In Dan's Garage #115

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!! I hope everyone out there has had a wonderful holiday season and to be perfectly honest, I really miss writing this blog since I haven’t  issued one since last November. Christmas was just fine here in Upstate New York and the weather was exceptional as well because we’ve had very little snow as well as nice warm temperatures courtesy of “El Nino” out there in the Pacific, but I’m going to skip scientific talk today because I just don’t have it in me.   As I sit here typing I’m watching my beloved New York Giants go through the motions of ending another losing season and a frustrating one at that. I still bleed blue as I watch, wearing my NY Giants “toque” and hoping they win their final game….   The records are piling up….. Although I haven’t bought many during the holiday season, I have acquired many over the past year or two and I really hope to get caught up over this next year as I try to get back in the swing of things so to speak.   So here it is, the first post of 2016, and the first in quite a while. I hope you all enjoy it.

Sunrays – Andrea / You Don’t Phase Me (1965) Nice sunshiny surf/pop on a cloudy day. Produced by Murray Wilson, father of Brain, Carl, & Dennis Wilson who steered The Beach Boys in their early days.

Break Outs – Are You Mad At Me / Silly Feeling (1964) A completely unknown group from who knows where that obviously were cashing in on the British Invasion, yet retained much of their early 60’s teen rock ‘n roll sound.

Villagers – You’re Gonna Lose That Girl / Laugh It Off (1965) A group from Florida that had several 45’s including the great “You Can’t Stay”. This also was released on Fame Records which might suggest they recorded at the “famous” studio in Muscle Shoals.

Felicity – Hurtin’ / I’ll Try It (1967) This Texas group’s claim to fame is that it included a very young Don Henley who sings lead vocal on both sides of this superb 45. This one here is a Canadian issue.

Ill Winds – I Idolize You (1966) Supposedly The Chantays in disguise, but it sounds more to me like a “Wrecking Crew” concoction. I could be wrong though. Sorry for the cruddy label scan.

Spontaneous Combustion – Love Comes And Goes / Walk On By (196?) Looking at this label doesn’t give a whole lot of info except that Artie Shroeck’s name is on it indicating that it was most likely a New York / New Jersey area band. Nice B3 driven garage stuff here with a mellow flip side.

Every Mother’s Son – Proper Four Leaf Clover / Put Your Mind At Ease (1967) Another New York City area group that had huge success with “Come On Down To My Boat”, one of the first ‘bubblegum” records, but these guys were much too good to get lumped in with the likes of The Ohio Express and other studio concoctions. This 45 proves it.

Rainbow Press – Better Day / There’s A War On (1968) A bunch of college students from the New York City area that had two LP’s which were both good efforts.

Brass Buttons – Hell Will Take Care Of Her / My Song (1968) Ok here’s a group I know something about! The Brass Buttons were local legends in  Rochester, NY in the late 60’s. They evolved out of The Show Stoppers which had Jay Capozzi, Don Potter, and Bat McGrath. Potter and McGrath would later team up in the 70s and were a popular folk/rock act. One of the great local 45’s.

Them – Walking In The Queens Garden / I Happen To Love You (1967) After Van Morrison left Them sometime in 1966 I think, they ended up recording  for Ray Ruff in Texas and produced some excellent psych 45’s that although they do not resemble much of what they recorded with Morrison, stand up as some of the best records of the 60’s.

Bare Fat – You Can All Join In / Soft (1969) Wisconsin was the only lead I could come up with regarding this particular 45, a somewhat inept cover of Traffic’s “You Can All Join In”. Note that they gave “Danny Mason” full credit for writing this.

Blue Water Trio – Bus Driver Blues / Angel (1974) A strange 45 from 1974 by an obscure Midwestern group that was obviously somewhat behind the times……

Equipe 84 – 29th September / Auschwitz (1968) More strangeness, this time from Italy. Equipe 84 were an extremely popular group in Italy but managed to only get one 45 released here in the US, as was the case with most Italian groups who sang the majority of their songs in Italian for Italians.

Ola & The Janglers – What A Way To Die (1969) Lastly, let’s head north to Sweden where Ola & The Janglers had several 45’s released in the US, most of them in the pop/bubblegum style, but this one sounds a whole lot like “A Whiter Shade Of Pale”.

HERE