The Bachs - Out Of The Bachs (1968)

The original post of this article was featured in Optical Sounds Fanzine and written by me originally sometime earlier this year, please support the fanzine by visiting their website here... http://opticalsoundsfanzine.bigcartel.com

In the year 1968, five teenagers got together and created what to me is the finest moment in psychedelic garage band history, the band; The Bachs. the album; the groups only recorded output. the aptly titled 'Out Of The Bachs'.

During the year 1968, the hippy era was thankfully dead, the teen-beat era was just a distant memory. 1968 was a musical wasteland and in this mystical of years five teenagers based in Illinois got together and crafted one of the finest albums of their generation.

The band formed in 1966 in the Chicago suburbs of Lake Forest and Lake Bluff, the group were together for 3 years, mostly playing school dances and various other shows in their local area. In 1968 they self financed and put-out their LP privately, they managed to put their 'Out Of The Bachs' album out and pressed around 100-150 copies (exact amount is unknown to me and is debatable amongst collectors), this means original copies of this album are exceptionally rare and extremely expensive too.

The album was released as a means for the band to say 'goodbye' to their fans and also to document their time together as a band.

'Out of The Bachs' features twelve stunning, original penned tracks (which during the time was rare, as most albums usually featured a bunch of covers) written by band members Blake Allison and John Peterman.

The Bachs were -

Blake Allison - Bass Guitar and Lead Vocals.

John Peterman - Guitar and Lead Vocals

John Babicz - Drums and Percussion

Mike De Have - Rhythm Guitar

Ben Harrison - Lead Guitar

'Out of The Bachs' is one of if not, my all time favourite album within the garage genre, the songs fit the zeitgeist of the times and for me are a perfect insight into the mindset of a group of young men in 60s America.

The album opens with the triumphant and angst-ridden 'You're Mine', this is a song I totally relate to, the song opens with the desperate plea "You Better Listen To My Advice, He Don't Treat You Very Nice"... the song continues in a frantic manner akin to Arthur Lee and Love's debut; killer jangle and punk attitude.

Following on from this initial teen-punk explosion, the mood takes a turn and what proceeds is the wonderful moody monster which is the track 'Pleasure Of Your Company' which features haunting harmonies, mood altering melodies and heartfelt desperation in the lyrics, Innocent love torn confusion commited to tape.

The album then tail spins into a psychedelic summer vibe with the stoned hay-fever like evocations of 'Free-Fall; which sends the mind into a dizzy ecstasy that makes the listener comfortably happy and numb at the same time.

'I See Her' turns the speed up a notch of which The Bachs turn the jangle button up and sing a track about one of those 'girls' that tend to ignore guy's like us (me and the Bachs), amazing guitar riffs and yet again harmonies which take the breath away.

Side 1 of the LP finishes on what can only be described as the best ending to a vinyl side ever!!!, side one ends with two amazing moody garage classics. 'My Independence Day' which is my favourite song on the album, features an amazing chord progression, fantastic instrumentation and an amazing dual vocal shared between Peterman and Allison, to top it off there is interweaving harmonies about finding and losing love. the song is so full of teen confusion and subsequently is one of my personal favourite songs recorded.

The final track on Side 2 is 'Minister To A Mind Disease', which breaks into the paranoia of psychedelia, here we have a track so rooted in being 'freaked out' that just by listening to it you'll suffer some anxiety induced panic attack, You only need to hear the ear-piercing fuzztone guitar solo to know that, that will clear any cobwebs that your mind holds within..."It's 6 o'Clock now and it's time to eat and rest your feet, of course you're hungry cos you eat to live or is it live to eat??"... mind boggling yet strangely wise??

Just before I begin to talk about Side 2, I want to remind the reader that this album was recorded by teenagers, yep!!! that's correct - young kids.

Their album during it's release was criminally unknown and I guess even to this day it is still considered an 'unknown' release even amongst garage and psych heads and collectors - which in my opinion is a real crying shame.

Side 2 kicks off with the total folk-psych dreaminess of 'Tables of Grass Fields' which sends the listener into more happy stoned vibes, imagine scenes of cornfields and walking hand in hand with that special girl (or guy) that you love in the summer sunshine is shining down and the world is perfect, well then this is the song for you, if you have that mindset currently going around your brain.

