In Dan's Garage ...#133

GREETINGS MUSIC LOVERS!!!!!

I know it's been a VERY long time since I last posted and I sorely miss doing this. One of the main reasons is my record collection at the moment is so disorganized, that I'm having a hard time figuring out what I've used on this here blog, and what I've played on the weekly Dan's Garage radio program, and to add insult to injury, I accidentally deleted the draft to this post after completing at least 3/4 of it. For this reason I will be very brief and won't add any sterling commentary on the 45's. Perhaps I'll add them later after I gather my thoughts again. This is a real bummer because I have real good info on a lot of these records. I still hope you enjoy it all anyway, some decent stuff here. I'll be working on the next one very soon. Thanks again to all for the kind comments and especially from members and/or friends and relatives of theses groups featured here. 

Enjoy.

"D" Men - Just Don't Care / Mousin' Around (1966)

The 'D' Men from Stanford, CT released three 45's, two on Veep and one on Kapp all pretty good garage/pop and all six sides are worth listening to. This particular 45 has a cool upbeat A side and the B side is a wild instrumental which features a particularly cheezy combo organ in the mix. 

P.F. Sloan - Patterns Seg. 4 / From A Distance (1965)

What can I say about P.F. Sloan??? Possibly one of the twentieth centuries greatest rock, pop, folk songwriters who along with Steve Barri were responsible for a slew of hits in the sixties and well into the seventies. P.F. also had a rather prolific  solo career and released nine 45's, seven on Dunhill. This one here is a cool spoof on Bob Dylan with typical "stream of consciousness" lyrics. The B side is one of the sixties better folk rock numbers. Highly recommended. 

Green Beans - Who Needs You / Knock On My Door (1966)

Whew! This one clocks in at a whopping 1:30 and these guys make all that time count! These guys were from L.A., had huge pompadours dyed green (obviously way ahead of their time given today's fashion trends) and wore some pretty slick outfits as well.  

Joey Vine - The Out Of Towner / Down And Out (1966)

I could write about six pages of info on Joey Vine. Joey Vine was actually Joe Levine a rather famous musician, producer, arranger, etc. that was involved in everything from rock & roll to TV commercials. He sang with The Third Rail, and was also at the forefront of the "bubblegum" craze in the late sixties and early seventies and scored a big hit in 1974 with "Life Is A Rock (But The Radio Rolled Me)". On this 45 we witness another Bob Dylan spoof with "The Out Of Towner". Classic.

Manfred Mann - If You Gotta Go, Go Now / The One In The Middle (1965)

I love Manfred Mann. They were perhaps one of the most eclectic (I sometames dislike using that word about "beat' groups) bands of the British Invasion, mostly because they added a little something extra to their music, saxes, vibes, flutes as well as the usual guitar, bass, drums, keys, vocals profile. On this 45 they tackle a Bob Dylan song (AGAIN?!?!?!?!?) and do it rather nicley. The flip has lead vocalist Paul Jones crooning about himself.

Electric Elves - Hey, Look Me Over / It Pays To Advertise (1967)

The Electric Elves were from Cortland, NY about 45 min south of Syracuse and were a popular act in the area of Central New York. Their claim to fame, aside from this very cool 45 is that a guy named Ronald James Padovana played bass and sang lead vocal with them. Ronnie shortened his name to Ronnie James Dio, shortened the band name simply to "Elf", got discovered by Deep Purple bassist and producer Roger Glover, and was a warm up act for them as well. After Ritchie Blackmore split from Deep Purple he basically hired the rest of Elf to be his backing band and renamed them "Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow". Dio would later go on to replace Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath and have a huge solo career as well.  

Stained Glass - My Buddy Sin / Vanity Fair (1966)

The Stained Glass are one of my favorite bands and have a great roster of 45's on RCA and Capitol records. They released four on RCA and three on Capitol as well as two LP's on the latter label.

Spencer Davis Group - Don't Want You No More / Time Seller (1967)

The first 45 released by The Spencer Davis Group after Steve and Muff Winwood left the band. They were replaced by Eddie Hardin on keyboards and Phil Sawyer on guitar both excellent musicians keeping up with the emerging style of Traffic, Winwood's new band at the time. Both sides are great but the A side has stood up as a classic mainly because The Allman Bros. worked it into an instrumental and became one of their most famous tracks.

Flash - Lollipop / Hey, I Want To Love You (1970)

Totally unknown group out of the south, possibly Tennessee, but who knows?? Great bubblegum/garage with some very cool organ thrown in there for good effect.

