In Dan’s Garage…#71

YAY!! It’s good to be back, and have we got some socko entertainment for you this time around! Things have been quite busy (as usual) over here at Dan’s Garage central in balmy Upstate New York these days, as my lovely wife and I have been searching for a new house and think we’ve found our dream home. It’s big, it’s roomy, and it’s a perfect place to throw cocktail parties so we’re keeping our fingers crossed right now as we haggle and wade through a bunch of red tape. I’m confident things will shake out just the way they should.    As far as this blog goes, if you haven’t noticed by now, some heavy hitters in the file sharing business have gotten whacked by the feds, so some “providers” have curtailed a bit or all of their services. Have no fear, nothing here has been deleted. In fact I’ve re-upped many links so that they are accessible to all.    Thanks to all of you who have sent kind comments over the past month or so, and especially to some who wondered if I was OK inmy absence from the blogosphere, I really appreciate it. I did have one comment this past week or so that complained about the sound quality of the posts and wondered why I didn’t “master” them “properly”, then had the balls to ask me to help him with some shit. I deleted it, but now that I think of it I should have posted his comment anyway because he was pleasant and seemed sincere enough I guess. If you’re out there my good friend, write back and let me know what you need, but please, I am but a humble record collector with very MODEST resources. I use a cheap portable turntable plugged into my PC and use a very basic sound editor to achieve the best possible results. I wish I had a $1000 turntable with a $3500 cartridge, but I DON’T. The sharing of this great music is the most important thing to me and as long as you can get some enjoyment out of it, that’s good enough for me, so dig in to this latest offering while the icicles melt off your rooftops…….

Sir Henry & His Butlers – Hi Heeled Sneakers / Let’s Go (1964) Sir Henry and his bunch were a very popular group from Copenhagen, Denmark. They do a decent job on this version of “Hi Heeled Sneakers” and the flip is a combination of “Let’s Go” & “The Hully Gully”. It’s interesting how groups like this got their records released in the US.

Jimmy Barbee & The Hardtimes – Sweet Woman’s Love (196?) This record is so cool. It starts off with a fuzzy guitar riff and then launches into a Jerry Lee Lewis style rocker. The lead player hits that nasty fuzz box once more for the break too! I’m not sure who Jimmy Barbee is, or when this record was released, but my guess would be around 1966. He had another on Hunt records which I also have that is good, but not as rockin’ as this one. The flip is a straight up country song. Go figure….

British Walkers – Diddley Daddy / I Found You (1964) The first release by this D. C. area group. The most notable aspect of this 45 is that it was co-produced and co-written by guitar legend Roy Buchannan and you can hear his Telecaster most prominently on “I Found You”.

Chartbusters – You’re Breakin’ My Heart / Can’t You Hear Me Callin’ (1965) What a coincidence! Following on the heels of the British Walkers 45 comes this one by The Chartbusters, another popular group from D.C. and in fact were the British Walkers on their final 45 “Shake” which is included on IDG #18.

Humphrey & The Palookas – Careless Love / (Then I'll Be) Sure Of Your Love (1966) A group from somewhere in NY State, but where exactly I can’t say for sure. Probably the New York City area.

Many Others - (Tell Me Why) I'm Alone / Can I Get A Witness (1965) This one’s really good, but is so obscure I have no idea where it’s from. Great vocal harmonies.

Blue Things – Pretty Thing Oh / Just Two Days Ago (1965) What can I say about these Kansas legends???? They are one of the great bands to come out of the 60s never to hit it big which is a shame because most of their output is genius. This is their second 45 on Ruff before they got national distribution with RCA.

Mad Hatters – I’ll Come Running / Hello Girl (1966) Another act from D.C. who incidentally included Bobby Howard of the British Walkers for a brief period. This one’s a movin’ version of Lulu’s “I’ll Come Running” while the flip is a nice original.

Del Vetts – I Call My Baby STP / That’s The Way It Is (1966) When I was a kid STP stickers were ALL  OVER THE PLACE. I really didn’t know why an oil treatment got so much pub, but it was a genius advertising campaign because every bike in my neighborhood had one plastered on it as well as school books, walls, pets, etc….. Obviously the folks at Dunwich must have enlisted the great talents of the Del Vetts to shill this product, so they recorded the A side of this hot-rod rocker and packaged it in a cool sleeve with the guys in a Corvette (naturally) ogling a chick in a mini-skirt walking across a field in what looks to be the middle of nowhere. Oh yeah, a sticker came with it too. The real treat here though is the ultra genius B side. A moody folk rocker with great 12 string guitar and superb vocal harmonies.

Outcasts – Loving You Sometimes / Sha La La (1968) The sole release by this group from Ashland, KY that features super cool fuzz guitar throughout both sides. You can read more about them HERE.

Cherry Slush – Gotta Take It Easy (1968) A Detroit area group who had a couple of 45s most notably the great “I Cannot Stop You” which I’ll feature in a future edition if IDG. Michigan rock great Dick Wagner had a bit of involvement with these guys.

Gruve – Said I Wasn’t Gonna Tell Nobody / You’re Gonna Love Me (1968) Detroit spin-off of the great Tidal Waves of “Farmer John” fame. This is a prime example of “Blue Eyed Soul” at it’s best. I love the tough sound of the A side.

Baskerville Hounds – Hold Me / Here I Come Miami (1969) A Cleveland, OH group who were rather popular and opened for many big acts who came through the city. They were originally called The Talula Babies and recorded the awesome “Hurtin’ Kind”.

Chaps – Wait A Minute / Maybe I’m Amazed (1970) The same group from Pine Bluff, AK that were featured on IDG #57 & 63, although by this time they got a bit heavier but still show their Fab Four influences on their decent cover of McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed”.

Lincoln St. Exit – Time Has Come Gonna Die / Soulful Drifter (1970) Popular Albuquerque, NM outfit that had a few 45s (Including the great “Sunny Sunday Dream / The Bummer”) before releasing “Drive It”  on Mainstream Records in 1970. Not exactly garage, but great heavy psyche on the A side and good folk rock on the B.

GET IT HERE