60s model posing for the camera

60s model posing for the camera

Best Garage Revival Singles

Here are some of my random thoughts and words about obscure and in-demand garage and psychedelic revival singles over the years. 

THE GRUESOMES โ€“ โ€™Hey!โ€™ (OG-20) 1988

Best garage revival singles: Montreal, Canada is where The Gruesomes hail from. Theyโ€™re still going but it was their mid 80s heyday that matters to โ€™Flower Bomb Songsโ€™.

This is the funny promo video that went with the rockinโ€™ garage tune where the only words snarled are โ€™Hey!โ€™ – an all time classic.

By the way do not adjust the volume – thereโ€™s no sound until the song starts at 20 odd seconds!!!

THE PANDORAS โ€“ โ€™Itโ€™s About Timeโ€™ (Moxie MM1044) 1984

The Pandoras were the darlings of the garage revival underground in Los Angeles and on their early releases on Moxie and Voxx, had a more than decent 60s punk style sound.

Unfortunately after a good start, internal conflict within the band and a change in direction to a hard rock sound lost The Pandoras any credibility they had.

It couldnโ€™t have helped signing to Elektra Records either – once a band leaves the underground thatโ€™s usually bad news as far as Iโ€™m concerned.

Leader, Paula Pierce died of an aneurysm in 1991, aged only 31.

โ€™Itโ€™s About Timeโ€™ from this 4 track EP on Moxie Records is the best thing The Pandoras ever recorded and is a classic folk rock jangler.

Best garage revival singles

LEE JOSEPH โ€“ โ€™Stay By My Sideโ€™ (Mystery Scene 004) 1987

The EP โ€™Four By Oneโ€™ from Lee Joseph were home recordings from the Summer of 1984 then mixed at Westbeach, Los Angeles a couple of years later.

On the crude recordings Lee Joseph had input from ex Unclaimed member Rich Coffee and Zebra from The Zebra Stripes?? who provided handclaps on โ€™Stay By My Sideโ€™ the Music Explosion bubblegum punker.

All of the songs on this EP have a whole lot of fuzz and a sparse echoey production. The vocals are thin and weak but who cares about that cos the fuzz is where itโ€™s at.

tracks on EP:
Stay By My Side
The Special Ones
Splash One
Sounds Of Color

Hey COLINโ€”Zebra iz Lee Jospehโ€™z ex-wife who had a long player of her own titled โ€Zebra Stripesโ€! I think she waz also a member of girl punk/trash band Hot Damn! Best alwayzโ€”โ€madโ€ louie

THE STOMACH MOUTHS โ€“ R & B No. 65 (Got To Hurry 101) 1986

The Stomach Mouths debut LP โ€™Something Weirdโ€™ really stands the test of time and itโ€™s easily one of the best garage revival records recorded during the halcyon days of the mid 80s.

โ€™R & B No. 65โ€™ from this album is a furious garage punk rave up and coming in at just over two minutes is a necessary listening experience.

The 14 track long player contains 12 originals and cover versions of โ€™Born Loserโ€™ and โ€™The Cat Came Backโ€™.

The promo picture above came with my copy of the LP and was a real cool touch.

Best garage revival singles

THE PROJECTILES โ€“ โ€™Some Things Never Changeโ€™/โ€™I Need Somebodyโ€™ (Jargon Records 1285006) 1986

The Projectiles came from Rochester, New York and probably formed after hearing Rochesterโ€™s own garage royalty The Chesterfield Kings. Judging by the pic sleeve the band werenโ€™t exactly purist in their dress code with the baggy jeans, Magnum P.I. sunshades and the guy wearing what looks like Doc Martin boots.

The cover graphics are also of a low standard as well. No doubt the combination of dodgy image and bad psych lettering would put some people off buying the 45. Fortunately, it didnโ€™t stop me.

โ€™Some Things Never Changeโ€™ is decent garage with snarled vocals and a constant high pitched Farfisa organ in the mix.

The flip is an OK cover of โ€™I Need Somebodyโ€™ originally by ? and the Mysterians of course.

