Just wanted to drop a line to say that I've transferred file-sharing hosts and have updated all my compilation download links! They should all be fine and dandy, smooth and mellow. I'm gobsmacked that this blog has been around for over 14 years and folks are still diggin' on my comps. I myself hadn't given them a listen in nearly a decade, so it was a joy to re-visit these songs in all their moody, fuzzy, low-fi glory as I working to re-upload all of them.
Thanks so much for all the support you've shown this blog and the music throughout these years!
There it happened again...
The sixth volume of the epic Dark Clouds series: an array of moody garage music recorded in the mid-to-late-60s! If you want to start from the beginning of the hexalogy, you can download Vols. 1-3, Vol. 4 and Vol. 5.
So this is what I came up with for Vol. 6: a nice little mix of uncomped rarities to appease the garage gods, and a few of my absolute favorites (psst, the Amoebas and the Weads) to welcome my friends who are just delving into this profound musical realm.
This is the real deal. No sophisticated production, no pretension. Just raw, real, emotive performances. Record hiss, crackle and pop, and anomalous (okay, at times downright off-pitch) vocals galore. I can't tell you how much of a joy and surprise it is to continually stumble upon and unveil these types of nuggets. I hope you enjoy! Please feel free to contact me if you can provide additional band info or corrections. Thank you!
01 The Ascensions - "All Alone" [Gemini 100] (1967) Philadelphia, PA 02 The Wild Cherries - "I Cried Once"[Shoestring 112] (1966) Hampton, VA 03 The Soule Survivors - "Shadows"[River 1306] (1967] Biloxi, MS 04 The Amoebas - "Look At The Moon"[unknown] (1964) Baltimore, MD 05 Sleepy Hollow - "Dark Of The Night"[unknown] (1967) Bridgeport, CT 06 The Intruders - "Bringin' Me Down"[Claremont 665] (1966) Rockford, IL 07 The Royal Knights - "I Don't Want To Go"[Snap SN-005] (196?) USA 08 Lindy Blaskey & The LaVelles - "My Baby Done Left Me" [Space 0003] (1965) Albuquerque, NM 09 The Nomadds - "I'm In Transit"[Radex MLP 6521] (1965) Freeport, IL 10 Billy & The Kids - "It's Not The Same" [Julian 104] (1965) Wenatchee, WA 11 The Squires - "I Can't Do It"[Atco] (1966) Bristol, CT 12 The Counts - "I Will Lose My Mind"[Kingston 19693/4] (1969) Valley View, PA 13 The Swaydes - "Why" [Paris Tower 108] (1967) Tampa, FL 14 Druids - "Old Willow"[Columbia 4-43639] (1966) Scranton, PA 15 Public Nuisance - "Time Can't Wait"[demo] (1968) Sacramento, CA 16 The Meen - "Say You Love Me"[Varmint VPB-103] (1967) USA 17 The Newports - "Feelin' Low"[Zebb 155] (196?) Ormond Beach, FL 18 The Jades - "I Cried"[Holiday H-101] (1966) Union, KT 19 The Weads - "Don't Call My Name"[Duane 1042] (1965) Stonybrook, NY 20 Road's End - "When I Look At You"[Brahma 621661/2] (1966) New York, NY 21 The Kan Dells - "Do You Know" [Bear 1971] (1965) Minneapolis, MN 22 The Grapes - "You'd Better Come Home"[Purple 110] (196?) La Porte, IN 23 The Second Generation - "Baby I Need You"[Klan] (196?) USA 24 The Dukes - "Take Your Love"[Signett 3265] (1967) Goshen, IN 25 The Society - "One Way Ride" [Feature 817R-112] (1966) Janesville, WI 26 Low Ebb - "Somewhere"[Patten Bennett 1001] (1965) MI 27 The Willing Mind - "Decide"[Night Owl 6912] (1969) Horicon, WI 28 The Alexander Rabbit - "I Didn't Even Thank Her"[A&M 1101] (1969) Trenton, NJ 29 The Mirror's Image - "If You Are Nowhere Now" [Catamount 01000] (196?) NJ 30 The Members - "I'll Get By Without You"[Label 102] (1966) St. Petersburg, FL
(still from the 1948 weeper, Portrait of Jennie, dir. William Dieterle)
Hi friends! So for months I've had the idea floating around for a wintery themed mix, but was waiting for the weather to get cold, rainy, windy, just super duper gnarly so I'd have some kind of inspiration to draw upon. And I'm still waiting! I should know by now, being a native/naive Californian, that not a chance in hell was Mother Nature gonna grant us such prolonged weather. We might as well be ground zero for global warming! Not that I don't mind one bit, but I'd one day love to stare sullenly out the window at a torrential storm or play in the snow like most normal kids do... not admire colorful, fiery sunsets from my 15th floor office building or shuffle around the beach in ironic graphic tees, BBQing, sipping icy Tecates at the end of January/beginning of February. Siiiigh. But I digress...
