De Nederlandse Punk R&B Geluiden, 60's Nederbiet (White Trash Soul 60s Punk No.3)

As in the US of A, it all started with a television appearance by the Beatles in the Netherlands too. Nothing was the same the next day. Hormone-driven teenagers looking for an outlet began growing their hair long, buying or borrowing cheap music instruments, and forming bands.

As was the case in the USA (again), a movement emerged in Holland that tried to emulate the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, Them and the Pretty Things. However, due to a lack of 'talent', a different sound emerged that was rougher, rawer and more anarchic and which always had the inherent characteristics of the countries in which the bands originated. The American sound is now known as '60s punk or garage punk. The Dutch have the 'Nederbeat' (or 'Nederbiet') moniker.

By now, most people are aware of the existence and importance of bands such as The Outsiders, Q65 and Golden Earrings or Shocking Blue. However, there were many other brilliant Dutch groups that have remained undiscovered, except perhaps to the most dedicated fans of the 'genre'. 

The purpose of my newer post is to highlighting these Nuggets for those who are still in the dark. I'm pretty sure that if you love the original 'Nuggets' compilations, you'll love this also. If you're sitting on some 'Pebbles' volumes, chances are some of them little jewels have been heard by you already. A full-on blast of 60s punk-R&B that's all about that mod-influenced, fuzzadelic, skull-crushingly reverbed-out sounds!

Lyres Under Influence

The truly great bands involved in or pioneering the garage revival scene of the '80s played the important role of archaeologist. They were the ones who, with their expertise, brought to light things we didn't know existed. As a natural continuation of DMZ, (the) Lyres carried on this tradition. They were the first to revive 60s punk, before everyone else saw the trend and claimed to be part of it. 

Jeff Conolly was/is quite a character! He completed this task even before Tim Warren, Greg Shaw and Billy Miller (perhaps) did. Compiling some of the songs that the Lyres have covered, instantly creates one of the best garage punk and freakbeat playlists around and that's what I have to offer this time. All I had to do was to decide which tracks to select and arrange them in a way that would make them flow nicely for all of you people. Either way, I had already done my job many moons back. Cheers!

1. The Witch - The Sonics
2. Take A Look At Me - Mr. Lucky & the Gamblers
3. Since You Been Gone - The Kingsmen
4. Little Sally Tease - Don & The Goodtimes
5. What A Girl Can't Do - Hangmen
6. How Can I Make Her Mine - Bobby Roberts & The Ravons
7. Gotta Find A New Love - The Yo-Yo's
8. Busy Body - Jolly Green Giants
9. Don't Tell Me Lies - Tommy Tucker & The Esquires
10. No Reason To Complain - The Alarm Clocks
11. Jezebel - Teddy Boys
12. Lily - Drusalee & The Dead
13. Stacey - The Hangmen Of Fairfield County
14. Baby (I Still Want Your Lovin') - It's Them
15. Soapy - Mickey & The Clean Cuts
16. I Don't Wanna Cry - The Buckinghams
17. We Sell Soul - The Spades
18. I Confess - The New Colony Six
19. What's Wrong With You - The Outsiders
20. Love Me Till the Sun Shines - The Kinks
21. Shake It Some More- Jay-Jays
22. She's Got Eyes That Tell Lies - Him & the Others
23. Go-Go Girl - John's Children
24. The Way I Feel About You - The Pete Best Combo
25. Grounded - The Syn
26. You'll Never Do It Baby - The Cops 'n' Robbers
27. Now I've Got A Witness - The Rolling Stones
28. Let's Talk About Girls - The Grodes
29. Don't Tread On Me - Kit & The Outlaws
30. Stormy - Jesters Of Newport
31. Hang Up - The Wailers
32. Let's Have A Party - The Rivieras

The Wylde Mammoths - Singles, EPs, Flexi 1986 - 1994 (White Trash Soul R&B Series No.19)

Here's an updated and expanded version of the post I did back in 2010. I've added everything I was missing back then. In fact I'm still missing the 'Before It's Too Late' two sider, but don't worry — it's here from another man's rip at a very good bitrate (thanks to Soulseek and its P2P digital heart). I asked Tim Warren about the possibility of an expanded/remastered reissue of their two LPs on Crypt when I met him about three years ago here in Athens, but he seemed annoyed, so I didn't pursue the matter. Geniuses like him and Peter Maniette have their own way of thinking, don't they? And I suppose, after Peter's sad loss, this will remain a 'should have been' kind of thing for all Mammoth fans. Of all the amazing bands that emerged after the brutal, savage and voracious monster that was The Crimson Shadows (The Stomachmouths, The Highspeed V and The Maggots, to name a few), The Wylde Mammoths were the most unique, thanks to Peter's rare songwriting brilliance. If you're looking for some percectly executed garage beat in a 60s tradition, lo-fi  recorded and as straightforward and exciting as The Kinks in their early days, with an added 'Back From The Grave' fixation, here's another chance.