The next track 'Show Me That You Want To Go Home' is strangely contemporary sounding, again the lyrics point at love lost and the confusion of young love. Proceeding is the morbid 'Sitting' which instantly kicks in with minor chord 12 string jangle, this song is the tale of isolation, yearning and teenaged confusion and questioning.

This type of songwriting and subject matter and the total conviction with which The Bachs relay the message is a huge influence to me and my own music and well my life too. With regards to The Bachs you can't help but believe they lived the life they sung about - they were truly Outcasts amongst their peers and society, this is something I relate to, cos it's how I feel too.

After the misery-fest of the song above we drift back into hazy psychedelia with the track 'Nevermore' which is one of the stand-out tracks on the album for me, What I love is the call and response  in the vocals and I totally dig the desperation in the lyrics... The song moves along like a snake, amazing 12 string guitar jangle and extravagant songwriting craft and to top it off a ferocious fuzztone guitar solo that would have blown any of the guitar gods away!

The theme of teenage innocence continues on the next track 'Answer to Yesterday' which is a mournful heartbreak of a song and acts almost like an apology in record format, song such as this act as an anecdote to anyone who has lost someone in their lives.... these Guys REALLY understood the deal with things.

The album ends on a momentous high with the proto-grunge track 'I'm A Little Boy', the song is fantastically psychedelic and also highly mesmerising, I would classify this one of the finest endings to an album ever (just like side 1 ended hip too) and is a great swan-song for the band to end their short-lived career's on.

The Bach's were a tremendous group, their stand alone album is one of the hallmarks of 60s music for me and is also in my opinion one of the BEST albums out there.

Blake Allison and John Peterman were genius songwriters who wrote fantastic music and lyrics, the created the sound track soundtrack to my early to mid twenties and I still completely adore this album.

There have been many reissues of this album which sadly since the 80s have all been mastered wrongly at the wrong speed, Time-Lag records have recently reissued the album properly and it is almost as good as  original copies (apparently???, however it sounds great on my Hi-Fi).

Please find below 5 tracks from the album posted below - Enjoy!!!

You're Mine

My Independence Day

Minister To A Mind Disease

Nevermore

I'm A Little Boy

Cheers

Paul Messis

Sinner Strong - Don't Knock It b/w Nobody But Me (Serock - 1962)

This harmonica wailing slice of raw R&B was sung by the best 'white' soul voice in the form of a young fairly unknown singer called Joyce Harris, who relocated from New Orleans to Los Angles and cut this wailing piece of Rhythm and Blues in 1962.

I'd rank this 45 as a phenomenal piece early Soul music, the raw energy of the band and those amazing off-kilter vocals sung by Joyce Harris with such verve and passion, that this white girl could've sung any black girl off the stage, she was that impressive on this cut.

The A-side is the mover and shaker of this piece of wax, the B-side is more of a traditional gospel influenced R&B track, not my cup of tea, I kind of find over use of 'strings, horns and brass' in black music from 1957-68 a total yawn fest and song killer, with R&B and Soul Music, I only really dig the arse-shaking, head kicking, primitive songs with the odd exceptions to the former.

I first heard the A-side 'Don't Knock It' on the Crypt Records compilation 'T-Bird Party' years ago and decided to track down the 45, I've had the 45 in my collection for a couple of years now, It would be a good floor-filler if played at a Soul event, I feel.... I personally don't really know what 45s are considered cool today amongst that crowd of people??

Recently I was looking through my Soul, Doo-Wop and R&B records drawer and was amazed I even had a bunch of the stuff I had, this record was one of the one's I had totally forgotten about and thus I now feel somewhat compelled to write a blog about it and share the killer side.

Anyway dig the grooves.

Paul Messis

Bumble Bees - Maybe Someday b/w Girl Of My Kind (Phillips - 1966)

Continuing with the Dutch theme, one of my favourite releases by a Dutch group is this by The Bumble Bees, a really cool moody and mildly psychedelic double-sider 'Maybe Someday b/w Girl Of My Kind.

The Bumble Bees were a great group from The Haag, they released three 45rpm singles between 1966 -67 and then faded into obscurity like all great bands do.

The Bumble Bees were -

Jim Ten Boske - Vocals, Organ, Rhythm Guitar

Joop Leileveld - Lead Guitar, Vocals

Rene Bakker - Bass

Nico Overgaauw - Drums

The Bumble Bees were a pretty cool band by my reckoning, their releases on the 'Op-Art/ Muziek Expres labels are cool however by far,I feel this 45 on Phillips is their best work and is currently being spun a fair amount of times at the moment at my home.