Oakland did get several hours of rain and apocalyptic-like fog last week. And for that, I was ever so grateful to use that precious time to assemble a slightly eclectic mix of seasonal moody tunes for you, opening with the predictably distressing "Lonely Winter" (a song later covered by the Bee Gees), and drawing to an optimistic close, finishing with the haunting yet encouraging chorus on "Need Some Sunshine." This mix is slightly distinguished from its Dark Clouds peers in 1) genre: garage rock reigns, but I had to throw in some soft/sunshiny, folk rock, and a Joe Meek production that were just too rad to pass, and 2) location: with the occasional Canadian exception, you might've noticed my unintentional sense of patriotism in past mixes. But for this one I've gone global (thanks to a newly renewed passport) - bowing down to England, Norway and Australia!
01 Steve & the Board - "Lonely Winter" [Spin EL 31997] (1966) Sydney, AU 02 Hollie Helloms & the Rhythm Kings - "Don't Blame It On the Rain"[Major 1015] (196?) Waynesboro, VA 03 The Whether Bureau - "White and Frosty" [Laurie 3431] (1968) New York, NY 04 The Unrelated Segments - "It's Gonna Rain"[Liberty 55992] (1966) Detroit, MI 05 Nocturnal Day Dream - "Dark Dreary Night"[Unknown] (196?) U.S.A. 06 Firebeats Inc. - "This Rain" [His Master's Voice NCLP 5] (1966) Oslo, Norway 07 The Rainy Daze - "Snow and Ice and Burning Sand" [UNI 73002] (1967) Denver, CO 08 The Kasuals - "Listen to the Rain" [GMA 4] (1964) Chicago, IL 09 The Early Americans - "It's So Cold Outside"[Paris Tower 106] (1967) Tampa, FL 10 John Leyton - "Wild Wind" [Top Rank International JAR 585] (1961) Essex, UK 11 The Fredric - "Saturday Morning With Rain" [Forte 80461] (1968) Grand Rapids, MI 12 Jan & Lorraine - "Snow Roses" [ABCS 691] (1969) London, UK 13 Brigadune - "Misty Mornin'" [Verve VK 10655] (1971) Los Angeles, CA 14 The New Dawn - "It's Rainin'"[Garland GR 70-4569] (1970) Salem, OR 15 Teen Tones - "Long Cold Winter" [T&T 2487/8] (1964) South Bend, IN 16 The Sinners - "Only On A Rainy Day" [Craig 210] (1966) PA 17 Sunset Love - "Winter's Day" [Collectables 0665] (1968) Odessa, TX 18 The Rising Storm - "The Rain Falls Down" [Remnant BBA 3571] (1966) Andover, MA 19 Philamore Lincoln - "The North Wind Blew South" [Epic BN 26497] (1970) UK 20 The Ill Winds - "Fear of the Rain"[Reprise 0423] (1965) Los Angeles, CA 21 The Rock Garden - "The Wind Is My Keeper" [Revise 300] (1967) Camden, AR 22 Electric Train - "Thru Winter and Sunshine" [Moxie M 106] (196?) Marin County, CA 23 The Magic Mushrooms - "Let The Rain Be Me" [East Coast 1001] (1968) Philadelphia, PA 24 The Morning Dew - "Winter Dreams" [Audio House Acetate] (1966) Topeka, KS 25 The Omen & Their Luv - "Need Some Sunshine" [Daisy 4825] (196?) Tuscaloosa, AL
Download 'Dark Clouds Vol. 5: An Ode To Winter' --> HERE!!
