Paul Revere and The Raiders - 'Just Like Us!' Album Review

I LOVE The Raiders; I dig their hard rockin' garage sound, their self composed psych masterpiece tunes and their string of great albums from this one to Spirit of '67 (y'know, the one with 'Good Thing'/'Hungry' that Margot Robbie plays in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood?). What I DON'T love about the Raiders is the corny image they have been saddled with - partly of their own accord - mostly due to the wearing of American revolutionary garb and also their numerous appearances on TV at the time (including a spot on a Batman episode of all things). Formed in 1960, the group (at the time of this album) consisted of pretty-boy lead singer Mark Lindsay, lead guitarist Drake Levin, bassist Phil Volk, drummer Mike Smith and of course, keyboard player Paul Revere. This is a group who deserved to be remembered as the kick-ass rock unit they were (tacky image and all) and this album - released in '66 - is a great representation of their many talents. 

We BLAST onto Side One with 'Steppin Out', an epochal garage classic that stomps and shouts through 2:13 of rock n' roll bliss. Dig that fuzz bass, Dave Clark Five beat and a snarlin' guitar tone from Levin (oh, and obviously Lindsay's bluesy vocal), a group original too. Next up is a funky cover of Marvin Gaye's 'I'll be Doggone' by way of The Searchers '65 version (replete with chiming 12 string and Merseybeat backing vox). These boys have already with these first couple of tracks set up the classic garage rock sound in its two variations; hard and bluesy a la The Stones in '65, and hard and jangly a la The Byrds of the same vintage. Moving on, the guys try out James Brown's 'Out of Sight' in a surprisingly convincing hard R&B style (noticing how many garage bands loved Mr Dynamite's material yet?). Singing this tune is Drake Levin and -for a little bit of trivia - this is one of the few Raiders albums where the band shares vocal duties (later on Lindsay would take over most lead parts). A solid cover of 'Baby Please Don't Go' follows, sped up a little from Them's hit version and with a vocal from Phil Volk. Revere's keys are pushed to the forefront on this one (like with Them) and I cannot stress enough my love for the Vox Continental keyboard, to me it IS the 60's pop sound (see 'I'm A Believer', 'Light My Fire', 'House of The Rising Son' etc.). Probably the only bum track on the LP is next in 'I Know', a joke blues number with drummer 'Smitty' wailing higher and higher with the group egging him on and cracking up as he loses his voice. Nice party atmosphere but a little cheesy (reminds me of The Monkees 'Gonna Buy Me A Dog'). Closing Side One is an old school frat-rock cover of Mr Brown's 'Night Train', harkening back to the group's early days playing for drunk college kids in their home state of Idaho (I miss James' cries of "All Aboard!" though... will have to review his awesome 'Live At The Apollo one day). 

Side Two continues in much the same format, with punky garage, 60's R&B and folk-rock tunes colliding together in one package (making this a nicely representative collection of the rock n' roll sounds of the day pre psychedelia). Starting us off is the kinks styled 'Just Like Me', the other big hit from the LP along with 'Steppin Out'. The tune twists and turns through a Louie Louie riff into a mega chorus, Lindsay screaming his heart out before one of THE FIRST double tracked guitar solos from Levin. Yet again, its a classic garage tune, laying out the formula for hundreds of groups around the country. A gorgeous Byrds-alike cover of  Donovan's 'Catch The Wind' is next, with producer Terry Melcher replicating the compressed 12 string chime and stoned vocals of the other super-famous 60's rock group he worked with the year previous... THE BYRDS. I really dig Levin's vocal on this one, especially the super reverb fade out that Melcher applies at the end. Next is yet another solid cover of a Brit Invasion group with 'Satisfaction'. This one has grown on me, especially after buying a mono version a while back, the harmony organ adds a lot and stops it from being an exact copy of the original (again, this is the kind of stuff that many U.S garage groups covered live, so its not unappreciated). YET MORE Brit Invasion noise with The Animals' 'I'm Crying', a great little organ-based blaster that Volk injects Burdon-infused punk energy into as the guys jam away in the background, doubling down on the originals' ferocity (dig those well timed backing vox as well!). A groovy take of 'New Orleans' is next, with Revere stepping out from the keys to lay down a lead vocal, nice sax work from Lindsay on this one as well as a surfy beat from Smitty. 'Action' closes the album on a super upbeat, beach boys inflected note (this was also the theme tune to the show in which the guys were the house band at the time, 'Where the Action Is' hosted by Dick Clark). This is such a fun LP that any fans of British Invasion stuff should check out. Its also a nice intro to garage music without throwing you in at the deep end of psych freak outs like The Seeds so give it a listen, you'll be groovin' like its '66 in no time!

