Dan's Garage #135

Greetings music lovers! Well, it's been two weeks since I last posted and that was possible due to a stomach bug that was being peddled around by my grand kids, and it put me out of commission for a couple of days, now I got a regular run-of-the-mill cold bug that hit me hard last Thursday, and is taking a few days to exit my system. Have no fear, I don't think I have the corona virus that's sweeping the globe and making people here in these parts totally CRAZED!!!! I mean, what the hell??? The world is NOT coming to an end. Here at Dan's Garage Central, we're trying to stay calm, go about our business as normally as humanly possible and whether whatever "storm" hits us. Just wash your hands, keep your distance, and if you're sick, stay home and please I will not read lectures from anyone telling me I'm going to die and what an irresponsible asshole I am for not "taking this epidemic seriously".  I get that it's bad and very contagious which is why I've refrained from hugging and kissing people, and general touchy feely stuff. I am staying home till I get better, and then will go back out in the world to face whatever I have to with my job duties which is a courier for the freaking University Of Rochester which means I have to handle all sorts of nice germy packages and envelopes with God knows how much disgusting crap on them, and oh yeah, I also spend a significant amount of time in the UofR Medical Center as well. How's that for a job???? By the way, I'm considered "essential personnel" so we NEVER shut our doors. Whew, I'm glad I got THAT off my sore chest.

Records??? What about the records Dan????? Hmmmm????

Yeah, we got 'em in spades and like my workplace, we never really shut the doors around here. New stuff pours in regularly and some of them are featured here, and a few I've had for a while. I just got a big lot of Italian records for dirt cheap and have been trying to sift through them day by day. Being an American of Italian descent and knowing the language quite well, I figured I could enjoy this stuff and actually know what the hell their singing. Most of it is slick pop stuff, but there are a few interesting re-makes of American songs like The Turtles' "Elanor" and "1-2-3 Red Light". Perhaps after I've gotten through a few of them I'll post them up in a special "Italian Edition". Before we get to the 45's please read closely. I've gotten some very nice comments from all of you and thank you profusely for them, but a lot of the comments I've been getting are in regards to old dead links and why they don't work, AND problems with opening them. ALL RE-UPS FROM #1 TO #131 ARE IN THE MARCH 2019 SECTION OF THE BLOG ARCHIVE WHICH IS AT THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE PAGE AS YOU SCROLL DOWN. THERE ARE TWO LINKS. PART ONE AND PART TWO. THEY ARE ALL THERE (FROM #1 TO#131) AND TO MY KNOWLEDGE ARE ALL WORKING. #'s 132 TO #135 ARE CURRENTLY UP TO DATE. WHEN YOU GET TO THE BOX.NET PAGE, CLICK ON THE DOWNLOAD BUTTON ON THE PAGE AND A .RAR FILE WILL DOWNLOAD TO YOUR DEVICE OR DESKTOP OR LAPTOP. ONCE IT'S DOWNLOADED, UNPACK IT IT WITH WINRAR OR 7ZIP. IT WILL NOT OPEN IN THE BOX.NET PAGE. I apologize for that "tone" and the bold caps, but I consolidated all those links to two pages for everyone's convenience including mine.

As I've said, some of these 45's are fairly new acquisitions, and some I've had for a while, all of them I like, and the styles are all wildly different,  so without further adieu...

Dan's Garage #135.

Sunrays - I Live For The Sun (1965)

I'm not exactly sure what to make of The Sunrays. If anyone's ever seen the Beach Boys biopic that's sometimes seen on VH1 Classic (is that even a station anymore???), you'd think they were put together by Murray Wilson, famous dad of Brian, Carl, and Dennis as some kind of retribution for The Beach Boys firing dear ol' dad as a manager. On the other hand, they were previously known as The Renegades and were from Pacific Pallisades, CA, and they did work as a band before ol' Murray got a hold of them so their history gets a little murky. In any case, they definitely were a surf/vocal group with emphasis on the vocals. Most of their stuff is really lightweight surf/pop, but this one here is actually pretty good IMHO.