Both sides were recorded at Saxon Studios, Rochester in November 1985.

line-up:
Dan Frank
(vocals/guitar/tambourine)
Tony Pilato (farfisa organ)
Brian Goodman (drums)
Terry Flanagan (guitar)
Kevin Keefer (bass)

Wow. Itโ€™s nice to see people still interested in our band. I started The Projectiles back in 1983 with Jerry Flanagan and Kevin Keefer, and the 45 was the result of us winning a battle of the bands at a very popular night club in Rochester.

We won some recording time at Saxon Studios and enough cash to barely cover the cost of the pressing, hence the โ€low budgetโ€ look of the sleeve. You have a very nice blog by the way. Nice pics and great research too. Keep up the fine work. Sincerely, Dan Frank

THE STOMACH MOUTHS โ€“ โ€™Wild Tripโ€™/โ€™Donโ€™t Put Me Downโ€™ (Mansi Sunlight 196025-01) 1985

One of the very best bands to hail from Sweden are mid 80s garage punk band The Stomach Mouths . With their fuzz and Farfisa trademark sound combined with Stefan Keryโ€™s wild vocals the band built up a huge reputation and all of their records are hard to come by now.

This debut 45 appeared in โ€™85 and was quickly sold out. It was pressed three times and the one Iโ€™ve got is the very first pressing with the band pic on the front cover. The second pressing has a โ€™monsterโ€™ sleeve and the third has black and purple vinyl.

โ€™Wild Tripโ€™ as the title suggests is indeed a โ€™wildโ€™ trip and is closer to the acid punk sound from โ€™66. โ€™Donโ€™t Put Me Downโ€™ is more of a โ€™back from the graveโ€™ style garage winner with a break neck backbeat, fuzz and screaming vocals.

An undeniably GREAT 45 whatever era.

Best garage revival singles

THE FLESHTONES โ€“ โ€™Iโ€™ve Gotta Change My Lifeโ€™ (IRS SP70018) 1981

โ€™Roman Godsโ€™ is a hyped up album and I suppose many will really dig the whole work but thereโ€™s just too many souly things on it for me to totally enjoy, including a fair sprinkling of saxophone (an instrument that spoils records IMO) and some funky bass.

I much prefer The Fleshtones when they go for the garage sound and โ€™Iโ€™ve Gotta Change My Lifeโ€™ ticks the boxes on that score.

THE FRANTIC V โ€“ โ€™Room 409โ€™ (On Stage Records 005) 2004

The Frantic V are (along with The Sound Explosion) the garage kings of Greece and theyโ€™re still a performing band and have been since 1994.

Theyโ€™ve released many records on various labels over the years and have become well respected men on the neo garage circuit.

โ€™Room 409โ€™ is a Farfisa and fuzz surf instro that opened the long player released by On Stage Records back in 2004. Itโ€™s a recommended LP, side one in particular is fantastic including a fuzzed out version of The Wailers killer โ€™Hang Upโ€™.

When I was doing some research on the band, I happened upon their myspace page and lo and behold in the pictures album there is a flyer where someone has blatantly plagiarized my deleted โ€™Timelapse Jangleโ€™ compilation cover. It brought back memories of how I ripped off the sleeve of Pebbles Volume 11 for a Mourning After poster back in the 80s.

Guitarist Kostas Kapetanakis sent me a copy of โ€™A Long Play Withโ€ฆThe Frantic Vโ€™ years ago – thanks again Kostas.

TINA PEEL โ€“ โ€™Fifi Goes Popโ€™/โ€™Weekend Geekโ€™ (Teen Appeal Records 69) 1979

The second single by Tina Peel was released on their own label and comes housed in a neat sleeve showing a young Rudi Protrudi, the lovely Deb Oโ€™Nair and a big poodle called Fifi.

Well, I think thatโ€™s Fifi pictured. โ€™Fifi Goes Popโ€™ is about an unfortunate dog that getโ€™s baked in a microwave oven until it bursts. All I can say is that it must have been one of those large industrial microwaves to fit that bloody huge thing in.

โ€™Fifi Goes Pop on setting number twoโ€™.

The back of the picture sleeve shows the band in more dodgy gear!

