In Dan's Garage... #11

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!!! It's a wonderful day today here in Upstate NY, what with all the superbly mild weather we've had up here. I can even go outside, light a fine stogie and enjoy it without freezing my ass off!!!! My lovely wife Red is going at it, baking some of the tastiest pies known to man, and I know there'll be some good wine and beer ahead too! On this particular holiday, let us also give thanks to all the fine Rock & Roll that countless artists (I sometimes use that term loosely) have given us over the years. Naturally, I submit a fine sample of these wares on this very Thanksgiving Day. Unfortunately, time is of the essence, and sadly, I must forgo my commentary for this post. But as usual, you will find all the label scans in the file, you just don't get my "razor sharp wit" attached to them. So it's my pleasure once again to give you.... NUMBER ELEVEN!

Track List:

01. Count Victors - Road Runner (Coral)

02. Count Victors - Lorie (Coral)

03. Silvertones - Get It (Goliath)

04. Classmen - Julie (Pearce)

05. Classmen - Any Old Time (Pearce)

06. Burgundy Blues - I'll Take You Back Again (Argee)

07. Burgundy Blues - Noting Without You (Argee)

08. Clefs Of Lavender Hill - It Won't Be Long (Date)

09. Clefs Of Lavender Hill - Play With Fire (Date)

10. Geers - I Need You (SSS International)

11. Keymen - What Am I To Do (Goldust)

12. Keymen - Waklin' Talkin' (Goldust)

13. Lloyd & The Village Squires - Baby Be Mine (Jubilee)

14. Lloyd & The Village Squires - Hear What I Say (Jubilee)

15. Mark V - I Want To Say (Blast)

16. Mark V - You Make Me Lose My Mind (Blast)

17. Rave Ons - Love Pill (Twin Town)

18. Rave Ons - Whenever (Twin Town)

19. Ray Sanders & Friend - Karate (Sheb)

20. Ray Sanders - You're Puttin' Me On (Sheb)

21. Tangents - Hey Joe, Where You Gonna Go (Impression)

22. Tangents - Stand By Me (Impression)

23. Ultimates - My Babe (Lavender)

24. Ultimates - Little Girl (Lavender)

25. White Knights - Love That's True (Gaiety)

26. White Knights - Run, Run, Baby (Gaiety)

27. Yorkshire Puddin' - Ain't Gonna Love You No More (Dellwood)

28. Yorkshire Puddin' - Good Night Day (Dellwood)

Get It HERE

In Dan's Garage... #10

WOW!!! I've burned through only one box of records and we're already up to number 10! I even set a bunch aside for some upcoming "New York State" comps. At this rate I figure I'll be doing this well into 2010, with a total of 50+ posts! I love doing this. As I've said before, this really gives me an excellent chance to get "reacquainted" with my collection of 45s. This blog here covers all of my 60's garage, beat, psyche, stuff, but as all record collectors know, we always buy whatever looks cool. Some of it might be great, and some.....not so great. Some of it is utterly fabulous and fascinating, and a lot of it just doesn't fall into the genre (so to speak) that I deal with here. That's why I've got another blog titled "I Found It In That Box...". That's for all the flotsam and jetsam of my record collection which I find absolutely wonderful, but really doesn't fall into the confines of this blog.  Check it out. You may be delighted, and you may even laugh your ass off too. I've said enough already. Vol. 10 is the usual "mixed bag" of stuff, with a little emphasis on later 60's psyche sounds. Enjoy!

Jerry Merett & The Crowns - Kansas City Twist / Walkin'

We kick things off with an early 60's rocker by Jerry Merett who obviously was from the Pacific NW. Lavender records released some of the best music from this part of the country, and this a great early example.

Van Dykes - Rock A Bye Girl / I'll Be Bye

I'm really not a big do-wop fan. I'm even less a fan of The Four Seasons. I cringe every time somebody tells me how great "Jersey Boys" was and how they were lucky enough to get tickets for $150.00. Puhleeze. That being said, I think this 4 Seasons styled garage/do-wopper is great! I don't dislike all do-wop mind you, it's just that it kind of sounds all the same after a while (I can hear the do-wop fans right now...THAT GARAGE SHIT SOUNDS ALL THE SAME ASSHOLE!!!). It's definitely got the Frankie Valli thing going, but with a great cheesy garage band backing them up, and that's what makes this 45 so good.

