Greetings, Music Lovers!!! So glad to be back again with another wad of "interesting" 45s, to say the least. During my moratorium on buying new things, I've been able to root around in boxes of records that I haven't yet posted, and this one I'm working on is quite good, but that's subject to interpretation. This bunch ranges from early 60s British Beat to some good ol' hard rockin' sounds from the early 70s, so please dig in!
Dowlands - All My Loving / Hey Sally (1964)
The Dowlands were brothers Gordon and David, who did an Everly Brothers thing, and they were rather good at it. In 1963, they went into Joe Meek's studio. They recorded this two-sider, a decent version of The Beatles' "All My Loving" and "Hey Sally" as the 'B' side, a great original that highlights their Everly Brothers influence.
Jackasses - Sugaree / Shake It Up (1964)
Out of Vancouver, WA comes this cool frat-rock two sider by a band that called themselves "The Jackasses". That's right up there with The Boogers and The Electric Toilet amongst others. They give the ol' Marty Robins nugget a great make over and the flip's pretty cool too.
U.S. Male - You Make Me Feel Good / What's Happened To You (1966)
I couldn't find a lot of information on this group, but indications suggest they're from Detroit or somewhere in Michigan. That'd make sense given the graphics on the label. These guys really liked the Zombies a lot because they covered one of their songs on each of their two 45s. On this one, they do a good job with "You Make Me Feel Good", although it has some annoying horns in it.
Troys - Gotta Fit You Into My Life / Take Care (1968)
Chessmen - All By Myself / Sometimes I Wonder (1966)
I must admit quite a bit of ignorance on this particular 45. Although it comes from a Nashville address, you never really know because groups came from all around to record there. There were two other 45s on this label, but neither of those leaves any clues. In any case, we have a hot mash-up of Garage and R&B on this 45, pretty typical of what came out from this area in the mid-sixties.
Hard Times - Come To Your Window / That's All I'll Do (1966)
Perhaps The Hard Times weren't the greatest "garage band" in the '60s; in fact, they were what I would call a "middle of the road" '60s group. But I can't think of ONE bad side they ever recorded or released. They would evolve into The New Phoenix, another band that released an excellent 45 on World Pacific. They would even later on splinter into T.I.M.E. and Ratchell, and guitarist Larry Byrom would eventually join Steppenwolf.
Hobbits - Daffodil Days / Sunny Day Girl (1967)
Decent late '60s flower pop produced by Terry Phillips, who founded budget label Pickwick. Most likely a studio group with arrangements by Jimmy Curtiss and Jerry Vance, all guys who worked together to produce "hit" records created in the studio.
Standells - Animal Girl / Soul Drippin' (1968)
Sorry for breaking my rules, but here's another 45 on Tower Records...
I recall back in what I think was the summer of 1983, going to The House Of Guitars and buying a bunch of "garage band" LPs. One of them was "The Best Of The Standells" a terrific compilation on Rhino Records. Of course, you had all the great songs, Dirty Water, Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White, but as the album progressed, I could see they were shifting from the "Dirty Water" garage punkers to a more, dare I say, progressive sound??? "Animal Girl" was the last song on that album and sounded completely out of place. Fast forward 30-some odd years later, and I was able to obtain a copy of what would be their last 45 on Tower Records. This is really not that bad if you take it on face value. By this time, The Wrecking Crew were probably doing all the studio performing, and let's face it, this ain't The Standells as we knew them. But it is a great song.
Junior Markham & The Tulsa Review - Black Cherry / Gonna Send You Back To Georgia (1969)
From Tulsa, OK, Junior Markham epitomizes the swampy R&B/Rock And Roll vibe that guys like J.J. Cale and Leon Russel perfected in the '70s through the '80s. Excellent two-sider, sorry for the sound quality, but I can only get what I get.
Trakstod - Carolina Train / Say Hello (1969)
A bit of Bubblegum from a band out of California. They weren't from Carolina, but they did tour with a local band from there called "Initial Shock".
Rhinoceros - Apricot Brandy / When You Say You're Sorry (1969)
One of many bands that Paul A. Rothschild brought over to Elektra Records, like The Stooges, Clear Light, Paul Butterfield, and, of course, The Doors. Rhinoceros was something of a "super group" in that it had members from The Iron Butterfly, The Daily Flash, The Electric Flag, and The Mothers of Invention. Their LP was actually pretty good, mixing R&B with a bit of Psychedelia. They would release three albums before calling it quits in 1971.
Sterling Silver - What Ya Tryin' To Do / You Got Me Goin' (????)
Here's a real headscratcher. This is obviously a '70s, possibly early '80s 45, but I have no solid info on this band. Both sides are good. They're not really progressive, punk, or garage, but middle-of-the-road mainstream Rock & Roll from what I believe to be somewhere in the Midwest, most likely Ohio, but I certainly can't confirm that. It looks like it might be a Rite Records Co. pressing, but none of the matrix numbers line up with my research. Of course, I may be totally wrong here, but this is a cool 45 worth a spin.
Bad Boy - Disco / I've Had Enough (1977)
I whipped this one out of a box hiding in a corner somewhere in the deep dark crevasses of Dan's Garage Central, because I don't usually post Hard Rock here, especially mainstream-sounding stuff like this, but I couldn't help myself. This is the kind of shit my high school act "Razz" would've come up with when I was 17 years old.
As I write this, I'm coming to the end of an extended leave from work due to shoulder surgery I had back at the end of March. I've never in my entire life as a working stiff, taken this much time off for anything. I really enjoyed this reprieve from the day-to-day grind, and it certainly got me back to this blog, which I love so much, mainly, as you all know, because it gives me a reason to play my records!
I go back to the daily grind next week, so things will probably slow down to a crawl, but please keep looking for posts. I'm going to try to get at least one in every month. Thanks again for all the kind comments. I really appreciate them. See you sometime next month and hopefully the upcoming holidays won't slow me down. Too much....
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