Best garage revival singles

THE KLIEK โ€“ โ€™Me Right Nowโ€™/โ€™Nothingโ€™s Changedโ€™ (Twist Records 6) 1993

Amsterdam was the home of this fine combo who mixed obscure Euro beat and American garage with their own compositions. They built up a massive reputation with their live performances and released many records on various indie labels in the late 80s and early 90s.

โ€™Me Right Nowโ€™ is a faithful rendition of The Remains classic and The Kliek really do the song justice. Covering a song by the legendary Remains could have been a disaster but thankfully they pull it off with astute skill and a decent production.

The flip โ€™Nothingโ€™s Changedโ€™ is a moody beat song originally recorded by The Zombies and is another winner.

line-up:
Robert Muter 
(vocals)
Marcel Kruup (guitar)
Theo Brouwer (bass)
The Gub (drums)

When The Kliek disbanded in the mid 90s Robert Muter formed Kekโ€™66.

THE UNCLAIMED โ€“ โ€™Ughโ€™ (Hysteria Records HLP 1300) 1983

Iโ€™ve written about The Unclaimed a couple of times on my blog and no doubt Iโ€™ll write about them in the future because I think theyโ€™re one of the most authentic sounding non โ€™66 punkers ever. Some would say a perfect example of a band operating in the wrong time zone.

โ€™Ughโ€™ from the Hysteria Records six track mini LP titled โ€™Primordial Ooze Flavouredโ€™ is a fuzzadelic wig out and I hope to give it some exposure on a โ€™Hung On Youโ€™ podcast in the future, but until then my moptop freaks youโ€™ll have to make do with looking at this promo picture of The Unclaimed.

Long Ryders frontman Sid Griffin is pictured but by the time the band recorded โ€™Ughโ€™ he had departed.

THE BOMBORAS โ€“ โ€™Forbidden Planetโ€™/โ€™Moon Probeโ€™/โ€™Time Bombโ€™ (Dionysus ID074562) 1997

Way cool surf instrumentals from Los Angeles based band The Bomboras but sadly theyโ€™re no more. Ex Fuzztone, Jake Cavaliere provides the only original in โ€™Forbidden Planetโ€™, โ€™Time Bombโ€™ is an Avengers VI cover but my pick from the 45 is the spooky โ€™Moon Probeโ€™.

THE PLAYN JAYN โ€“ โ€™Julietteโ€™/โ€™Something Diedโ€™ (A and M Records 241) 1985

London band The Playn Jayn had a massive reputation for their memorable high powered live performances but most of their recordings in the studio (like so many 80s bands) didnโ€™t compare.

โ€™Julietteโ€™ shines however as a very commercial 60s influenced pop song. Iโ€™m not sure if a major label like A and M knew what to do with a garage style band like The Playn Jayn when the forgettable 80s were infested with awful synth bands and perm haired metal puffs from America.

โ€™Julietteโ€™ of course sank without trace and the band were no more less than a year later.

Best garage revival singles

TINA PEEL โ€“ โ€™More Than Just Good Looks EPโ€™ (Dacoit/Limp Records) 1978

Now this is a funny old record by a band from Harrisburg, PA called Tina Peel. The music on offer could probably be described as bubblegum punk and judging by the image of the group itโ€™s a very much post โ€™77 punk rock and pre New Wave look, so I donโ€™t think theyโ€™re meant to be taken too seriously.

โ€™Punk Rock Janitorโ€™ from the EP is a live recording but the sleeve doesnโ€™t indicate if it was from a gig. According to the sleeve though, all four songs were recorded in producer Jeff Meglioโ€™s basement, so maybe this was a one take run through.

โ€I wanna run my fingers thru Sylvainโ€™s hair
Sniff Debbie Harryโ€™s underwear
Dish the dirt with Deb Oโ€™Nair
I wanna be a punk rock janitorโ€

Tina Peel included in their ranks Rudi Protrudi and Deb Oโ€™Nair. All songs were written by Protrudi including โ€™Fabian Lipsโ€™, a song he would demo with his next band The Fuzztones in 1983.

There were originally 450 EPs released with a picture sleeve. My copy is one of a handful with the title hand coloured in yellow. Itโ€™s also signed by Rudi.

