Troggs

I assume most of you know the Troggs, so I'm not going to go into their history. Plenty of info on the internet.

This is a pretty obscure Troggs track. Released as the B-side to their Hip Hip Horay 45 and included on the "Mixed Bag" LP from 1968. It's a great song with all of the attitude of some of their earlier tracks that seemed to be lacking during this time. It has a great freakbeat sound and has that brilliant simplicity that made the Troggs great. Listen to it below.

Troggs - Say Darlin'!

Chanceliers

French Canadian band that released at least 8 singles from 1966 to 1968. They also released an LP in 1967. Michel Pagliaro, the vocalist went on to have a successful pop career in Canada. This is a great tough track sung in French. Fantastic Guitar, bass and drums! I love the slow down and stops then the drums crashing back in. The other side is a pretty boring version of "I'm your puppet" sung in French as well. Listen to the killer side below.

Chanceliers - La Generation D'Aujourd'Hui

Twilights

One of my favorite Australian bands, the Twilights were one of the top bands of the sixties in the land down under. You can read all about their history at the great Milesago website HERE.

If you love sitar, you'll love the track "Time and Motion Study Man", which was actually the B-Side. The A-Side "Younger Girl", written by the drummer, Laurie Pryor, was a huge hit for the band. The song was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London and the Milesago site explains, "melancholy and evocative, with Terry's innovative use of the variable volume pedal (as employed previously on The Beatles' "Yes It Is"). It's a measure of The Twilights' pre-eminence on the Aussie rock scene by this time that it became the group's biggest hit to date."

Sorry, even though the record looks perfect, it sounds a little scratchy. Listen to both sides below.

Twilights - Time and Motion Study Man
Twilights - Young Girl

Note: Sorry for the huge break in posts. I plan to post regularly from now on.

Short '66

Great Beat-Mod band from Amsterdam. They had at least 8 singles during their career. Heavily influenced by the Mod and Psych bands from the UK. They started in 1966 (hence the name) and I think only lasted until 1960 or 1970. The song featured here is a pure Mod/PopArt/Freakbeat effort.

Here's a great promo card:



Lots of good stuff by these guys! This is one of my favorites.

Listen here:
SHORT '66 - GOOD WEEKEND

Hedgehoppers Anonymous

A beat band from the UK who were originally called The Trendsetters then The Hedgehoppers in 1963/4. They added the Anonymous in 1965 when Jonathan King became their producer. Their first release (Good News Week) became a big hit in the UK. In my opinion that first 45 and their next 2 releases were mediocre beat/folk efforts. Then in August of 1966 they released this monster (which criminally went nowhere in the charts). Great full Mod/Freakbeat sound on this one. Give it a listen below.

HEDGEHOPPERS ANONYMOUS - DAYTIME

Terry Dean and the Nitebeats

Here's a nice beat record from New Zealand. This was the bands first release from early in 1964. The song featured here was written by the UK songwriting team of John Carter and Ken Lewis (who also had the band Carter-Lewis and the Southerners). The song was also recorded by The Cicadas from Australia and I believe was originally done by the Marauders in the UK.

There's a great history of the band with some fantastic pictures HERE.

Listen here:
TERRY DEAN AND THE NITEBEATS - ALWAYS ON MY MIND

Mark Four

Here's a surf influenced garage record from a band called the Mark Four. They were probably from Los Angeles and had an earlier release (Pacific Challenger 1002) with a nice surf style vocal tune called Swingin' Hangout. This one is more in the Garage vein and I believe was released in 1966. Pretty inept. Just listen to that bad start by the drummer. I love the guitar sound though.

Listen here:
MARK FOUR - FORGET IT BABY

Jets

Great melodic driving Dutch beat!

Not much info on the internet (at least in English). Here's what Pebbles Vol. 23 had to say about them:

"This 5-piece combo was from Utrecht and had a hit with the Changin' Times/Crispian St. Peter song 'Pied Piper', which stayed in the Dutch Top 40 for 15 weeks. 'I Was So Glad' is the B-side. 'Worker In The Night' is another great one by them. The Jets were one of the best live bands, there were wild happenings at their shows. And they even had records released in Japan!"

