In Dan’s Garage…#88

Hi y’all! Getting sick really has it’s ups and downs. On the down side, you generally feel like crap, cough and sneeze a lot, and are pretty tired most of the time. On the up-side, I get out of doing chores and have lots of spare time to get this blog going! YAY!!! The weather has been blazing hot these past few weeks and after a shaky June, summer finally feels like it’s here to stay for a bit and I do hope you’re enjoying yours! On a side note, I believe that all the bad links to the “In Dan’s Garage” posts have been converted and re-upped so download to your hearts content. I still have to work on the “Obscure 60 Garage” posts yet, but they’ll be up soon. As usual I’ve assembled a veritable potpourri of sounds here from Soul to Prog Rock so get ready for an eclectic hour or so of music. Have a great summer out there, keep in touch, and most of all ENJOY!

Tommy & The Rivieras – Detroit City / Messin’ With The Kid (1966) Let’s kick things off with some real blue eyed soul from Connecticut. On the top side they sound a whole lot like Mitch Ryder, and on the B side they do a nice version of Messin’ With The Kid, complete with a “Satisfaction” riff thrown in for good measure!

Keith Dennis – Almost Grown / Lawdy Miss Clawdy (1965) I’m not sure who Keith Dennis is, but I can tell you that it was originally released on Ibis records, and was arranged by Jimmy Messina as well.He was involved with at least one other on that label. Nice covers of two great rock & roll standards.

Trolls – They Don’t Know / There Was A Time (1966) The Trolls from Chicago were an interesting band as they mixed very nice pop vocals with some pretty slick guitar work.

Turtles – Guide For The Married Man (1967) I came across this one in the box and included it because it’s one of my favorite songs and movies as well, featuring Walter Matthau and a very young Robert Morse who can be seen these days on TV’s best show “Mad Men”.

Steve Carpenter – You’re Putting Me On / Something Good Is Gonna Happen (1967) Interesting 45 from a virtually unknown singer.

Children Of Paradise – Hey! You Got Something / What Am I Doing Here (1966) A bunch of New York City folkies including Happy and Artie Traum as well as Eric Kaz who wrote this. Apparently this was the only “rock” effort by any of these guys. “Note: There is no malfunction with my turntable in regards to “Where Am I”. The song oddly slows down and speeds up on the record. Maybe the guy that mastered it was falling asleep and was leaning on the tape machine??????

Keith Allison – Action, Action, Action / Glitter And Gold (1966) Texas born Keith Allison was a very talented guy who sang this theme from the afternoon TV show “Where The Action Is”  back in the mid 60’s. He was most likely backed up by good pals Paul Revere & The Raiders whom he eventually joined and made many recordings with. The B side of this is a stunning version of Glitter And Gold.

Roman Rebellion – Every Groovy Day / The Weather’s Getting Bold (1967) Some nice Italian-American boys from the New York City area. They had another very similar sounding 45 on Mr. G records, and that’s all I know.

Thorinshield – Life Is A Dream / The Best Of It (1967) This L.A. trio serves up some dreamy folk tinged psychedelia on both sides of this 45. They had an LP which I hear is rather good.

Willie Hobbs & The Dirte Four – Gloria (1969) Willie Hobbs was a black soul singer not unlike Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett, but this rendition of Them’s “Gloria” deserves inclusion here because it’s so freakin’ good. Although it gets the “deep soul” treatment from Mr. Hobbs, it retains a garage-like quality because of it’s sparse instrumentation.

Fountain Of Youth – Liza Jane / Witness People (1969) A group that hailed from the great state of Texas, they released four 45’s all excellent. The B side “Witness People” is a standout track though, and is a heavy psyche classic. I read somewhere once that they were the “test” group for Monkees songs, but I think that was just a rumor.

Gandalf – Golden Earrings / Never Too Far (1969) When I bought this 45 from Fat Chuck’s stash, I was strictly looking for “killers”, but even then I knew this psych masterpiece was a winner. Supposedly from NY, they recorded one LP and this masterpiece of a single came out of it.

Rugbys – You, I / Stay With Me (1969) A Louisville, KY group that recorded an LP and released several 45s as well. This ne is a great example of “heavy psyche”. One of the first 45s I ever bought.

Bulldog – Man Of Constant Sorrow / Inner Spring (1971) An Australian “Prog-Rock” group that released this one very obscure 45.

Wigwam – Call Me On Your Telephone / Wishful Thinker (1970) A Finnish Prog-Rock group that featured Englishman Jim Pembroke on lead vocals. This 45 was taken from their second LP “Tombstone Valentine” (with help from Michael Lloyd, the guy who gave us The Cattanooga Cats. Go figure….) which was produced by legend Kim Fowley. Apparently he thought they were going to be the next Beatles and took a chance. Although they didn’t succeed in that endeavor, they left us with some excellent psychedelic rock.

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