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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