The Chesterfield Kings - The Chesterfield Kinks (White Trash Soul Real R'n'R No.8)

Having been here for such a long time, you obviously don't need a recap or a history lesson on Rochester's finest Frankensteins, the Chesterfield Kings, do you? I guess you're also familiar with their long-standing fixation on the Beatles/Stones dipole. Well, here's the thing: Greg, Andy and Co. have always had a soft spot for The Kinks as well — the most British of the British Invasion bands — and they've covered them no less than five times throughout their career. As the title betrays, the idea this time was to bring together all the covers they did for the Kinks in one place. The only thing missing is a performance of 'Party Line' from a 1985–86 video, which I have been unable to acquire all these years. Brief but satisfying... 

Lyres by Miriam Linna (Breakthrough No. 1, Todd Abramson, 1984)

 

(Right click and select 'open link in new tab' for full scans resolution)

Sock It To Me! Another White Trash Soul Compilation of 26 Soul and R&B Dance Blasters

 

OK, here's another compilation that I've made for my own use and pleasure. This one was actually tested on the dance floor the other day when a friend of mine who owns a small pub asked me to lend him my iPod (he does that quite often) and play the whole thing while I was drinking my beer. Well, it seemed like everyone liked it to my surprise. I can't remember if I've used any of these songs in other compilations that have been uploaded by me in the past, but it's very likely since some of them are among my favourites. Anyway, here's the tracklist:

1. Teen Age Jump - T.D. Valentine
2. The Hawg [Part 1] - Eddie Kirkland 
3. Who Do You Love - Jimmy Toliver
4. Pretty Mama Blues - Arthur Griswold
5. Whole Lot Of Soul - Jan Bradley
6. Baby You Goofed - Rudi Stewart
7. Rockin' Pneumonia And The Boogaloo Flu - Bobby Marchan
8. A Rockin' Good Way - Jo Ann Garrett & Andre Williams
9. Go Go Girl - Richard Berry & The Soul Searchers
10. Watch Yourself - Al Gardner
11. The Love Knot - Chuck Wells
12. Searching For My Baby - James Lynn Marsh
13. Save Your Love - Buddy Lamp
14. Crazy - Wess & The Airedales
15. Chuck Roast - Chuck Edwards
16. The Wig - Lorenzo Holden
17. Do The Ape - Reg Powell
18. I Don't Know - Albert Collins
19. Shake Shout And Soul - Lil' Ray & The Premiers
20. Philly Barracuda [Part 1] - Holly Maxwell
21. Keep A Calling - Paul Perryman
22. Talking 'Bout Soul - Little Richard
23. Soul - Squatty & The Bottys
24. (Shing-A-Loo-Boog-A-Ling) Big Mama - The Experts
25. I Can't Help Myself - The Emperors
26. (Beggin) Baby Don't Leave Me - The Bronzettes

Les Grys-Grys - R&B Maximale: Les Singles (White Trash Soul R&B Series No.18)

 

Les Grys-Grys were my favourite "new" band. I've only felt this excited about a modern outfit twice before: the first time was back in the '90s with the misanthropic early Hellacopters punk rock 'n' roll blasts (before they turned arena rock '70s, up until the "Soulseller"era), and the second one with The Jim Jones Revue records, which had this fenerish Little Richard cum Jerry Lee backed by The Sonics and spreading chaos sound. 

Hailing from Montpellier, France, Les Grys-Grys proudly displayed their sixties influences in their invigorating reverberation. Starting out by playing covers, they absorbed the best elements of the bands and sounds that influenced them — most notably The Pretty Things and The Downliners Sect (one of them actually wore a headcoat once or a 'deerstalker', for those who are unfamiliar with the term), as well as American garage punk bands such as Count V — infusing them into their own furious style. These Frenchies were the real deal and a reminder of how you felt as a teenager.