Maybe Someday

This is a kinda weird piece of moody psychedelia that would only had been found in the coffee shops of Amsterdam and Den Haag, it is slightly folk influenced, slightly jazz influenced, slightly psychedelic and it is fully in keeping with the Dutch Beatnik vibes of the time. This track comes on like some tripped out, folk styled nursery rhyme however the scene is slowly ruined (or enhanced) with themes of forlorn despair and love lost, a killer track, with added weirdness via use of the flute which gives the song an odd whimsy  and also you can hear use of a Mellotron which gives a strange Gregorian undertone to the song.

Girl Of My Kind

Another moody gem, I really really love this song, you can't beat those echoed out harmonies, the song sounds lyrically as if it was inspired by The Outsider's 'I Love Her Still (I Always Will)'... With The Bumble Bee's though you can hear a genuine truth and sincerity in their song. I love the innocence and pure awkward desperation which this song portrays lyrically and musically. I think anyone who is a bit of a true romantic, a slight social dud or a bit of an odd ball could relate to this song.... I certainly do, the theme is the story of my life!

 Paul 

The Outsiders - Keep On Trying b/w That's Your Problem (Relax - 1966)

The Outsiders are one of my top five bands ever, I love almost everything the band ever released, I am a huge fan of the group, particularly the lyrics and genuine 'outcast' vibes emanating from the soul and mind of  lead vocalist Wally Tax, who seems to communicate many of the things which I personally can't communicate in my own world, yet he does with great ease in music.

Wally Tax and his song-writing, is a huge influence on me, as the songs are clearly personal and you never get the feeling they are put on or phoney for the sakes of it, the words Wally Tax sang were real to his life and you got that vibe from his music, this is what I've tried to do in my own music, by incorporating my thoughts and feelings into sounds.

The Outsiders released an  abundance of fabulous 45rpm singles and a couple of ultra-cool albums during the 60s and the legacy they created is fabulous. I haven't met too many genuine 'Outsiders' fans on my travels which is remarkable as I personally feel they are one of the greatest bands from the 60s and I even feel they had better songs than The Rolling Stones, however unlike The Stones, The Outcasts never really ever released  a 'Smash Hit' record, yet their song writing craft exceeds Jagger and Richards tenfold.

The Outsiders were actual Outcasts in their native Netherlands, they came to the fold looking like a bunch of misfit long hairs, in 1965 when the world was still donning mop-top's, these cats came outta nowhere, with very long hair, scruffy yet hip clothing, stoned-out beatnik mindsets, punk attitude to boot, outsider mentality, and a bunch of killer songs to spread to a world which for the most part was never really listening in the first place (and still doesn't sadly).

Almost all the Outsiders releases to me are worthy of investigation, I would even say that all twelve 45rpm singles the band put out between 1965 - 68 are great, I would rank each one as a piece of unique musical genius.

I don't have a particular favourite release by The Outsiders as all the songs pretty much mean a great deal to my life and my viewpoint on things in their own individual ways, the 45 which seems to related mostly to my life and train of thought at the moment however is 1966's Keep On Trying b/w That's Your Problem.

I am currently in a Dutch-Beat mood and seem to be listening to a great deal of the stuff, The Outsiders are frequently on my turntable or car cd-player, the lyrics of Wally Tax act as a kindred spirit and a soulful remedy for me, Tax seems to 'get it', what 'it' is  can only really be known by the people who have 'it'.... for me lately 'it' seems to be an illness of sorts.

I relate to the Outsiders, cos I am an Outsider too (I don't mean that to give creedance or appear cool - cos being an Outsider sucks for the most part), misunderstood by the world around me, misunderstood by my family and misunderstood by even my closest friends.... I am most likely misunderstood to myself too!

But I thankfully have a bunch of records which help me deal with these moments and Holland's The Outsiders have always been the best of friends to me, they really seem to hit the spot some times.

Keep On Trying

This song is on repeat at the moment, lyrical aptitude and empathetic cadences to my current feelings on things, I like when the song goes into the weird refrain after the chorus section and adds a whole new dimension to the song, "Just You Keep On Running Around With Every Man, Every Man You Know Now, You've Got  Me Down And Out, I'll Be Crying Before You Know Now", giving way to a tremendous harmonica solo that you just don't get enough in songs anymore.... how can anyone not like a song with the opening lyric "Just Keep On Trying And You'll Succeed In Breaking My Heart, Just Keep On Lying And You'll Succeed In Tearing It Apart".... TOTAL GENIUS!!!