? and The Mysterians - '96 Tears' Album Review

For those of you that have read this blog up until this point, you will be relieved to find out that this time around we are FINALLY covering a group NOT FEATURED ON NUGGETS (although they were originally slated for a follow up volume)!!! This is ? (yes you are reading that correctly, its pronounced "Question Mark") and The Mysterians, a pop-ish latino garage group from Michigan who scored a number one hit in the U.S with the title track of this -their debut LP - '96 Tears' in 1966. The players were as follows; lead singer 'Question Mark' (AKA Rudy Martinez), guitarist Bobby Balderrama, bassist Frank Lugo, drummer Eddie Serrato and last but not least organist Frank Rodriguez. These guys possibly sound the most like a band just out of rehearsing in a garage out of all the units I've covered so far on this here site, slightly ramshackle (occasionally slipping out of time) with super tinny organ and guitar lines, playing mostly self-composed angsty pop tunes and to top it all off a vocalist who is trying his darndest to out Jagger Jagger (occasionally succeeding, usually sounding like a poor mans version). The grooviest thing about the group is despite (and possibly in part due to) their flaws, they knock out a unique brand of garage-pop that has not been truly replicated since. Lets check them out shall we?

Side One starts with 'I Need Somebody', a lovely bit of R&B with the Rodriguez's trademark Vox Organ sound riffing all over the place (more on that to come...). He even breaks into a line of 'Mary Had AA Little Lamb' in place of a middle eigth.... Why you my ask? Why not I say, it only adds to the quirkiness of the group's sound. A pretty straight 'Stormy Monday' follows, ?'s heavily reverbed vocals fitting the tunes longing tone. Not much to write home about, but soulful enough (its also the only cover on the album, impressive amounts of original song writing here for the time, even if most of its kinda derivative). A 'She's A Woman' styled bouncy rocker is next with 'You're Telling Me Lies'. Simple lyrics, simple arrangement, and yet it seems a bit eerie, is it the distant muted organ? Not sure, but I dig it all the same. 'Ten O'Clock' lurches forwards as the most garagey tune we've heard so far, sort of a Kinks styled riff that builds and builds through repetition and a surfey groove (again, plenty of reverb and treble on EVERYTHING, my kind of sound). 'Set Aside' features some tasty blues playing from Rodriguez, and.... not much else in terms of variety, rolls along nicely enough though and is a group original so has to be given some cred. The side closes with 'Up Side', another groovy little number with plenty o' organ and a tight rhythm section, cool vocal from ? too, probably one of my favourites from the LP (must've been a great dance number live, especially with that double time bit at the end).

