One very intriguing piece of vinyl I picked up recently is a very scarce 1966 British Polydor LP of various artists entitled “Headline News”. Intriguing because, for a start, it has a cool picture of THE WHO on the front cover. Also, it also names THE NEW MUSICAL EXPRESS on the cover which obviously makes it a Polydor/NME combined release. The music? That’s the best part. Track by track this is a fabulous sampler of the hottest Mod and 60′s Soul sounds I’ve heard in a long time. For someone like me who spends his life trying to find great 60′s sounds this record comes as some sort of godsend, it really does. Kicking off with EDWIN STARR’S 1965 POLYDOR 45 HEADLINE NEWS (the chorus of which Pete Townshend nicked for a track on Tommy) this LP also features JJ Barnes’ DAY TRIPPER which is really very funky and resplendent with some hornet-caught-in-a-jam-jar fuzz guitar. This LP gets better track after track. I mean, where else have I heard a killer version of HARLEM SHUFFLE by THE MIKE COTTON SOUND (another rare British 45) before? Add to that brilliant Soul tunes by JAMO THOMAS, Marva Josie, The Ikettes, Suzie & Big Dee Irwin and you get a Soul stew that is almost second to none. I’ve been fairly well educated on other British Major labels’ 60′s Soul 45s-Stateside, Chess, Pye, Tamla and so on-but Polydor Soul releases have, until now, been pretty unknown to me. Maybe they simply didn’t sell much Soul in the 60′s – Polydor issued Soul 45s hardly ever come my way. It seems this certainly didn’t happen for a lack of trying. As this LP shows there was a bunch of great Soul / R’n'b 45 released on Polydor, I just haven’t really seen many or any before, except a few Edwin Starr 45s from time to time.
But that, I suppose, is what I like about this job / lifestyle - new musical avenues to explore are always opening up.
As ususal (and tell me if this is starting to bore you now) I’ve been finding loads of cool and rockin’ USA 60′s Garage & Psych 45s. Just a few that spring to mind are gems such as THE SPATS “GOTTA TELL YOU ALL ABOUT IT BABY” (ABC 45-10640), which is a superb and dirty 3/4 rhythm Garage / Folk Rocker which I instantly knew from some long gone Garage sampler LP I probably once had. Killer vocals, great guitar, wailing harmonica and a superb tune. THE ROOSTERS “ONE OF THESE DAYS b/w YOU GOTTA RUN (PSOA 11032) was another 45 I just bought on spec and lo and behold, this was an old time fave of mine anyway which I knew from one of the superb MINDROCKER comps from the 80′s. This is a big FOLK GARAGE gem that would sound good to anyone, great jangly 12 string and godlike harmonies make this a real classic. By the way not many of these 45s go for huge money. Unlike British issued 60′s Psych 45s, these US records can be picked up for virtually nothing, and even some of the most killer 45s that never turn up in the UK can be bought for under $50.00, with many falling into my hands at well under a tenner.I always think that American Garage 45 s are well worth collecting because the music is so great and there are hundreds if not thousands of undiscovered tunes out there. One prime example is an obscure 45 on CORAL by a group called THE TWEEDS entitled “WHAT’S YOUR NAME” which is brilliant slice of proto Psych Pop, obviously influenced by THE BEATLES’ Rubber Soul but also strongly reminiscent of THE MERRY GO ROUND. This 45 cost me less than a pint of beer, and there are probably 100s out there because no one knows what it is.
One advantage of USA 45 is that you do find otherwise rare British 45s released there too. One cool b-side is THE MONTANAS “HEY DIDDLE DIDDLE” on USA DECCA which is a pre Prog Jazzy British Soul Pop gem, with a great rhythm, close harmonies, horn section and a killer guitar break by JIMMY PAGE (an educated guess, but fairly certain). Other USA 45s by bands like THE WHO, THE CREATION, THE KINKS, THE BEATLES and more obscure ones are also easier to find on the other side of the pond.
Then there are truly demented USA Psych 45s that would cost hundreds of pounds were they on Uk 60′s labels. Killers such as YESTERDAY’S CHILDREN “TO BE OR NOT TO BE” a manic fuzz drenched Eastern tinged Psych/Garage killer which would set you back $50.00, but compare that to some of the British Psych 45s and your still talking peanuts. Some glorious Garage 45 such as “LINDA’S GONE / SPOONFUL” by THE WEST COAST BRANCH (VALIANT RECORDS), or “THE ALLIGATOR” by THE US FOUR (RISING SONS RECORDS) don’t cost the earth either but are right up there with the all time great 60′s Garage 45s.
Once again, I’m asking why all this old stuff sounds so much better to my ears than 99.9% of music released today. I’m probably becoming an old fart but then I felt the same way over 20 years ago when I was 15. I’m just a dyed in the wool 60′s nut I suppose and there’s no cure for me. Even 20 years or more ago when I did follow current bands, they were usually ones that had a strong 60′s feel such as THE CRAMPS, THE FUZZTONES or THE STINGRAYS. I do regret that I didn’t catch the great 60′s bands when they were around, but I had no choice since I was only born in 1967!