Rivieras - Never Feel The Pain / Bug Juice (1965)

The Rivieras are perhaps one of the greatest "frat rock" groups in the history of the planet based simply on their version of  Joe Jones' "California Sun", which they sped up to warp drive and filled dance floors across the nation with it. This here is their last 45 and is kinda weird because it's not really the Rivieras. According to organist Otto Suss, this was not the Rivieras, but some other band from the area that was used, I guess, to fill in this 45. I know that sounds whack but in that era, who the hell knows what went on???? Another weird thing is that this song was also released by a band called "Dalek: The Blacktsones" and one can hear that version on "Highs In The Mid 60's Vol.4 CHICAGO". Although Dalek's version is the superior one, this may have been some kind of demo for that song. Just speculating.........

Oh, by the way.. the "B" side I'm pretty sure is the REAL RIVIERAS!!!!!

Elements - Promises (1963)

I usually don't go for these "cutesy" girl group songs, but this one was so annoying that I actually grew to like it.(???) Based on the old familiar tune "Shortnin' Bread", these gals whoop it up with a tale about a typical boyfriend who wont commit.  

Fourmost - Why Do Fools Fall In Love / Girls, Girls, Girls (1965)

The Fourmost were a group out of Liverpool and , I guess, were good buddies with The Beatles because they recorded two Lennon/McCartney songs, "I'm In Love", and "Hello Little Girl", both of which were decent hits for them. This 45 is probably NOT one of their better efforts. What we have here is a pretty good Merseybeat rendition of two songs the 'A' side being a Merseybeat  interpretation of Elvis' "Girls,Girls,Girls" and the 'B' side a cover of  Frankie Lymon An The Teenagers', "Why Do Fools Fall In Love". Both songs are steeped in "Merseybeat" mojo and unfortunately, by the time this record came out, fans in the U.K. and the U.S. were going on to bigger and better things.

Honeycombs - Color Slide / That's The Way (1966)

I usually don't serve up stuff like this on the blog. I have the first two Honeycombs 45's which are rather well known, but this one is somewhat of a rarity in that no one's ever really heard it. When I say "no one" I mean it wasn't a significant hit or had a lot of air-play. This is perhaps one of their best 45's and has that Joe Meek "goodness" plastered all over it! Bonus...you get a Honey Lantree vocal on the 'B' side!!!!!!

McKinleys - Then I'll Know It's Love / When He Comes Along (1964)

Hey!!! Here's another British Invasion 45 that managed to get released on a U.S. label, Swan Records to be specific, also the label which released The Beatles' "She Loves You", one of their biggest hits. The McKinleys were apparently twin sisters and by the sound of this recording , were backed up by some of Britain's best studio musicians including Jimmy Page on guitar. I may be wrong about that, but it sure sounds like his work on this fine two sider.

Marksmen - I've Never Known / You'll Never Walk Alone (1966)

Back here in The States, you had guys like The Marksmen, from who the hell knows where, covering gems by The Beau Brummels, but they give a nod to Liverpool on the'B' side by covering Gerry & The Pacemakers' version of "You'll Never Walk Alone".

Burned - All Who Enter Here (1970)

O.K. I goofed. This should have been towards the end of this post, but, hey, everyone makes a mistake once and a while right???? From 1970 this song has a lot of kooky stream of consciousness lyrics going on which are pretty psychedelic man. Can you dig this??????? Far out man!!!!

Coastliners - She's My Girl / I'll Be Gone (1966)

From Baytown, TX near Galveston, The Coastliners were a rather popular act in that area on the Gulf Cost of Texas. They seemed like a very diverse band in that the 'A' side of this is really influenced by the Beach Boys and surf, but the 'B' side is true garage/punk with some great reverb drenched guitar. 'B' side sounds like a remake The Turtles' "Almost There".

