Sixties Garage Punk

Pebbles Vol. 12

AIP 10002 USA 1983

Vintage review:

"Just when you thought "Pebbles" had thrown in the towel, these two platters leap into the fray! As usual there's plenty of fab sounds to be found here. A variety of styles are represented, in the great "Pebbles" tradition: folk-rock, pop-punk, psych, and just plain wyld stuff.

Volume 12 is no lame duck though, with great pop-punk from the likes of Peter & The Rabbits, the Outcasts, and others. Also dig the pure garage ravings of the Nomads, the Clockwork Orange, and the Breakers with their sneering folk-punk classick "Don't Send Me No Flowers (I Ain't Dead Yet)."

Both volumes are essential purchases."

- Mike Stax (Originally published in Ugly Things #3, 1984)

The Llama llaments the poor quality of this volume, just as he did from volume 10 and spiraling down onwards.

He gives a couple of disbelieving thumbs up (I guess Clock Work Orange and Vejtables were ok in his book) but shakes his head in dismay at the rest of the somewhat uninspiring platter.

If you compare Pebbles Vol. 12 with the other contemporary contesters - it is a lame duck.

Remember, in 1983 there was a lot of cool stuff coming out. Pebbles seemed swooshed by, like an old boxing champion, being toured around, an aging titan in for the quick buck.

So where does it stand today, 34 years later?

I find it wildly confusing and mildly frustrating. But I also find it bold in its oblivious mix of songs.

Looka here:

First we get - rushing out the gates - the ultra crude and wild party-famined Nomads riding the furious bull that is From Zero Down. Team Teenage Shutdown wisely rescued this scraggly straggler and put it in much better company on TS wildest volume: The World Ain't Round (where it is easily one of the best).

Then we get Teddy Boys chugging away on a slightly lysergic version of Diddley's Mona. A real cool version.

Then we get the first hick-up. The frowning folkpop-scraper Keep The Music Playing recorded in makeshift wall-of-sound. It sounds a bit like shit. Human shit.

Breakers don't exactly illuminate the set with an equally moody piece; Don't Send Me No Flowers (I Ain't Dead Yet). I was never a big champion for this revered track, but it has grown on me through the years. But when I first heard it, in shitty Pebbles-sound, it did nothing for the set of songs that is Pebbles vol. 12. It was just another monkey-wrench in the music machine.

But it was when the lush folkpop sounds of Peter & the Rabits entered that I knew I was fucked by a Pebbles volume again.

Pawnee Drive drives the point through and when I get to Clock Work Orange I'm in no mood to listen to music anymore. And to be fair, as cool as Clock Work Orange is - its powerful double-sided groovy acidic killer is not strong enough to save this album from mediocrity.

We do get Richard & the Young Lions glorified bubblegum blue-eyed soul. Never did much to me.

And as the world fade while you slip into a comatose state of boredom you hear some more poppish folkbeat crap.

So why don't I hate the living crap out of this silly beast of a garage comp?

First - it has so much character. It sounds like a Pebbles - and a lame-duck volume of Pebbles at that - and the bad songs are actually all pretty camp and fun.

Tracks like Pawnee Drive's Ride, Something's Gone by The Jam (not that Jam) and the high-energy pop-soul of Canada's Free Thinkers sounds even more lame now than ever.

And Keep The Music Playing by Coming Times is so terribly bland you don't know what to do.

But they all help to create the stinky but sweet ambience that is Pebbles vol. 12. What, would you want to go back in time and switch the tracks with presumed "killers"? Urgh, ok..

But I like this piss-stained paisley-shirt lame-duck set fine as it is.

It is beyond repair. You can't fix it. You can't pour more "cool" in it because it was never trying to be "cool". For the most part it is just as kitschy and camp and silly as a lot of the other crap that litters some other early volumes of Pebbles.

So, think of it like this: what you are about to hear is a compilation of poppy folkbeat aimed at the charts for mindless teeny-boppers.

Also, you get some high class acid punkers interspersed by lame ducks through the set of folky pop.