Download Vols. 1-3 --> right here
Download Vol. 4 --> and here
Hope you enjoy! Feedback (be it good, bad, constructive, creepy, off-topic, etc.) is always welcome. Thanks!
Happy New Year, friends! I've rung in the new year with some cross-pollinating, and created a mystic, lite-psych mix (of mostly old and several new) for San Francisco's Bold Italic, Mixtape Monday series -
"I haven't had a drink, ooh baby, but I'm lit up like a Christmas tree"
At last! Another Christmas album, besides James Brown's 'Funky Christmas', with not a traditional Christmas song in sight! This fantastically funky and soulful compilation, to be released in the US on December 13th, is the result of a project started in 2010 by German record collector DJ Jan Kohlmeyer of Tramp Records, who assembled 13 rare, raw funk and soul tracks that have never been compiled, with an artist roster of relatively unknown names (a big "Eureka!" for bloggers like me!). With track titles like "Christmas Present Blues" and "Xmas Done Got Funky," this comp is guaranteed to shake yer hips all month and into next year!
Vernon Garrett & Sir Stan and The Counts - "Merry Christmas, Baby"
Lee Rogers - "You Wont Have to Wait Till Xmas"
Rose Graham - "Black Christmas"
Binky Griptite - "Stone Soul Christmas"
Jimmy Jules & Nuclear Soul System - "Xmas Done Got Funky"
Both CD booklet and LP sleeve contain scans of all 45rpm single labels and extensive liner notes. The LP comes with a gatefold cover and is limited to 500 copies.
I'm not gonna make it a habit to discuss modern bands here, as I hope to start another blog devoted to new garage and indie rock, but I'm far too impatient and giddy about this band to wait! Now I dunno if it's the water or the earthquakes or the burritos, but my lovely lil hometown of San Francisco has become quite the mecca for new garage music - as documented more eloquently here via Pitchfork.
I've heard the records, I've seen nearly all of these dudes live at least once, but the one group that I think epitomizes the sound the best (regardless of region) is Sonny and the Sunsets! Grimey guitar playing splashed with 60s California pop, male/female harmonies, catchy hooks, sing-a-long choruses... bringing to mind the Standells, Beach Boys, Ronny and the Daytonas. And they're even better live, demonstrating confident stage presence and dynamics. From what I could tell (being front and center at their most recent show, the fangirl that I am!), every single soul in the crowd was either smiling, singing along, or dancing. And to top it all off, they're wonderful, lovely people, too. The ideal package.
