In Dan’s Garage…#59

Ahhh, another rainy day in upstate New York! I love doing this on dismal days when I’m not mowing, or replacing windows, or when outdoor parties get cancelled. Yes, I just love to spin discs and pass them on to folks who truly dig them. I was going to feature a few of these in the “Upstate New York” posts, but I found out that they were all from Jersey, or Florida, or someplace other than New York. Good thing, because I look foolish enough when I don’t know what I’m talking about or “going out on a limb" like I did in the last post with The Bad Boys 45. I’ll try to be as accurate as possible with my info and when I can’t, I’ll let you put your two cents in! HIT IT!!!!

Paul Chaplain & His Emeralds – Shortnin’ Bread / Nicotine (1960) Let’s throw out the first pitch and make it a curveball. A lot of people might consider this “rockabilly”, and it does have a hillbilly twinge to it, but I see it as a definitive bridge between rockabilly and garage. I guess Paul Chaplain was from somewhere in Massachusetts and from my knowledge had this one 45 which actually made the top 100. The flip is dedicated to my lovely wife who can’t seem to put down those smokes! This is true “proto-punk”.

Brass Tacks – Tell Me / What Is The Reason (1965) Hoo boy! I love “inept” stuff, but I don’t know what the hell these guys were thinking when they hired the dude to sing these tracks ‘cause he’s literally tone deaf. OK, maybe I’m being a bit too harsh, but he’s having a little bit of difficulty. I’ll give him an A+ for enthusiasm though! Originally thought to be from Syracuse, NY, and there was even a rumor that this was actually Felix Cavaliere while he was attending Syracuse University.

Counts IV – Listen To Me / Lost Love (1966) I featured this group in IDG #44 and also featured bass player Al Peluso’s solo effort in IDG #52. This was also supposed to be included in the whole “Upstate NY” thing, but since they were primarily from North Carolina, I backed off. Al Peluso was a Utica native who ended up down south, but I guess this one particular record was popular here in upstate NY because of Al’s involvement. As you can see, the sticker on this record shows the previous owner to be from Littler Falls, a mere hop skip & jump from Utica.

Ray Columbus & The Invaders – She’s A Mod / The Cruel Sea (1965) New Zealander Ray Columbus had a fairly long career and led the Invaders for about three or four years until they split in ‘65, leaving us a few cool 45s including this one. Ray eventually moved to the US where he re-did the A side to this 45 with a San Francisco group called the Art Collection. The instrumental flip side of this sounds a cross between The Shadows and The Tornadoes.

James Richard – Just Before The Dawn Breaks / Baby Don’t You Know (196?) Here’s a very cryptic 45 from….well I don’t know where it’s from, when it was recorded, or who James Richard is (or was for that matter). The A side is great garage/psych and the B side has a soul flavor to it. Possibly from Florida???????

Sidekicks – Not Now (1966) The Sidekicks were a band of teenagers from New Jersey who originally started as The Redcoats, got a contract with RCA and released a few records, of which this one is the best, IMHO. If you want the WHOLE STORY, check it out HERE.

Razors Edge – Baby’s On His Way (1967) Here’s one of those 45’s that were slated for the “Upsate” posts because it has BUFFALO, NY all over it. Well…I WAS WRONG! I guess this group is from Florida. They had several lightweight poppy 45s, but I think this one here is the coolest.

Szorenyi Levente - Meg Faj Menden Csok (1966) Koncz Zsuzsa - Nincsen Olvan Ember (1966) Every once in a while (well..more often really) I take a stab at something on Ebay beacause it looks cool, and it’s cheap. this 99¢ score is one one of the coolest things I’ve ever found scrounging around for records. What we have here is a 45 from Hungary, released  during the thick of the cold war, and what we hear are two “artists”, a group that sound a bit like the Animals, and a chick who sounds like she’s being backed up by the same group. I don’t know Hungarian, although I do dig Hungarian cuisine a lot, so I won’t make an attempt at what the titles mean, but as you can se by these examples, Rock & Roll influenced everyone, even those teens tucked away behind the iron curtain. Further research shows that both these “artists” were extremely popular in Hungary at the time. Check out these videos…

Royal Guardsmen – Leaving Me (1966) We all know these guys from the “Snoopy songs that pollute the airwaves of “oldies” stations worldwide, but we never knew these guys could actually play anything. This is by far one of their coolest songs ever, and a lot of this LP isn’t half bad either…..

