In Dan’s Garage…...#94

 

Wow. It feels like an eternity since I last posted, and actually it has been. This winter totally sucks this year. I guess there’s this “polar vortex” thing that has a bump in it and it’s sending down the most frigid air I’ve experienced in quite some time. Yeah, I live in a crummy part of the universe as far as winters go, but this one is beyond the pale. When the temperature gets to 20°F (that’s --6.66667°C) and it feels like a heat wave, you know you’ve got problems.   I hope everyone had a pleasant Holiday and New Year, I know I did, although I was quite busy and it seemed like I had very little time to work on this post. In fact, I’ve been picking away at this one since early December! Fortunately I have accumulated a wad of vacation time from work and now II ‘m using it to my (and your) benefit so on this warm (32°F) day I’ve decided to finish this and get back in the groove so to speak. I just wish I could get this thing out more often. Record buying has been rather slow lately as some of my disposable income is being re-directed towards beefing up my little home studio in my basement, but have no fear, I’m well stocked for future posts!     On a personal note, the band that I was working with regularly broke up last October, and I’m not heartbroken in the least. Drama sucks and I’m glad I no longer have to deal with it. My longtime pals and band mates “The True Believers” are presently working on an album project which I’m recording in my aforementioned basement studio. It’ll mostly be covers but we’re thinking about recruiting some local artists to contribute original songs since we’re all very cruddy songwriters. Thanks again to all the folks out there who left kind and mostly informative comments. To all of you I give you a thumbs up and NUMBER 94!!!!!!!!!!

Johnny Stark w the Four Winds - Rockin' Billy (1957) I usually don’t do “rockabilly” in this blog, but this one came up and it is a fine rocker at that. Apparently Johnny hailed from Englewood, NJ and had one other 45 on this same label. FYI… WVBU is Bucknell University’s radio station.

Dick Dale & His Deltones – The Scavenger / Wild Ideas (1963) Give it up for good ol’ Dick as he basically sets aside his guitar for a couple of vocal numbers.

Anglo-Americans – The Music Never Stops / Are You Ready For This? (1966) A real groovy 45 presumably from the west coast with some cool jangly guitars, fake British accents, references to James Bond, and a hilarious Dylan cop on the B side.

Ivan& The Sabers – Just Let Her Go / It’s Not Like You (1964) A popular Ohio group from Centerville, that eventually relocated to Cincinnati, shifted their lineup somewhat, teamed up with some ex members of Tony And The Bandits, and eventually became the Lemon Pipers who’s “Green Tambourine” would be a huge bubblegum hit.

Jaybees – I’m A Loner / Do You Think I’m In Love (1966) From Montreal, they were originally known as J.B. & The Playboys but changed their name simply to “The Jaybees” so as not to get confused with Gary Lewis’ band. They started doing Beatles covers but evolved into an original act, moved to Toronto and released this frantic raver in 1966.

Limeys – That’s What I Want / Somebody Help Me (1965) It’s tough to get a read on this act. I’m not sure if they’re from the US or Canada, but my guess would be that they were a studio group cashing in on the British Invasion. They had one other 45 which was more up-tempo than this cover of the classic “That’s What I Want”, one of my favorite songs ever.

Sir Douglas Quintet – The Tracker / Blue Norther (1965) Continuing with their perfect blend of garage/punk and Tex-Mex, the follow up to “She’s About A Mover” does not disappoint. I could listen to these same two riffs all night. Gimme a pair of maracas……

Rationals – Respect / Feelin’ Lost (1966) The Rationals were one of Michigan’s greatest bands and most prolific as well. They had a long career that extended into the 90s and this was one of their first 45s. A combination of solid R&B and British Invasion sounds.

Thyme – Love To Love / Very Last Day (1967) Another A² act from Ann Arbor, these guys took a different approach and covered a Neil Diamond tune on the A side and covered “Peter, Paul, & Mary” on the B side with excellent results. Genius

Uncalled For – Do Like Me / Get Out Of The Way (1966) A bona fide classic. These guys have been mistakenly thought to have been from Detroit, or Youngstown, OH, but are actually from Tennessee. One of the greatest garage 45s ever.

Clique – Gotta Get Away / Love Ain’t Easy (1967) A 45 that kind of gets away from “collectors”. I see many references to their great cover o the 13th Floor Elevators’ “Splash 1”, and “Superman” but this one escapes many lists. In my opinion their best 45.

Peter & The Rabits – Someone I’ve Got My Eyes Upon / Bless You Little Girl (1967) Not much info on this classic except for the fact that the publishing company is titled “Tennessee Music”. Perhaps they were from Nashville or thereabouts??? In any case what we have here is a great folk/rock inspired song on the A side with a Beach Boys styled number on the B.

October Country – My Girlfriend Is A Witch / I Just Don’t Know (1968) Michael Lloyd was a very busy guy in the mid to late sixties and well after that, producing, arranging and writing songs for such acts as The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, A.B. Shky, The Fire Escape and numerous others including October Country which is featured here. The funny story about this song is that is was later done by cartoon act The Cattanooga Cats, a Saturday morning kids show!

? & The Mysterians - Turn Around Baby (Don't Ever Look Back) / Ain’t It A Shame (1969) You gotta hand to these guys. They really never changed their formula (except for one or two 45s in the 70s) and continue giving us that tried and true “96 Tears” sound to this day. On this one they don’t stray too far and give us a brilliant two sider that is overlooked by many collectors.

Crow – Cottage Cheese (1970) A hard rock group from Minneapolis who’s “Evil Woman Don’t Play Games With Me)” was most notably covered by Black Sabbath on their first LP. This was their follow up, an interesting tune with lots of cool guitar and bass breaks. This must have been a regional hit around these parts because copies can be easily found.

Maxx – 200 Years (1969) Let’s end this affair with some wild fuzzed out heavy psychedelia from Detroit.

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