There's also some great pics HERE.

Listen here:
JETS - WORKER IN THE NIGHT

Big Three

Legendary early UK Beat group. In my opinion, still very underrated today, their records are great and really reflect the time. Their "Big Three at the Cavern" EP is fantastic and really captures the sound from those Cavern days. Although many say their studio recordings don't really capture their wild sound, I believe the track I've included here is an exception. "Cavern Stomp" sounds pretty wild to my ears and I think all you Mod DJ's out there should give it a spin at your next club night.

Here's a few more tidbits about The Big Three:
1. They were managed by Brian Epstein, but were allegedly dropped from his management because of their wild antics.
2. Their drummer, Johnny Hutchinson, drummed for The Beatles for a brief period between Pete Best and Ringo in 1962.
3. The original lineup lasted only until November 1963 and the band was completely disbanded by early 1964!

Check out "Cavern Stomp" here:
BIG THREE - CAVERN STOMP

Brincos

Los Brincos were one of the top bands in Spain in the 1960's. They released several 45's and LP's throughout the 60's and a brilliant Psych-Progressive LP in 1970 (Mvndo Demonio Carne). This 45 is from 1967 and has a very "Who" feel to it. I've included the track "The Train" (sung in English) below.

LOS BRINCOS - THE TRAIN

Romancers

Here's one of the Romancers, from East LA, singles from 1966. This one, as far as East LA bands goes is a bit different in that it's pure 60's jangly rock. Most of the East LA Chicano bands tended toward Doo-wop, soul and funk, including the Romancers, but in 1966 Max Uballez was writing some amazing garage and 60's pop. Both sides are great, but "She Gives Me Love", I think could and should have been a hit.

The Romancers were one of the earliest of the 60's East LA Chicano bands and again I defer to Mark Guerrero's page for an excellent history of the band HERE.

ROMANCERS - SHE GIVES ME LOVE
ROMANCERS - TAKE MY HEART

Union Jack

Not much info out there on this band. I know they were Belgian and I'm pretty sure this 45 was released in 1970. They had at least one other release around 1969-70 also on Fontora records. Lady Masham is a great Pop-Psych track with super FUZZ guitar. Any further info on the band is welcomed.

Listen to it here:
UNION JACK - LADY MASHAM

Gremlins

Here's one from the great New Zealand band the Gremlins. This 45 was the follow-up to their big (#2) hit "Coming Generation". Unfortunately it was a total flop in the charts. To my ears though it's a great song which complains how the older generation just doesn't understand the new generation ("They don't like the clothes we wear and they don't like our longer hair"). You can read a good history of the band HERE.

Listen here:
GREMLINS - UNDERSTAND OUR AGE

Be sure to pick up the CD: The Gremlins - The Coming Generation: The Complete Recordings 1965-68

Preparations

Although a pretty blatant rip off of the "Cool Jerk" riff, this is a fantastic record. It's hard to sit still still while listening to this one. From New York City and released in 1968. Get up and do the GET-E-UP! Yeeehaw!

PREPARATIONS - GET-E-UP (The Horse)

Blue Chips

Good UK Mod Beat 45! I really like both sides of this 45. It's fairly primitive UK Beat with a touch of soul. I don't know anything about these guys except that they had 3 45 releases, this one in 1965 and two in 1966. Here's some additional info from the liner notes from the "Doin' The Mod, Vol. 2" compilation:

The Blue Chips were allegedly discovered on the Northern club circuit by Adam Faith's songwriter Johnny Worth (which suggests some in-joke at work here - after all, the other Worth/Faith proteges were the Roulettes!). The impressive uptempo blue eyed soul of "I'm On The Right Side" was the A-side of the first of their three singles cut for Pye between October 1965 and July 1966.