But first - the wildest fuckin punker there ever was: FROM ZERO DOWN by the mighty mighty Nomads!

http://www25.zippyshare.com/v/HWZufC0n/file.html

Hey there kids!

For this comp I had a mission. And that mission was to round up all the best tracks from Fuzz Flaykes & Shakes by Tony the Tiger, and the good 'uns from Sixties Rebellion.
Now - Sixties Rebellion had already been looted, pillaged and ransacked when they made the Teenage Shutdown series. So I only found two or so tracks I wanted to use.
I found more on Fuzz Flaykes & Shakes.

The rest is some shit that just came in my path. I don't always remember where or when I stumble across the tracks that ends up on these comps.

Almost all songs here rated a 5 or 6 on the TeenBeat Mayhem 10-point scale, most of them fairly judged. Some not.

Oh, and this is vol. 35. Before The Dawn is vol. 36. But I posted Before The Dawn before this which was a mistake. Ah, the sweet confusion of European garage comps.

ATTIC SOUNDS - SHADOWS

"..yesterdays kiss is still warm.."

Heavy drums and an undulating bass kicks off the set.
High-end garage which seems to be aiming at the billboard.

At the end of January 2017 it is priced at $274.98 which is a little too steep, I think. But what do I know, I'm way too poor to afford to collect these gems.
TeenBeat Mayhem tells us it is a "gtr-tamborine jangle-tuff voc" and hands it a 5 rating. Pretty accurate to me, though I might give a 6 instead. Mike released a handful more 45's, but nothing that I've heard.

(Silver Spring, MD) Jul '66

Mike 4007

JOURNEY MEN - SHE'S SORRY

"..and though she could not find the word you know - she's sorry.."

"The Journey men were a five member band of Brunswick high school students. The band included Jim Kerns on lead guitar and vocals, Howard Cook on organ and vocals, Dale Seeds on bass and vocals, Ron MacMillan on guitar and vocals, and Bob Levandowski on drums. The band decided to take a trip down to Florida and while there, recorded an excellent teen garage 45 for the Tampa based Boss label."

The Journey Men shared label (Boss) with the Berkley Five that recorded the fantastic You're Gonna Cry and also the ultra-awesome combo the Rovin' Flames that released 4 winning 45, the second being on Boss. (Check out the Flames stunning back-catalog on this playlist). This was the Journey Men's sole 45, on the flip you'll find the mersey-esque ballad Short And Sweet.

(Brunswick, OH) '67

Boss 008

APOLLOES - LAUGH IN MY FACE

"..we used to walk hand in hand.."

Awesome downer mid-tempo ballad. Some sweet organ och smooth soothing strumming on the guitar. The flip is the slow yawnish stomp of Hey.

Apolloes released two more 45s as Apolloes and two as the Swingin' Apolloes. The last of the Apolloes and the first Swingin' Apolloes 45s was the same 2 songs (may have been re-recorded) - the Blue-Cheer-meats-Beach-Boys version (not as cool as it sounds) Summertime Blues and Slow Down which features some "wigged out" and "groovy" and "far out" backwards guitar wizardry.
The last 45 is the "dreamy psych gem" Chained & Bound. Actually kinda cool popsyke.

Anyhoo, this is rated 7 in TeenBeat Mayhem. I'd give it a 6. But it is a very strong 6.

(Middle Georgia Collage, Cocharane, GA) Nov '65

Apolloe (5813)

FIRST CROW TO THE MOON - WE WALK THE RAIN

"..I don't care what you've done, I don't care where you've been.."

This fucker is easily the strongest track on this set. To me the First Crow To The Moon is right up there with Human Expression and Dovers. Hm, maybe not. But almost. Here they atleast sound like a mix of them.

Uhm no they really really really sound like the Zombies.

The lyrics are pretty powerful stuff. Just check out these lines: "I don't care who you are, I don't care what you've seen, no matter what they say they'll never ever come between (we walk the rain) our love.."
Get it? Our protagonist is hangin' out with a girl that has a real bad reputation but he don't give a fuck what she's been, or not been, up to. "Their lies will never penetrate the kind of love I'm in". That's some pretty heady teenage poetry right there!

