Greetings music lovers!!!
So there I was, this icy cold winter, hoping to get some more blogging in than usual, but I just don't have a lot of "disposable" time on my hands so it's a bit here and a bit there until it all kinda gels. Well...fate has stepped in and has given me a torn rotator cuff (as well as a bicep) that we had to get all fixed up with surgery, and that's gonna keep me at home and out of work for at least three months. My misfortune is a blessing in disguise because now I can devote more time to doing this, seeing that I really can't do much of anything else for the time being.
So I'm really glad that I could at least navigate a keyboard, a mouse, and a turntable. This will keep me from going completely insane over the next few weeks.
As usual, we've got a "veritable cornucopia of fine 45's" on tap for this post and I hope you enjoy it all.
Bougalieu - Let's Do Wrong (1967)
I first posted The Bougalieu waaaaaaay back in IDG #4, and that was September 30, 2009! I was a fledgling blogger at the time and ripping my 45's with an Ion portable turntable. I've significantly upgraded over the past few years, and have also accumulated a whole lot more 45's in the meantime.
This is one of them.
You say, hey Dan, why are you posting this again???? Because this song was recorded twice. The "clean" version (Roulette 4767) that was featured in IDG#4, and this "dirty" version (Roulette 4776).
It's really weird, stock copies are all the clean version, and these promos are the raunchy one. The clean version is pretty cool but this rips it to shreds. Super snotty vocals with unintelligible lyrics, fuzzy guitars, and this bizarre break and ending with all sorts of grunts and feedback.
The Bougalieu were from nearby (2 & ½ hrs.) Albany, NY our state's capital, a city that also gave us The Third Bardo, and The Gray Things.
Hullaballoos - I'm Gonna Love You Too / Party Doll (1964)
I have a real soft spot for the The Hullabaloos. I had their album years ago, but never really listened to it much. I guess at the time, I was into real hard-core garage band sounds ala "Back From The Grave" and thought they were quite lightweight, so as I grew a wee bit older and perhaps softened my attitude on such things, I snatched a copy of this 45 for very cheap, and when I put it on the turntable I was pleasantly surprised at the energy these guys put into this Buddy Holly gem. The Hullaballoos were from Hull, England hence their name. I guess their name had nothing to do with the T.V. show which aired at the time on NBC television. In fact, Hullaballoo the TV show didn't premiere until about six months or so after this 45 was released. Eventually they would appear on Hullaballoo sometime in 1965 performing this A side and another number "Beware", a 45 I will get to sometime in the future.
P.S. The flip side ain't half bad.
Motions - It's Gone / I've Got Misery (1965)
Here's a really good find. The Motions from The Hague in The Netherlands had around 25 or so 45's released in their home country, but only managed to have two released here in the U.S., this, their first in 1965 and a later one on Philips in 1969. This is a great two sider and arguably their best and is kinda rare (IMHO). Obviously Kapp Records, as well as a slew of other labels in the U.S., were trying to get their hands on any kind of beat group from Britain and Europe to capitalize on Beatlemania and the British Invasion so they'd dig pretty deep to license music to release here in the States.
The Motions were the first beat group n The Netherlands to hit the charts and were together till around 1972. Guitarist Robbie Van Leeuwen split from the group in 1967 and formed Shocking Blue who would have a huge international hit in 1969 with "Venus"
Mystics - Ride My Pony / This Is What I Was Made For (1967)
The Mystics from the White Plains area of Westchester County in "Upstate NY". They had three 45's on three different local labels. This lo-fi effort isn't too bad on the 'A' side, a bit of goofy circus style organ flourishes in the tune, but the 'B' side is an excellent version of "This Is What I Was Made For" which was originally recorded by The Grass Roots (when they were somewhat of a folk/rock band), the Wild Life, and a group from Mexico called The Iguanas, which I featured on IDG#73 but was unable at the time to add any anecdotes as we were transitioning from the "old" Dan's Garage Central to the new one where we are presently located. But I digress....
Ren-Vell also released a local "Battle Of The Bands" L.P. that featured The Mystics although I've never heard it. But I'd like to!!!!
If you want more info on these guys, please check out Chris Bishop's awesome Garage Hangover, a website that has been very informative and entertaining as well as being helpful in all my slipshod attempts to get any concrete info on the bands/groups that I've featured on this blog over the past 16 years.
Steve Alaimo - Blowin' In The Wind (1965)
Steve Alaimo was one of these guys who had a gazillion records on the charts through his career. Unfortunately, none of them got close to No. 1. Middling, would be the word best to describe Steve Alaimo, a guy whose career spanned from the late 50's into the early 70's. Steve was born in Omaha, Nebraska and he would eventually move to Rochester, NY for a brief time and then on to Miami, Fl. Some folks up here consider him a local star, but I don't think he qualifies, mainly because he earned his fame while based in Miami and then went on to gain wider popularity as co-host of "Where The Action Is", a show I fondly remember as a kid after coming home from school.
Although Steve's first recording was on the local Lifetime Records label here in Rochester, he got a gig with Checker Records in 1961 and had a decent hit with Arthur Alexander's "Everyday I Have To Cry", a tune which surprisingly has numerous cover versions by other artists.