That's Your Problem 

This one ups the anti a little, ferocious guitar attack, lyrical angst, wailing harmonica, bass lines that can kill someone flat out, drums keeping everything held down together... this one kinda taps into the more dodgy head space my head goes at times..."I Like To Be On My Own, Girl From Now On You're  Alone".... "I Try To Be A Good Guy To Lend You A Helping Hand, I Told You, Every Reason Why, But You Never Understand?".... Confused yet Punk as hell Greatness there, Wally Tax was a conflicted guy, just like myself.

Dig It!!!

Paul

The Sevens - Seven b/w In God I Trust (Layola - 1965)

The Sevens were a really hip band from Switzerland during the mid 60s, and they released a handful of really cool 45s and one killer LP.

In my opinion 'In God I Trust' is one of the best 60s beat offerings from Europe, it is a fabulous piece of song-writing craft, I totally dig the minor-key change in the refrain, totally hip idea, the vocals sung in a perverse Jagger-esque manner complete with snotty attitude with added franticness in drums, guitar, bass and organ.... coming across like a better version of The Animals and giving Holland's The Outsiders a run for their money. The Sevens produced a wealth of consistently good material and this in my opinion is the icing on top of the cake for me.

The Sevens were -

Markus Hungerbuehler - Organ

Nando Gasparini - Drums

Pierre Aebischer - Vocals & Rhythm Guitar

Michael Bovay - Bass

Pini Gasparini - Lead Guitar

The Sevens are the best thing to come out of Switzerland aside from Swiss Army Knives, Clock-Making, Albert Hoffman's experiments with LSD and Chocolate.

If you wish to purchase the Sevens LP... please feel free to take a look at my record label; State Records' Ebay store where we have the The Sevens LP available to purchase - TRUST ME it is a piece of  60s beat wonderment, and a totally killer and fantastic LP.

BUY NOW!!!

Listen to 'In God I Trust' below, if you have any sense it'll shatter your brain... this song is also on the LP too.

In God I Trust

Dig It!

Paul 

The Weads - Today b/w Don't Call My Name (Duane - 1966)

One of my favourite double-decker 'garage' 45s is The Weads' moody folk-rock jangle triumph; Today b/w the sombre and down cast 'Don't Call My Name'.

Both sides of this record are hugely important in influencing my own music, if you are familiar with my own sounds you will hear similar song themes, similar jangley sound and the general  vibe are all pretty similar to this 45rpm, the first track on my LP 'I Go Walking' in fact was a slight nod of the hat to the track 'Today'.

The Weads recorded this killer 45 in of all places Bermuda, where the Duane label was based. Duane was owned by record shop owner and producer Eddy Demell who seemed to add a spark of genius onto the recordings released on his Duane label, this 45 alongside a whole album and 45 by The Savages are proof of his golden touch as it were.

Although The Weads had a record out in Bermuda, they were in fact from a small town in New York State called Stony Brook, the reason the band had a release in Bermuda was that one of their school friends was originally from the island and took a demo back on his return home (Thank God he did, else we may never have had these songs). Weirder stuff has been lost in the Bermuda Triangle, thankfully it wasn't The Weads' demos.

Here are both sides of the 45 for your listening enjoyment.

Today

A brilliant piece of garage folk-jangle, this song to me is the epitome of the jangly Byrds-inspired sound that many groups recorded in the mid-60s, I really love this song, the sound of summer is evoked, yet their is a dark yearning in the lyrics, the song is reflective of a break-up and is total genius recording. I love songs which sound happy on the surface but have a strange sadness about them, this song is one-of-those types of song. As mentioned above this song has played a huge influence on my own music, in songs such as 'I Go Walking' and 'Time Will Tell', it will continue to influence me as I just adore the sound.

