THE MIGHTY HANNIBAL - Hymn No. 5 / Fishin' Pole - Josie - 1966


Woo child, I got fuzz in my brains this morning. Went out last night to meet Benoit at some shitty magazine's launch party, hurdled the spazz with the guestlist and drank as much free Belvedere as possible until the place was dry. Now I have the luxury of being hungover at work, sitting next to the goon with a chain wallet who picks his nose and chokes up phlegm all day, staring at a very unforgiving computer screen, pondering the cruel necessity of a 40-hour work week.

To the issue at hand; I've been sitting on this review for over a week now, rewriting it, consistently unhappy with it. But ya know what? I'm hungover now and I don't care anymore. Sorry, Hannibal. Here's all I got, quickly:

Hymn No. 5 is certainly one of the best anti-war songs ever recorded, Fishin' Pole is a good B-side, and Hannibal is grossly under-rated. I didn't even know the man existed until I saw him in the Norton Records catalog. Oh, and he did a lot of junk.

Fin.

DONOVAN - Wear Your Love Like Heaven / Oh Gosh - Epic - 1967

Today, feeling pretty lousy. Lost a real good friend exactly one year ago on this date. Don't know what to say about it really. I get weird whenever I think about it, and today being the anniversary makes me more-so.

Also, having a real nasty sore throat for the fifth day in a row is kind of a drag.

And some other shit that's none of your goddamn business.

So I'll use today to write about something that doesn't take much thought or effort, hence a Donovan review.

'Wear Your Love' is, in my opinion, possibly the best song Donovan ever wrote. The breaks between verses and choruses are absolutely brilliant and Mickie Most's production is sharply on point. Luckily Donovan is singing primarily about colors and doesn't have an opportunity to slip in any dreadfully embarassing lyrics, as he is so adept at. What else is there to say about this track? A+.

'Oh Gosh' is basically a pile of shit though. I think most people's beef with Donovan is that he wrote so many songs like this. I can't even take this shit seriously. There's 2 things that save this from being ranked among the worst songs ever. 1: The phrase "with the babies in your bellies." It's not meant to be, but I find it pretty funny, especially Donovan's phrasing. 2: The music in the outro. Sounds like primitive video game music for a bonus level where you're character takes flight on the back of some friendly, oversized creature soaring through a psychedelic sky between fat, purple stars and smiling moons collecting treasures and extra lives. Sadly, this euphoric bonus land only lasts for 20 seconds. BOO!

That's all for me today.

Gonna have myself a drink in honor of my good friend, Ben Fran.

Cheers, fuckfaces.

PsychedelicElvis

THIRTEENTH FLOOR ELEVATORS - You're Gonna Miss Me / Tried To Hide - IA - 1966

I can't accurately desribed how pumped I was to get this 45, and I can't very well explain why either. It's not like this is ultra-rare, obscure, or hard-to-find. As a matter of fact, it's by far the easiest Elevators single to find, having been re-pressed about a zillion times.

Yea, so what? The record's amazing, and the Elevators are a main reason why I started digging the garage world in the first place. I'll be listening to 'You're Gonna Miss Me' till the day I fry and I'm quite certain it'll never get old. The flip side is, like every other song on Psychedelic Sounds, amazing as well.

Now if I could only find a copy on the Hanna-Barbara label...

*** *** ***

Alright. Anyone who knows me at all knows that I have a slight (depending on who you ask) fascination with psychedelic drugs and the effect they have on people, specifically the people who eat/ate it up like candy. Now, it's tough to say whether it was the massive drug consumption or the shock therapy that finally cracked Roky Erickson (though I would lean toward the shocks,) but there's no denying the effect the drugs had on the music, and it certainly is phenominal. Though I do feel a slight (very slight) twinge of sorrow when I see dudes from that era who are completely useless-fried, I'm honestly thankful that there was a point in our history when so many people were turning on and twisting their brains inside-out. The music and art in general that came from that time, directly influenced by the brain candy, was unreal, and as of yet, unmatched. So maybe we should consider the Roky Erickson's of the world as martyrs for a great & noble cause, directly responsible for the only real revolution of the 1960's.

