“25 1960’s-era Garage Rock Nuggets” by John M. Borack

The 1960’s saw the flowering of many different musical genres (acid rock, bubblegum and folk rock, to name just a few), but none of them was as pure, as immediate or as amateurishly feverish as garage rock. Performed more often than not by snot-nosed suburban youth with an axe---and some cheap guitars---to grind, garage music still has legions of fervent devotees (and some practitioners) today, 45 years after its heyday. It’s also quite easy to draw a not-so-crooked line from garage rock to power pop (plenty of the titles listed below certainly qualify as pop toons), which is why we’ve included this list here.

The following list is by no means meant to be a definitive garage rock “best-of”; I’ll leave compiling that nearly-impossible-to-choose manifesto to some hardier soul than myself. These 25 vintage tracks are simply representative choices from one fan’s perspective, in no particular order.

1. “Louie, Louie” – The Kingsmen -- Perhaps the grand-pappy of ‘em all, 1963’s “Louie, Louie” is garage music before there really was such an animal. Beyond crude sounding, it’s also intensely lo-fi and sloppy, with almost ridiculously unintelligible lyrics. All of which, of course, makes it perfect.

2. “Rollercoaster” – The Ides of March -- Best known for the tepid Blood, Sweat and Tears rip-off “Vehicle” in 1970, Chicago’s Ides of March, in a previous incarnation, was a nifty garage-rockin’ aggregation signed to Parrot Records. The poppy “Rollercoaster” is their zenith, but “I’ll Keep Searching” and “You Wouldn’t Listen” finish in place and show, respectively. Leader Jim Peterik went on to mastermind---if you can call it that---Survivor.

3. “Dirty Water” – The Standells After that unforgettable guitar riff kicks in, lead vocalist Dick Dodd bawls “I’m gonna tell you a story,” and for the next two minutes or so, you damn well better listen up. With a hard-to-shake melody and lyrics about lovers, muggers and thieves (who are all “cool people,” don’tcha know), Dodd made Boston sound so inviting that millions of American teens were probably ready to head east and jump in the Charles River, dirty or not.

4. “Lies” – The Knickerbockers -- Long before the Rutles, the Spongetones or Utopia’s Deface the Music, there was this slice of ersatz Beatlemania, released in 1965. A touch less polished than the Fabs’ then-current output, this probably fooled more than a few record buyers anyhow. 45 years on, it stands proudly as a classic on its own.

5. “Outside Chance” – The Turtles ---- Prior to their hit-making days, the Turtles released this somewhat raw, Warren Zevon-penned number as a single. Powered by Johnny Barbata’s insistent drums and a decidedly defiant set of lyrics (“You can try to please me/but it won’t be easy/stone walls surround me/I’m surprised that you even found me”), it remains one of the best things in the Turtles canon.

6. “It’s Cold Outside” – The Choir -- Featuring Raspberries-to-be Wally Bryson, Dave Smalley and Jim Bonfanti as well as guitarist Dan Klawon (who wrote the tune), Cleveland’s The Choir released this precursor of pop things to come on a small local label in late ’66. Propelled by a catchy-as-flypaper melody and gobs of great backing vocals, it became a minor national hit when Roulette Records issued it in the spring of ’67.

7. “Beaver Patrol” – Wilde Knights -- Both hilarious and amazingly sexist, this obscure track (currently available on AIP Records’ Essential Pebbles – Volume One CD) is the work of a seriously twisted Oregon combo. A guitar and farfisa organ-based raver telling the tale of a guy who cruises drive-ins in his Rolls Royce limo attempting to “hustle chicks” (hence the sensitive title…what, you thought it was about searching for Jerry Mathers?), “Beaver Patrol” is the kind of bad-taste record that they just don’t make any more. The mid-song semi-rap---including the lead singer’s lecherous “hee hee”---is worth the price of admission by itself.

8. “So What!!” – Lyrics -- If there is any song on this list that personifies the go-to-hell attitude that many garage rockers adopted in the '60’s, well, here ‘tis. Hailing from San Diego, the Lyrics spends a couple of minutes admonishing some uppity female about all the material things she’s acquired, thanks to mommy and daddy (including a “useless, senseless bomb shelter” and an electric typewriter), with the song’s title being their reaction to all the finery. It’s all set to a fiery, bluesy musical backdrop with lead vocalist Chris Gaylord also adding some nasty harp to the mix. Also available on the Essential Pebbles – Volume One disc, as well as on Rhino Records’ Nuggets boxed set.

9. “I, I, I Want Your Lovin’” – The Sons of Fred -- This one came outta England as a single in late ’65, and it includes a super-catchy chorus and some ringing guitar, along with a quintessentially British lead vocal. Throw in some George Harrison-by-way-of-Carl Perkins lead guitar, and you got yerself a real charmer. You can find this one on the English Freakbeat, Volume Three CD.