Side Two starts with '8 Teen', nice stomping number in the mid 60's animals vein (maybe the hardest rocking on here), a garage rock classic and a great representation of the group's talents. 'Don't Tease Me' slinks in, more more more reverb; its piling up now in a most pleasing way, making the group blend together into a machine like crunch of  sound. 'Don't Break This Heart of Mine' is a nice punky tune, more teen protesting against an unfair lover, fast too (you can see where Los Ramones got their shtick from...) 'Why Me?' is wimpo pop, but a bit motown-ish so I'll forgive it (stuff like this gave the group a bubble-gum reputation, they're better than crap like that believe me...) And a great example of why they're NOT bubble-gum comes next with 'Midnight Hour' (no, not that one, its an original!), NASTY sounding, the whole group surging along in true set closer form (seems like the drums are pushed up in the mix on this one, adds to the bar band chaos they're puttin' down). Dig the reedy organ (fuzzed out slightly), the biting guitar, pulsing bass, kick ass drums, all with ? floating around in his best seedy Jagger-ish manner. And finally, we have the group's worldwide hit, '96 Tears', possibly the most famous garage rock tune for the average 60's fan. Rodriguez lays down a piercing staccato riff, the group grooving and grooving at mid tempo. ? comes in and spouts his lyrics of love and loss ("too many teardrops, for one heart to be crying") before going into full on REVENGE MODE! ("I'm gonna put you/way down there/let me hear you cry now/96 tears") Epic stuff, and what a way to close off a debut album, bold move too for a group to put their big tune at the end of Side Two, builds a nice anticipation for it throughout like waiting at a gig for the band to play the song you know everyone is gonna flip over. If you're lookin' to pick this LP up (and you should be by now...), I'd recommend getting 'The Best of ? and the Mysterians 1966-67' comp; it contains this fab album along with its possibly even fabber follow up 'Action' along with some super rare single only releases (its also easily available on iTunes so no excuses!) Although they're not as heavy as some of the other groups on this blog, they're well worth the listen if you're a fan of poppy rock and roll with a unique edge, check em' out!

The 13th Floor Elevators - 'The Psychedelic Sounds Of The 13th Floor Elevators' Album Review

Today we'll be covering the 13th Floor Elevators, one of the MOST psychedelic and far out of the first wave U.S garage groups (and yeah, you've guessed it, featured on Nuggets, might do a review of that whole comp one day but seek it out in the meantime, it rocks). Formed in 1965 Texas, the group included lead acid-head and blues shouter Roky Erickson (apparently a large influence on Janis Joplin's throaty wail), lead guitarist Stacy Sutherland, bassist Ronnie Leatherman, drummer John Walton and - in a surprising twist on the classic garage line up - an ELECTRIC JUG PLAYER, Tommy Hall. These guys played  kind of weirdo psych-rockabilly with Erickson's screeching vocals and Hall's bubbling Jug effects pushing their sound to a new astral plane (inspired of course by the newly popular hallucinogens floating around at the time...) This LP (one of the first along with the Blues Magoos' debut to feature the word 'Psychedelic' in its title) was released in 1966 and was surely a sign of sounds to come the following year, lets dig in...

Proceedings kick off with 'You're Gonna Miss Me', the elevators track featured on the original Nuggets comp. Here we find the groups sound encapsulated in a three minute assault of psych weirdness, all Buddy Holly on acid twang with the addition of electric jug enhancing the tracks' creepiness tenfold. Next we have 'Roller Coaster', a raga rock moody piece with mildly philosophical lyrics about a man who stopped the singer 'living so unsane' and helped him 'see just what he wanted to see', 'open up your mind and let everything come thru'... Nicely provocative whilst retaining a rocking garage core, an awesome track (and the blueprint for many a psych band on the decades to come, see the Spacemen 3's cover on their debut 'Sound of Confusion' as extra reading). Next is a lovely folk-rock ballad, 'Splash 1', that grooves along beautifully in much a similar style to Love's 'Message to Pretty'. Gorgeous lyrics too, "the neon from your eyes is splashing into mine/they're so familiar in  way I can't define/now I'm home to stay", Roky's Buddy styled ballad voice coming to the fore at the same time. A blast of feedback opens 'Reverberation', another ballsy, riff driven psych-rocker that sounds like a hidden Jeff Airplane track from 'Baxters', so cool, crank up the volume and trip out. Closing side one is 'Don't Fall Down', a mid paced and mysterious track with a beautiful bridge section worthy of Gene Clark (although I don't think ol' Gene would scream 'DO YOU FEEL IT, FEEL IT, FEEL IT!!!' at the close on of one of his tunes...)

