Big Boy Pete (Miller) - Cold Turkey: The Sixties Recordings (White Trash Soul 60s Psychotropia No.2)

 

Big Boy Pete (real name Pete Miller) is an innovative guitarist from Norwich who recorded some eccentric and wacky tracks in the '60s. These have gained quite a reputation among psychedelic and freakbeat collectors over the years. He started out as a member of the relatively unknown Peter Jay & the Jaywalkers before going solo in late 1965 with 'Baby I Got News for You', a song in the style of the Troggs featuring lots of punky, fuzzy and distorted guitar. Miller then joined forces with Peter Frampton and members of the Herd, and over the next few years he wrote and recorded demos for his own pleasure. In 1968, a second single came out, the largely unheard at the time 'Cold Turkey' under the name Big Boy Pete, a much compiled mod-psych nugget by now, and eventually relocated to San Francisco to work as a producer and engineer, occasionally releasing albums on small labels mostly. 

The above pretty much sums up his life. Miller's recorded output started being released in 1998 and has since gained a cult following with a good reason: This guy had recorded some seriously quirky garage psych stuff! Really now, Pete Miller is a criminally underrated artist and producer. When you hear his stuff from the '60s, it's as if you're witnessing a secret session with Syd Barrett fronting the Kinks, with Joe Meek pushing the knobs and running the tape. Many compilations have been released since then, most of which are worth your hard-earned money, but I have chosen to focus on recordings he made from the '60s.