US 1960s May-June 2009

THE MONKS
The Early Years 1964-1965
Black Monk Time
Both Light In The Attic CDs
www.lightintheattic.net
The press release claims “you couldn’t make The Monks up” yet they were every bit another man’s vision as The Monkees. Five US soldiers found they could supplement their service pay on the German beat circuit of rehearse-eat-rest-play-party-sleep ad infinitum. A carousel that had proved an adept training ground for The Beatles was one that that The Torquays continued to ride once discharged. With a self-promoted single (a reworked ‘She’s a Woman’ titled ‘Boys Are Boys’) under their belt the band were solid but unspectacular, despite rudimentary experimentations with feedback, until they came to the notice of advertising execs, and would-be svengalis, Karl Remy and Walther Niemann.
The Torquays took to their vision of simplicity, energy, repetition, tension and brevity as a reaction against the lightweight pop of groups like The Beatles. Everything that the musicians loved had to be stripped away. They had to start afresh. The Year Zero approach, built around heavy Teutonic drum and bass grooves with a percussive banjo replacing one of the guitars, was deliberately engineered to get right in the face of the audience. The band bought into the image; tonsured in an age of long hair they morphed into The Monks.
The Early Years disc gathers The Torquays single with a ten-track demo recorded just two months prior to their only album, Black Monk Time, recorded in November 1965. Eight of the songs made it to the album, tightened and minus Larry Clark’s church organ introductions that commence every track on the demo. The drum sound is more tribal and prominent in the demo mix. It’s also interesting to trace the nurture of ‘Boys Are Boys’ from Torquay to Monk.
Although individually released, the pair makes for a pretty essential double pack, with in-depth booklets detailing the band’s story in two parts. The reissued Black Monk Time includes two later singles and a demo prior to the group’s disbanding in ’67.
Check before buying – The Monks may not be your cuppa, but for fans, I recommend both. Few bands can have left so little recorded output yet carried such a legacy of influence.
Vic Templar

THE ANIMATED EGG
Guitar Freakout
Sundazed CD
www.sundazed.com
Like Austin Matthews’ excellent Shindig! features on psych-exploito cinema and literature, the studio concoction of aging straights The Animated Egg (session guitar supreme Jerry Cole and friends, not the hippies on the cover) ably aped the zeitgeist in a Hollywood recording studio laying on the freakouts thick and heavy. And like the material Matthews has covered, Guitar Freakout’s attempts at every drugged-out head music trick in the book come out sounding a little contrived and not that overly weird at all. It’s surf music for freaks with fuzz and tremolo and a Hendrix tone thrown in for measure. A tad goofy, but not without merit.
Jon ‘Mojo’ Mills

CANNED HEAT
The Boogie House Tapes Volume Three
Ruf CD
www.rufrecords.de
Southern California-based Canned Heat gained worldwide recognition when their emotional 1968 cover of the Memphis Jug Band’s ‘On The Road Again’ (featured here twice) reached the Top 10 in both Britain and America. This 25 track, two CD project is the last in a series of unreleased Heat studio and live recordings from Ruf and proves fully as rewarding as the first two. Most of the sides date from the late ’60s and early ’70s and many feature guests on the order of Sunnyland Slim (‘World In A Jug’), Gatemouth Brown and The Chambers Brothers (on the topical ‘Election Blues’ from ’73), James Harmon, John Lee Hooker and guitarist Harvey Mandel — who steps to the fore on the searing instrumental ‘Before Six’. Inspired reprises of other Heat favorites like ‘Catfish Blues’, ‘Let’s Work Together’ and ‘Future Blues’ also impress.
Hats off to Belgium’s infamous Dr. Boogie, Germany’s Thomas Ruf and Heat survivor Fito de la Parra for keeping the flame alive.
Gary von Tersch

