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!
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