In Dan’s Garage…#103

Hello music lovers! It’s great to be here once again giving you another edition of “In Dan’s Garage”, my humble blog which I hope you will all enjoy. I don’t have much to say today, except that I really wanted to get this one out before the end of the month, because I’m going on a well deserved (in my opinion) vacation next week, cruising on the MSC Divina, a gargantuan vessel that serves fresh pasta, pizza, gelato, and Italian pastry all day (and night). If any one of you happen to sail out of Miami on Nov.1 on this thing, look for me. I’ll be wearing Ray Ban sunglasses and sporting a Rochester Red Wings baseball cap for the duration of the cruise.     As usual I have another potpourri of 60s sounds, with a bit of 50s and 70s thrown in for good measure. I hope you all enjoy and I’ll see you next month before the Thanksgiving holiday. Bon Voyage……….

Chan Romero – My Little Ruby (1959) I really dig this 45 by the legendary Chan Romero who wrote one of my favorite songs ever, “Hippy Hippy Shake”. This follow-up does not disappoint and is just as good as “Hippy”.

Underbeats – Book Of Love / Darling Lorraine (1966) A very popular Minneapolis group that had a heavy group vocal/do-wop influence.

Astronauts – Tomorrow’s Gonna Be Another Day (1965) Before The Monkees recorded this song and released it on their debut LP in 1966, The Astronauts tackled this beast and gave it an incredibly snotty garage/punk delivery. The flip is merely an instrumental version of the A side. What a rip off!!!!!!

Beatin’ Path – The Original Nothing People / I Waited So Long (1966) Total legendary coolness from a Reading, PA band that had this one release. I love the whole “recorded in a cave” type sound they get here. Real garage band stuff here my friends.

Beat Merchants – So Fine (1965) The flip side of Freddie & The Dreamers’ “You Were Made For Me”. I guess Tower couldn’t come up with anything decent to put on the B side, so they let these guys loose with a great beat pounder that’s based on the Fiestas’ original. Actually, this 45 was released twice with the same catalog number. The first version was actually a Freddie & The Dreamers two sider.

Sean & The Brandywines – She Ain’t No Good / Cod’ine (1966) An unknown California group that released this one spectacular 45 produced by Gary Usher. He may have been part of the group but I really don’t know for sure……

Standells - Mi Hai Fatto Innamorare (1965) I’m very picky about re-issues but I think this one deserves inclusion. This was written by guitarist Tony Valentino who was a native of Italy and probably held a lot of sway in the release of this song, although I’m not quite sure when it was released and if it was a B side. In any case, Tony and the crew get real “Italian” here with a traditional Italian style intro featuring mandolins and all before busting into a great garage/pop number.

Remains – My Babe / Why Do I Cry (1965) Oh my God. These guys are perhaps the greatest band to never to make it big. I don’t consider these guys a “garage” band because they’re too good. The Remains are the best band never to make it big from the 1960’s. Period. If any one is wondering why I feature the “My Babe” side here first, it’s because it was deemed the A side by the brilliant execs at Epic records, whilst the “B” side “Why Do I Cry” is the real gem here as we all know. “My Babe” is OK but pales in comparison to “Why Do I Cry”.

Rising Sons – Candy Man / The Devil’s Got My Woman (1966) A group that included such greats as Ry Cooder and Taj Mahal. They released this one 45 in 1966 and they were considered one of the best bands in LA at the time, their sound being way ahead of their time and rivaling the popularity of the Byrds.

Sonics – You Got Your Head On Backwards (1966) One of The Sonics’ best. Real brutal crunch on this one as well as being one of the best chick put down songs of all time. A+.

Los Bravos – Brand New Baby / Going Nowhere (1966) I like Los Bravos, even if all their songs kinda sounded like “Black Is Black”. This two sider is especially good.

Bob Seger & The Last Heard – Heavy Music (part 1) (1967) This was Bob’s last 45 to appear on Cameo Records before Cameo went bust, and Bob signed with Capitol. It’s too bad that the execs at Cameo didn’t stick with him, but of course how do you compete with a mega-label like Capitol? Anyway…This 45 is OK in my opinion, but pales alongside his earlier efforts. The flip is just a continuation of the same “groove” on the A side.

Seeds – No Escape (1966) I love the Seeds. Mainly because they would use the same riff over and over again, and rather successfully I might add. The reason I include this most common of Seeds songs is that there are actually TWO versions. The one that everyone has a prominent reverb on the vocals, and this… a completely different mix altogether is pretty dry. The Seeds, or Crescendo Records, had a habit of releasing different singles with the same catalogue numbers. I featured this “same” 45 back in IDG # 18 where the flip of “Mr. Farmer” was “Up In Her Room”…

Fountain Of Youth – Don’t Blame Me (For Trying) / Take A Giant Step (1968) These guys from Texas were once rumored to be the “test band” for The Monkees, but I don’t really buy that although they were on Colgems, and they did cover “Take A Giant Step”, and they did sound a little bit like them(The Monkees that is). This is their best 45 and I always was a big fan of “Don’t Blame Me” from when it was re-released on Boulders, but I must say, their version of “Take A Giant Step” is stunning to say the least. Almost near perfect pop perfection.

Chosen Few – Asian Chrome / The Earth Above The Sky Below (1967) I featured their other 45 in IDG #99, but this is their crowning achievement. Real cool far/middle east style guitar ramblings that culminate in a wacked out fuzz and reverb drenched solo. The B side which has had little attention is pretty good as well.

Springfield Rifle – Left Of Nowhere (1968) One of the best bands to come out of the Pacific NW in the late 60’. They concentrated on good arrangements and tight vocal harmonies.

Music Explosion – Where Are We Going (1968) One of many 45s that this Ohio based band would release, including the great “Little Bit Of Soul”.

Bards – Never Too Much Love / The Jabberwocky (1968) The Bards were a very popular Pacific NW, kinda like The Sonics and The Springfield Rifle, both featured in this post. These guys were lucky enough to land a recording contract with Capitol Records and release this interesting 45 that mixes some really good blue-eyed soul with a whacked out rendition of “The Jabberwocky”.

Lucifers Friend – Everybody’s Clown (1970) Sooooo… let’s fast forward to 1970, where in Germany, a band called “Lucifer’s Friend” was conjuring up a mix of Deep Purple, and Black Sabbath type sounds. This 45 45 from 1970 is a good example of how psych crossed over with hard rock.

here