Tony River & The Castaways - I Love The Way You Walk / I Love You

So what killed do-wop???? The British Invasion! As the Beatles lay waste to vocal groups and teen idols like Bobby Rydell and Fabian, small labels like like Constellation Records were licencing bands like Tony Rivers & The Castaways in the hopes of cashing in on the whole Invasion thing. This is a prime example of that. Fantastic two sider.

Merrel & The Xiles - Tomorrow's Girl / When I Get Home

Merrell Fankhauser is best known for writing the surf classic "Wipe Out" and for his band H.M.S. Bounty, whose "Farprdokly" album is a psyche classic. Between that he had a band called the Exiles or 'Xiles" on this 45 which included Jeff Cotton and John French who ended up in Captain Beefhearts Magic Band. This is a great folkish 45 with a lightweight feel to it, though I like it a lot. Very scarce by the way.

Gas Co. - Blow Your Mind / Your Time's Up

The first record I ever won in a Goldmine auction! I remember bidding $5 on a bunch of cool stuff, but this was the only one I had luck on. That tactic would bite me in the ass a few times later, but I'm certainly happier now in the long run. I had a bit of a hard time finding out anything about this 45, although I'm pretty sure it's some kind of studio thing. Great guy/girl folk rock vocals with ringing 12 string guitars, and absolutely goofy lyrics on the 'A' side. Go ahead...Blow your mind....

Matchmakers - Tell Me A Secret

Let's shift gears and go to what I'm pretty sure is a British group. I can't find anything about this great pop tune.

New Breed - Paint My Windows Gray / Out Of Reach

Of the several New Breeds out there, I couldn't find much of anything on this bunch.Obviously this band must've loved The Animals' "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", as the riff is echoed on both sides.  Busy-B was out of New Orleans. LA and was associated with Manhattan Records (I believe). I would say, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, or Florida would be a good guess on these guys....

Ugly Ducklings - Nothin' / Gaslight

Not the original, but an older two side reissue of this Toronto band's two biggest hits.

Chosen Ones - Watch Out

I'm not a big fan of garage bands with horn sections, but this James Brown ripoff is great because the offending trumpets are in the background, an an ultra cheezy organ drives this tune. This was a custom pressing done by Rite Records of Cincinnati, OH, home of King Records, home of James Brown, which might explain this whole thing.

Doug Philips - Here I Am

This funky garage/soul number is a total mystery to me. Released on the famous Ray-Phi label!

Four O'Clock Balloon - Dark Cobble Street / Two Heads

This Columbus, OH group won the "Northland's Shopping Center Battle Of The Bands" in 1967, and got an entire side of a double LP to flaunt their magnificent style! If anyone out there has this album, I'd love to hear it! They also released this terrific 45. The 'A' side is an original, and the flip is a groovy cover of a Jefferson Airplane tune.

Side Three - Every Now And Then / Sunshine Sunday

Nice sunshine pop/psyche from another bunch of unknowns. This might be from somewhere here in NY...

Lime - Beautiful Day / Satisfied

More sunshine pop/psyche, this time from Akron, OH. This one's in STEREO!

Locomotive - Big City Car / Roberta

Great bluesy rock from late '69. These guys were from Seattle, and guitarist John Ussery still actively performs to this day.

Mount Rushmore - Stone Free / ('Cause) She's So Good To Me

Great heavy psyche version of Jimi Hendrix' classic. These guys were from San Francisco, but obviously never hung around with the likes of the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Santana, or even Aum for that matter...

Get it all HERE

In Dan's Garage...#9

Geez. It's been about two weeks since the last post. Time really flies when you're busy as hell, and with all the baseball that's been on, it's hard getting myself away from the tube. Oh yeah, life's regular daily bullshit kinda gets in the way too. I've gotten a few more new acquisitions since the last post, and I've included them here. Again, it's a mixed bag of everything from frat rock to heavy psyche....

Hi Fives - Goin' Away / Tort

A somewhat early 45 on the Jerden label from spring of 1964. Great frat rock on the 'A' side with a moody yet cool instro on the 'B'.