Don't Call My Name

YES!!!! this is a piece of confused and pissed-off genius, just listen to the lyrics "Now Don't You Think Of Me Anymore, Cos Now You're Just The Girl Next Door, Don't Call My Name!", sung in the most downtrodden yet beautiful harmony going, what a work of  pure greatness, I dream of writing songs like this. I love how the Farfisa Organ snakes in the background unnoticed but perfectly there, a great piece of song-writing, I love how the song seems to go up and down in a movement. This track totally compliments the A-side, they are kind of like Heaven and Hell, this being Hell off course, I take influence myself on my 45s by having an UP side as it were and DOWN side, it just is what most of the bands did back in the 60s garage genre.

So there you have it folks, a double sided work of the highest order.

Enjoy 

Paul

The Shaynes - From My Window b/w I'll Always Be (Pee-Vee - 1966)

The attractive group of fella's above are responsible for creating one of the greatest existential masterpiece's of the mid 60s. The Shaynes were a group native to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, for me they created a piece of 'outsider' music history when they wrote their genius ode to teen confusion and frustration; 'From My Window'.

Pennsylvania was a state which put out a great number of great and genius 'garage' band recordings, my own theory being that location wise it is trapped between The Mid-West and New England, so subtle influences from both these regional scene's combine together to create a really powerful and hip style of 'garage' music.

I am a big fan of records coming out of PA and New Jersey, for me it was a region that excelled in creating the perfect sound.

When I first heard this song years ago, it floored me, these kids seemed to have tapped into my mindset not only via lyrics but in the urgency of the music, the frantic  reverb guitar, the drums, the nervously played bass guitar, the minor-chord patterns, the haunting organ throughout.... a work of utter genius.

It is a moody garage tour-de-force of the highest magnitude and I would say it is personally one of my top 10 favourite records of all time.

The Shaynes were a popular group in their hometown and had three 45s (which all sold pretty well) released on the Pee Vee Label. Pee Vee was a record label which put out mainly doo-wop, teen-beat and progressive rock (in later years), the label operated between 1964-1974.

Take a listen below to the genius which is... The Shaynes 'From My Window'.

Thanks

Paul

Skip James - A Delta Blues Legend

During the 1930s the best music to ever grace the airwaves was recorded and captured on very primitive recording equipment and luckily a great deal of these highly important recordings were released on 78rpm records and recently have been graced release on many LP's and Cd's. The foundation of all great music began during these times in the America south, the 1930s black musicians of the day all came from hardship lives and poor backgrounds, the majority of these musicians came from the Mississippi delta regions and lived very vagrant based life styles through their early to adult lives.

The biggest hardship facing these musicians at the time was that their skin colour was Black, it was hard being a Black person in America during these poverty stricken times particularly in the Deep South, America was politically leaning to the right and many horrific things were happening to Black people during this period of history.

The implications of society had an extreme influence on the wandering 'Blues' musicians who drifted from town to town playing their music like the troubadours of truth and reality, expressing their souls and having people who also led similar lives listening and taking inspiration and comfort from their music.

Fortunately a great deal of these musicians were recorded and their music is still available for us to enjoy today, this music IS the most important music which mankind has, it is the most truthful account of the human soul in music form and should be highly praised and respected as being of such great importance.

My personal favourite of all the Blues Musicians from this period is Skip James.

Nehemiah 'Skip' James was born in 1902 in Yazoo City based the heart of The Mississippi delta, leading a somewhat fragmented child and teen hood, Skip found a love for music and adopted the guitar whilst working a number of different jobs playing only for the odd tip here and there. During these times Skip likely was in contact with other older musicians such as Charley Patton and Tommy Johnson who influenced Skip's music tremendously. In 1921 Skip left Mississippi for Arkansas and then further onto Memphis, TN, until such a time whereby he returned back down to the Delta.

In 1930 Skip auditioned for H.C Spier who was thankfully responsible for recording so many of the great black artists of the day and in February 1931 Skip travelled all the way up to Wisconsin by train where he recorded 18 classic and genius recordings, these were his only recordings and each recording is a piece of art.

From these recording sessions Skip managed to have Paramount release a few of the cuts on 78rpm records, however with the depression about to hit America, the records never sold and only very few sold meaning that originals of these records sell for astronomically high prices. As the depression made Skip's music disappear it so too meant he himself faded into obscurity.

Shortly after his 1931 recording session, Skip re-established a relationship with his bootlegger father whom neglected him when he was young, his father had found God and began a life as a Baptist preacher, he suggested to his son to do the same and join him spreading the word of God... Skip decided to do so and turned his back on music and the Blues and began a life preaching the gospel, this kind of thing is typical in relation to the psyche of The Blues musician and of the tormented internal demons many of The Blues guys suffered, the Devil/Angel complex, which all great creative folks have, I too have this in the most disastrous of fashions hence why I relate heavily to this type of music.

