In Dan’s Garage…#89

Greetings friends and followers! You know, summer has been fairly decent this year, although we’ve had what I consider an abundance of rain, but it hasn’t been a complete washout. We had a massive heat wave in July (well for these parts anyway), and now were settling into a very comfortable weather pattern. Great for sitting on the patio and smoking fine stogies, drinking fine beer, and sipping fine whiskey or wine, so here are 28 “nuggets” so to speak, that are finely suited for such activities. You could actually rename this series, “Music To Enjoy The Finer Things In Life By”, or “Music To Grill By”, or whatever your favorite activity is at the moment. It all works.    As usual I’ve compiled whatever ends up in my hands at the moment, and I came across a few 45s that were posted as a comp titled “60s Uncovered”. That was my first foray into digital conversion of 45s and the results were OK at best. Some of those 45sw have been re-converted and have been added to this comp. I think the results are a definite improvement. So please, enjoy your summer afternoon or evening digging what I’ve put forth here, and have fun wherever you are!

Boys Next Door – There Is No Greater Sin / I Could See Me Dancing With You (1965) An Indiana based group that were originally known as the Four Wheels. They melded solid Beach Boys style harmonies with a folk rock flair as evidenced in “There Is No Greater Sin” quite possibly one the finest examples of songwriting in this genre ever. I really think it’s that good. Excellent arrangement and perfect harmonies. Oh yeah, the Beach Boys tribute on the flip is no slouch either.

Strange Loves – I’m On Fire / Love, Love (1964) We all know the Strangeloves from great classics like “I Want Candy” and “Night Time”, but before they had those essential hits, they released this Jerry Lee Lewis rip-off backed with a solid teen rocker.

Twilighters – Shake A Tail Feather / Road To Fortune (1966) These guys were from Cleveland and have no relationship to the group from Plattsburgh, NY.

Adlibs – Neighbor Neighbor / Lovely Ladies (1965) A tough sounding mystery group from the U.K. gives this R&B classic a good workout.

Wild Things – I’ll Taste Your Lips / Summer’s Gone (1967) A great moody folk rocker by another group from Cleveland, OH. They also released the great A.C.I.D. (Another Colored Ink Drawing).

Romans – He Don’t Love You / I Just Had To Fall In Love (With You) (1966) The Little Rock, AK group that released the very cool “You Do Something To Me” (IDG# 42), switches over to a funky soul sound on the A side of this sophomore effort. The B side is a decent moody ballad.

Leaves – Too Many People / Girl From The East (1966) One of the great bands from LA in the mid-sixties. They were the first to cut a version of Hey Joe! and theirs is considered by many to be THE definitive version. Founding member and bass player Jim Pons would go on to join The Turtles and later play with The Mothers.

Cole & The Embers – Hey Girl / Love Won’t Hurt You (1967) Here’s a truly great 45 (IMHO) by a band from Kirkwood, MO. The A side is a great mover with some nifty Hammond B-3 sounds and the flip is a cool moody number. You can read more about these guys here.

Human Instinct – Death Of The Seaside (1968) The Human Instinct are from New Zealand and have been active in some way since they formed in 1966. “Death Of The Seaside” was the flip of "A Day in My Mind's Mind" which was released by Deram in the UK, but this promotional U.S. issue has the same song on both sides. I’ve never seen a copy with “A Day” on it, so it may have never been released here. They went on to release a classic hard psych LP titled “Stoned Guitar” and continue playing to this day.

Catfish Knight & The Blue Express – Web Of Trouble / See Saw (1968) I’m not sure who Catfish Knight was but this record followed up “Deathwise”, a crazed, fuzzed out psychedelic tune that’ll get featured in a future post. This one here is a moody laid back song backed with some blue eyed soul.

Elation Fields – Light Side Table (1968) Nice, light pop/psyche with a prominent 12 string guitar produced by Dick Wagner. They were from the Flint, MI area and probably were pals with the likes of Terry Knight & The Pack.

Pawnee Drive – Ride / Break My Mind (1969) Fast moving bubblegum from what I would assume to be a studio group. This was also released on Bell 791 as River Deep with a different flip.

Racket Squad – The Loser (1968) Formerly known as The Fenways, these guys released two LPs that were hit and miss. This 45s A side is pretty good and features some slick special effects on the organ and guitar as well.

Shy Guys -  Rockin' Pneumonia And The Booga Loo Flu /  You Are My Sunshine (1967) A group from the LaCrosse, WI area tackle Huey ’Piano’ Smith’s classic with a cool prominent Farfisa organ driving the whole thing, as well as some horns. The flip is a take on the standard we all know so well.

Rich Dodson – Stone Blind (1972) I included this latecomer because I think it’s a pretty good tune that fits in nicely with what we do here at Dan’s Garage Central. Rich Dodson had somewhat of a hit in Canada(his home country I might add)  with “Julia Get Up” the flip side of this record, but he is probably best known for writing the AM rock hit from 1971 “Sweet City Woman”, a huge hit for his band The Stampeders.

Wizard – Come Away / A Familiar Story (1970) This was the sole 45 released by this Montreal based trio.

GET IT HERE