"Him... I want what he's on..."

PsychedelicElvis

THE LOLLIPOP SHOPPE - Someone I Knew / Through My Window - Shamley - 1968

I've been listening to the Lollipop Shoppe pretty consistently since I picked up a copy of the repressed 'Just Colour' LP (an original is a bit out of reach for a poor boy like me.) Then Kyle picked up the Weeds / Lollipop Shoppe collection that had the first Weeds single ('It's Your Time' / 'Little Girl,') the 'Just Colour' LP, the 2 tracks from the 'Angels From Hell' soundtrack ('Mr. Madison Avenue' / 'Who's It Gonna Be,') and the final two songs recorded by the band in the early 70's ('Stop' / 'No Good News'[credited as the Weeds.]) But curiously, this 45 is not included on that release. So when I found a copy, naturally, I had to grab it up.

I've always associated the Lollipop Shoppe rather closely with Love (though I would never call them a Love rip-off) and this single reminds me of, not-so-much Love's sound, as their trajectory. Just as Love had moved from a more-or-less basic garage sound to the orchestrated psychedelia of 'Forever Changes,' the Lollipop Shoppe seems intent on the same progression. This single is slower and more somber on both sides, even including a bit of string arrangement, and Fred sounds more desperate than angry here.

And honestly, I don't know if it really works for them.

I guess it's cool that they were trying something new and different, but I was hoping for something a little closer to their 'Just Colour' sound. And after reading an interview with Fred Cole, I'm not convinced that this is the direction he was looking to head in.

Regarding the production of 'Just Colour,' he had this to say:

"She (Danielle Hudson) was producing us and had this idea of orchestras and shit. She was a big fan of Charles Aznavour, some French singer who she used to hang with and that was her cup of tea - not ours. She was into a commercial pop sound and we just wanted to rock."

He goes on to explain why the band broke up:

"We were under a five-year contract with Lord Tim and Uni. We hated the direction they were leading us to which was a commercial bubble gum band."

So, maybe that explains why this single was left off of the Weeds collection (the only reissue Fred Cole ever authorized.) Though I don't mean to paint this as a shitty record, it just can't live up to the standard they set for themselves with 'Just Colour.' And to their credit, the shortcomings of this single can likely be traced to the notoriously bad decision making of record company executives and money-hungry management. I mean, for fuck's sake, Lord Tim Hudson, their manager, made them change their name from something pretty cool to something that's wimpy and totally unfitting, just to try to sell more records.

Typical.

PsychedelicElvis

THE BITTER SWEETS - What A Lonely Way To Start the Summertime / Mark My Words - Cameo - 1963

All the credit for my owning this amazing record goes to Tyler Robert Farren, who not only introduced this song to me, but is also directly responsible for my purchase of it.

He came over to my humble home shortly after he had bought One Kiss Can Lead To Another: Girl Group Sounds Lost and Found, the 4 disc Rhino collection that comes packaged in a vintage hat box, and skipped through some of the tracks that he liked the most, pointed out the Bitter Sweets song "What A Lonely Way to Start the Summertime." On surface value alone, this track sounds like a pretty typical girl group song with it's layered harmonies, pop stylings, and teenage melodrama subject matter, and even if it was a standard girl group track though, it's first rate, complete with stellar production and a looming darkness hanging above. But this track sets itself apart before it's finished. The song starts to build into a climbing crescendo, and just when you expect it to go back into the chorus, or some key change to happen, the song just cuts off, ending abruptly with just the slight reverberation on the track echoing after. It's a curious production decision, but the effect is quite amazing. Someone named Brute Force is credited as the writer, and I seem to recall him being responsible for the production as well, and I wish like hell that I could track down some more information about him. Seems like an interesting character.

