Priced outta the game wishlist!

Whilst idly rummaging on discogs for bargains the other day, I noted with interest that one of my favourite tunes from the brilliant "Teenage Shutdown, Vol. 9: Teen Jangler Blowout!" comp. - The Jackson Investment Co.'s rollicking "Not This Time" - had sold for 1,200 GBP in February:

Prices for the most sought-after garage rock 45s seem to be going the way of Northern Soul 45s with prices spiraling upwards at a wild rate in recent years. That got me wondering about what Not Unloved's money-no-object 60s garage/pop/psych/freakbeat 7" wishlist would look like and how much each record would cost by discogs past sales/current listings. After way too much deliberation the other day, this was my list*:

1. The Selfkick "Gosh, I'm Your Woman and Not Your Wife" (640.00 GBP) The wildest Dutch single of the 1960s?
2. The Whatt Four "Our Love Should Last Forever" (391.26 GBP) The best US Yardbirds-style rave-up to blast Not Unloved's ears!
3. Tracy Rogers "Baby" (150.00 GBP) The Toughest 60s Brit-girl 45 to hit these ears.
4. The Harbinger Complex "Sometimes I Wonder" (320.00 GBP) One of the coolest singles ever. The vocal is just perfect for us folks who came of age during the Sarah Records heyday!
5. Tol Puddle Martyrs "Time Will Come" (257.72 GBP) The intro reminds me a little of "Rock Lobster" by The B-52s. Brilliantly restrained.
6. The Gentlemen "It's A Cryin' Shame" (1200.00 GBP) The quintessential guitar cruncher with shredded vocals. Everyone knows this!
7. The Foggy Notions "Need A Little Lovin'" (799.99 GBP) Effortlessly cool vocals and some of the most memorable guitar bits...ever.
8. The Zoo "Sometimes" (never sold on discogs) The weepiest moody teen garage sounds - adorable.
9. Him and The Others "She's Got Eyes That Tell Lies" (429.53 GBP) One of the heaviest 60s UK cuts - a wall-shaker but also singalong-able.
10. Flash and The Memphis Casuals "Uptight Tonight" (never sold on discogs) Sounds like The Rolling Stones hopped-up on adrenaline cruising for a bar brawl.

It could've been worse, I guess! I'm sure that if Not Unloved were a DJ with an eye on getting feet moving on a dancefloor this list would have been very different.

* Of course, on another day this list would have The Dovers, The Fly-bi-nites, The Shades of Blue, The Stoics etc etc on it.

N.B. These listings haven't been included (13K for The Fly-bi-nites? 8K+ for The Gentlemen etc.)

Wyld Gooms "Doesn't Matter To Me"

It may only be March but there's a fair chance that LA's Wyld Gooms have already produced thee garage b-side of 2022 in "Doesn't Matter To Me" (Outro Records):

The various Gooms have done time in a bunch of notable Not Unloved-endorsed groups (including but not limited to The Premonitions, The Slop, The Violet Mindfield, The Night Times) so it's no surprise that they know their way around a coulda-bin-comped-on-Pebbles tune and can deliver it with enough verve to elevate it well above the pack. The ole roar then guitar solo one-two about a minute and 45 seconds in, in particular, is a real adrenaline rush. It should be noted that the a-side is a blast, too; 2 minutes and 17 seconds of prime organ-addled scuzz to set yr bowl cut shakin'.

The Torquays 'Harmonica Man (From London Town)'

The smallest things can elevate a record. In the case of The Torquays' 'Harmonica Man (From London Town)', for me, it's the line "He's a lovely lad" sung in a raspy American accent and the glorious jangling guitar that blooms 12 seconds in. I'll take that one moment over the entire careers of most groups. Details are important, I guess.

(The) Esquires "Settle Down"

(The) Esquires seems to have been a pretty popular band name back in the 1960s. From what I've heard online, all of the groups who operated under that name were worthy of a spin or two at least but the only one whose record I actually ponied up hard cash for (ok, Paypalled Craig Moerer for) is the Springfield, Missouri incarnation:

'Settle Down' has surely set many a Chelsea boot tapping over the years.  Possibly because Glasgow has just had it's Double Sight psych weekender at the end of a week or so of playing host to a bunch of the groups who converged on Liverpool for its annual International Festival of Psychedelia, I've been spinning it loads, each time anticipating rabidly the surprisingly trippy sequence at around a minute in.  Bonus Not Unloved points for the untypically romantic lyrics, too.

You can read about The Esquires over at the always reliable Garage Hangover.

