhat unique. In the meantime enjoy this latest offering…..

Lulu – Shout (1964)
lulu
At the ripe old age of 15, Lulu belted out this rollicking version of he Isley Bros. “Shout” and for my money is perhaps the best next to the original.

Harvey Russell & The Rogues – Shake Sherry (1965)
harvey russel and the rogues
Harvey Russell was from Cleveland, OH and was known as “the singing cop” because he really was an actual police officer and played up that angle throughout his career. He teamed up with local combo The Rogues to lay down this raw version of The Contours’ “Shake Sherry”.

Fourmost – You Got That Way / How Can I Tell Her (1964)
fourmost
Managed by Brian Epstein, The Fourmost were one of several Liverpool groups he dealt with and as such, they recorded a couple of Lennon-McCartney songs, specifically “Hello Little Girl”, and “I’m In Love”. This one is an original by guitarist Brian O’Hara with a flip penned by Carter and Lewis who were in the….

Ivy League – Graduation Day / Tossing And Turning (1965)
ivy league
A British vocal trio that originally featured John Carter and Ken Lewis, two of Britain's most prolific songwriters.

Jamie & The Jury – Fooling Around / My Kind (1965)
jamie and the jury
A group from Southern California that featured front man Jamie Browning. You can read the whole Jamie & The Jury story HERE.

Muffins – Subway Traveler (1967)
muffins
I have to admit being completely ignorant as to who Tim Moore is, but apparently he recorded several solo LPs and rubbed elbows with Frank Zappa, Keith Richards, Peter Tosh, Michael MacDonald, and a bunch of other famous LA cats. This Kinks influenced 45 is the sole release by this excellent group.

Shadows – I Met A Girl / Late Night Set (1966)
shadows
A nice two sider from Hank Marvin & Co. The A side is a vocal as well.

Next Five – Talk To Me Girl / Mama Said (1966)
next five
A classic from Milwaukee, WI. They truly exemplified garage/pop with “Talk To Me Girl”. They had a few other 45s as well which I will feature in future posts. For a more in-depth view of this band go HERE.

Russ Damon – Who’s Right, Who’s Wrong (1965)
russ damon
Russ Damon was actually a guy named Les Ledo who recorded a lot of Do-Wop stuff in the late 50s and early 60s. He had several other records using this name as well as records by the name of Jimmy Lee on ABC Paramount. This one’s a B side and it’s a pretty good protest type folk rocker.

Swingin’ Yo Yo’s – Do Something / Have You Ever (1966)
swingin yo yos
The same Memphis group that recorded the awesome “Gotta Find A New Love” on Goldwax. This one’s a bit tamer but good nonetheless. They had to add the “Swingin’” to their name to avoid some kind of legal conflict.

Will-O-Bees – If You’re Ready / Shades Of Gray (1966)
willobees
We heard from this group in the last post and here’s another 45 that they released on Date, this time areal good two sider featuring a couple of great covers of the Pride & Joy’s “If You’re Ready” and The Monkees’ “Shades Of Gray”. Both are excellent.

Luv Bandits – Mizzer-Bahd (1967)
luv bandits
A completely unknown group that released this one and only middle eastern flavored, fuzz drenched, acid tinged 45 in 1967.

Neal Ford & The Fanatics – That Girl Of Mine / I Have Thoughts Of You (1967)
neal fords fanatics
A later bubblegum flavored 45 from this Houston, TX group.

Happy Medium – Fair One / Poison Apples (1967)
happy medium
Another unknown group with a cool psychedelic two sider.

Blues Magoos – I Can Hear The Grass Grow (1968)
bluesmaggoos
Here’s an awesome take on The Move’s classic and the last they’d release on Mercury. Afterward they moved in a heavier direction…..

Fireballs – Groovy Motions (1968)
fireballs
The Fireballs had a lot of success in the early 60s as an instrumental combo but as the decade progressed with Beatlemania and the British Invasion, psychedelic rock, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, etc. their popularity waned although they still were a band through it all, until they recorded and released “Bottle Of Wine” in 1967, a really good song that was done in a Creedence style although I’m pretty sure it wasn’t intentional. Well, at least that what it reminds me of…anyway…they kept on keepin’ on and released this “psychedelic” gem in 1968 replete with cool stereo effects!

Litter – Feelings / Silly People (1969)
litter1
The Litter from Minneapolis had a ton of releases most notably “Action Woman” the song that kicked off the entire Pebbles series. They would record three LPs, two of which were released on local labels and one which was released on ABC’s “progressive” subsidiary Probe. The next two 45s  featured here were from their last LP “Emerge”, a heavier, hard rock effort, although not too far off from what they were doing in the first place.

Litter – On Our Minds / Blue Ice (1970)
litter2
More of the same from The Litter.

HERE

8 comments:

  1. Thanks for the post, I needed a pick-me-up.

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  2. Beautiful! Thankyou as ever! & best wishes.

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  3. Hi Dan:
    Another great collection of songs. But ... after the "Shout" covered by "Lulu", all others songs look small.
    Many of my favorite bands.
    Thanks.
    Greetings from Spain
    Jose

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  4. Excellent stuff as usual Dan....Many thanks!

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  5. Dan:
    Spring is finally here in Baltimore... 2 days in a row near 60!
    This comp will help usher in better weather.
    Thanks.

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  6. I want to give a sincere thanks for doing all you do at the Garage. Your comps are always full of killer slabs. But may I make a small suggestion? I love the little info bio's you include on the blog. Could you also put this into a doc file and include it with the comps? So much info you dig up, it would be nice to have along with the pics. Thanks so much and keep up the great work.

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    1. I'll see what I.can do to accommodate your request. If there's a quick and easy way I'll add it to the .rar file but between the ripping of vinyl, scanning and cropping of labels, as well as writing it takes a good chunk of time that I could be say....mowing lawns or fixing bathrooms or painting etc. You get the picture. Maybe I could do a quick cut and paste, we'll see how that works. I'm getting #110 ready now so you all should have fresh music before the end of this week. Cheers!

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  7. Great site....many rarities too... greetings: GZ

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