Here's a sampling of their latest album, Hit After Hit:
Sonny and the Sunsets - "She Plays YoYo With My Mind"
Sonny and the Sunsets - "Home and Exile"
Sonny and the Sunsets - "Teenage Thugs"
Sonny and the Sunsets - "Don't Act Dumb"
Their tour itinerary:
1 May: Islington Mill - Manchester, United Kingdom
2 May: The Continental Pub - Preston, United Kingdom
3 May: Sound Control - Manchester, United Kingdom
4 May: Shipping Forecast - Liverpool, United Kingdom
5 May: Captains Rest - Glasgow, United Kingdom
6 May: Cockpit - Leeds, United Kingdom
7 May: The Social - Nottingham Nottingham, United Kingdom
8 May: Start The Bus - Bristol, United Kingdom
9 May: The Lexington - London, United Kingdom
11 May: Club dB - Utrecht, Netherlands
12 May: Molotov Oben - Hamburg, Germany
14 May: Henriksbergs Takterass - Gothenburg, Sweden
16 May:Parkeatren - Oslo, Norway
17 May: Debaser Slussen - Stockholm, Sweden
19 May: Privat Club - Berlin, Germany
20 May: 59:1 - Munich, Germany
21 May: Twiggy - Varese, Italy
24 May: Rocket Club - Milan, Italy
26 May: Primavera Sound Festival - Barcelona, Spain
4 Jun: Huichica Festival - Sonoma, CA
24 Jun: Sled Island Festival 2011 - Calgary, AB, Canada
25 Jun: Sled Island Festival 2011 - Calgary, AB, Canada
27 Jun: Waldorf Cabaret - Vancouver, BC, Canada
28 Jun: The Funhouse - Seattle, WA
1 Jul: Great American Music Hall - San Francisco, CA
7 Jul: Soda Bar - San Diego, CA
8 Jul: Echo - Los Angeles, CA
22 Jul: The Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL
23 Jul: Pike Room - Pontiac, MI
24 Jul: Sneaky Dees - Toronto, ON, Canada
26 Jul: Divan Orange - Montreal, QC, Canada
27 Jul: North Star Bar - Philadelphia, PA
28 Jul: DC9 - Washington, DC
29 Jul: Mercury Lounge - New York, NY
30 Jul: Glasslands Gallery - Brooklyn, NY
5 Aug: Pickathon Roots Musicfest - Happy Valley, OR
I encourage you to check out a live show if they happen upon your city. It'll be the most fun you've ever had! Promise.
Support Sonny and the Sunsets and purchase their albums here!
And check out the sweet music video for their song "Reflections on Youth" made by their rad bassist, Ryan Browne -
Who doesn't love loud, hot sax? Whether it be a rad riff or badass solo, you can never have too much sax!
Now before you get turned off (or on!) let me make it clear this isn't the latest release from John Tesh!
01 The Nocturnals - "Because You're Gone"(1965) Vancouver, BC 02 The Reactors - "Do That Thing"(1967) Suffolk, VA 03 The Knights - "Those Things You Do"(1965) Albuquerque, NM 04 The Blazers - "Lovin' To Do"(1966) Kansas City, MO 05 The Sants - "Leaving You, Baby"(1966) AL 06 Clap - "Bluff 'Em All"(1971) Manhattan Beach, CA 07 One Eyed Jacks - "Love"(1967) Champaign, IL 08 What's Happening - "Baby, You're Hurtin' Me"(196?) USA 09 The Vandaliers - "She's Mine"(1964) Toledo-Cleveland, OH 10 The Dominions - "I Need Her"(1966) Eugene, OR 11 Thee Midniters - "Looking Out A Window"(1967) East Los Angeles, CA 12 The Rumblers - "I Don't Need You No More"(1962) Norwalk, CA 13 The Jujus - "I'm Cryin'"(1966) Grand Rapids, MI 14 The Esquires - "Sadie's Ways"(1965) Jonesboro, AR 15 The Imperials - "Crossfiring"(196?) Seattle, WA 16 The Four A While - "Low Class Man"(1966) Charleston, IL 17 The Galaxies - "I'm A Worker"(1965) Tacoma, WA 18 Stairways - "Don't You Care"(196?) PA 19 The Futuras - "Hurt"(1966) Cleveland, OH 20 Phil & The Frantics - "Say What You Will"(1965) Phoenix, AZ 21 The Break-Outs - "Are You Mad At Me?"