The New Era "We Ain't Got Time"

"A hey, hey, hey"
tap
tap
tap
tap
perfect, perfect emotive jangle

The above sequence, give or take a few taps, occurs about 1 minute and 40 seconds into The New Era's unsurpassable (sounds rash but I mean it!) "We Ain't Got Time".  It's one of those moments that catches the ear and stops the heart for an instant with its inexplicable brilliance.

The final 30 seconds convert aching into beauty in the most intense, moving way, too.  Based on the raft of Michigan garage compilations released over the years, the state was awash with the most incredible groups in the 1960s.  I've long held that even in that fertile scene The Sheffields' 45s for the almost mythical Fenton Records and select other local labels were nigh on untouchable so it was no surprise to learn that various Sheffields were responsible for "We Ain't Got Time".  Tonight, I'll lie awake in bed imagining the thrill of casually happening on a dusty copy in a second hand store in some unlikely town for an affordable price.  Sure it won't happen now that shop owners can easily check what collectors are willing to pay for such stupendous records nowadays but I can dream, can't I?  I'll also clutch the sole Fenton release I own - the aforementioned Sheffields' "Fool Minus A Heart" (b/w a supreme take on Dylan's "Blowin' In The Wind") - just a little closer to my heart for its having been brought into being by the geniuses responsible for "We Ain't Got Time".  Increasingly, when I think of 60s pop, there's The Hollies' "Bus Stop" and there's "We Ain't Got Time" and then there's the rest.

The Third Booth "I Need Love"

"I Need Love" - the Independence reissue from '68, not, alas, the Thunder original from '67 - was bought largely on the strength of the vocal;.  It's one of the coolest vocals I've heard on a garage record so far; nearly as cool as that on The Harbinger Complex's untouchable "Sometimes I Wonder".  'Cool' usually feels like a cop-out adjective but on this occasion it seems like the most appropriate one.  The word 'need' may appear in the song's title but this fellow sure doesn't come across as desperate; I guess because he doesn't over-sing and when he does step things up,  it ends with a jaunty little 'hey hey'.  Certainly not the actions of a needy chap!  No, most of the hormonal need is in the music.  Check the intro or the last 20 seconds - it's a teenage boy's heartbeat when the object of his lust walks past wearing a tight sweater in musical form.  Brilliant record!  Of course, I prefer to picture The Third Booth as the dapper,  neat haired,  Byrds-like kids from the first picture in the clip above and not as the bearded longhairs of the second.  Again, it's all about coolness.

The Paragons "Abba"

In the autumn Monorail Music announced via Twitter (@Monorail_Music) that they'd added a bunch of garage cds to their second hand racks. On went my coat and I was there within 25 minutes.  (I'm convinced the staff were working me by remote control!)  I dithered and hummed and hawed about which ones to buy so (recklessly! profligately!) bought all the ones I didn't already have; 13 discs in total.  It's taken a while to fully digest such a bounteous haul but with uncommon certainty I can now say that this song from "Teenage Shutdown: Nobody To Love" was the best of the lot:

With a killer intro and a joyful, almost gospel refrain of "I saw Abba late last night!" it's catchy to the point of madness. There's some wise advice amongst its lyrics, too: 

She said git your hair cut boy

Come on and get it outta your eyes

Stop your drinking and smoking boys

And tellin' all of them lies

The little Bobby Gillespie fade in the singer's voice on 'eyes' is a magical detail. Even the squarest of the squares must've punched the air with delight when they heard "Abba" at the college dance!  It sounded great across the PA in Heavenly* the other night but would've totally killed at 15 times the volume.

Read more about The Paragons on Beyond The Beat Generation.

As expected, original 45s are stupidly rare and hence command quite a price.


* - Apologies to anyone unfortunate enough to hear me wailing it and, er, to anyone who witnessed my air punching. Like I said, even the squarest of the squares....

Not that Caravelles!

Even by 60s garage standards the intro to The Caravelles' "Lovin' Just My Style" delivers quite a wallop to the ears.  It must've driven the teens of Phoenix, Arizona out of their minds whenever it came on the radio and it's just as well the group built some breathers into it or they would've expired after its 3 minutes and 17 seconds!  With lines like "Give me your mitts girl and we'll go tripping together" you know The Caravelles were not the kind of boys to take back home to yr folks (unlike their namesakes!).  An impression that is only enhanced by the, ahem, off-colour subject matter of the b-side!  "Lovin'..." featured on Pebbles, Volume 8 and was reissued on 7" about a decade ago by Dionysus.  I just snagged a copy of the reissue so the residents of Glasgow might want to take a trip doon the watter or at the very least wear  industrial strength ear-defenders for the next few days...