Moe, Adrian, & The Sculptors - Love Train / Shotgun (1966)

Here's a real intriguing group that was out of New York City and produced by John Hammond Sr. Moe, Adrian, & The Sculptors were a pretty obscure group and I'm not exactly certain how they got together, or what their history was, but what intrigues me the most is band member Adrian Guillery was a student at SUNY New Paltz, a school that I spent two semesters at, and wasn't very successful in my academic endeavors. Adrian was a musician and artist and there's a website which features pictures of him in his New Paltz days that features his artwork, and some way cool pictures of him playing his  Danelectro  guitar and a few studio shots that were perhaps taken at this recording session. Very cool. Adrian, if you're out there drop me a line. I'd love to know what New Paltz was like in the mid sixties. As for the record. it's tough to describe because it's raw in a "garage" sense, but has a soul/funk vibe to it as well. Lots of sax, flute and the harp wails throughout. Very cool 45 and one which should be sought out!

The #1 - The Collector / Cracks In The Sidewalk (1967)

The #1 were from New Haven, CT and were previously known as The Blue Beats who had two very good 45's on Columbia records. This 45 is a tale of two groups. "The Collector" is a terrific moody garage/psych/pop song with great ambiance, but "Cracks In The Sidewalk" sounds to me a lot like Jay And The Americans. I've included both here so you can hear the difference.

Koffee Beans - Been A Long Time / All My Life (1969)

Oh wow, one of my favorite 45's ever. Since good buddy Chuck Ciriello turned me on to this back in the late '80's, I've been a fan of this one. I never really knew until recently that this was from 1969. O.K., the lyrics definitely got a west coast hippie vibe to them, but the band is still living in 1966, or at least 1967. Koffee Beans were from Baltimore, MD and were once known as The Henchmen who had a killer garage/punk 45 on Ru-Jac Records called "She Still Loves You". Although this isn't "killer" garage/punk, it still has a bit of attitude left over from The Henchmen. Love it.

Unbelievable Uglies - The Tin Drum / Mrs. Mouse Anthology (1968)

A rather weird 45 from Minneapolis, MN. The "Uglies" had a bunch of 45's on various labels in various styles including the killer "Get Straight" which was released on Liberty records but this one strays into total weirdness, perhaps a bit too much L.S.D.???????

Condello - Goodnight (1969)

Mike Condello was a Phoenix, AZ legend that fronted several groups including "Hubb Kapp & The Wheels", "Last Friday's Fire" and simply "Condello". A very eclectic figure in the history of Phoenix rock & roll he had a bunch of records released between 1962 and 1969. This one is a neat psychedelic number that was two sided. A long and short version. We've included the full "long" version here.

What's Left - Hands Off / Smokie Part II (1973)

Wow. Let's take a real sharp left turn and dig on this 45! What's Left was apparently what was left over from Elvis Presley's original band, including Scotty Moore who "presented" this record. A nice mix of rockabilly, country, and good ol' rock 'n roll are featured on the 'A' side of this gem. The 'B' side is re-make of "Smokie" a Bill Black Combo "hit" that is unfortunately one of the most boring instrumentals ever. Just sayin".

Elf - Sit Down Honey / Gambler Gambler (1975)

This 45 was released in 1975, but I believe it was recorded somewhere in 1971 when Elf were at their peak as a local act here in upstate NY. I may be wrong about that, but I'm a bit weary right now in the "research" dept. What I can tell you is that "Elf" were previously known as "The Electric Elves" and had a way cool 45 on MGM. Actually a couple cool 45's and an LP on Epic. Lead vocalist Ronnie James Dio was the driving force of this band and they had a close relationship with Deep Purple, this 45 being produced by drummer Ian Paice and bassist Roger Glover, often being an opening act for them. When guitarist Ritchie Blackmore ditched Deep Purple in 1975 he chose Elf as his his backing band, re-named them "Rainbow" and had a successful run with them. Ronnie Dio would later replace Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath and have a successful solo career himself. Some real bona-fide "hard rock" here. Not "garage' in any sense of the word but a nice cool local upstate NY artifact.

HERE