The Basement Wall: Incredible Sound (US, 1963/69)

This fairly atypical garage punk band hailed from Baton Rouge, the State Capital and petrochemical industry centre in Louisiana. Perhaps they played in Texas a lot because they certainly seem to have been connected with the Lone Star State. Texas Punk, Vol. 8 (LP) and Acid Visions - Complete Collection, Vol. 3 (3-CD) captures a live recording of the band at the Act Ill in 1967. It's pretty raw stuff as they work their way through versions of Louie Louie, We Ain't Got Nothing Yet, Hungry, Double Shot Of My Baby's Love, Like A Rolling Stone and The Basement Exit.Never Existed, their stab at immortality, can be heard on Relics, Vol. 1 (LP), Relics Vol's 1 & 2 (CD) and Boulders, Vol. 10 (LP). The Cicadelic 60's, Vol. 4 (LP) also contains an alternate take of the song. Ronnie Weiss (Mouse And The Traps) was on hand in the studio to wield lead guitar on this master-piece.George Ratzlaff went on to form Pot Liquor, who recorded three albums of respectable blues-rock for Janus between 1970-73.
The retrospective on Cicadelic/Collectables may be a reissue of their original album on Senate, if indeed it was ever officially released. Many collectors are very dubious of its existence. Also of interest is Vol. 2/There Goes The Neighbourhood (COL-CD-0541), which contains 18 tracks, mainly covers of classic mid-sixties tunes.

Baton Rouge, LA-based garage band the Basement Wall were formed in 1963 by singer/bassist Terry Bourdier, guitarist Richard Lipscomb, and drummer Barrie Edgar. Drawing inspiration from the British Invasion, the group started its career playing Beatles and Rolling Stones covers. With the subsequent addition of lead vocalist and guitarist George Ratzlaff, the Basement Wall graduated from local frat gigs to nightclub dates as far away as Los Angeles, along the way becoming the highest-paid cover band in the southern U.S., according to the Louisiana Entertainment Association.
In due time, the Basement Wall also began writing original material, in 1968 signing to the Senate label to issue their lone official single, "Never Existed," a keyboard-driven regional smash similar in spirit to Texas punk, no doubt an outgrowth of the band's myriad Lone Star State gigs. Additional recordings were made but remained unreleased until the Cicadelic label compiled The Incredible Sound of the Basement Wall in 1985.
In 1968 Bourdier got married and retired from the road. Despite adding bassist Duke Bardwell, who later toured with Elvis Presley, the Basement Wall soon dissolved. Ratzlaff later resurfaced in the blues-rock outfit Potliquor, recording three LPs for Janus and scoring a Hot 100 hit with the single "Cheer." In mid-June of 2005, the original Basement Wall lineup reunited for the first time in close to four decades, gigging in honor of the band's induction into the Louisiana Entertainment Hall of Fame.

The Basement Wall hailed from Louisiana and was formed in 1966. The band recorded one album in 1966 for a small regional U.S. label , that despite limited distribution, won over a large following across the nation. The band combined the sounds of the Beatles, Zombies, and Association to form a unique psychedelic pop sound that was becoming popular with the underground music fans. The New Breed hailed from California and despite the surf movement of the area, decided to explore a psychedelic and garage sound. The band recorded a number of singles for various labels before recording an album entitled Want Ad Reader. The album contained and was named after the band's biggest hit, the title track. With no label support for the album it was never released and The New Breed evolved into Glad and recorded one album for ABC records before breaking up in 1969. Band members went on to become part of such notable '70s acts as Redwing ,Poco and the Eagles. This single CD release compiles all of the two band's recorded output including rare singles and the unreleased album.

BASEMENT WALL
single-more info and pics here

Los Bulldogs (URU, 1968)

Cuarteto uruguayo que tocaba bajo el nombre de los Epsilon, garage psych de estos chicos erradicados en Argentina. Mas info aca.

BULLDOGS
...served by anonymous...
new link
here
or
here
...served by Victor...

The Arkay IV: When We Was Younger Than Yesterday (US, 1966/68)

From Erie, Pennsylvania, they issued three 45s and an album (Marion 22595) between 1966-68. Their album has been reissued as The Mod Sounds Of... by Cicadelic (CICLP 1003) 1988, and also on CD by Collectables as Battle Of The Bands. This CD combines The Arkay IV's album and The Outcasts Meet The Outcasts! It contains 26 tracks including previously unreleased demos.


1966-style beat-garage with frat, folkrock and some Brill Building pop moves, more competent and pro-sounding than the genre average. Originals all the way, though their songwriting isn't that impressive. Some good tracks but not really top of the heap. An original copy with cover and insert sold for almost $5000 in 2001. The CD re is shared with the PA Outcasts, whose half actually is superior.
Melodic garage beat. Clean teen dance-o-rama fun with ringing surf-styled leads, fuzz, pounding drums, Hammond organ, and warm vocals.

