In Dan's Garage...#18

 

HEY!!! I hope everyone is having a great weekend! The band played out last night to a small but very enthusiastic crowd who dared to venture out in the subzero weather we've been having here in upstate New York. Plus, we had a gigantic full moon. I guess it's the biggest one of the year, so the whole evening had a spooky vibe to it. Overall, we had a blast. Now I'm sitting here recovering from several pints of delicious IPA's. Not exactly hungover, but just a little drained from last night's activities.So what better way to wind down the weekend than with another posting of "In Dan's Garage"? This particular edition features some very familiar, and maybe "not so garage or psychedelic" sounds. I just opened a new box and was greeted with some old favorites, and a few oddballs. I'm sure you'll all enjoy it. So here it is....

Rogues - Everyday

  

Let's not confuse this studio group with the other 100 or so "Rogues" out there. This is Bruce Johnston & Terry Melcher doing a super solid remake of Buddy Holly's lightweight classic. Sorry Buddy Holly fans, but this version is absolutely the best I've ever heard, with a nice "Louie Louie" thing thrown in for good measure!

C.L. & The Pictures - Let's Take A Ride

 

 Here's a nice early '60s rocker. The only thing I could find out about C.L. Weldon is that he released an album of hard blues rock called "Houston's Natural Gass" with another guy named Jesse Lankford. It sounds an awful lot like Grand Funk Railroad. 

Excels - It Isn't So / Run Girl Run

 

Every search I do on this group comes up with references to Northern Soul. I dig soul music, but this sure as hell ain't nothing like James Brown. Actually, it's a pretty cheesy teen garage band. The top side is an inept weeper, and the flip is a Buddy Holy style thing with cool organ fills. From the Chicago area....

High Spirits - (Turn On Your) Love Light / Tossin' And Turnin'

  

Pretty good version by a bunch from Minneapolis. If you haven't heard their awesome "I Believe" yet, you definitely should. This was their 1st 45....

Sev & Fred - Bye Bye Love

  

As long as we're in the upper Midwest, why not throw in a couple of mystery men from Wisconsin? Not sure who Sev or Fred were, but this is a way cool version of the Everly Bros. classic. Note: No electric guitars....

Mod Rockers - Lovers Lane

 

 Another mystery. These guys may have been "rockers", but this tune sure doesn't sound "mod" to me... Wait...Mod...Rockers...hey! I get it! It's an oxymoron!!!! How clever....

Mugwumps - I Don't Wanna Know

 

Hey, let's throw in some nice "folk rock" OK? This was Mama Cass and Denny Doherty of Mamas and Papas fame with Zal Yanovsky of Lovin' Spoonful fame before they split into their respective groups. I'm not a "folkie", in the trditional sense, but I kinda like this "power folk" (for lack of a better term).

We Five - Let's Get Together

As long as we're doing the "meaningful folk rock" thing, let's throw in this little nugget. We Five's "You Were On My Mind" was one of the first to blend traditional folk with rock music. I think it's a fantastic song. What is overlooked is the fact that We Five did the hippie anthem "Let's Get Together" a good two years before the Youngbloods had a hit with it. This one's a completely different take on the song. Real cool.

Jamie Coe & The Gigolos - Greenback Dollar / But Yesterday

 

Jamie Coe was discovered by Bobby Darrin in the late fifties and did a few teen rocker 45s. After the Beatles hit big he lost his popularity (except in Michigan where he was still a big favorite), changed his up sound and released this cool folk rock 45. 

Gentrys - Spread It On Thick / Brown Paper Sack

  

Great Frat rock/R&B group from Memphis. They sang this one in a movie with The Animals and The Castaways, but I forget the name of it...

British Walkers - Shake / That Was Yesterday

  

A Washington DC. group that had a few 45's  released, all of them pretty good. This one is rumored to be the Chartbusters in disguise.

Kingsmen - If I Need Someone

 

 It's real hard to believe that this is the same band that gave us Louie Louie, or even Jolly Green Giant for that matter. Nonetheless, this is a terrific version of George Harrison's classic folk rocker.

Nobody's Children - Don'tcha Feel Like Cryin'

  

Here's one of those borderline tunes with horns. This one's pretty good though, because it's got cool fuzz guitars, and the singer sounds just like Joey Ramone! From the Maryland / D.C. area.

Seeds - Mr. Farmer / Up In Her Room

 

 I don't think this band needs any introduction. This was one of their better efforts that wasn't a clone of "Pushin' Too Hard"

Balloon Farm - Question Of Temperature / Hurtin' For Your Love

  

The first "garage" 45 I ever bought! A true classic! The flip side "Hurtin' For Your Love" is really overlooked.

Bristol Boxkite - Clors Of Love / If You Love Me

 

Great folky/poppy/psyche sounds from a group out of Castro Valley, a suburb of San Fransisco.

Vagrants - I Love, Love You (Yes I Do)

 

 What the hell...I'll throw in this beat up copy of the seldom heard flip side of "Respect" Leslie West wails on this vocal....

Music Explosion - What You Want (Baby I Want You)

 

 I originally bought this for the freaky instrumental psychedelic flip side "Road Runner", while completely ignoring the A side. Well...you know what? The A side is pretty freaking cool. Emphasis on "freak". The guys who sang the bubblegum classic "Little Bit Of Soul" really take a left turn on this 45.

 Ohio Express - Try It / Soul Struttin'

  

Here's another Kasenetz & Katz effort, this time by the Yummy Yummy Yummy guys. Between that and the great "Beg Borrow and Steal", this group tried their hand at the Standells' hit. The flip was co-written by Tony Orlando!

Bubble Puppy - Hot Smoke & Sassafras / Lonely

 

 Debut 45 by one of the best known Texas psyche bands ever. It was there, so I had to include it.

Bintangs - Ridin' On The L & N

 

 Definitely not a garage tune, but a great rockin' blues number. The Bintangs from The Netherlands have been around forever and are a very prolific group.

Get it HERE