Listen to both sides of this 45 here:
BLUE CHIPS - I'M ON THE RIGHT SIDE
BLUE CHIPS - YOU'RE GOOD TO ME

Bernadette and Her Swingin' Bears

Here's a great novelty record that was based on the Hanna Barbera hit TV show Yogi Bear. I'm not sure why they chose this as a subject matter, since there seems to be no relation to Hanna Barbera. I guess they were just trying to capitalize on the popularity of the cartoon. Anyway it's a great cheezy, catchy track from the great novelty record era. I also love the label, which I'm sure was made to attract "the kids". Check out the track below.

Bernadette and Her Swingin' Bears - Crazy Yogi

Tykes

Here's a raw dutch beat 45 that was released in April of 1967. The Tykes started in 1963 as the Rocking Tigers playing rough bluesy rock and roll but changed their name in 1966. The Tykes were known as an underground band in Holland even within the relative obscurity of Nederbeat. This was their first single and it was produced by Robbie van Leeuwen of the Motions. The B-side, "Hey Girl" is the KILLER track here. The A-side is a cover of the John Mayall and Eric Clapton (Bluesbreakers) penned track. Check out both sides below.

Oh and check out that sleeve!! Is that guy about to make himself sick!?!? It's pretty amazing that someone looked at it and said, "Yeah, that's the perfect shot for the record sleeve." Crazy stuff!

TYKES - HEY GIRL
TYKES - DOUBLE CROSSIN' TIME

Thee Midniters

Thee Midniters are my favorite East LA band. The diversity of their releases is amazing. They could do full on Soul, Latin, blasting Garage, catchy instrumentals, sweet ballads, funk, psych, you name it. I would recommend picking up the book "Land of a Thousand Dances" where you can read about them and many other east LA acts.

I've been trying for a while now to get all of Thee Midniters records, both 45's and LP's. There's a couple that remain elusive but especially the Whittier (W-511) release "You're Gonna Make Me Cry" / "Making Ends Meet", even in far from Mint condition this 45 will easily reach over US $500 or more on eBay. The 45 I've posted here, although not even close to being that expensive, is very hard to find.

So here's a super rare one from Thee Midniters from 1967. It's beyond me why this track didn't make it to the Greatest Hits CD that came out a few years ago. It may not be their best, but it's certainly an excellent track. Kind of an unusual record for them since their early stuff mixes Latino Soul and Garage in the best way possible and their later stuff mixes in some funk. This record is purely Garage/Psych/Pop and very much sounds like 1967 but at the same time they still don't lose that Midniters edge. Listen below.

THEE MIDNITERS - BREAKFAST ON THE GRASS

Note: I'm not sure why I didn't also record the other side "Dreaming Casually", but will on the next recording session and add it here. It's a great dreamy ballad in the American Chicano Rock tradition.

UPDATE: Jan 7, 2009: Here is the track "Dreaming Casually" as promised. These types of tracks are the bread and butter of East LA and Chicano rock in general.

THEE MIDNITERS - DREAMING CASUALLY

Note: The above mp3 is from a kind of crackly 45. I would suggest buying THEE MIDINTIERS GREATEST HITS CD for better quality and support one of the greatest bands EVER!

Tony Worsley

It's been a little while since I posted something, so I thought I'd post two somethings. "Something" and "Something's Got A Hold On Me", the A and B sides of the Tony Worsley release QK-1241 on Sunshine Records (Australia). This 45 was released in February of 1966 and the "Something" side deserves to be comped and I love the tuff guitar throughout the song. Great version of the classic on the other side too! Listen below.

Read about Tony at the fantastic Milesago website HERE.

TONY WORSLEY - SOMETHING
TONY WORSLEY - SOMETHING'S GOT A HOLD ON ME

Bintangs

Here's a great Dutch Beat/Psych 45 with an equally great cover.

The Bintangs started as early as the late 1950's and were know as the Rocket Dynes and then the Black Phantoms before becoming the Bintangs in the mid 60's. They released several great 45's from 1965 to 1968 (and continued up until today). This is their 5th 45 release from 1967. It's a great song with the crashing freakbeat sound and the weird little flute and vocal interlude in the middle of the song.

"Please Do Listen" to it here:
BINTANGS - PLEASE DO LISTEN

You can check out their complete discography at their website HERE.