Side Two starts with blaring horns and a surfy lead guitar riff, plunging us head first back into the bands core sound, Roky now sounds positively UNHINGED, screaming and slobbering all over the place, the band rising in intensity to match his ravings. 'Thru the Rhythm' continues this groove in a slightly more restrained manner (still has a HUGE chorus though), brilliant trebly lead guitars and meaty bass grinding along in a satisfying rave up of a sound. 'You Don't Know' preaches to a figure who doesn't know 'how young you are' whilst reverb threatens to swallow the group whole adding a hazy filter to the sound. This is also the first of a few tunes written by an outside figure, local beatnik Powell St. John, who clearly had an ear for the groups way out weird sound. 'Kingdom of Heaven' is another of his tunes, a blurry tangle of guitars, jug and pulsating bass, 'the Kingdom of Heaven, is WITHIN you...' Roky purrs, a stoned classic (and originally meant to close the album). Instead we have a couple more tracks, firstly 'Monkey Island', 'could you be a monkey too?', nut house psychedelic imaginings (see Roky's ape howls near the end...) infused with a greasy R&B backbeat, what's not to love? Closing the record is a final riff driven number, 'Tried to Hide',  kind trad garage song in comparison to the weirdness found elsewhere but links back to 'Miss Me's sound nicely (and of course the whirring jug noises add to the chaos). Man, what an album, possibly my favourite psych record pre-67, a masterpiece of far out, psychedelic sounds that is sure to please any lover of 60's hippiedom.

The Blues Magoos - 'Psychedelic Lollipop' Album Review

This time around we're covering The Blues Magoos, yes.... YET ANOTHER Nuggets group (I tried to get away from it, honest...) A cracking unit too, and very psychedelic as the title would suggest. This group have the classic garage 5 piece line-up; Two guitarists/Vocalists (Emil Theilhelm and Mike Esposito), Keys Player (Ralph Scala), Bass (Ron Gilbert) and Drums (Geoff Daking). Formed in '64, the group transitioned from a Brit Invasion styled outfit to a rather otherworldly psych combo, prempting the summer of love sound that groups like The Doors and Jefferson Airplane cultivated by about a year. This album (their debut LP released in 1966, that glorious year of U.S garage rock) is a smash, opening with a little number that a certain heavy metal group would later lift the riff from...

'We Ain't Got Nothin' Yet' is a classic bit of 60's rock goodness, featuring THAT RIFF if you know what I mean (ahem, Deep Purple fans...). Vox Continental and twangy guitars coalesce with building tension, as the band careens into a solo smothered in delay/reverb, a truly epic album opener. 'Love Seems Doomed' follows, to my ears a prototype for Jim Moz's dark psych ballads over the next few tears. Although he lyrics are a little trite (and the chorus goes a bit too pop for some tastes), this is a awesome tune, extra points for the Theremin-like sound effect in place of a traditional solo, these guys have definitely been indulging in something other than diet coke... A kick-ass 'Tobacco Road' follows, a close contender to beating the Nashville Teens original. This was the track that introduced me to the group via the Nuggets set and like the majority of  Lenny Kaye's choices for that album, it rules. The stomping verse/chorus descends into madness at the mid point, with a Yardbirds rave up taking control of the senses, whirling around and around like a corrupted fairground ride... Pure psychedelic bliss. A nice comedown can be found in the next track, 'Queen of My Nights', a Dylan-esque folk-rocker that flows along nicely after the chaos of 'Road' (check the groovy Inspiral Carpetsy organ break mid way thru, must have been at least a little inspirational for them). Side One is rounded out by a decent cover of James Brown's 'I'll Go Crazy', a tune seemingly covered by every R&B group at the time (and rightly so, it is hot number). The Magoos inject a little punkish energy but otherwise follow the hardest working man in showbiz's arrangement to a T. 

Side Two commences with the classic garage sound of 'Gotta Get Away', could be in a film soundtrack its so representative. Particularly dig the back and forth chanting and snarlin' guitar solo and desperate sounding bridge. 'Sometimes I Think About' follows, and is a beautiful, moody blues piece (based on the traditional folk number 'Willie Jean'). A transcendent cover that conveys the longing sentiments of the lyrics admirably, more layers of organ and delayed guitar gliding everywhere. 'One By One' is next, with a bit of a Gene Clark-ish Byrds feel, again with that added element of church-ish vox continental organ (A group original too, pretty classic song writing here). The guys next cover 'Worried Life Blues' in the style of the Animals in 65' (could the singer try any harder to sound like eggman Eric?). An admirable version with at least equal gusto (if not the same level of conviction) as the Animals take (nice keys though, tastefully gothic methinks). We close out the Lollipop with a Zombies/Animals like mashup in 'She's Coming Home', more of that classic sound and awesome syncopated playing from the rhythm section, nice bluesy vocal too, a truly rocking finisher. The Magoos knock out a very cool (and influential) album here that pretty well exemplifies the garage sound of '66 with enough psych flourish to make it stand out amongst its peers, check it out on Spotify or get a copy from Discogs or on iTunes, not that much on either and well worth it.

