Various Artists - Nothin': Sixties Wild Punk and Raw R&B (White Trash Soul 60s Punk No.5)

 

Sometimes I feel like I'm repeating myself and I know I actually am. It's like listening to The Ramones and Motörhead albums basically, but I secretly hope that all of this is just as enjoyable for you as the songs by those legendary bands. I mean, what else is there to write about '60s garage punk that hasn't already been said? The same thing happens quite often with the songs I choose to take in. I can't and don't want to remember whether I've included them before or elsewhere and obviously I'm probably not introducing you to anything you don't already know or haven't listened to before.

I'd like to think that there will always be younger listeners and visitors, and that they will always find something new here. There's really no reason for this blog to exist if not to present something to people that might make their lives a little better. Yes, I'm one of those hopelessly romantic fools who believes that books, records and films can improve our miserable reality. Fortunately for me, it works still. Sometimes. Isn't that the essence of art after all, its offering and its necessity? Obviously, I consider rock 'n' roll to be an art form, especially when performed by teenagers who have the minimal of potential and are brimming with adrenaline, hormones and anger - emotions that they don't know how else to channel.

I've had this compilation on my phone and iPod for a while now. While I don't think there's anything here that fans of the genre don't already know or have on their shelves, I still think they'll enjoy it because it's been put together like a DJ set in a smoky basement club or something. For newcomers and youngsters who haven't already been immersed in BFTG - like series, this will be quite a wild ride. When I started picking out the songs, I wanted them to be as R&B and black rock 'n' roll-based as possible. I was keen for them to have harmonicas, maracas and tambourines maybe even more so than fuzz guitars or trashy organs. I wanted to hear Bo Diddley rhythms and Elmore James slides played by white punks out of their minds and had been raised in hell. And I wanted there to be plenty of snotiness. There are bands from all over the world, USA, United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Oceania. Grab a beer and let's get started! 

1. Keep Me Covered - The Frays
2. You Got What I Want - The Boys Blue
3. I'll Be There - The Sons Of Fred
4. She'll Be Sweeter Than You - Nix Nomads
5. Things She Says - The In Crowd
6. Come Back Baby - Screaming Lord Sutch
7. Let's Make It - Cuby + The Blizzards
8. What'cha Gonna Do About It (Alt. Version) - The Small Faces
9. Please Go Home - The Rolling Stones
10. I Want You - Belfast Gypsies (Them)
11. 80-96 - The Dantes
12. Bad Little Woman - The Shadows Of Knight
13. Dance Girl Dance - Greg Barr & The Barr Association
14. I'll Make You Sorry - Our Mothers' Children
15. In And Out - Larry And The Blue Notes
16. You Don't Love Me - The Little Boy Blues
17. We're Pretty Quick - The Chob
18. Hate - The Stoics
19. Ugly Thing - The Creatures
20. I Need You There - The Chessmen
21. Project Blue - The Banshees
22. Hot Gully Wind - The Master's Apprentices
23. Cry (Over Her) - The Malibus
24. Like What Me Worry - 006
25. Nothin' - The Ugly Ducklings
26. Double Decker Bus - The Count Five
27. I'm Walkin' Babe - The Unusuals
28. Get Your Baby - Mark & The Escorts
29. Caught You Red Handed - Jolly Green Giants
30. Don't Go I'm Beggin' - The Untouchables
31. Don't Crowd Me - Keith Kessler
32. Hidden Charms - Link Wray And His Ray Men
33. Born In Chicago - The (Dirty) Wurds
34. Sitting There Standing - The Chocolate Watchband
35. At The River's Edge - The New Colony Six

The Throb - Meet The Throb (White Trash Soul 60s Punk No.4)

 

The Throb were an R&B/garage band from Sydney, Australia. They existed for just two years, starting from 1965 and briefly shot to national prominence. Despite their short tenure, the group's punkish potential is evident in their two superb singles. The first is their snarling garage-punk version of 'Fortune Teller', which smashed its way to the top of the national charts in early 1966. The second is their arrangement of the traditional folk song "Black (Is the Colour of My True Love's Hair)". A slashing, feedback-drenched rendition, which pop culture historian Ian D. Marks calls "the most adventurous pop recording made in Australia in 1966".

Their take on "Fortune Teller' was obviously based on The Rolling Stones and not on the Allen Toussaint original and if I remember correctly, their leader, John Bell (vocals, guitar and harmonica), was The Easybeats' original singer for a while and he was friends also with the duo of Harry Vanda and George Young (for those not in the know, George was the older brother of Malcolm and Angus from AC/DC). Anyway, on stage the group had a wild, leather-clad presence that rivalled the Easybeats for sheer euphoria and their debut record and subsequent live shows were unqualified successes. 

Searching for a follow-up to 'Fortune Teller', the group recorded two tracks at Bill Armstrong’s new studios in South Melbourne: a cover of The Kinks' B-side 'I Need You' and a John Bell original called 'One Thing To Do'. However, both tracks were ultimately shelved and did not see the light of day until the '80s when Raven Records included them on Volumes 2 and 3 of the original Ugly Things LP series. Their management eventually selected John Bell's proto-power pop original, 'Turn My Head', and the radical reworking of 'Black' which surpassed the brilliance of their debut, although it was reportedly too shocking for some audiences and radio types in 1966, and didn't perform as well. By the time 'Black' was released in August 1966, some band members were tired of constant touring and after a few lineup changes, sometimes playing as a three-piece, they called it quits. 