MARK ERIC
A Midsummer’s Day Dream
Now Sounds CD
www.nowsounds.co.uk
For several years, A Midsummer’s Day Dream was considered a lost late ’60s classic, a sort of bastard child of Pet Sounds. The album is assuredly not but is an excellent soft pop album basking in the California ethos. Mark Eric – with his Santa Monica upbringing and blond locks – seemed every bit the California surfer boy and, like Brian Wilson, was greatly influenced by the pastoral harmonies of The Four Freshmen. The album is marked (no pun intended) by a very unique, muted lead vocal styling, and soft harmonies and serene aural images abound on tracks like ‘California Home’, ‘Where Do The Girls Of The Summer Go’, the maudlin ‘Sad Is The Way That I Feel’ and, perhaps the track closest to Pet Sounds in spirit and execution, ‘Take Me With You’. Eric shows he’s got some cohones (albeit small ones) on ‘Move With The Dawn’ and ‘Night Of The Lions’. Eric saved the best for last with ‘Lynn’s Baby,’ a heart-tugging true story about a lost love.
This updated Now Sounds reissue adds oodles of bonus tracks – 16 in all – including mono 45 mixes of several of the album’s tracks, along with songs Eric recorded after A Midsummer’s Day Dream. ‘Place For The Summer’ and ‘Build Your Own Dreams’ are every bit as good as the album.
David Bash

WAYLON JENNINGS AND THE KIMBERLYS
Country Folk
Righteous CD
www.cherryred.co.uk
Waylon Jennings – the country misfit well known for both his lifestyle excesses and his bleak lyrics – was not so unruly in his early career. He teamed up in 1969 with well-groomed family harmony group The Kimberlys for an album that’s occasionally country, seldom folk, but a whole lot of cheerful sunshine pop; a good few fathoms away from Jennings’ Outlaw-era darkness.
Despite the obviousness of some song choices on this album, Country Folk is a pleasant listen with Jennings and The Kimberlys democratically sharing vocals to good effect. The standout is ‘These New Changing Times’, an inspired overblown pop nugget that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Fifth Dimension album. Another gem is ‘Cindy, Oh Cindy’, its gentle melodic quality roughed up by Waylon’s authentic country feel.
Anyone expecting foreshadows of Jennings’ later recordings won’t find many clues here. Instead, it’s a fascinating glimpse of Waylon as a clean pop crooner, a role with which he felt ill-suited but was clearly more than capable of pulling off.
Jeanette Leech

SAGITTARIUS
The Blue Marble
Sundazed CD
www.sundazed.com
By no means a bad album, but Curt Boettcher – who propelled Sagittarius’ debut Present Tense into the realms of genius – is barely present on what should really be called Gary Usher’s The Blue Marble. Boettcher was working hard on his newly launched Together label (on which this album was released in 1969) and producing Sandy Salisbury, so he only sung a few songs and wrote one. His presence is missed! The lush, well arranged harmonies are barely evident and on the back of his Moog experimentations with The Byrds Usher drops in farts and burps at every opportunity. That said, there’s enough here to satiate sunshine pop fans but this can’t hold a candle to Present Tense.
Jon ‘Mojo’ Mills

SANDY SALISBURY
Catchy
Sonic Past CD
www.sonicpastmusic.com
According to Joey Stec, the producer and keeper of the Millennium vaults, these are the last of the demos recorded by Sandy during the years 1966-68. Some were recorded at home on his four-track recorder and others at Original Sound with backing from the various members of The Millennium.
Even if these are the last tracks by no means has the quality diminished, in fact you wonder why some of these songs have taken until the fourth album to be released.
The opener ‘Maui’ is beautifully sung with Curt Boettcher. Other highlights include Sandy’s own version of one of his first songwriting successes, ‘Rag Doll Boy’ – which was released as a single on Kapp by Thee Prophets and covered in the UK by The Naked Truth – and ‘Tale Of Timeless Love’, a superb folk tune with wonderful acoustic guitar just crying out for a baroque string arrangement.
This is sunshine pop of the highest order, harmonies abound and the songs have a sparkle and innocence which makes this release highly recommended.
Pat Curran