Los Angeles Mine Troop - Hey, Little One (196?)

Another totally unknown group, this time from L.A. doing a cover of a Dorsey Burnette tune.

Love Society - You Know How I Feel And Why / Let's Pretend (1969)

O.K., I promise this'll be the LAST Dylan thing on this particular post. The Love Society were from Plymouth, WI smack dab between Milwaukee and Green Bay. They had a slew of 45's on various labels, some were pop, some were psych, and this kooky Dylan style number.

New York Rock & Roll Ensemble - Suddenly / Kiss Her Once (1967)

These guys were mostly students from Julliard who probably needed to score some swingin' chicks but didn't know whether to rock out or ditch their cellos and violins. I guess they figured "why not combine both?" and came up with this rather cool 45 that sounds a bit like... The Left Banke... ummm Baroque Pop if you will. Not bad.

Sound Sircus - Blue Eyed Pussy Cat / Gotta Get Solid (1967)

Not much known about this crew, except that Mickey Moody, the producer of this, worked with Huey Meaux in Texas, so that might be a good guess. Both sides are mod/soul inspired.

Cross Town Traffique - Love's A Habit / Shadow Woman (1970)

Alas, another dead end. Great psyche from 1970.

Mike Davis - All American Boy (1969)

Not exactly sure who Mike Davis is either, but I can definitely assume (that's an oxymoron isn't it?) that he was from Ohio, and I can say with all certainty that it was pressed at Queen City Albums in Cincinnati, OH.

The Link

In Dan's Garage...#132

Greetings music lovers! I truly wish I had the time to post more frequently, but life just gets in the way to the extent that all my spare time is spent dealing with it's distractions. And sleep. Yeah, I remember I used to stay up late doing this but I gotta get 8 hours in (at least) so I can function properly during the day. I also spend a lot of time spinning records for the Dan's Garage radio show as well so there's that. I hope you are all satisfied with the re-ups. Aside from the password glitch on #78, all is working well and we should be good to go moving forward.

As far as records go, I certainly have been acquiring bunches and there are 45s here that I purchased five years ago that are still in the "can" so to speak, and at the rate I'm going these day's I'll be posting well into old age! Not much more to say here except that I thank all of you out there for your kind words and comments, it really makes my day. So without further adieu, here's #132!

Gregory Dee & The Avanties - The Grind / Love You (1964)

I love Gregory Dee & The Avanties. They're of those great frat rock bands ala The Kingsmen who can deliver great renditions of R&B tunes as well as this cool instro on the 'A' side of this disc. The 'B' side is no slouch either as it starts off as somewhat of a ballad and then shifts gears into a nice mid/fast tempo rocker. Excellent!!!!  

Pepi - Hypnotized / Don't Leave Me (1965)

I almost never post "girl group" stuff, mainly because I really don't have any "girl group" 45s to speak of except for the obvious hits like The Shangri-Las and the like. There's a distinct difference between typical girl groups and your "girls in the garage" type bands, and when this 45 came up on Ebay it piqued my interest because it was listed under "garage" and Prism records out of Dayton, OH has some interesting records in their catalog. Oh, and the price was right, so I took a chance on it without really hearing it. I was pleasantly surprised because this is a very nice, catchy upbeat two sider that is not overproduced with a bunch of horns and orchestral arrangements. I'm not sure who "Pepi" was, but it's probably a good assumption that she was from Dayton or somewhere in western Ohio.

Unbelievables - You Know / Ring Rang Roo (1965)

 The info I got on this 45 is that members were in The Skunks and The Bonnevilles, both bands out of Milwaukee, WI and as such this apparently gets lumped into The Skunks' catalog. The 'A' side of this is pretty good garage and "Ring Rang Roo" is obviously a novelty number, although it isn't half bad. "Ring Rang Roo" was later released again on Era 3155 with different 'B' side. Strangely this one doesn't come up in any lists of either this group or The Skunks.

Pretty Things - Rosalyn / Big Boss Man (1964)

Total coolness from perhaps one of the most underrated (or overrated depending on who you ask) groups out of Great Britain in the 1960's. This is their debut and although they would release a plethora of 45s afterwards, eventually evolving into a psychedelic act,  it's tough to top this one.

