In Dan’s Garage…#101

Howdy folks! I hope you all had a great summer season as I did (mostly) and I hope the upcoming autumn and winter/holiday seasons are exceptionally good as well! GIGANTIC THANK YEWS to all the friends and followers who gave me props on the 100th edition of IDG. It wasn’t the greatest post, but it was a milestone of sorts. Kudos are still trickling in, and it really warms my heart to hear how much of you have enjoyed this blog. This post is certainly no different as I poke through another box of goodies.    I’ve spent most of the summer trying to get rid of a piece of property (a home that is) that was virtually bleeding me dry, hence the low frequency of posts. When my lovely wife and I bought our new home we did it with no contingencies, therefore we didn’t have to sell our previous home in order to buy this one. Well…for the past two plus years I have been paying two mortgages as well as the utilities (AND TAXES) on a piece of property that I didn’t even live in! We finally got it sold and closed the deal on August 11 and I’ve been breathing easier ever since. So what have I been doing ever since??? Celebrating of course!!!! I bought a few records and partied a bit and planned a nice vacation for the beginning of November, and with the extra $$$ we will improve on our present “dream” home. YAY!    I love September and October, not only for the pleasant change of seasons, but because it’s the best time to be a sports fan here in the USA. NFL is just starting and I’m always excited about that (although my beloved NY Giants look putrid), and the end of Baseball season is ending so the playoffs and World Series will be upon us very soon, although I don’t think my beloved NY Yankees will make it this year. So sad too because it’s Derek Jeter’s last season ever. Every Yankee fan in every era has had a player to look up to and in mine, Jeter was IT. I’m glad I got to see him play in person at least twice.    In conclusion, (oh shit this sounds like a graduation speech) I’d again like to thank all of you out there that have dug this little blog o’ mine. It’s been a nice trip for the first 100 volumes and I hope to deliver at least another 100. Thank You from the bottom of my heart. Love, Dan

Spartans – The Waddle (1962) Let’s kick off this new volume of IDG (can you sense an NFL reference there???) with a single that was co-written by Jeff Barry who with Ellie Greenwich (and others) wrote some of the greatest rock & roll songs of all time. I’m thinking in 1962 “The Twist” was a big dance craze, so Jeff maybe wrote this tune to start another one??? In any case, this novelty is pretty cool and features a dynamite honking sax solo.

Brian Poole & The Tremeloes – I Want Candy / Over The Mountain (1965) Get this….In 1962 Decca records had to choose between these guys…and The Beatles. Guess who they picked??? Of course it has to be mentioned that Pete Best was the drummer for The Beatles at the time and if you’ve ever heard the stuff they recorded with Pete it’s, well…..lackluster at best (no pun intended). So Decca in their infinite wisdom picked Brian Poole & The Tremeloes because they were from London and were more “accessible” than the Beatles. OK, nice choice although we’ll give the bigwigs at Decca a thumbs up for finally landing The Rolling Stones, Them, and scores of other great groups. The Beatles however persevered and landed a contract with Parlophone Records and the rest is history. The Tremoloes certainly weren’t a bad band though as we can hear by their rendition of The Strangeloves’ “I Want Candy” which features some excellent pounding drums and a cool cheezy organ as well.

Bruins – Nobody But You / One More Try (1965) I don’t have a lot of solid info on this group, but I know they were British, and it’s rumored that Creation guitarist Eddie Phillips was in this band and played on this record

Unit Four Plus Two – I Won’t Let You Down / I Was Only Playing Games (1965) An ace effort by the group who gave us “Concrete & Clay”.

Mark IV – Hollow Woman / Better Than That (1966) Long thought to be a pre - “Pure Prairie League” 45, it is actually a completely unknown band possibly from Connecticut. Great stuff on both sides.

Hangmen – Faces / Bad Goodbye (1966) Unbelievably cool fuzz drenched psych-out from the same crew who gave us the legendary “What A Girl Can’t Do”

Gallery Production – All Your Love / Do I Have To Come Right Out And Say It (1967) A virtually unknown group except that they apparently were from Sacramento, CA. These guys were pretty versatile covering John Mayall on one side and The Buffalo Springfield on the other.

Spokesmen – Dawn Of Correction /For You Babe (1965) This was probably the most blatant and popular attempt at an “anti-protest” song of which several were inspired by Barry McGuire’s “Eve Of Destruction”. The Spokesmen were a trio of songwriters who’s greatest claim to fame was “At The Hop” by Danny & The Juniors and “You Don’t Own Me” by Leslie Gore.

Playboys Of Edinburgh – Look At Me Girl / News Sure Travels Fast (1966) A group from McAllen, TX that released a bunch of 45s on local and national labels. This, their second was covered note for note by Bobby Vee & The Strangers and I featured it on IDG #58.

3½ – Hey Gyp / Hey Kitty, Cool Kitty (1967) An unknown garage band with what would seem to be a heavy R&B influence, although their first 45 “Don’t Cry To Me” (IDG #65) is one of my all time fave garage classics and sounds completely different from this release. They had four 45s total and I’ve yet to hear the other two.

Ever-Green Blues – Midnight Confessions / (Yes) That’s My Baby (1967) THE ORIGINAL version of The Grass Roots gigundo hit and it’s a shame that the “roots” got all the kudos because theirs (Grass Roots) was a freakin’ note-for-note rip off of this record! I always thought these guys were from Florida because their “fan club” was based there, but as it turns out they were actually from Southern California.

Front End – Beverly / Go On Home (1967) Another 45 on Smash Records produced by Steve & Bill Jerome who seemed to be responsible for a slew of acts including The Left Banke. The A side of this 45 is a real bubblegummy effort while the B side is definitely garage. I’ve yet to get any concrete info on these guys but I think the NYC area might be a good guess.

Fountain Of Youth – Livin’ Too Fast / (Angie Love Me) Make The Hurt Go Away (1967) A Texas pop group who’s “Don’t Blame Me” is a garage/pop classic. They deliver more of the same on this two sider. Superb.

Bag – Up In The Morning / Down And Out (1968) Jimmy Curtiss was the producer for this blue eyed soul/psych 45. This was most likely a NYC area group.

Bridge – Love Is There / Gotta Get Back (1970) A New Haven, CT band that had one other 45 release in 1969 which I featured in IDG #78.

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