Thirty years after his original 1931 recording session in Grafton, Wisconsin, Skip James was re-found leading a quiet life, his music had been unearthed and a new generation of Young Americans who were searching for America's folk music delved deep into his recordings and finally the man had an audience to play too again.

What audiences found in Skip James, a good thirty years after he had been involved in music was not an everyday musician, but an artist of the highest order. His original music was classed as genius and during the reformation of his popularity he didn't stray too far from the original basis of his music, he stayed true to himself and didn't compromise his belief in himself or his artistry.

Skip sadly passed away in 1969, having during the last five years of his life, re-established himself as an artist to a much more younger and much more appreciative audience, he also financially gained more than he did back in the 30s too which proves that genius no matter how long it may be  ignored during it's time eventually gets found out about and given it's due.... this precedence is what gives me hope in regards to my own music for future generations to come.

For me as a fan of the Blues, I really relate to Skip James' work and art, he communicated his feelings well in his music and I have a lot of influence from that, he sang about his troubles and laid it bare on the table for the world to see and hear and you can only have great respect for someone who is that emotionally brave to lay themselves that bare to a listening audience and for me is a mark of a true artist and genius.

The themes in Skip's songs also hold a great influence over me, although they are mainly dark, macabre and have an raw honesty in dealing with the mindset of a 'troubled' outlook in life, they portray a realness which you cannot beat or ever come close too, and that's what I really DIG!

Here are clips from Skip's original 1931 recording session and are also my personal favourites from his catalogue.

Devil Got My Woman

Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues

Yola My Blues Away

Cypress Grove Blues 

If You Haven't Any Hay Get On Down The Road

Enjoy

Paul

Jimmy Wages - Mad Man & Take Me (Sun Records - circa 1956)

During the early to mid 50s particularly in the Bible belt states of Texas, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas and Kentucky came a music so primitive and so wild that what was recorded during that time influenced future generations of music makers in years and decades to come.

Rock 'n' Roll was a fresh and wild new sounding music which when heard for the first time made the minds of the youth of the day explode with hormonal rage and rebellion.

The mid 50s period between 1955-57 was the peak years for this type of music and the headquarters of this fresh sound was the record label and studio 'Sun Records' based in Memphis, Tennessee.

A great wealth of artists recorded at Sun and also the birth of a musical genre began there, such influential acts who recorded and had releases include Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison amongst countless others.

For me as a student of occultism and magick, I feel that the rise of the Rock 'n' Roll era was the esoteric consequences of the combining of two magical primitive energy forces rooted in musical modes, from country and hillbilly music via the folk songs of England, Ireland and Scotland came forth the essence of Celtic Folk magick and from the Black Slavery of Africa via the influence of Blues and Swing came African Voodoo magick and combined together , a new music was formed which drove teenagers wild all around the world; this music was Rock 'n' Roll. 

Rock 'n' Roll music was and is the basis of popular music and continues to still influence the way people write songs today, even though most of today's songwriters don't know this or even realise they are creating energetic magick rooted sounds using scales and modes from these primitive beginnings and beyond.

Sun Records was highly influential and important in this birth of modern popular music.... one of it's greatest recording artists ironically never even had a release on the label and only recorded at The Sun records studio facility, thankfully recordings have survived.

This artist was Jimmy Wages, Wages was from Tupelo, TX and created some of the most demented Rock 'n' Roll recordings of the mid 50s.

What is genius about the recordings which Jimmy Wages recorded was their confused genius, these were by no-means chart toppers or radio friendly records by any stretch of the imagination, which is likely why they were never released on 45 and only over the last 20 years or so have come to light.

Also in great Blues and Rock 'n' Roll traditions Jimmy Wages music is paradoxical and has the makings of the first white outcast made recordings, there is an inner torment, a yearning for understanding, there is religious confusion, tortured personal themes in regards to women, teenage frustration and the conflict of good and evil both as an internal and an external means of knowing one's place in the world.

Jimmy Wages unlike a few of the other Sun recording artists wrote his own songs and this is where his genius is more genuine than the more-known artist of the day in my opinion.

Here are two of his most killer tracks, which I adore and love to bits.