Brenda Lee - Is It True (1964)

Well...here's another great "girl" song by none other than Brenda Lee no less. I'm guessing a few of you out there know the story behind this great 45 but for those who don't, well the story has it that Decca records flew Brenda to the U.K., where she was already a popular singer, appearing on "Oh Boy" in 1958 and clearly influencing Lulu (IMHO). She entered Decca studios in the late summer / early fall of 1964 when the British Invasion was at a fever pitch to record two songs exclusively for the British market. The session was produced by Mickie Most who also was producing Lulu at the time, no coincidence there, and featured Jimmy Page as a session guitarist. The two songs she recorded were this one here, and a raucous version of Ray Charles' "What'd I Say" for the 'B' side. "Is It True" was written by John Carter and Ken Lewis who had already written a bunch of songs for Herman's Hermits, The Ivy League, Peter & Gordon, and others. It was quickly released in the UK on Brunswick records and shortly afterward, Decca released "Is It True" here in the U.S. making it the 'B' side of a schmaltzy ballad. Is it True is "truly" a gem and it's unfortunate that good ol' Brenda decided to head into a country/pop direction. 

Motleys - You / My Race Is Run (1966)

Here's a decent two sider that has some nice minor chord pop sounds on the 'A' side with a really good garage/beat 'B' side. Apparently from somewhere on the west coat presumably L.A.

Destination Soul - Ease My Mind / I Know Your Kind (1967)

Trying to get any info on this bunch turned up a big zero. I'm not even going to venture a guess as to where these guys are from, with Uptown Records releasing songs by groups all over the U.S. Both sides of this 45 have a "soul" feel to them, but both songs are mostly tough sounding garage with good production and some great Farfisa organ driving them. Nice.

Poor Little Rich Kids - She's The Best Girl In Town / Stop. Quit It (1966)

Fuzz, Acid, and Flowers claims this group is from Memphis, but that may just be speculation as Hip Records was based there, but this was originally released on Exodus, and judging by that label, they may have been from somewhere near Chicago or the Midwest. I'll give FAF the benefit of the doubt on this one. Both sides are pretty good.

Zoo - She Said, She Said, Good Day Sunshine / Where Have All The Good Times Gone (1967)

Originally know as The Beau Denturies from Akron, OH, this group released this 45 under two different names and two different labels, the one you see here as The Zoo on Parkway, and also as The Yellow Pages on Encore Records (who also released the Beau Denturies 45). They actually do a nice job of tackling these two covers especially "Where Have All The Good Times Gone".

Traveling Salesmen - Days Of My Years / I'm Alive (1967)

OK here's one that I know something about!!! The Traveling Salesmen were from Fort Worth, TX and evolved from The Velveteens who had a killer frat/rock 45 "Ching Bam Bah on Golden Artists records, and which was featured in IDG#36. How they ended up getting a deal with RCA Victor is unknown, but they definitely had a winner with with this way cool folk/rock gem. I love the way the 12 string rings out on this one, real spooky kind of, and the Hollies cover on the 'B' side is great as well!

Collection - Both Sides Now / Tomorrow Is A Window (1968)

I probably mentioned this several times before, but my memory is so bad these days that I can't even keep track of where my car keys are, but someone once told me, "A good song, is a good song". Words of wisdom and this is a perfect example. Before I ever heard this version I had always liked this song, especially in my early teens as I was on this acoustic guitar kick (I had not yet picked up an electric) and was singing the appropriate songs, so it wasn't unfamiliar. Then a few years back I heard this version and absolutely flipped. Everything about this is pure pop perfection from the jingly harpsichords, to the dreamy vocals, to the driving chorus, and even the orchestration. It all just fits. The Collection were from New York City and went to Queens College together. They started off as a folk group called the Guild Light Gauge and members included vocalist Fern Kauffman, and Eddie Simon, brother of Paul Simon. The project was produced by Jimmy "The Wiz" Wisner who worked with other pop acts such as Spanky And Our Gang and The Cowsills. For a more in-depth story of the group visit this site HERE.

Shags - Did I Say I Love You / Talk To A Sidewalk (1967)

The Shags were a five piece from Peoria, IL and recorded this nice little 45 at The Golden Voice Studio in Pekin, IL. Although somewhat lightweight, the sounds on this 45 are really good. Nice pop/psych on both sides.

New Phoenix - Give To Me Your Love (1968)

The New Phoenix were a west coast band and was a bridge, so to speak, between The Hardtimes and T.I.M.E., who all essentially shared labels (World Pacific being a subsidiary of Liberty at the time). Produced by Mama Cass Elliot, this is another way cool piece of psych/pop with a fantastic guitar riff throughout. Too bad these guys never released another 45, I would have loved to hear more of it. I'm not exactly sure how involved Mama Cass Elliot was in the production of this, but if she had her hands in it she did a decent job. Unfortunately, the 'B' side is simply an instrumental version of this. Bummer.

