best garage tracks of the 60's : garage-rock ||| garage-psych
1966
the
Sonics - Have Love Will Travel
This track may have been released on an LP in 1966 but clearly stems from this legendary band's early run of garage excellence in 1964 (including Psycho, Keep a Knockin', The Witch, etc.). The band existed before the onslaught of the British Invasion and maintained a punkier sound than most during the Big Beat era apparently due to the hardcore nature of their Pacific Northwest fans! This cover of a Richard Berry song (same guy who wrote Louie, Louie) is unstoppable!________
the
Shadows of Knight - Dark Side
Well known back in the day for their American hit cover of Them's Gloria, the Shadows of Knight were never taken seriously enough perhaps due to that cover's dulling-down of the original. They were also capable of some scorching garage-blues numbers, including Oh Yeah!, Lightbulb Blues, Bad Little Women and many more. They quickly evolved into a heavy-blues outfit (a disappointment) but this track from the earlier days serves their real legacy well: a slower number, Dark Side nonetheless has great guitar and a bittersweet melody.
the Shadows of Knight back in the day...>
the
Rationals - Respect
One of the most brilliant white attempts at soul in the 60's, this cover of the song made famous by Aretha Franklin proves the link between soul and rock definitively. Scott Morgan's soul-rock croon fit the bill perfectly and the band show their chops, making this one of the most danceable garage rock numbers out there. It should come as no surprise that this is from DETROIT.______Respect
the
Standells - Rari (LP version)
Here's a band that can disappoint you if you take their fame a little bit too seriously. After all, you think, these are the legends behind Dirty Water, they were included on Nuggets with the bouncy Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White... and then you hear the bulk of their material, fair to middling at best, sounding like pop kiddies pushed into Garage for fashion... And it probably comes as no surprise that this band is from LA, not Boston as they claimed in Dirty Water, by far their biggest US radio hit. But there was real talent here, and if the B-Side to the latter song (a shorter version of Rari) whetted your appetite, you certainly won't be disappointed with this longer (5 minute!) version which builds with classic tension, the singer being seduced by "an Island girl". Very simple, no guitar heroics, just the usual Farfisa, etc. but this track is a real classic and broods with the best of them!___ Rari
the
Misunderstood - I Unseen
Perhaps the greatest band that didn't make the big time. Ever. One of John Peel's favorite bands. Ever. This first (garage) band to go psychedelic? The only garage band ever to move to England to record with the best rock producers of the 60's? The superlatives are unending for this amazing band... And if you're not a garage or psych fan, chances are you've never heard of them before. This band from Riverside, California was a favorite of DJ John Peel when he was based in Cali. He later conspired to bring them over to England to record what is surely one of the very first psychedelic records, an EP (or series of singles depending on your source) which was only issued in its entirety for the first time in 1982 on Cherry Red. This track from that EP is a reworking of the Pete Seeger anti-nuke poem (also covered by the Byrds) and is surely one of the greatest things you will ever hear! (Keep in mind this was 6 months before the Pink Floyd recorded ANYTHING!)
1967
the
Count Five - You Must Believe Me
If you're a garage fan(atic) there is no need to introduce this San Jose, California band who produced one of the most undeniable, catchiest, and memorable garage anthems of the 60's: Psychotic Reaction -- which has been covered by thousands of bands by now, including the Cramps and Television, to name just two. Conventional garage wisdom has it that Psychotic Reaction, with its amazing intro of guitar, bass and drums feeding into a Yardbirds-like guitar run, is the only piece of interesting music this band recorded. NOT SO! Various best ofs this band prove that idea wrong, with tracks like The Morning After and Double Decker Bus (similar to their biggest hit) all great. This track is very catchy and has good lyrics and singing. Great one to play if you were cheating on that girl...
the
Chocolate Watchband - Don't Need Your Lovin'
With the best Mick Jagger this side of the Atlantic Ocean, this band was set from the beginning to leave a mark on Garage Rock. This band has 2 extremely strong LPs, including some psych material (although it was partly recorded by session men) as well as a string of great singles. This track was never released officially in their heyday but is a demo featuring the classic Watchband with Dave Aguilar at the fore. It sure sounds a lot like the Kinks' Milk Cow Blues, but who cares? Aguilar's Jagger is almost better than the original and the maracas sound positively menacing next to the great flashes of guitar. Indispensable. _____ Don't Need Your Lovin'
the
Seeds - The Wind Blows Your Hair
The progenitors of so-called "flower punk", this LA group, and its iconoclast leader Sky Saxon, is often criticized as having written the same song over and over again. In fact, over a series of LPs and singles from 1966 to 1970, the Seeds forged bizarre new sounds that ranged from psychotic rockabilly to psychedelic rock to still weirder excursions into country and folk. Pushin' Too Hard and Can't Seem To Make You Mine might be the best remembered tracks today by the oldies radio crowd, but tracks like 900 Million People Daily (Are Making Love) and this one prove that the band was capable of quite a lot-- just listen to the massive bass groove on this track and the strangely swirling lyrics (about meeting and marrying a girl). While his style has had great influence on all sorts of bands, including the Fall, Sky Saxon is still going and has a new album out in 2005!