(1964) Greenup, KY 22 The Plague - "The Face Of Time"(1966) Thunder Bay, ON 23 The Wheel Of Fortune - "Long Long Day"(1967) Salem, OR 24 Wayne & The Impressions - "I Saw You"(1965) Pottsville, PA 25 The Five Of A Kind - "Never Again"(1965) Fort Worth, TX 26 Freddie & The Swingin' Bachelors - "You Had Your Chance"(196?) USA 27 The Dynamic Deadbeats - "No Second Chance"(196?) Philadelphia, PA 28 Banshees - "So Hard To Bear"(1965) Burlingame, CA 29 The Epicureans - "Baby Be Mine"(1966) Fairmont, MN 30 The Executioners - "The Guillotine"(1965) Youngstown, OH
Originally released in February of 2009, Jeanpop2's amazing comp focuses on beautiful, sometimes eerie-sounding - but not scary - haunters from all over the world. Despite a couple of repeat offenders (from Dark Clouds and Autoharp comps), this might be one of my favorite homemade comps, with an impressively resplendent mix of garage, psych, pop, folk, and soul. Give it a whirl ! 01 William Penn & The Quakers - "Ghost Of Monks" (1966) Boise, ID 02 The Clue - "She's The Reason"(1967) Midland, TX 03 Kenny & The Kasuals - "As I Knew"(1967) Dallas, TX 04 Paul Martin - "It Happened"(1966) NY 05 Pussyfoot - "Hasty Words"(1967) London, UK 06 Chris Lucey - "Girl From Vernon Mountain"(1966) Tuscon, AZ 07 Reuben Bell & The Casanovas - "It's Not That Easy"(1967) Shreveport, LA 08 Derby-Hatville - "Turn Into Earth"(1967) Lubbock, TX 09 Flower Power - "Stop"(1967) Melbourne, FL 10 The Dhag Dhag's - "Tipo Sicodelico"(1968) La Paz, Bolivia 11 Brym Stonz Ltd - "Times Gone By"(1967) Tyler, TX 12 The H.T.3 - "I'm The One"(196?) Minneapolis, MN 13 The Juniors - "Lost Friend"(196?) Athens, Greece 14 Mad Lads - "Everything Is Blue"(196?) Hawarden, IA 15 Normie Rowe - "Going Home"(1967) Melbourne, Australia 16 The Mojos - "What She's Done To Me"(1966) Hurricane, WV 17 New Colony Six - "The Time Of Year Is Sunset"(1966) Chicago, IL 18 The Moxies - "I Must Apologize"(1965) Paducah, KY 19 The Nightcrawlers - "The Last Ship"(1966) Daytona Beach, FL 20 The Redcoats - "Words Of Wisdom"(1965) Wildwood, NJ 21 Diamond Joe - "Fair Play"(1963) New Orleans, LA 22 The Savages - "Quiet Town"(1965) Bermuda 23 The Spiders - "Yves"(196?) Tokyo, Japan 24 Johnny's Guitar - "Supannahong"(1965) Bangkok, Thailand 25 The Syndicats - "On The Horizon"(1965) London, UK 26 Uncivilized - "Back Again"(196?) U.S.A. 27 Yabancilar - "Agit"(1967) Ankara, Turkey 28 The Fantastic Dee-Jays - "The Love Of Ours"(1966) McKeesport, PA 29 Virgil Griffin - "A Forgotten Lover"(196?) Greenville, MS 30 The Persuaders - "Whispering Surf"(196?) NY
Let's ring in the new decade with yet another volume to add to the Dark Clouds series. Happy Melancholy New Year everyone! Listen and weep -