10. “There You Go” - Thee -- From the same comp as the Sons of Fred track comes this sterling piece of UK beat music from 1965, with a death-defying guitar freakout at the end of the solo (this was 1965, remember) and close harmonies throughout. Raw energy powers the track through its one minute and forty one seconds of melodiousness, with the group (four teens who were apparently discovered and produced by Andrew Loog Oldham’s chauffeur!) providing one of the best lost garage-pop tracks of the era.

11. “Psychotic Reaction” – Count Five -- A strange brew of proto-punk, psychedelia, Yardbirdsy blues and jangly pop help to fuel one of the songs that has come to define the whole garage movement.

12. “I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)” – The Electric Prunes -- See above, and throw in a slightly experimental bent (witness the opening guitar blizzard). Sounds like they had too much of something else that night…

13. “Beg, Borrow and Steal” – The Rare Breed The ever-popular “Louie, Louie” riff makes its triumphant return here, in one of bubblegum kings Kasenetz and Katz’s first productions, released on the Attack label in mid-’66.

14. “Sunshine Games” – The Music Explosion -- Led by the soulful shout of Jamie Lyons, the Music Explosion cut a number of sides in the mid to late ‘60’s, the most successful being the classic “Little Bit O’ Soul.” Even though “Sunshine Games” reached only the middle region of the charts, it’s a big-time winner as well, with smash-bang drumming and Lyons’ punky wail standing out.

15. “96 Tears” – Question Mark and the Mysterians -- Another “can’t leave this baby off the list” selection, “96 Tears” and its hypnotically pulverizing organ riff will live on long after the current musical flavors of the month have gone stale and Michael Bolton has murdered his last cover tune.

16. “Shakin’ All Over” – The Guess Who Before they ruled AM pop radio in the late ‘60s, the Guess Who were a kick-butt rock and roll band; witness this powerful version of the Johnny Kidd and the Pirates tune. Sounding like it was recorded in the nether regions of some cave, the band’s energy and raw passion shines through nevertheless.

17. “Evol Not Love” – The Five Americans -- A wonderful, psych-dipped garage-popster from the guys who delivered “Western Union.”

18. “Baby Come Back” – The Equals -- The Equals may be best remembered today as the band that gave the world Eddy “Electric Avenue” Grant, but their Grant-sung “Baby Come Back” is a foot-stompin’ good time of the highest order.

19. “Can’t Seem to Make You Mine” – The Seeds -- The late Sky Saxon never equaled the whacked-out passion that he achieved on this, the Seeds’ first single. Little piano and guitar parts fly in and out, and Saxon emotes---okay, grunts, sighs and squeals---like a man possessed.

20. “Little Girl” – Syndicate of Sound -- Team up a guitar riff that garage rock expert Mike Stax astutely calls “part Searchers and part ‘Hey Joe’” with a rather savage lyric where lead singer Don Baskin basically tells his little girl to take a flying leap, and you’ve got the makings of something very cool indeed. “Little Girl” also includes one of rock’s best-ever recorded laughs towards the close, which serves as an aural middle finger to said little girl.

21. “Gloria” – Them How many fledgling garage bands covered this Van Morrison classic in the ‘60’s? Never mind---can’t count that high. Just sing along….”G-L-O-R-I-A.”

22. “Wild Thing” – The Troggs -- Reg Presley and his cohorts took a simple riff, growled and leered a bit, threw in an ocarina solo and presto!---instant classic.

23. “Surfin’ Bird” – The Trashmen -- Totally, wonderfully and unequivocally nutso, “Surfin’ Bird” is practically a nervous breakdown set to music (and it took four people to write it, by the way). Sounding very little like any sort of surf music that had come before---Jan and Dean was never like this, baby---the Trashmen wailed, babbled and basically wigged out for two minutes while informing Mr. and Mrs. America that “the bird is the word.” Essential.

24. “Stop! - Get A Ticket” – The Clefs of Lavender Hill -- Led by the brother and sister team of Travis and Coventry Fairchild, the Miami-based Clefs of Lavender Hill released this perky little garage-pop gem---highlighted by a booming bass drum in the chorus---in 1966. Inspired by a sign on a toll booth that the Fairchild’s had seen after their car broke down, “Stop! – Get A Ticket” was the Clefs’ lone chart entry, topping out at number 80.

25. “One By One” – The Mockingbirds -- Another fine bit of UK garage, the Mockingbirds hailed from Manchester, and included future 10cc members Graham Gouldman and Kevin Godley. 1966’s “One By One” was their final single, and lifted the main riff from Dee Clark’s “Raindrops” to use as the backdrop of a story dealing with how society treads on dreamers and artists. Sniff…

The Rock And Roll Tribe is proud to welcome respected music journalist and book author, John M. Borack as contributor the RRT experience. You
can check out his blog Power Pop Plus at: http://www.goldminemag.com/category/blogs/power-pop-plus