Ravin’ Blue – Colors / In My Sorrow (1967) Somewhat of a studio group with ties to Mississippi. The great “Love” was their first 45, and this one is definitely on the pop/psyche side, though really good. I love the lyrics on the A side.

Ides Of Love – Hey Mister Wise Man / Something So Pretty (1967) This would just be another totally unknown New Jersey 45 if E. Street Band drummer Max Weinberg hadn’t played on it. Very good.

Aladdin & The Genies – Please Wait For Me / You Won’t See Me Anymore (1968) An unknown group from the Cincinnati, OH area. This is a cool 45 with lots of fuzz guitar and a real “hip” go-go vibe to it with some cheesy chick backup vocals.

Big Brother & The Holding Company – The Last Time / Coo Coo (1967) I have a love / hate relationship with Janis Joplin. On the one hand, you’ve got Cheap Thrills, which is a terrific LP and I really like it because of it’s raw energy, even though they were a bunch of hippies. On the other hand, you’ve got “Me & Bobby McGee” which makes me reach for a barf bag every time it comes on the radio. This very early 45 is definitely in the first category. Joplin is right on with her vocals, and is that some surfy sounding guitar I hear on Coo Coo?????

Loners – Insight Out / Old Man Blues (196?) An interesting 45 that's pretty crude yet has a “progressive” twinge to it. You can tell these guys are trying to be “with it”, but they sound really, well, like they're not with it. They're getting down with the “subculture” on the A side and digging some blues on the B. In any case, it's great stuff in my opinion. Thought to be from Albany, NY, I’ve also seen a reference to them being from Tennessee, but no one knows for sure……

Paper Cup – One Part Good (19??) Another one that totally escapes me. “She Needs Love” was featured in IDG #23 and I wasn't sure where they were from, but this 45 confirms that they were from Long Island, NY. This is a bit poppier than their other effort. I can’t pinpoint a date on this, but it might be from the early 70s.

Mercy – Fire Ball (1969) Sometimes you find the coolest things in the weirdest places. Like this fuzzed out instro that sounds a bit like “Penetration”. This was actually the flip side of soft rock lullaby, “Love (Can Make You Happy)”, a big hit in 1969 by these one hit wonders from Florida. I’m not sure if this is actually them performing, or a studio group.

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In Dan’s Garage…#58

May 1, 2011 Greetings friends and followers! I hope everyone had a nice holiday last weekend, and I hope you all enjoyed the last post. I’m starting to get back into a groove again here as I gather up some more 45s in my collection and head out to a record show today which I’m sure will yield a few cool items. Last time I went I couldn’t scrape up anything but some old LP’s for a $1 apiece (I’m cheap), but I hope today will be a bit better. LP’s are cool too but most of the ones I buy really don't fit into the theme of this particular blog. I’m usually all over the place with that stuff, and I’m rather keen on old 70’s junk that I used to listen to when I was a stupid teenager, as well as wacky LPs and some country and western which I’ve become rather fond of these days. Not that Brad Paisley shit, but Buck Owens, Hank Williams, Kitty Wells, early Loretta Lynn, Porter Waggoner…you get the picture. I used to love Hee Haw when I was a kid and all that dopey corn-pone comedy, but there were some fine pickers on that show. Does anyone remember “The Porter Waggoner Show”?  We used to laugh our asses off because he would always come out with a ridiculous sequined outfit, but he had a hell of a band, and I do remember a young Dolly Parton making regular appearances on that show decked out in a mile high beehive hairdo. Now those were the days!!!! Enough nostalgia, I got to get this thing moving….oh hell, I gotta get ready to go to the record show. I’ll return to this when I get back……………………..OK! Well….that was a fun outing! As far as cool garage and psyche 45s it was pretty slim pickings, but I did manage to scarf up about ninety 45s of all types, a dozen LPs and I only spent $11.00!!!!!! Talk about bargains!!! Most of it was common stuff to fill holes in my collection, but I found some real strange junk too that I’ll probably use on my “I Found It In That Box” blog which I started a while back, but haven't updated for a long time. Well I guess now’s as good a time as any!!!! In the meantime enjoy this latest labor of love from yours truly. Have a great weekend all!

Rumblers – Boss Strikes Back / Sorry (For The Way I Treated You) (1963) The “answer” to the legendary “Boss”. The Rumblers were a fine instrumental surf band from California who also did the great “I Don’t Need You No More”. Drummer Adrian Lloyd would release a solo 45 “Lorna” which is quite possibly one of the most insane garage 45’s I’ve ever heard…….

