The Purple Hearts: Benzedrine Beat! (AUS, 1964/70)

Originally formed in Brisbane in 1963, where they established a strong cult following with their wild brand of uncompromising heavy rock and R'n'B. An example, Here 'Tis can also be found on the Devil's Children CD.
They relocated to Melbourne in 1966 and when Redmond left to open a disco Tony Cahill was recruited as his replacement.
Lobby Loyde (aka Barry Lyde) was in their band prior to joining The Wild Cherries. Bob Dames went on to Black Cat Circle and then with Mick Hadley joined Coloured Balls. Tony Cahill later went on to The Easybeats.

ALBUM REVIEW

All ten songs the Purple Hearts released during their brief lifetime (on 1965-67 singles) are on this meticulously thorough reissue. It also adds four songs they recorded on acetates in early 1965 prior to their recording deal, as well as seven tracks by the Coloured Balls, the band in which singer/harmonica player Mick Hadley and bassist Bob Dames played in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The Purple Hearts tracks are the ones the collectors who seek this CD out will be most interested in, as they're solid punky R&B, very much in the mold of the British bands springing up in the wake of the Rolling Stones circa 1964-65. The cuts are tough and hard-boiled, and will no doubt recall similar, though superior, British acts such as the Pretty Things and the Graham Bond Organization. What makes the Purple Hearts inferior to such acts is that they recorded absolutely no original material, devoting most of their studio performances to covers of songs by the likes of Bond, Paul Butterfield, Bo Diddley and Muddy Waters. They do, however, pull off a superbly menacing R&B/punk makeover of the spiritual "Early in the Morning," with searing fuzz guitar and voodoo-ish ensemble chanting. Too, their sole 45 to feature cover tunes that weren't well known ("Of Hopes and Dreams and Tombstones"/"I'm Gonna Try") is pretty respectable, though Mick Hadley's vocals aren't quite up to the level of belters like the Pretty Things' Phil May. The Coloured Balls tracks (in quite variable sound quality), which are much more in a hard rock/blues-rock/psychedelic/progressive rock vein, are apparently taken from "rehearsals, gigs and local TV appearances" -- the liner notes aren't wholly clear on this point. These songs aren't nearly as interesting as the Purple Hearts' material, and are likewise all covers, this time around of songs by Jethro Tull, Steve Miller, and Fleetwood Mac, as well as blues tunes by Howlin' Wolf and Willie Dixon. The 36-page booklet is exemplary, with liner notes featuring vintage photos and first-hand quotes from original band members, properly honoring the Purple Hearts' status as one of the more notable Australian rock acts of the 1960s.

PURPLE HEARTS
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