The Standells - 'Dirty Water' Album Review

I know, covering bands from Nuggets is gettin' boring by now (promise one day I shall move on!), but there are just too many greats on that set to ignore for the garage conisouer. Chief among these are the Standells, one of the more popular garage groups of the day who scored several hits in the U.S such as 'Dirty Water' (the title track of this here LP I'm reviewing today), 'Why Pick on Me?' and 'Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White' as well as starring in the brill hippie exploitation film 'Riot on Sunset Strip' (alongside fellow rockers The Chocolate Watchband). The group were comprised of Drummer/Lead Vocalist Dick Dodd, Keyboard Player Larry Tamblyn, Guitarist Tony Valentino and Bassist Gary Lane and on this album the boys rock up a storm with their gritty blend of fuzzed out psych and folk-rock pop.

Side One, we blast in with 'Medication', a pill popping odessey (yes, I spell it like that now, sue me...) with all the makings of a garage classic; repetitive bass/fuzz riffs, tinny organ and Jagger-ish, lavicious vocals from Dodd (who at the same time is laying down a particularly tight drum performance). 'Little Sally Tease' follows, another slab of meaty garage perfection, lovely organ/guitar solos too as well as a  MASSIVE sounding chorus, groovy stuff. These two tracks alone classify this album as a classic (in my humble opinion anyway...), but more greatness is to come. 'There's A Storm Coming' has a nice brit-pop feel to it, solid harmonies colliding with greasy R&B goodness. This is also the first track on this LP written by the groups' producer, Ed Cobb, apparently a bit controlling in the studio but damn could he write a great track! Next we get a cover of the Stones '66 psych masterclass '19th Nervous Breakdown', a pretty good (and pretty close) version that is sped up slightly from the original (as a side note, these guys were touring with the Stones around the time of this albums' release in '66', not a better way of learning a number!). Ending Side One originally was the groups' first big hit, 'Dirty Water', a Cobb original that featured as track two on Nuggets. This number rocks as well as the Stones did in the mid '60s, all braggin' lyrics, waling harmonica and tight rhythm section coming together to form one hell of garage classic (although these guys weren't native Bostonians, this tune is now used by the city's 'Red Sox' baseball team as their winning anthem). My copy continues with a couple of extra tracks, 'Poor Man's Prison' is first. More classic garage rock, this time a bit more Animalsy (is that a word? I'll let it pass if you will...), great fuzz riff and stabbing organ flourishes. 'It's All In Your Mind' rounds off the expanded first side nicely, this time featuring a groovy bit of 12 string playing from Valentino. I can picture this one being done by The Monkees, feels like a show closer, no?

Side Two starts with 'Pride and Devotion', a jangly original by Tamblyn, bit like an early Neil Diamond song mixed with 'Please Please Me' era Beatles, nice addition to an otherwise pretty heavy album. A great snot nosed punk song comes up next with 'Sometime Good Guys Don't Wear White', boy telling his prospective girl that if she don't like his long hair she should "get herself a crew cut", quite right too...  As usual, the guys lay down stomping drums, reedy keys and solid bass/lead guitar, slashing around like the Clash (or Elvis Costello/Attractions on 'This Year's Model') ten years early. A fast paced 'Hey Joe' is up next, and a particularly nasty one at that, Love-styled 12 string exploding everywhere and a crazed vocal from Dodd. So far on this blog we've heard at least THREE versions of this tune of varying styles, must've been a popular number to bash out at the time (oh and don't worry, there shall be more in the future...) Another tasty group original follows, 'Why Did You Hurt Me?', and its a great (and reasonably complex) questioning and surging number, sort of Who-ish hard rock coming together with a pop bridge. Concluding the original Side Two is the semi-improvised 'Rari', Dodd inventing new lyrical passages as he goes along. Moody little piece, great tom tom work and minor key gothicness, very cool indeed. My version of this side again concludes with two extra tracks, the first of which is a go-go version of the 'Batman' theme tune. Heavy version too, even has a drum solo mid way thru, along with lashings of fuzz/vox continental keyboard OF COURSE! (You should know by now I love love love that combo, wins me over every time!) Capping this expanded version off is a 'Sunny Afternoon' styled number called 'Take A Ride' penned by Cobb, cooing backing vox and music hall piano galore. These guys create a bad ass sound on this LP, with several references to their Brit heroes but with a new found punk spirit that would inspire hard edged rock groups for decades to come, give it a listen today and come away blessed by the soul of pure garage!