There's a story about the origins of the zany name First Crow To The Moon and the mostly accepted is that it was a misprint on their (sole) 45 and it should say "Crew" and not "Crow".
But I've also heard that they actually was named "First Crow"..
Whatever the truth, both a fuckin' stupid names.

If you're new to the scene and haven't heard their (as I said, sole) 45 then check 'em out: the great classic Spend You Life With Me and the punkadelic fast-paced Sun Lights Up The Shadows Of Your Mind.

We Walk The Rain sounds a little wonky due to some 90s dodgy mixing (a bit too clinic and in atrocious stereom, it is mixed from the master tapes I 'spose) but that can't take away any of the power from this potent moody punker.

Read a little more here.

(Brooklyn, NY) '67

source unknown

OTHER FOUR - SEARCHING FOR MY LOVE

"..mysteries in my souls and worries on my mind.."

A short summary

The Other Four were a San Diego garage band that released three singles in 1965 and 1966, the last of them appearing on the Decca label. Most of the group had played in the Man-Dells who put out an unimpressive single in the winter of 1964/1965. The Other Four's 45s were better but still rather unexceptional efforts that were pretty typical of what countless other bands in the United States were doing at the time. The singles varied between standard pop/rock garage; a more slickly produced harmony pop/rocker ("These Are the Words"); a tune with a folk-rockish riff that sounded a bit like the Monkees at their hardest-rocking ("Once and for All Girl"); a pointless cover of Kenny Dino's 1961 hit "Your Ma Said You Cried in Your Sleep Last Night"; and a daintily arranged tune ("How Do You Tell a Girl") that was a little reminiscent of the mid-'60s Beach Boys' productions, though of course not remotely in the same league. Members Rick Randle and Norman Lombardo later played together (and were the songwriters for) the Brain Police, a San Diego psychedelic group that recorded an obscure demo album in 1968.

Richie Underberger

Richie is right on the money. The other two songs by the band that are ok are Why? and Once And For All Girl, but I do find the Yardbird-sy Searching For My Love sweet as hell.
Real nice moody garage pop.

Rated 5 in TBM and now also by me.

(San Diego, CA) Dec '65

Musette 6517

CHECKMATES - HEY GIRL

"..I've been in love before and I just can't go through it anymore.."

Checkmates from Texas released 2 45s on the Ruff label, a cool label that also put out the fuzz-powered uptempo Please Come Back by Yall's and the highly original rhumbadelic punk of That's The Way My Love Is by the Trolls not to mention sunny psychedelic swinger Walking In The Queens Garden by the US version of Them.

Back to Checkmates!

Hey Girl is an irresistible slice of bouncing jangling americanized merseypop.
Fantastic sound on this great little gem!

Rated 4 in TBM but I'd give it atleast a 5.

(Amarillo, TX) Mar '65

Ruff 1003

MYSTERIONS - IS IT A LIE

"..day and night I sit at home and I cry.."

More sounding-slightly-pedestrian-but-is-really-GODHEAD mersey-ish pop! It is sooo hard to tire of this adorable little ditty. Great drums, great guitars, supercool bass, cool laid-back vocals.

TBM gives it a 6, I'd kick it up a notch to...hmmm..7.

And what about the Jox label? Yeah, you can find some more cool collectable tracks there.

The Kings' looney rocker It's The LCB (of Scum Of The Earth fame)
Tommy Jett's masterful acid punk winner Groovy Little Pill
Mind's Eye claustrophobic paranoia of Help, I'm Lost
and Brown Paper Bag's moody Something Tells Me, to mention a few..

(San Antonio, TX) Jun '65

Jox 040

NOBLEMEN - SHE STILL THINKS THAT I LOVE HER

"..she still thinks that I care.."

Solid mersey-esque with excellent playing all through. And an anguished scream at 1:10.

The lyrics are of the, what shall I say, spartan kind. I've heard wordier pieces by the Ramones.