Adventurers - Baby, Baby My Heart / Lover Doll

Real cheesy garage from somewhere in PA. Although the label says 1966, these guys sound a couple of years behind the times. "Baby, Baby My Heart" starts off sounding like a cover of Bobby Fullers tune, but veers off into something different. The 'B' side's got a garage/teenybopper sound to it,but still real cheesy.

Tommy Adderley - Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On / I Just Don't Understand

Tommy Adderley was a New Zealander who had a bunch of stuff released in the 60's on various labels,, and with various backing groups. He was really into John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and started an eclectic blues group in 1970 called Headband, and released several albums. This one's got a great beat version of "Whole Lotta Shakin'", and the 'B' side was a staple of British groups in the early/mid 60's.

Jack London & The Sparrows - If You Don't Want My Love / It's Been One Of Those Days Today

The first 45 by what was to eventually become "Steppenwolf". This one came out in 1964, and had Jerry Edmonton, and future Buffalo Springfield member Bruce Palmer in the lineup. They had about four 45s on Capitol, and an album. Jack London went solo, they hired John Kay, continued as "The Sparrow" for a couple of years, changed their name to "Steppenwolf'", and the rest is history.

Runarounds - You're A Drag

Nifty beat/pop from by a the guys who once sang "Barbara Ann". Basically a studio group, you can hear the do-wop influences in the falsetto vocals on the chorus, but overall, this is really good.


Sweet Younguns - Dog Eat Dog / I Think It's Gonna Work Out Fine

Not sure if this is by the same "Sweet Young'uns" from Montgomery, AL who are still playing to this day. Some info puts them in Georgia where Shurfine is based, and someone also rumored that this was an early formation of the Box Tops. Anyway this is a great record. The 'A' side pretty much describes the story of my life, and the 'B' side is a good version of an Ike & Tina Turner tune.


H.M. Subjects - Don't Put Me Down

This one's great! H.M. Subjects were originally The Montels from Miami, Fl, whose "You Can't Make Me" is a bona fide garage/punk classic. After they renamed themselves "H.M. Subjects" they released this 45 (produced by Morton Downey Jr. of all people!) with the same song on both sides. The "censored" side has the the word laid as in "when I laid her on the ground", bleeped out for radio play, hoping not to offend any uptight Floridians at the time. The record is great though, a real garage classic. Drummer Jeff Allen would later join The Evil, another fantastic Miami group. We'll get to them in the future...


Ty Wagner - I'm A No Count / Walking Down Lonely Street

Yeah baby!!! True greatness in 2:30! This is certainly one of the rarest and greatest garage anthems ever. Ty also had another killer 45, "Slander" on Era records. This one's a real tough one to find and fetches pretty big bucks on Ebay, and no, it's not a repro, it's the real thing.


Tony Harris - Superman / How Much Do I Love You

Cool! A garage tune dedicated to the greatest super hero ever! The 'B' side has a great Left Banke baroque pop feel to it, which I really like.


Shags - Hide Away / I Call Your Name

Terrific two sided moody garage from New Haven, CT. These guys had several great 45s and this one is no exception. They had at least 7 45s on various labels, all of them great.


Don & The Goodtimes - You Did It Before / Colors Of Life

The last 45 released by this Portland, OR group, and certainly one of the best. Don Gallucci originally played keyboards with The Kingsmen, and played the famous electric piano intro to "Louie Louie". The Goodtimes were a more pop oriented group, though sometimes they produced some rougher sounding stuff. This however is a fantastic pop/psyche 45


Nu Dimension - Another Side / Look Thru Any Window

As long as we're in the Pacific NW, lets take a listen to The Nu-Dimension. More pop/psyche on the 'A' side, and a slowed down version of The Hollies' "Look Thru Any Window"


Denny Ezba's Gold - Queen Mary / It's A Cryin' Shame

Denny Ezba was from Texas and had several 45s. This one's got some nutso fuzz on the 'A' side with real trippy vocals. The 'B's a nice pop/psyche number.


Epitome - Flower Power / I Need You

Bubblegummy pop/psyche from "The suburbs of N.Y.C."


Smack - Suzie Q / Hit The Road Jack

To end it all we have a great heavy psyche two sider! "Smack" were reportedly from Lawrence, KS but every other group I've seen on this label were from the Pacific NW so who knows???

Get it all HERE