In Dan’s Garage…#78

Greetings friends and music lovers! Sorry for yet another delay in posts, but weekends here have been quite busy, Fall weddings and an unscheduled “wine tour” took up much of my time these past few weeks. Wine tour you ask????? I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this in previous posts, but here in upstate New York we have these lakes called the “Finger Lakes”. They’re called that because, well..they look like fingers. Duh. Here’s a map. From the inset you can really see how far away we are from NYC. The sheer beauty of autumn leaves in this part of the state is unrivaled, and the best part is that it’s harvest season for grapes this time of the year, and so my lovely wife and I usually go to Seneca Lake to sample wine, but this year decided to try Cayuga Lake instead, and boy are we glad we did! The road is much closer to the lake shore and the wineries are somewhat smaller, which makes for a more intimate experience. We decided to go on a Friday this year as Saturdays are filled with tour buses and stretch limos full of yuppies acting like they are wine connoisseurs or something, when all they really want to do is get drunk and act sophisticated. I hate fighting for a space at the tasting bar with these types. We like to make our way down casually and bring some sandwiches or some cheese and crackers and some non-alcoholic beverages to offset any tipsyness that might occur. As for the wine, Rieslings are  the best around here and I recommend any of them from this area. Chardonnay’s are OK, but they’re hit and miss. Dry reds are definitely not my favorite around here. Stick to Californian, Australian, Italian, French, etc. if you like those. Sweet wines here in NY are decent too, but I much prefer something “chewy” for reds and something tart and fruity for whites. Listen to me I sound like a wine pinhead! OK, enough of this chatter, let’s get to the latest edition of this blog. More obscurities from my collection which keeps growing month by month. Enjoy, and we’ll talk again very soon!

Napoleonic Wars – I Can’t Explain It / The Singer, Not The Song (1967) A group from Greensburg, PA that sort of mimicked Paul Revere And The Raiders only they wore “Napoleon” outfits (I guess). Here they tackle the Who’s “I Can’t Explain” and the Stones’ “Singer, Not The Song”. Nice versions indeed, but a bit on the soft side IMHO.

Downliner’s Sect – Sect Appeal / Little Egypt (1964) I generally do not do reissues but I had this one in the pile and had to include it because it’s so good. The Sect were perhaps one of the rawest beat groups to come out of Britain in the early 60’s and unfortunately are very overshadowed by the Stones, Yardbirds, Pretty Things, Etc. Great stuff.

Beau Brummels – One Too Many Mornings (1966) The first 45 they released on Warner Bros. and one of their best. Her’s their take take on a Dylan classic, and naturally they do an excellent job. I can’t say enough about how great these guys were, and although their later output isn’t exactly my cup of tea (Triangle & Bradley’s Barn) they are nonetheless, one of Americas best bands from the1960s. Are these guys in that hokey “Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame” yet????? If not then something is terribly wrong.

Cascades – She’ll Love Again / You Won’t Have To Stay (1965) Wow. I had a hard time believing this was the same group that had a huge hit wit “Rhythm Of The Rain” in ‘62, but yup, it’s the same group. Three years later they released this obscure, yet genius folk rock 45 on Liberty, but after a couple of spins, you get it. The vocal group thing is still intact, but they decided to back it up with some extremely cool 12 string guitar pyrotechnics. GENIUS.

Mae West w/ Somebody’s Chyldren – Treat Him Right / Day Tripper (1966) Oh man o Manischewitz, is this one a hoot! Mae West was a 70 something by the time the “Swingin’ Sixties” came around, and of course she had to put het two cents in by recording an LP of covers with one of LA’s better garage bands backing them. Unlike “Mrs. Miller’s” hilarious efforts, Mae performs rather nicely and the results are…well…I guess you’ll have to decide.  “Treat Him Right” is fairly routine, and actually tailor made for Mae, but “Day Tripper” hums along rather blandly until the band launches into this fuzzy freaked out rave up in the middle of the song. Incredible. I actually have another one of these 45s. I’ll get to it in a later post while you have time to absorb this one……

Murray Kellum & The Cane Breakers– The Ghost Song / The Friendly Loan Company (1966) Murray Kellum wrote and sang “Long Tall Texan” which was a minor hit in the early 60s. He later must have relocated to Texas where he hooked up with this garage act and recorded this decent “novelty” 45 around 1966.