Had the Grys-Grys lived in the '60s, the Marquee would never have let them play because of the mayhem they would have caused. They set out to romp classic white R&B with filthy fuzztones, sharp bursts of frenzied drumming, punchy bass lines, manic maraca-shaking and wild harmonica blowing. Their two LPs flirt more with the freakbeat sound of Down Under, but the three long-out-of-print singles I've gathered for you are pure, untamed and unhinged maximum R&B! 

I was devastated when they called it a day because I never got the chance to see them live. I hope for a future release of live recordings. In fact, I'm hoping for a release containing all the material these loonies have left unreleased. Until then, I'll stick to their brother band, Les Lullies, with their more '77 approach.

The Untold Fables - The Untold Fables (White Trash Soul R&B Series No.17)

The Untold Fables were one of the few garage punk bands of the '80s who lived up to their name. Forget rock star mannerisms à la Fuzztones or wimpy jump wagoners. To me, they and The Primates remain the most underrated bands of the American scene back then. 

The Untold Fables consisted of Jon Niederbrach on guitar, Robert Butler (later of The Miracle Workers) on bass, Paul Sakry on drums, and Paul Carey on vocals. They grew out of a club called The Rave Up and later moved to Greg Shaw's Cavern Club. Their music was strongly influenced by '70s punk and '50s R&B. In spring 1985, they recorded their debut LP, "Every Mother's Nightmare", for Lee Joseph's Dionysus Records at West Beach Studios in LA. In summer 1986 and spring 1987, they held two more recording sessions at South Coast Studios in Santa Ana, this time with David Carey producing. The eleven songs from these sessions were later compiled for their second LP, "Aesop's Apocalypse", which was released in early 1989, around a year after the band split up. 

The Pretty Things' early work, along with the freakbeat of Ealing's The Eyes and some Nederbeat perhaps, were their main influences. Snottiness a plenty. Here are their two LPs combined. This isn't my rip; I found them on Soulseek at some point, so thanks anyway to the original uploader. I tried to normalise them a little and remove some noise because the transfers are obviously from vinyl, but in the end I decided to leave them as they were because I'm no pro at this, and besides, who cares — we're here for some punk sounds! The cover I designed was heavily influenced by the Mystery Scene EP and their demo. Dig the fuzz!

Spacemen 3 - Rollercoaster, The Singles & EPs (White Trash Soul Real R'n'R No.7)

 

Spacemen 3 were the definitive psychedelic band of the '80s (at least), led by two charismatic personalities and influenced by the heavy drones of The Stooges, Velvet Underground and Suicide. Formed in Rugby, they fused the proto-punk of the Detroit scene with garage, psychedelia, blues and gospel to lethal effect. Or to put it another way, their music was druggy and addictive. Like the MC5, they were interested in revolution and (hypnotic) guitar noise at a time when jangle pop dominated the indie scene. Spacemen 3 were, and still are, the unconditional forefathers of the shoegaze scene of years to come. 

None of their compilations of singles and EPs are quite this. They're a blend of singles with different mixes or demos. As far as I know, they never had a proper release, so I decided to do it myself again. Here, you'll find all of their singles, EPs and mini LP ("Walking With Jesus", "Transparent Radiation", "Revolution", "Take Me To The Other Side" and "Big City") in any version released before the band broke up, as well as their cover of Mudhoney's "When Tomorrow Hits" from their rare split. 

As Will Carruthers, the band's bassist (also on Spectrum, Spiritualized and Brian Jonestown Massacre) and author of the excellent memoir Playing the Bass with Three Left Hands, wrote: "To this day, I’m still not sure if it was art."

Viv Prince (1941-2025)

 

I just read Mike Stax's post about Viv Prince's passing. Prince made Keith Moon look like a Catholic schoolgirl in terms of both drumming and wildness, partying and lunacy! According to Jimmy Page, the young Keith Moon attended several Pretty Things concerts in order to study Viv's style. Prince was also the one to coin the nickname 'Moon the Loon' for Keith, with whom he was on good terms.

He was the first British rock 'n' roll musician to face a drug-related charge in court. The Kinks repeatedly approached him to become their drummer, but he chose to join the wildest of them all, The Pretty Things.  The mayhem culminated in a tour of New Zealand in August 1965, during which he paraded around in a leopard-skin pillbox hat and carried a dead crayfish on a string. He also started plotting pranks and setting fires on stage, resulting in a lot of bad publicity. Following an altercation with the crew, he was thrown off the plane taking the band home after the tour and had to find his own way back to England. He was quite a character, as well as a musician. Safe travels motherfucker!