01 The Smubbs - "Down On The Corner"[ABC Paramount] (1966) New York, NY 02 The Dynamics - "All She Said"[Jerden] (1966) Seattle, WA 03 The Beau-Jives - "Something's Wrong"[Tamio] (196?) U.S.A. 04 The Invaders - "Cryin' All Night Long"[TMS] (1967) U.S.A. 05 The Grodes - "I've Lost My Way"[Rally] (1966) Phoenix, AZ 06 Terry Randall - "Tell Her"[Valiant] (1966) Los Angeles, CA 07 The Dangs - "Lil' Girl"[RBP] (196?) U.S.A. 08 Leaping Ferns - "It Never Works Out For Me"[X-P-A-N-D-E-D Sound] (1965) Los Angeles, CA 09 Charlotte And Emily - "Love Not Have I"[New Voice] (196?) New York, NY 10 The Distant Cousins - "Empty House"[Date] (1967) New York, NY 11 The Dolphins - "I Should Have Stayed"[Yorkshire] (1966) Larchmont, NY 12 Robb London & The Rogues - "Bitter Tears"[Beckingham] (1965) San Antonio, TX 13 The Satins - "The Lonely One"[Aldon] (1967) New York, NY 14 The Era Of Sound - "Stay With Me"[Delta] (1966) Espanola, NM 15 The Fabulous Four - "Now You Cry"[Coral] (1966) Kansas City, MO 16 The Tuesday Club - "A Goddess In Many Ways"[Unknown label] (1967) U.S.A. 17 The Five Tymes - "Hold Me Now"[Bear] (1965) Duluth, MN 18 The Monacles - "You'll Do It Again"[Variety Films] (1966) Garden Grove, CA 19 The Remains - "But I Ain't Got You"[Epic] (1965) Boston, MA 20 The High & The Mighty - "Trying To Stop Cryin'"[ABC] (1966) Detroit, MI 21 The Avlons - "Mad Man's Fate"[Pyramid] (196?) Toccoa, GA 22 The Other Half - "I Won't Be Back"[Bell Sound] (196?) U.S.A. 23 The Strangers - "Plan On Someone New"[Jubilee] (1965) U.S.A. 24 Those Boys - "The Only Girl"[FED] (1966) Houston, TX 25 The Fugitives - "Don't Pretend"[Trophy] (196?) Portland, OR 26 The Travelers - "Libby"[Prism] (1966) Dayton, OH 27 The Other Side Of Time - "What Ya Gonna Do"[R.S.D.] (196?) U.S.A. 28 The Fogcutters - "Cry Cry Cry"[Liberty] (1965) Denver, CO 29 The Embermen Five - "My Love For You Won't Die"[Studio City] (1967) Minot, ND 30 The Mourning Formation - "Rider"[Pinpoint] (196?) U.S.A.
Rascals-inflected cuts and other garage soul delights from the godlike Jeanpop2. Listen to (or podcast) his rad radio show every Wednesday from 8:30PM-10:00PM French time (11:30AM-1:00PM PST) here ! 01 Giant Crab - "It Started With A Little Kiss"(1967) Santa Barbara, CA 02 The Buckinghams - "Love Ain't Enough"(1966) Chicago, IL 03 The Caravelles - "Self-Service"(1966) Phoenix, AZ 04 Little Willie & The Adolescents - "Looking For Love"(1967) Orlando, FL 05 The Myddle Class - "Who Does He Love"(196?) Summit, NJ 06 Five Cards Stud - "Beg Me"(1967) New Haven, CT 07 The Hassles - "Every Step I Take (Every Move I Make)"(1967) New York, NY 08 The Vagrants - "I Can't Make A Friend"(1966) Forest Hills, NY 09 The Solitary Confinement - "A Winner Never Quits"(1968) Detroit, MI 10 Aesop's Fables - "Take A Step"(1967) Hampstead, NY 11 The Soul Survivors - "Expressway To Your Heart"(1967) Philadelphia, PA 12 The Illusion - "I Love You, Yes I Do"(1969) Long Island, NY 13 The Uniques - "I'll Do Anything"(1967) Springhill, LA 14 Daze Between - "Every Little Raindrop"(1967) New York, NY 15 The Warlox - "You Can't Win"(1967) Alexandria, VA 16 The Bad Boys - "Love"(1966) Frederick, MD 17 The 5c Stamp - "Gotta' Go Now" (1968) Eastaboga, AL 18 The Five Emprees - "Mama Didn't Know"(1966) Benton Harbor, MI 19 Larry Knight & The Upsetters - "Hurt Me"(1966) Detroit, MI 20 The Bougalieu - "When I Was A Children"(1967) Albany, NY 21 Soul, Inc. - "Love Me When I'm Down"(1968) Louisville, KY 22 The Blue Beats - "Extra Girl"(1966) Danbury, CT 23 The Spectrums - "I'll Never Fear"(1966) Newark, NJ 24 Gary & The Knight Lites - "I Don't Need Your Help"(1966) Cicero, IL 25 The Yo Yo's - "Leaning On You" (196?) Memphis, TN Download 'Rascalized !' ---------> HERE!!