The B-side, "Mark My Words," unfortunately lacks the unique production qualities of it's flip and pales in comparison. It's still a good listen, still sad and dramatic, but nothing to shit yrself about. Probably just as good as most other girl group stuff that came out around then, just no "Lonely Way."

Luckily Tyler searches ebay for records he already owns (for whatever reason) and came across a copy of this one, told me about it, and I got it for a fraction of what it's worth to me.
So, thank you, Tyler.

And.. If anybody has any more information about Brute Force, or 'Cave Sound Production,' PLEASE contact me. I gotta know what it's all about and I'm not finding anything.

Cheers,
PsychedelicElvis

? AND THE MYSTERIANS - Can't Get Enough of You, Baby / Smokes - Cameo - 1967

Remember that shitty band Smash Mouth? They had a string of really regrettable, embarrassing hits in the late 90's? Basically summing up exactly what is wrong and fucked up about modern music? Yea, I hated that shit too. Sadly, those spazwits and ? picked the same Toys song to cover, and worse, I can't for the life of me sit through the Mysterians version because of it.

Or maybe it's just because ?'s version isn't exactly that great anyway. The organ line is basically recycled from "96 Tears," ? sounds terribly un-enthused, and overall it's quite boring. Sorry.

"Smokes" is pretty cool though. I get a kick out of ?'s creative use of language ('Hey, what your face looks like?') and the subject matter is funny in a real superficial way ("I don't know what your face looks like, I don't know how it looks in the light... I don't care if you're blue or red, I'll take you anytime, anywhere, in the night."). Although there's nothing that really stands out about this side compared to their other tunes, it's still great song, as only ? and the Mysterians could really pull off, and a cool addition to the collection.

Alright then,
PsychedelicElvis

THE TROGGS - Any Way That You Want Me / 66-5-4-3-2-1 - Fontana - 1967

As I was listening to "Any Way That You Want Me" I realized that I've always sort of regarded the Troggs as an unintelligent group of guys. Then when I played the flip side, "66-5-4-3-2-1," I realized that this group of dummies could certainly write a hell of a song.

The A-side of this single isn't one of the better songs the Troggs ever recorded. It's a real lightweight number but reuses the same rhythm that's instantly recognizable as the "Wild Thing" beat (which is far better suited for heavier songs like that, or their version of "I Want You,") and has some of the stupidest lyrics imaginable. Nothing to be disappointed about though. I bought this record for the B-side anyway.

"66-5-4-3-2-1" is, on the other hand, one of the best songs they ever wrote. Somehow they managed to continually write goddamn amazing songs using only a few very simple elements, usually based on one or two parts, and this song fits that mold pretty well. Basic, perfectly minimalistic drumming, short and simple structure, and a guitar leads that kicks dicks in. These fools were on-point when they wrote this tune. I love it.

Also, this song is apparently on the soundtrack to a Vietnam game for Playstation. I can't confirm that though.

Why am I so convinced that the Troggs were dummies? I don't have a solid answer. Maybe it has something to do with their consistently bad & corny lyrics, or maybe The Troggs Tapes have influenced that assumption (which is vaguely worth a listen,) or maybe it's the reggae jam version of "Wild Thing" they released in the mid 70's in a lame attempt to chart again. It could also be their regrettable collaboration with R.E.M. in the 90's, or the not one, but two different new versions of "Wild Thing" they released in the 90's for whatever silly reason, one of which featured Wolf of the show Gladiators. (Yup, the British version of American Gladiators.) Certainly not the smartest choices ever made.

It doesn't matter though, some of my favorite music was written by complete dimwits. You can't really hold it against them.

But honestly, someone please take the guitars away from these guys ASAP. No one's excited for an updated 5th version of what was originally a classic, killer tune.

Alright then.

PsychedelicElvis