In Dan’s Garage….#85

Greetings once again friends and followers! I got away with a minor computer crisis recently and thought that all the good stuff that was lying safe on my hard drive got wiped out, but I managed to retrieve it safely and now I can continue without a hitch. It looks like winter is finally over up here as I’ve witnessed one of the worst moths temperature wise in quite a while, so when the thermometer gets 10° above freezing (that’s Fahrenheit for those who aren’t here in the U.S.) it feels rather balmy and we start cheering for spring. As Gerry Roslie of the Sonics would say… WAAAAHOOOOO! Why is it so cold????? I don’t know, I guess I’m just plagued with living in a part of the hemisphere that kind of sucks weather-wise , but I’m sure some of you out there have it worse so I’ll shut up.    Many of you out there have requested re-ups of past postings that got wiped out by Mediafire. I’m getting a lot of these so if I don’t answer you request verbally, don’t be offended. I just have to hash all of this out and re-up as I get requests, and even then I have to devote my time to something else. It took me weeks just to get my act together for this one, so please remember, patience is a virtue.    Thanks once again for all the kind comments from ALL of you, they truly make my day and as the number of followers grows (over 200 now thank you!) the stack of new records grows with it and it looks like I’ll be doing this for a little while longer. I’m also trying to sharpen up my writing skills which kind of suck, but I hope you’ll all look past the inadequacies and enjoy the gist of what I’m doing here, it is my passion and keeps my blood flowing and eases all kinds of stress as well. Let’s spin a few 45s shall we????

Shondels – Shake A Tail Feather / Don’t Put Me Down (1965) A real raw stomper from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. A side is a great frat rock rendition of “Shake A Tail Feather” but the B side is a somewhat moody, yet up-tempo garage put down song.

Vogues – Humpty Dumpty (1966) We all know the Vogues were the furthest thing from what us purists consider a “garage band”, but this fine Diddelyesque thumper is pretty good in my opinion. Most likely backed by Pittsburg pals The Fenways.

Aquamen – Line And Track / Tomorrow Is A Long Time (1966) Most likely a group from somewhere in California, but I can’t find anything concrete so I’m merely guessing. A side is a great garagey stomper while on the B they tackle a Bob Dylan favorite that kind of plods along a bit slowly and it sounds like they’re reading the lyrics of a piece of paper on a music stand! Apparently this 45 is fetching huge bucks from “Northern Soul” collectors, but I don’t know why. It doesn’t sound anything like “soul” to me, but what the hell do I know?

Cat’s Meow – House Of Kicks / True True Lovin’ (1966) Long thought to be a studio group, The Cat’s Meow were an actual band from Staten Island, NY. They eventually became The Beeds, who’s “Run To Her” is featured in IDG #84. Read more about them here at the fantabulous “Flower Bomb Songs” blog.

Jim Jones & The Chaunteys – Next Exit / One Fine Mice (1967) Not sure of the date on this one, but I guessed 1967???? Oh well, in any case, The Chaunteys were an extremely prolific band out of Fort Worth, TX that released about a dozen 45s from the early to mid 60s including this organ drenched lite-psych flavored number. The flip is a goofy tribute to Mickey Mouse, but since they were a house band at a Disneyland teen club, I guess they were obligated to pay tribute to the Mickster and his legion of followers. Read an excellent interview with Jim Jones at the fine “60s Garage Bands” website.

Blue Beats – Extra Girl / She’s The One (1966) Superb power pop from Danbury, CT. They had one other 45 on Columbia and eventually changed their name to “The No.1” and released another superb track “The Collector” (I’m presently trying to track down a copy as we speak). Check out an interview with guitarist Lance Drake here.

Link Wray & The Raymen – Hidden Charms / Ace Of Spades (1966) Perhaps his most brutal 45 ever. Link goes all out here guitar AND vocal wise with thee definitive garage treatment of Willie Dixon’s “Hidden Charms”. “Ace Of Spades” is perhaps one of his finest instros as well.

Sessions – Let Me In (1965) According to Colin Mason (who’s “Flower Bomb Songs” blog is perhaps one of the best and is far more astute than I in the area of band research) this 45 was released in the U.S. only, and predates the Sorrows’ version by about a year. He also reveals that along with Miki Dallon, this group had a young Ritchie Blackmore playing lead guitar and Nicky Hopkins pounding the keys. “Miki” would later rehash this riff on “When I Was 15” which can be heard on IDG #45.

Cavemen – A Small World / Whatever Will Be Will Be (1966) Reportedly from New Jersey and NOT the garage rockers from Rochester, NY (my home town!!). Great organ driven garage on the A side and a decent rendition of “Que Sera Sera” on the flip. I still to this day don’t know why bands covered that one…….

Care Package – Vinegar Man / Mister Child (1966) Excellent garage/folk on the A side here, with guy/gal vocals that were very typical for the era. The flip has a more sunshiny feel to it.

Los Bravos – I’m All Ears / You’ll Never Get The Chance Again (1967) I don’t know what it is about Los Bravos that piques my interest in them. On the one hand, they kind of have an overproduced, bombastic, sort of… over-the-top sound, but lurking underneath is a pretty good beat group trying to get past the horn section that sometimes (well..usually) takes over their songs. “Black Is Black” is certainly one of my favorite songs and this follow up from ‘67 has the same formula.

London & The Bridges – Keep Him / I'll Probably Understand When I'm Older (1966) Featured in IDG #83, this was the last of three releases from this Great Neck, NY band.

Boss Blues – Takin’ Life Easy / Could It Be True (1968) These guys may have been from Massachusetts, but I can’t say for sure. Somewhere in New England would be a fair assumption though. Very good bubblegum sounds here.

Idle Race – Here We Go Round The Lemon Tree / My Father’s Son (1967) One of the great British Beat/Freakbeat groups, The Idle race was the home to Jeff Lynne and had some involvement with Roy Wood as well. As we all know, Lynne went on to form ELO and involve himself with The Travelling Wilburys and Tom Petty.

Bill Wendry & The Boss Tweeds – Trying To Get To You / When He’s Gone (1969) The second of three 45s issued by this Massachusetts based group. Although there’s a significant amount of horns on these songs, they’re pretty good with a powerful delivery. If you get a chance, check out “A Wristwatch Band”, a real weird moody psychedelic freak-out,  their finest moment.

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