All Throb seven known recorded tunes are gathered in one place by me for your listening pleasure. Throughout their short lived existence, Throb were renowned for their wailing harmonica and tormented performances. A 60s punk delirium with howling guitars crying out against suffering vocals that could rightly be placed alongside those of The Missing Links, The Purple Hearts or even The Easybeats. 

Various Artists - 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!

Various Artists - Lysergic Acid 60s Punkers, Raw Mod and Freakbeat Fuzzters (White Trash Soul 60s Punk No.2)

 

Freakbeat! Yeah!! 

First things first, what is it? The term was coined by English music journalist Phil Smee (who later started the Bam-Caruso Label) to describe the harder, fuzz loaded and sometimes psychedelic mutations that happened to the British Mod scene. A rock'n'roll sub-genre, graphic design style, and aesthetic in general that was prevalent throughout the mid-to-late '60s. Freakbeat bands combined aspects of rhythm & blues, beat, pop with psychedelia and proto-punk, a sonically distinct kind of music often drawing parallels with the American garage punk. 

The diversive music style of the Mods, characterised mainly by soul elements, became somewhat lost in the mid-sixties when psychedelic drugs and vibrant clothing became the defining attributes of a (new) generation. These elements included definetely fuzztones which are often manipulated with trippy echoes and other effects. 

As you might have guessed, the lines between what is and isn't Freakbeat are blurry. The same thing happened when I was trying to create the compilation that I'm offering here. The songs have changed many times - I've actually lost count. As always, I wanted to include obscure and unprocessed gems of the era, as well as more well-known songs, at least to those familiar with this period. I also wanted to compile tracks from outside the British and US scenes. I'm fairly confident that I've succeeded, but as always, you're the judge. 

Anyway, to be more precise I changed the title to "Lysergic Acid 60s Punkers, Raw Mod and Freakbeat Fuzzters". All the tracks contain the elements I mentioned in the opening lines. The Who, The Yardbirds and The Pretty Things collaborate with lesser-known acts who are equally brilliant and perhaps even wilder! For example, there's St. Louis Union's amazing take on Bob Seger's early garage stomper "East Side Story", Jimmy Winston covering the band he founded and played on the first single with (The Small Faces), Them going punk R&B under the direction of sleazy mogul Kim Fowley after Van Morrison left and Northwest proto-punks The Kingsmen, (in)famous of course for "Louie Louie", covering this time an unknown Freakbeat tune by The Fairytale. There's also Viv Prince's band after The Pretty Things (The Bunch of Fives), The Action going psychedelic pop under the Beatles' producer, Q65 and the Outsiders' off the rails Nederbeat, and The Fleur de Lys doing "Hold On" under the pseudonym of Rupert's People before handing it to Sharon Tandy. There's even Mickey Finn's "Time to Start Loving You" (before MC5 change it to "Kick Out the Jams"), and an Italian guy who relocated to Greece singing a cover of the Troggs' "I Want You" in... Greek! Τhe range is so big actually that you'll find young savage punks from Quebec and Iceland to New Zealand and Australia. It's almost impossible to write you even a few lines about each song, although each one has a unique story behind, like the ones I've already given you to get an idea of ​​what you'll hear.

In the true spirit of Oscar Wilde ("The drawback of stealing a thing, is that one never knows how wonderful the thing that one steals is"), I even tried to recreate Bam Caruso's label logo, with Joe Meek taking the place of the famous girl for the cover. By the way, if you're wondering who's that guy carrying the guitar and playing the tambourine, look for the golden-haired founder of The Rolling Stones. I even asked myself if "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby" by the world's greatest rock 'n' roll band fitted in, but I gave up in the end - after all, there are so many songs and bands that need more pairs of ears. 

Dig!

The Sonics - Live & Home Recordings, 1964 (White Trash Soul 60s Punk No.1)

In terms of savagery and frenzy, they were the closest thing ever to Little Richard, just a little more amped up (ok, VERY!). The Sonics were white trash souls like you and me, absolutely and madly in love with R&B and rock'n'roll. Punks like the Parypa brothers, Gerrie Roslie, Bob Bennett and Rob Lind paved the way for anti-racist behaviour, not Elvis. Roaring guitars, pounding drums and fevered howls trying to imitate their black idols invented punk rock in the garages of their fathers around the world, not Malcolm McLaren. And dad Parypa recorded almost every Sonics rehearsal in the early 60s, including, of course, these ones. The live recordings are captured by a man in Seattle named Doug Patterson, who owned an Ampex tape machine and frequently wrote on tape the Teen Time shows on KTNT-AM Tacoma Radio to collect songs for his own teenage garage band. Fandom indeed! Since these recordings were made before the release of their debut single "The Witch", the focus is on covers and instros and the audio is definitely good for AM radio broadcasts that are six decades old.

This homemade product/selection comes from Norton's "Savage Young Sonics" and "Busy Body!!! Live in Tacoma, 1964". If you don't already have these, head over and buy the vinyl — it contains some of the rawest punk rock ever recorded!