The Remains - 'The Remains' Album Review

This week we return to an original Nuggets group, The Remains, a bunch of Boston bad boys who could rock like the Stones and Roll like the Beatles (with a bit of Kinksy flavour in there to spice it up a little!). Formed in '64 and featuring guitarist/howlin' singer Barry Tashian, bass player Vern Miller, electric pianist Bill Briggs and drummer Chip Damiani, this group were a forced to be reckoned with on America's east coast, with their highest claim to fame being a slot supporting the Beatles on their 1966 tour of the states (their final tour EVER to be precise). This album is a classic (albeit a short one, only 25 mins long!) and stands tall alongside the other great works covered on this blog from the period, so lets get stuck in!

We start with 'Heart', a number that deceptively starts as a slowish, proto-psych number that awesomely transitions into a full on RAVE UP! 'Like a thousand drums, here it comes again'... Dig the NASTY guitar tone, clanging keys and amazing syncopation, these guys were so tight! A great opener that sets the go-go party atmosphere for the rest of the record. Track two is 'Lonely Weekend', another mid paced intro, another turnaround into full on rock, nice stonesy vibe on this with Barry doin' his best Jagger circa '65, cool cool cool cool cool... No other words. Although this album ain't entirely original, every tune the guys try out goes down a storm, just like their primary Brit Invasion influences did around the same time. Next one up though is an original tune, and what a tune it is... 'Don't look Back' was the first Remains number I heard via Nuggets, and it is a feckin' brilliant into to the group. Harmonies colliding all over the place, mid section breakdown with gospel-ish preachin', punky, 'back off' lyrics, a classic. Listen to this tune if no other number from this album, it rules that much. 'Why Do I Cry' follows, more Zombies ish this time, groovy to the highest degree and its a group original! Nice minor key chord transitions, solid solo and nicely reverbed backing vox make this a great moody brit pop number that SOOOO many garage groups would've killed for. Rounding out side one is a version of Bo Diddley's 'Diddey Wah Diddy', and what a kick ass version it is, surgin' along in R&B nirvana mode, pulsating bass line/funky drums galroe. Check out the group's live take on Hullabaloo from the time (can be found on good ol' youtube), very groovy performance indeed. 

Side Two gets underway with 'You Got A Hard Time Coming', another stomper, another complex and intricately played arrangement. Oh and of course another rockin' Keith Richards inspired solo mid way thru (and from here on out, all the numbers are originals). Nice Kinksy ending also, great stuff. 'Once Before' follows, more garage attitude and pitch perfect harmonies/band interplay, kickin' it up a storm. A change of pace is next with 'Thank You', a soulful ballad with some rockin' grit thrown in for good measure, if this had been on  Stones album at the time it would be remembered as a classic (but we can celebrate it here, so que cera I suppose...) MEGA FUZZ on the next number, can someone tell me if that's keyboard fuzz or bass fuzz (or a combo of the two)? Whatever, it rocks yet again (not a surprise at this point really). A simple tune but well played and bad ass, with some tasty harpsichord rolling around along with the rhythm section. 'Say You Sorry' ends our short masterpiece, more brit styling with military middle eighth drumming and a bouncy feel that propels us to the finish line, ready for one more play if we know what's good for us... Only downside bout this album is its rarity in physical forms, but seek it out on Spotify or get it on iTunes if you can dig that, see ya next time when we'll be checking out some 'Dirty Water' from '66 (extra points for figuring that one out...), adios!