ARKAY 4

The Best Of T.C. Atlantic (US, 1965/67)

In the mid- and late '60s, T.C. Atlantic was one of the biggest groups in Minneapolis, recording a few singles and a live LP that were little heard outside of the region. They did manage to cut one song, "Faces," that became deservedly revered by '60s collectors as one of the finest garage psychedelic 45s after it was reissued on Pebbles, Vol. 3. Nothing else they did matched that single's magnificent snaky melody and guitars, though their live album (consisting entirely of covers) has a certain je ne sais quoi that distinguishes it as one of the best all-cover '60s garage LPs.

This band recorded in Minneapolis, Minnesota between the mid-sixties and early seventies and, aside from the above-mentioned album, issued several 45s including the one for Sire as Eric Marshall and The Chimes. They also had a cut on the Money Music compilation (Faces). Drummer, Rod Eaton, later played with The Underbeats, an early version of Gypsy.The live album, which was reissued on the French Eva label in 1983, contains some fine drivin' renderings of such sixties classics as Lovelight, Mona, Baby Please Don't Go, Shake, I'm So Glad and Smokestack Lightning, as well as fine covers of more sensitive numbers like Spanish Harlem and I Love You So, Little Girl.

With the possible exception of Love Is Just, their post-'66 output is disappointing given that Faces is rightly regarded as one of THE best examples of psychedelic punk. Be warned that the version of Faces on the Parrot 45 is an orchestrated mellow version and, sad to say, sucks! Some of this band's material was produced and written by Harley Toberman, who also recorded with Blue Sandelwood Soap.

This focuses entirely on T.C. Atlantic's studio output, including nothing from the band's rare 1967 album, Recorded Live at the Bel Rae Ballroom. With the exception of the mesmerizing 1966 single "Faces," one of the finest obscure psychedelic records with its entwining fuzz-raga guitars, T.C. Atlantic didn't produce anything of enduring magnificence, though the group's early singles weren't bad. That handful of 1965-1966 singles -- by far the most interesting selections here -- leads off the CD, and includes "Faces," the Zombies-like "I Love You So Little Girl," the strange Merseybeat-ish pop of "Once Upon a Melody," a surprisingly good cover of Bo Diddley's "Mona" with "I Want Candy"-like drums, and a raucous, brief cover of "Baby Please Don't Go." After that, unfortunately, T.C. Atlantic became a pretty anonymous if competent late-'60s group with far greater hard rock and soul influences, though "I'm So Glad" wasn't bad pseudo-Merseybeat and "(20 Years Ago) In Speedy's Kitchen" typical Baroque psychedelic pop. Not as typical, and not very good, were the novelty single "O-Rang-A-Tang" and a re-recording of "Faces" with strings and wah-wah guitar (issued on a late-'60s single) that was far inferior to the original version. The discographical documentation in the otherwise good liner notes is indefinite but, for whatever reason, a few songs that came out on 45s are missing, like the 1966 single "Shake"/"Spanish Harlem." Also, a few songs that were not released at the time, apparently recorded in the late '60s, are included.

You can find more stuff about this band here in the lovely Faintly Blowing blog,
and in my old friend`s blog mysteryposter.

T.C. ATLANTIC

The Symbols (US, 1968)

This Essex group is best known for their cover of The Ronettes Best Part Of Breaking Up, which was a minor hit. Originally known as Johnny Milton and The Condors, they had a distinctive four-part harmony sound. Their first 45, One Fine Girl, was a Van McCoy number produced by Mickie Most. Their other minor hit, was a cover of The Four Season's Bye Bye Baby. They caused a minor stir in the music press by disowning their album when it came out. Their final effort was an old Ronettes number. Mick Clarke was later in The Rubettes and Chas Wade had been in Rush / Tinkerbell's Fairydust.

THE SYMBOLS

The Uniques: Playtime (US, 1968)

A pop/punk outfit from Louisiana and Texas who enjoyed some national chart success. Ronnie Weiss was later briefly involved with the band after his spell in Rio Grande before reforming Mouse And The Traps. Joe Stampley later became a country star. You Ain't Tuff a track from their first LP, has resurfaced on Mindrocker, Vol. 6 (LP), Nuggets, Vol. 12 (LP) and Nuggets Box (4-CD).
Years before Joe Stampley began his ascent to country stardom, he fronted a Louisiana rock band, the Uniques, who were quite popular in the South, although national attention eluded them. The group were ironically named in light of their failure to establish a truly distinctive style. They were adept at blue-eyed soul, covering William Bell's "You Don't Miss Your Water" and Art Neville's "All These Things," landing a huge regional hit with the latter tune. They were also capable of waxing good, original, Southern-flavored pop-rock, especially on "Not Too Long Ago," another big Southern hit. And, oddly enough, they also did an all-out, raunchy, R&B-hued garage-band stomp, "You Ain't Tuff," which gives the band a somewhat misleading image among garage band collectors.