Fabulous Royals – She Told Me (That I Had To Wait) / At The Dance (1966) An obscure one from the Chicago area. These guys probably all wore thick horn rimmed glasses and were losers at their high school. Great teenage laments on both sides although the flip is definitely more up-tempo.

Jerry Palmer – That’ll Be The Day / Together With Love (1965) Canadian Jerry Palmer had a slew of releases in Canada on Gaiety Records, and this one was released in the U.S, on Chattahoochie. Jerry had a long and prolific career ans was a very popular singer in the mid 60’s. This is a nice take on Buddy Holly’s classic and the flip is some really nice beat/pop.

Apostles – While I’m Away / Cloudy Summer Afternoon (1965) An unknown group from somewhere in Western New York, possibly Buffalo, as this shares much of the same info on the label as The Catalinas on Inco, and The Invictas 45s on Sahara. Pretty decent lightweight invasion sounds here with a couple of nice guitar breaks.

Me & Them – Show You Mean It Too / Everything I Do Is Wrong (1965) Obscure British group that had at least three releases on Pye records in Britain. This one was released here on a rather unknown label and is a great pounding two sider with some tough sounding sax in the mix.

Bobby Vee & The Strangers – Look At Me Girl (1966) I’m certainly not a Bobby Vee fan, and almost always shy away from teener 45s, unless they cost 20¢ like this one, and I was pleasantly surprised to hear that this is the same song that The Playboys Of Edinburgh recorded on Columbia. A good country influenced folk rock tune that is nothing like “Rubber Ball”.

Bad Boys  - Love / Black Olives (1966) Sensational fuzzy garage/punk from Frederick, MD, which is very close to Washington D.C. Country boy Charlie Daniels actually had a hand in this recording, and I have a theory, (although I’m probably WRONG but what the hell I’ll go out on a limb here…). If you listen to the guitar playing, especially on the B side “Black Olives” it sounds a hell of a lot like Tele master extraordinaire, Roy Buchannan, who, by the way, was working around the D.C. area at the time. Could he have been brought in to lay down those awesome guitar parts???? Hmmmmm….I wonder…….?????

Symon Grace & Tuesday Blues – You Won’t Get Me Workin’ (1966) Released twice on Round (as shown here) and on Main Line, both outfits out of Cleveland, OH. I’m not sure who Symon was. but it’s possible he could be Dick Whittington who also released a  45 on the same label (we’ll get to that one in the future….). This one here is a great sinister sounding tune with some deadly fuzz guitar. This song should be an anthem for lazy slobs around the world.

Cryan Shames – I Wanna Meet You (1966) A good one from their debut LP, and one of the better cuts they recorded before they moved into a total soft pop direction.

Wailers – You Won’t Lead Me On / Tears (Don’t Have To Fall) (1966) A great rocker from this legendary Pacific NW band which also appered on their “Outburst” LP. The flip is a ballad, but I like moody stuff…..

J. Walker & The Pedestrians – Lie’s Too Short / Thinking Of You (1967) Last post we featured The Undertakers who were label mates of this Orlando, FL area group. J. Walker is a little more subdued than his I-4 counterparts with this nice folk-rock influenced single.

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – Candy Man / Buy For Me The Rain (1966) I was pleasantly surprised to hear this 1966 effort from a group that specialized in soft country-rock sounds. “Candy Man” definitely has that “jug band” feel to it but it’s definitely folk-rock, the flip on the other hand is some excellent sunshine pop.

Restless Feelin’s – Hey, Mama, You’ve Been On My Mind / A Million Things (1966) A studio project arranged and produced by a guy named Eddie Reeves. The top side here is a brilliant folk-rocker and the flip has some extremely cool fuzz guitar throughout.

Spirit Of St. Louis – Goin’ Back To Miami (1967) Not exactly a “garage” band, but a souped up blue eyed soul group who tackle Wayne Cochran’s “Going Back To Miami” with mucho gusto!

Tragedy – Unfaithful Love / The Entertainer (1968) An obscure Pacific NW band who recorded this melancholy 45 late in 1968 when we were all getting worked up about the Vietnam war, Hendrix was at his peak, The Beatles’ White Album had come out….Goes to show you there was still some cool stuff floating around that period…..

Shame – Too Old To Go ’Way Little Girl  / Dreams Don’t Bother Me (1967) Wow. This is such a cool 45, not just because it’s great British psyche on both sides, but that it features a young Greg Lake (yes, the Lake in Emerson, Lake, & Palmer) singing and playing guitar. You wonder how guys who played such finely crafted tunes like this could evolve into the prog-rock bands who dominated much of the early 70’s.

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