Mad Man

Take Me ( From The Garden Of Evil)

I really dig the madness in both of the tracks above, they are the perfect tonic to the equal mindset of a madman.

Paul

The Meadowbrooks - Seems Like Only Yesterday b/w Time After Time (Catamount - 1965)

The onset of melancholia has hit me hard today and with it has come a wave/flood of musical emotions and memory, the record above is being posted, due in part to these feelings of melancholy and sadness.

The record above, The Meadowbrooks - Seems Like Only Yesterday b/w Time After Time is possibly one of the most beautiful 45s both musically and in appearance released in the mid-60s.

The Meadowbrooks were a white doo-wop vocal group who recorded songs in an acappella vocal style. Their label 'Catamount' were based in New Jersey which means that they too were likely from around this region too.

Catamount formed in 1964 and released a handful of great acappella 'only' doo-wop vocal styled 45s until 1966, most of these 45s were released on coloured vinyl, which during the 60s was a huge novelty, The Meadowbrooks' 45 came in a really wonderful scarlet red vinyl as pictured above.

The Meadowbrooks had two 45s released on the Catamount label during 1965, I'm unsure if they ever had any other releases.

What I particularly dig about The Meadowbrooks is that amidst The British Invasion and the wave of garage bands that occurred during that time in America, these kids stayed totally true to the earlier doo-wop sounds and recorded possibly for me one of the most beautiful records of the mid 60s, the record is completely in-keeping with the doo-wop traditions which came almost 8 years prior. This record in particular I feel has the tenderness that moody garage band 45's have, it also has a real and truthful honesty that only 60s girl-group recordings had at the time and that is a pretty special thing to me, that tenderness is what music is truly about for me.

I used to enjoy sharing this song with a friend of mine who seems like an eternity away from me at the moment, I only really have songs like this to reflect on the period of time we shared together and this 45 is one of the one's which cement the emotions for me.

These songs mean more to me now than ever, because the sentiment attached to songs seem more feasible and real now.

Enjoy the beauty of this acappella 45 below.

Seems Like Only Yesterday

Time After Time

Paul

The Calico Wall - I'm A Living Sickness b/w Flight Reaction (Dove - 1967)

The great thing about music is that there are often moments when certain records can portray how one internally feels, such is the case in regards to the record I am posting about today.

I struggle with life as much as the next guy, but at times I personally feel I am loosing the plot, the rest of the world and the universe which is exterior to me is pretty pointless a great deal mindless and whole means stupid, it's depressing and insulting to anyone with a grain of intelligence in their souls.

Here is where great existential psychedelic numbers come into play -

The Calico Wall, a small unknown psychedelic group from Minnesota cut what today could be called 'THE GREATEST' outsider/outcast recording released and cut possibly  the most out-there 45rpm single during the 60s.

Not much is known about 'The Calico Wall' as their sole legacy is found on this 45rpm record, however what a legacy it is, songs like this piss all over the 'world of people' as the band so eloquently put in their lyric.

If you are a member of this group or knew the band during 1967 please contact me, I'd love to make additions to this post and let people know more about the band.

SO without further a do, please find both killer sides of this 1967 psychedelic masterpiece.

I'm A Living Sickness

This track is like entering my mental state, these are my thoughts and feelings and the almost horror backlash with which resonates in the pits of my heart, soul and mind.... this song is full of self-pity, angst, disdain, annihilation, confusion and paints the world with a not so pretty brush compared to the way the hippies saw it, these guys were realists and confronted the raw honest truth in this their pinnacle release, things were not HIP at all in society during 1967 and neither is it now, records like this one cut through the bullshit and tell it how it is, the song is an existential masterpiece of the highest order and as I said above, relates heavily with me and my current mindset.

Flight Reaction

If you want psychedelic surrealism, look no further than here!! the track 'Flight Reaction' sends the listener into a mad dash tailspin akin to a plane crash, this is true psychedelic music, there is no 18 minute long guitar solos or a drum solo in sight, this is music which hits the nerve centre and confronts the optic cavities of the brain without stopping for a second!!! The actual likelihood too, is these cats being from Minnesota in 1967 had probably never done LSD, let alone smoked a joint, so the fact that they created a psychedelic masterstroke like this is way more cooler and much more better for it... these guys were naturally crazed and psychedelic and this neurotic madness is what created a killer two-sided slab of plastic.

Enjoy 

Paul Messis