006's - I'm In Love / I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends (196?)

Here's another real obscure one by a group out of Stuebenville, OH which is just outside of Youngstown and Pittsburgh, PA where this 45 was most likely recorded. What we have here is a take on Joe Cocker's take of The Beatles' "With A Little Help From My Friends", a song which I really like, even the Joe Cocker version, but I much prefer The Beatles. 006's were led by guitarist and vocalist Rob Parissi, and eventually evolved into 70's funk/rock band Wild Cherry who had a big hit with "Play That Funky Music White Boy".

Blue Gravel Rock Band - Respect / Summer Rain (1971)

Let's end this shindig with a nice two sider with some heavy Hammond Organ playing in the mix. I'm not sure who the Blue Gravel Rock Band were, but it would seem that they were from somewhere around Houston, TX. On this one they cover Otis Redding's "Respect" quite nicely while adding the riff to "Reach Out" in the intro and at the end. The flip is a cover of Johnny Rivers' "Summer Rain", not exactly one of my favorites from that guy, but Blue Gravel gives it the Texas psych treatment and voila! It's actually quite good! They had one other 45 on the same label but I've never heard it. 

HERE

Re-Ups part 2

Here are the rest of the links. I recall adding passwords to #'s 76, 78, & 79 but re-packed them without one and uploaded the new file. Everything works OK on my end, but you never know with this high tech stuff......

#86, #87, #88, #89, #90, #91, #92, #93, ,#94, #95, #96, #97, #98, #99, #100, #101, #102, #103, #104,

#105, #106, #107, #108, #109, #110, #111, #112, #113, #114, #115, #116, #117, #118, #119, #120,

#121, #122, #123, #124, #125, #126, #127, #128, #129, #130, #131


It seems that some people are having trouble with #78. I thought I had removed the password for it, but I guess there's some kind of screw up with it so I re-did the file as a .zip file and I'm pretty sure that should take care of the issue. I realize that this may be a simplistic way of presenting these re-ups, but I figured having them all in one place as opposed to navigating the website through the blog archive would save you a lot of time as well as me. All posts can still be accessed through the "Blog Archive" feature in the right hand column. Now, to finish up #132. See you all soon.........

Re-ups....

Here are the links to posts from #1 to #85.........

#1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22,

#23, #24, #25, #26, #27, #28, #29, #30, #31, #32, #33, #34, #35, #36, #37, #38, #39, #40, #41, #42,

#43, #44, #45, #46, #47, #48, #49, #50, #51, #52, #53, #54, #55, #56, #57, #58, #59, #60, #61, #62,

#63, #64, #65, #66 part1, #66 part2, #67, #68, #69, #70, #71, #72, #73, #74, #75, #76, #77, #78, #79,

#80, #81, #82, #83, #84, #85

   I've arranged these by simple volume number on one page so you only have to refer to this one here instead of searching out the exact post. When the pop up box appears on your screen it will say "this file type not supported". Ignore that, hit the download button and you're good to go. The pop up serves as a media player for sharing mp3s, video, and all sorts of other media and since these are .zip ad .rar files, it doesn't recognize them as such.

   For those that are not familiar dealing with .zip and .rar files, may I recommend downloading "7 Zip", a terrific archive extractor that handles both of these files easily and is free. You can download it here. The rest will be re-upped within the next week. Enjoy!

Good news from Dan's Garage!!!!

Hello friends and followers! Contrary to what everyone out there might think, I'm still out here in the blogosphere alive and very well and still hoarding records, although my intake has slowed down considerably over the last few months, but I am looking forward to a record show at the end of the month and hopefully I can score some cool new items.
That being said, the good news is for all of you out there who are first time visitors, and all who are looking for re-ups. I'm now archiving all past editions of Dan's Garage on Box.net, a very affordable and nifty file sharing service, and unlike Zippyshare who's files expire after about 30 days, these files will be PERMANENT barring any unforeseen issues. Right now as we speak, I'm preparing the links for the first 85 volumes, and will steadily re-up the rest over time. I'm also working on a new post as well, so look out for that one. As always I appreciate the kind words from all of you and as for the requests for re-ups, I get so many that I have to keep them out of the comment stream. Hope you all are well out there and I will see you again very soon!
Sincerely, Dan