SRC
- I'm So Glad
Here's a totally different side of Detroit: psychedelic rock, with not a trace of soul. Not clear if this is a cover or original, although many bands have done this song. It's quite psychotic actually, with the title being repeated again and again over building guitars. It has aged pretty well and still has plenty of energy! ____
We
The People - Declaration of Independence
Here's yet another amazing garage band that never made it nationally back in their day but are recognized as masters of the form today. We The People came from Florida and had their songs covered by a number of other bands. They specialized in mod-garage-beat-pop songs, although they occasionally veered into psych (notably the famous In The Past, covered by the Chocolate Watchband among others). This track is pretty straight forward, but how about those keyboards? And the classic title/lyrics combo?
1968
Bob
Seger System - Ramblin' Gamblin' Man
Detroit Garage-Soul from 1968. That alone is a good enough reason to find this track...
BUT here we have perhaps the zenith, along with the first MC5 LP, the Motown-Garage of the Rationals, and the early Stooges, of the white soul-rock from the Motor City. Having already convincingly copied Bob Dylan (circa Bringing It All Back Home) with Persecution Smithin 1966, along with a Christmas tribute to James Brown called Santa's Got A Brand New Bag (both great), Seger began to find his sound here, brewing an explosive stew of James Brown and John Fogerty on this under-3-minute rave-up which was actually a top 40 hit (for a short time) on US radio.
On top of terrific Spencer Davis-like organ and searing guitar, the future multi-platinum artist delivers cool-as-shit lyrics like "I ain't good-lookin' but you know I ain't shy" interspersed with JB-styled soul grunts. Perfect for the dance floor and the Dirtbombs fan... Bob Seger would go on to be famous, but never this good again...
Human
Beinz - Turn On Your Love Light
One of many terrific cuts from this Youngstown, Ohio band famous for the radio hit Nobody But Me. Their works included some dance numbers and psych pop, all interesting and worth seeking out. They excelled at danceable garage pop, and this cover of a standard is no exception!!! Starts out with with bouncy guitar and trademark white soul vocals and then... we get some great harmony vocals and best of all... one tough bass break! No wonder collectors call 'em punks. The vocalizations at the end as the singer gets more and more "turned on" are great and totally original, sort of like a male Janis Joplin. Short, sweet and totally danceable!
1968
The
Tea Company - You Keep Me Hangin' On
Often criticized as a rip-off of Vanilla Fudge's version of the Supremes' classic, this 9 minute over-the-top classic begins with slithery guitar chords and for a second, you think you are about to hear Status Quo's Pictures of Matchstick Men. Instead, thunderous drums roll in and everything speeds way up and then STOPS - the singer climbing out of a cave and emitting an almost operatic metal rendition of the lyrics. While heavy, the guitars and drums follow the melody of the song all the way to bombastic explosions of guitar noise.
(The Tea Company, like Vanilla Fudge, came from NYC, and are often associated with the Blues Magoos, also of Queens)
The whole LP, while a typically post-'67 garage-psych / hippie rock LP has terrific sound FX (heavy use of ECHOES, and stereo madness) and has been sampled by rappers repeatedly. It's quite worth seeking out despite the somewhat shaky musicianship... Also see final track, Make Love, Not War that shows that even total amateurs can find cool melodies and neat FX!
13th Floor Elevators - May The Circle Remain Unbroken
Probably
no need to introduce this Texas band who are much more famous today than
they were in their 1966-68 heyday. Begun in and around Austin, Texas in
1965 and featuring the now infamous Roky Erickson on vocals and harmonica,
the totally underrated Stacy Sutherland on guitar, and the (admittedly psychotic)
Tommy Hall on electrified jug, this is perhaps the first American band to
go psychedelic (at least recorded in America... see The Misunderstood above).
Their only hit, the classic garage-punker You're Gonna Miss Me, is
a long way from this track, the final cut on the Elevators' final LP. By
1968, the Elevators had returned to Texas from San Francisco and were still
in thrall to International Artists Records, a Texas label. With Roky Erickson
set up and busted for marijuana possession (as little as a gram could net
a suspect years in a Texas prison during the 60's), the Elevators set about
recording what was to be their final LP, Bull of the Woods, mostly
without him. Roky's lawyers suggested pleading insanity to avoid a long
prison sentence and he was sent to Rusk State Mental Hospital, where he
remained for 2 years. Some tracks had been laid down though, and while the
album is inconsistent, this final track, a veritable soup of echo and reverb,
is a interesting testament to Erickson and the Elevators' power to mystify
and inspire. Brilliant and fresh!
May The Circle Remain Unbroken
Strawberry
Alarm Clock - Pretty Theme from Psych Out
Long thought to be a band of session players, in recent years it has come out that the SAC were an actual band based on a surf group that recorded its first 45 in 1963 (!). They changed direction and style with their almost genre-defining 1967 smash hit, Incense and Peppermints (one of the best psych pop dance tunes ever!) This one comes from the totally out-of-print soundtrack to psychedelic exploitation flick Psych Out, a 1968 film which featured music by the Seeds as well. The lyrics are almost submerged in the mix but this is a great example of a soft psych instrumental with a somewhat memorable melody. Dreamy!
last update... 27.april.05