SHADOWS OF KNIGHT
Shadows Of Knight
Rev-Ola CD
www.revola.co.uk
Far too sexy and untamed for the burgeoning bubblegum market, Shadows Of Knight burst onto Super K in 1968 after the original Dunwich band had dissolved. Jim Sohns and a newly formed act hit gold with re-launch 45 ‘Shake’, which in our world at least has become something of a classic. That tinny 12-bar fuzz riff, the reedy Farfisa and those breakbeat drums and call-and-response vocals have all of the ingredients of a one in a million dynamic floor filler. A few cool singles followed and then in ’69 the self-titled LP. All – including the bubblegum/soul of ‘Run Run Billy Porter’ (a Crazy Elephant styled number) to the ‘Shake’-friendly groove ‘My Fire Department Needs a Fireman’ – are on this 15 track CD.
The LP itself is an uneven gem that sees Levine trying to popify Sohns on a number of tunes including opener ‘Follow’, which the unbridled singer majestically punks up, and some rather fuzzed-out monsters that were totally inappropriate for the intended audience: the Cream-wannabe ‘Uncle Wiggley’s Airship’, ‘I Wanna Make You Mine’ (think early Shads with Phil May and Reg Presley fighting for the mic), a messy lead guitar laden take of Buffalo Springfield’s ‘Bluebird’ and an inferior remake of ‘Shake’.
Unfinished and a tad overwrought, but it still may be their finest album.
Jon ‘Mojo’ Mills

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Glitter And Gold: Words And Music by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil
Ace CD
www.acerecords.com
The number of legendary hits that flowed from the pen and piano of Mr Mann and Miss Weil in the mid-60s is matched only by that of Bacharach & David and Goffin & King. Forgoing the uber-obvious (‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling’, ‘On Broadway’ et al) in favour of lesser-known gems, the pair’s first golden age of hits between ’62 and ’75 still shimmers with diversity. The Turtles’ ‘Glitter And Gold’, Mama Cass’ ‘It’s Getting Better’ and Nino & April’s ‘The Coldest Night Of The Year’ are big favourites of this writer. Del Shannon’s version of ‘Kicks’ gives the Raiders’ hit reading a run for its money while the Raiders themselves power through the equally delirious ‘Hungry’. Entries by The Chiffons, Arthur Alexander and Bill Medley add a dose of soul and R&B while B J Thomas and The Sweet Inspirations turn up the schmaltz.
Andy Morten

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Where The Girls Are Volume 7
Ace CD
www.acerecords.com
Welcome to the world of songs lasting under three minutes, mini pocket symphonies, kitchen sink dramas, boy meets girl, boy dumps girl etc... From ‘He’s My Boyfriend’ to ‘Too Bad He’s Bad’ in the space of 10 minutes. Isn’t life like that sometimes? Who needs some fancy intellectual lyrics when sometimes, a “doo-lang-doo-lang” or a “dum-da-de-doo” can say so much more. The songs from this collection come from a golden age of lost innocence.
Highlights include the brooding, echo laden opener ‘Tears Come Tumbling’ by The Teardrops; the Fashionettes irresistible pop soul confectionery of the never before released ‘Earthquake’ and Joani Camp’s heartfelt, impassioned vocals on ‘His Lips Get In The Way’.
Elsewhere, Northern Soul never sounded as bittersweet as it does on The Tandels’ pounding ‘Is It Love Baby’, the thumping, garage stomp of The Azaleas’ ‘Hands Off’ explodes from the speakers with some venom and the sheer beauty of The Shirelles’ ‘What Is Love’ will floor girl group fans.
I could go on and on but let’s just say this series is essential listening for anyone with a love of Brill Building/Wall Of Sound inspired perfect pop. Sadly, they don’t make ’em like this no more.
Paul Ritchie

WE FIVE
There Stands The Door: The Best Of We Five
Big Beat CD
www.acerecords.com
We Five had their origins in 1962 when Mike Stewart formed The Ridge Runners in the style of The Kingston Trio, of which his brother John was a member. Three years later We Five emerged, spunky vocalist Bev Bivens to the fore, with the archetypal folk-rock single, ‘You Were On My Mind’. Their follow-up, an innovative rearrangement of Dino Valenti’s anthem ‘Let’s Get Together’ suffered from poor promotion, barely nicking the Top Forty and by May ’67 it was all over.
This 22 tracker collects the best of their A&M recordings including an abundance of unissued material. Memorable moments comprise harmonically colorful covers of five John Stewart songs, a soulfully tortured version of the classic ‘High Flying Bird’ and the Byrds-like, raga romp title tune. Alec Palao’s exhaustive, band interview based, liners tell the whole tale alongside dozens of rare photos.
Gary von Tersch