Also, there's this crazy reverb on it. It's like the singer is sitting in a slightly different dimension.
That reverb could be something that was laying around in the studio since Noblemen's labelmates the Incrowd also got some crazy reverb on their chaotic Set Me Free.

(McCordsville, IN) Nov '65

Prism 1930

PALACE GUARDS - SORRY

"..never knew how much I cared, until I realized that she wasn't there.."

U-Doe was a small New Orleans label but it managed to release some killer 45s. Howzabout Glory Rhodes raving muy primitivo Stay Out Of My Way (would fit right in on the mighty mighty Teenage Shutdown series) and the Better Half-Dozen 2 sided killer; I'm Gonna Leave You and I Could Have Loved Her.

Sorry is a great uptempo moody jangler. Palace Guards released a couple of high quality 45s. You can find the moody flip Better Things To Do on Love Comes Love Goes and the grumpy fuzz-punker No Comin' Back (White Cliff) on Mad Mad Mad.

Rated 7 in TBM - very fair...

(Metarie, LA) Jun '66

U-Doe 104

AMOEBA - LOST LOVE

"..where can she be.."

...but the rating of this in TBM is crazy - a 5? No, this is totally a 6, 7 even!
This was Amoeba's sole 45, and Lost Love is their only recorded original song. The flip is a run-through of Stones version of Time Is On My Side.
Lost Love is very spooky number and you get the feeling of creeping around in damp and dark catacombs, looking for undead love.

(-, TX) Aug '65

Orfeon 2001

PRIMATES - SHE

"..I tried to make her happy, make her smile.."

Primates was another band that put out two fantastic 45s, both on Marko. One of them is the flip side to this - the stone-cold classic Knock On My Door. In '66 they released Don't Press Your Luck which turned out to be their last.

She is a stunning piece of teenage drama.

(Astoria, NY) Sep '65

Marko 923

BITTER SWEETS - SHE TREATS ME BAD

"..when she left me - I died that day.."

Heavy on the atmosphere and packed with hurt young feelings. Bitter Sweets would record two more 45s and then transform into 20th Century Zoo who released 4 more singles, one being the storming stomper You Don't Remember.

(Scottsdale, AZ) Jul '66

Hype 1001

HI-NOTES - WITHOUT YOU DARLING

"..how much do I love you I don't know why, but without you darling I would die.."

Heartfelt vocals, swirling organ, driving drums. Pretty bullet-proof ballad. Buy it now for a scandalous $350. On the flip you'll find the awkward Goodbye Baby.

Rated 6 in TBM and by me as well. Or maybe a 7..

(Silver Spring, MD) Nov '65
Stroidon 174

SUNRISERS - I SAW HER YESTERDAY

"..and I knew that my love had to die.."

Ominous mip-tempo downer. Awful flip. They later changed their name to What Four (Rollem) and recorded a very unimpressive single and then sunk into oblivion.

TBM and me agree rating this with 6 out of 10

(Litte Neck-Whitestone, NY) Oct '66

Patty 101

EYE ZOOMS - SHE'S GONE

"..I'll get down on my knees and pray, but she's gone now..oh no.."

This tune is so darn sweet, man.. fantastic piano in the background lends a slightly haunted-house feel, and the exquisite guitar solo flies like a lonely strand in the wind. The singer seems to be in a never-ending-alice-in-wonderland-slow-fall kind of a state of mind.
Very druggy, really. I've said it before and I'll say it again. A lot of these old pre-psychedelic ballads can possess some very potent qualities.

TBM rates it a 5 but to me this is at least a seven. One of the most impressive tracks on this set.

(Toledo, OH) Oct '65

Atila 213

MISSING LINKS - I CRIED GOODBYE

"..you had your arms around someone new. Oh I cried..yes cried goodbye.."

Absolutely incredible one-of-a-kind moody garage. This is rated 5 too - way too low! Just as Eye Zoom's She's Gone it has something special about it, something that makes it transcends your usual moody garage ballad. Just check the spoken words on the outro.

The flip is a very loony version of Heartbreak Hill.

(Los Angeles, CA) Jul '65

Rosco 418

http://www5.zippyshare.com/v/InFzwUSw/file.html

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