Tony & The Bandits – (Oh No!) I Can’t Lose / It’s A Bit Of Alright (1965) Tony Brazis and his crew were from Cincinnati, OH and had one other great 45 on Coral before they changed their name to the Chosen Lot and had one more 45 on Sidra. This 45 however is their best and is a sterling example of how US groups could interpret the British Beat sound perfectly. Check out this amazing video…..

Neal Ford & The Fanatics – Searchin’ / All I Have To Do Is Dream (1966) Neal Ford and The Fanatics were based in Houston, Tx. Their “I Will Not Be Lonely” (as simply The Fanatics) is one of the all time greats as well as “Shame On You” a sinister piece of garage/punk that was released on Hickory and featured in IDG #24. This earlier effort covers two rock and roll standards, and while neither of them ar4e “killers”, they’re both decent garage takes on two classics.

Bo Street Runners – Alladin (1966) These guys were one of several “Bo Street Runners” who were running around making records during the 60s. The guys may have been from Phoenix, AZ but I’m not positive. This song was originally recorded by The Changin’ Times of “How Is The Air Up There” fame.

Flying Circus – Green Eyes, Green World / Got To Learn To Love (1967) A Bay Area group that had three 45s although the last one was from 1970 and I’ve never heard it. This one is pretty good though with some nice jangly guitars.

Mickey Buckins & The New Breed – Seventeen Year Old Girl / Long Long Time (1967) A group of guys from the Muscle Shoals area of Alabaama that had two real good 45s and all four sides reflect a different style. The A side of this one is a tale of a wild, swingin’ 17 year old chick who’s driving her pop crazy. B side is a great R&B tinged ballad. I’m working on getting a copy of their version of “Reflections Of Charles Brown” which is quite a departure from this record.

13th Precinct – You Gotta Be Mine / Junk Yard (1967) Although long thought of as a group from the south, The 13th Precinct was from Sterling, IL which is west of Chicago. They originally were called “The Inspirations” and had an ace 45 on Feature titled “That Girl” which has made it on a few comps. The group also included Michael Murphy who ended up in REO Speedwagon for several of their albums (better ones I might add) before Kevin Kronin stepped in and made them a “hard pop” powerhouse. You can get lots more info on the fantastic website GARAGE HANGOVER.

1910 Fruitgum Factory – Reflections From The Looking Glass (1967) Who woulda thunk that the guys who laid out the bubblegummiest of bubblegum classics, “Simple Simon”, would throw such a cool psychedelic number as the B side of their hit? Not me.

Bridge – It’s A Beautiful Day / Life Of A Day (1969) A New Haven, CT band that had at least one other 45 that’s been featured here on IDG (I think…..wait, no it hasn’t. Sorry). One side is decent pop/psyche, but the other gets into that “tri-sate area” Vanilla Fudge thing which was so prevalent at that time. Very good.

Bubble Puppy – Thinkin’ About Thinkin” / Days Of Our Time (1969) Second last 45 generated by these Texas legends before they changed their name to Demian and released an LP on ABC which is rather good. “Thinkin’” statrs off with some typical Bubble Puppy style riffing but then gets into an almost Beatlesque type chorus that breaks the tune up quite nicely.

Vagrants – And When It’s Over / I Don’t Need Your Lovin’ (1968) Speaking of “tri state” area bands, The Vagrants were perhaps the best, due to the fact that Leslie West was such a fantastic guitarist, (yup, even in his Mountain days) and hell, the rest of the band was pretty damn good too, They also had the perfect formula of mixing soul, R&B, garage, and psychedelia all in one nice package. Nice job guys.

It’s A Happening!