The Uniques, when it came down to it, were a band content to deliver whatever the audiences wanted. That was an asset as far as finding live work, and most likely a hindrance in carving a significant creative niche for themselves. While they couldn't be considered a significant group, they were capable of crafting some enjoyable, if diffuse, singles. Joe Stampley's vocals were also admirably versatile and expressive, if not as soulful as one of his main regional rivals, John Fred. Most rock listeners will agree that the best Uniques records outshine Stampley's solo work by the length of a football field.

first...I thought, in the acid blog perhaps... but ah, just leave these guys here, some soul mixed w-pop punk rock uhmm, perhaps. What do u think?

THE UNIQUES

The Premiers: Farmer John (US, 1964)

This outfit from San Gabriel, California predate the psychedelic era, but may be of interest to readers in view of the inclusion of Farmer John - their most famous song - on several compilations.Back in 1966, Farmer John appeared on the comp East Side Revue, Vol. 1, and with Get On This Plane on the clear wax double comp East Side Revue (Rampart 3303).Dressed in matching suits they were atypical of their era.Larry Tamblyn (of The Standells) produced at least the last two Faro 45s. John Perez later played for the Sir Douglas Quintet.

Although the parenthetical title of this disc claims it was documented "live" and even gives February 29th (must have been a leap year), 1964, as the date, Farmer John is, in reality, a studio recording with copious -- perhaps too much so -- sound effects added for ambience. The title track was originally by the R&B duo Don & Dewey, although it was the Premiers who were able to make a Top 20 hit in the summer of 1964 -- a rare feat during the burgeoning British Invasion. The garage rock styling and rag-tag vocal call-and-response chorus made it an apt predecessor to tracks such as "Louie Louie." The rest of the album retains the same loose party atmosphere and includes a bevy of timely cover tunes, including "Don't You Just Know It," "Over the Mountains, Across the Sea," and a pair of Johnny Ace tracks: "Anymore" and "Cross My Heart." A majority of the material is suited for dancing, such as the up-tempo and swinging "I Won't Be Back Next Year" and the appropriately titled "Feel Like Dancing," challenging even the fuddiest of duddies to keep their respective toes from tapping. This was the sole Premiers long-player, although several singles were cut in the mid- to late '60s for the indie Faro label prior to the group disbanding. In 2003, Collectors' Choice Music reissued the title in all its teenie bopper-meets-garage rock party glory. More info here. This is a vinyl rip, ouh yeah.

GRANJERO JUAN

The Five Canadians - Writing On The Wall (US, 1966)

Andrew Brown's Brown Paper Sack #1 'zine is to be commended for finally unravelling the myths and presenting the full and fascinating story of this group (amongst many others, so go grab a copy).

In brief, The Hangmen were a quintet from around San Antonio,Texas. Following their self-promoted debut on their own label (which misprinted their name as 'The Hangman'), they came to the attention of a local self-styled promoter 'Colonel' Paul Beckingham (as in Colonel Tom Parker or Major Bill Smith). He imposed a new name on them based on the logic that non-local groups were more exotic and got more air-play - along the same lines I guess as US bands adopting British names, even accents, in the wake of the British Invasion. So, the Five Canadians were born and the band were publicised as invaders from North of the border (Toronto). No wonder there has been so much confusion and debate ever since. At the time the hype only achieved limited success and despite out-of-state forays the band would remain a local phenomenon. Bobby Flores moved on to The Infinite Staircase and later solo 45s. Bruce Svoboda released a psych 45 as Grapple Ethereal Genesis/Snail (Rush 1394) - in 1969. -

Despite the confusion and doubts perpetuated as to their origins, what is not in doubt is the testosterone drive of their music whose climax is Writing On The Wall. It is rightfully regarded as a classic of the garage genre and no collection is complete without it. The article mentions that it impressed others at the time - it was covered by the XL's (from St.Louis). But it is with the Pebbles generation that appreciation has matured and this song has now been covered by the likes of Germany's Broken Jug on their Grand Junction EP, girl-garage queens the Brood, and the Nines.

NEVER ALONE

The Klan - Nobody Will Ever Help You (BEL)

Maxi and I posted more stuff about em
here and here

THE KLAN