On this particular 45 Steve tries to get some "meaningful folk rock" into his catalogue, but falls a wee bit short. It's not bad mind you, but he's obviously trying to mix what is perhaps Bob Dylan's most "meaningful" song with a mid-sixties beat/pop arrangement. I like it for what it is, but you be the judge.
Torquays - Harmonica Man / Our Teenage Love (1967)
Did you know that there were at least EIGHT different Torquays floating around during the mid-sixties???? Three of them were from California which may have made things a bit confusing especially since this group who were out of San Bernadino, and one of the others who were from Rialto, and if my geography is correct, Rialto pretty much sits in the middle of San Bernadino. Same band or were they competing acts?
These guys had a short string of killer garage 45's in '65 and '66 with "teener" flips.
Tombstones - Times Will Be Hard / Mary Jane (1967)
A fast paced Monkee-like number from an unknown group. Alex DiAzevedo produced a number of cool garage singles on Capitol including The Human Bienz from Youngstown, OH which leaves one to speculate on whether these guys were from Ohio or somewhere else.
What Four - Stop! In The Name Of Love / Asparagus (1968)
The What Four were from Queens N.Y. and had one other 45 released on the local "Rollem" label. Both sides of this 45 are great and I especially dig the flip side "Asparagus", a quirky garage rocker with some kooky lyrics. The 'A' side is a splendid cover of The Supremes' hit with a rather interesting arrangement.
Young Men - A Young Man's Problem / Angel Baby (1966)
Way cool snappy 'A' side describing the ills of being a teenager growing up in suburban Detroit. MI. Unlike most records from this period that depict the many pitfalls of adolescent teen relationships, these guys wrote an anti-war song. Not exactly like The Byrds, but great anyway!
Rodd Keith - No Trespassing / White Elephant Stomp (1967)
Here's one of those "Song Poem" records that a select group of collectors fawn over, by who is unarguably THEE king of song poem records, Rodd Keith. Okay, I apologize to all the Gene Marshall fans out there, another song poem great, he was quite prolific as well.
For the uninitiated, "Song Poem" records were a huge scam. Let's say you're reading a copy of "Popular Mechanics" and you see this ad in the way back section that says, "poems wanted, and if your poems show hit potential, we'll put music to to them and send them to all the major radio stations".
So Joe Schmo the appliance mechanic, or Edna the housewife would get busy writing something meaningful, send it to the given address, and they'd get a form letter back telling them their song could be a hit. Unfortunately they would need some startup $$$ to pay for studio costs etc. They would reel people in with this schtick and when they got the dough, guys like Rodd Keith and a roomful of session musicians would put music to it and they would press up a few hundred copies. These outfits would record dozens of songs a day spending fractions of an hour cobbling an arrangement, and recording it. Eventually, the "song poem artist" would end up with a few boxes of records to pass around to the family, but I'm not sure if many got to any radio stations.
Rodd Keith was actually a genius musician that sang, played keyboards, wrote music, and appeared on over 300 of these 45's and he wasn't the only one doing this. There are scores of these 45's on a bunch of different labels including Preview, M.S.R., Sterling, Tin Pan Alley, and too many others to mention here.
How's the music??? Well...this certainly isn't the kookiest song poem record I've ever heard, but you can tell the lyrics were written by rank amateurs. If you'd like to seek out some real good stuff I recommend "The Beat Of The Traps Vol.1", compiled by late N.R.B.Q. drummer Tom Ardolino. It is the primer if you want to dip your toes into this, there's also several websites out there devoted to all this as well. Happy hunting!
Travel Agency - What's A Man / She Understands (1969)
Hounds - What's He Got, That I Ain't Got / The Office Girl (1967)
The Hounds must've been a pretty popular band in Stockholm because they released twenty 45's between '66 and '68. Sadly they did not achieve much in the way of success on this side of the Atlantic. They managed to get this only one released in Canada, and only one in the U.S., and on a very obscure West Coast label. The band is really into pop/rock with an emphasis on vocal harmony, and some weird yet cool organ sounds.
Joshua Fox - It's Just Meant To Be / Don't Tell Me No Story (1969)
I don't know much about theses guys. Los Angeles seems to be where they are from and released an L.P. and two singles in 1969. Surprisingly good pop/psych.
P.K. Limited - Shades Of Gray / My Imagination (1971)
P.K. Limited were basically Marty Kaniger and Dan Payton, a songwriting duo that wrote a bunch of stuff for the likes of The Partridge Family, Sajid Kahn, Bobby Sherman, Bryan Hyland, you get the picture. They also appeared on a few Monkees cuts as background vocalists. They had five 45's on Colgems and one on Bell, simply as "P.K.". This, the last Colgems release, is a nice version of The Monkees hit and was produced by David Gates.
As usual, if any one out there has any pertinent info on any of these bands, or is related to any of the band members, I'd love to hear from you in the comments. This has always just been a labor of love, and the reason I keep doing this is because I love sharing this, and it gives me a great reason to play my records and just mess with them.
I'd also like to re-iterate that I'm no "garage band Svengali, and I certainly don't have all the info on the bands that I post. I like to keep things anecdotal because I don't want to bore you with my hideous writing talents. Thanks everyone and I'll be back sooner than later....