BOYS FROM NOWHERE โ€“ โ€™Jungle Boyโ€™/โ€™1966โ€™ (Young Lion LR020) 1986

Conflicting sources indicate either a Columbus or Youngstown location in Ohio for this garage punk band led by singer/songwriter Mick Divvens.

Boys From Nowhere released three powerful 45s in the mid 80s with an influential nod towards The Lyres/DMZ. Mick Divvens has an almost 70s punk rock vocal attack. โ€™Jungle Boyโ€™ came out on their own label which apparently sold poorly at the time but is now a sought after collectors item. The song was compiled on โ€™Declaration Of Fuzzโ€™.

Despite the negative comments made by Tim Gassen in his โ€™The Knights Of Fuzzโ€™ book I can recommend the first three Boys From Nowhere singles and another one of their 45s will feature higher in my Top 50 at some point.

meet the band

line-up:
Johnny Bernardo 
(drums)
Ted Nagel (bass)
Mick Divvens (vocals/vox organ)
Eric Martin (backing vocals on โ€™1966โ€™)
Charlie McNeil (guitar)

Reader comments:

The Boys From Nowhere were amazing, I feel lucky to have been able to see them play live in NYC in 1985. โ€1966โ€ is still one of my fave U.S. 80โ€™s garage records. Johnny Benardo was one of the best drummers Iโ€™ve ever seen.

And for the record I donโ€™t think Tim Gassen knew what he was writing about half the time. Trust me, I was there, TBFN were rockinโ€™.

Well, I used to correspond a bit with Mick D back in the late 80s. I sent him a tape of my wyld radio show broadcast weekly on FM, and in return, he sent me a limited to 200 copies pressing with pic sleeve of โ€Indefinite Inhibitionโ€ with โ€1966โ€ on the flip. โ€Begโ€ is my fave tune on the old Goldmine Garage Sale tape. MopTopMike

Columbus, Ohio. Also, Matthew Specktorโ€™s book That Summertime Sound (MTV Books) is a fictionalized version of his time with Mick in the 80โ€™s Columbus music scene. This is from a local magazine reporting about Specktorโ€™s reading in Columbus with Mick: http://614columbus.com/magazine/12-01-2009/rock-n-roll-reunion

Chris- wicked old post here but I just found it โ€“ searching for our version of Hang Up! this is Ted Nagel, I played bass for the original BFN line up. We were in Columbus at that time. Youngstown guys came laterโ€ฆ

Best garage revival singles

The songs you have on mp3 were recorded IIRC at the same time as Jungle Boy โ€™66. I loved the Need you version with Charlie playing with a metal pick! Charlie M. (guitar) may have put them out into the web-o-sphere without the blessing of Mick, who controlled that activity.

Iโ€™ve got them on cassetteโ€ฆgoing to dig that up later. Iโ€™m now F@(=Book friends with Tim Gassonโ€ฆ also a Columbus music scene prodigy. I had to crack up about his review of BFN! Cheers, Ted

PLAYBOY MODEL
My Back Payges

THE CLIQUE โ€“ โ€™Reggieโ€™/โ€™She Doesnโ€™t Need You Anymoreโ€™ (Detour Records DR 014) July 1994

Thereโ€™s been plenty of bands calling themselves The Clique down the years and in the 90s there just happened to be another combo with this moniker. This particular Clique were a set of London mods armed with a swinginโ€™ Hammond organ and a nice range of shirts and circle lens sunglasses.

โ€™Reggieโ€™ is a decent attempt at mod psych I suppose but it could have done with a bone crunchinโ€™ lead guitar solo or perhaps some fuzz.

The flip โ€™She Doesnโ€™t Need You Anymoreโ€™ lasted about 10 seconds on my turntable before the record was swiftly dispatched back in itโ€™s sleeve. Way too much brass on it for me to cope with. It sounds like frigginโ€™ Dexyโ€™s Midnight Runners and sent shivers down my spine.

The record sold well though and 4 pressings were made between July 1994 and June 1995 with a final count of 2,500 copies.

STONE ROSES โ€“ โ€™Mersey Paradiseโ€™ (Silvertone ORE 6) July 1989

For some strange reason โ€™Mersey Paradiseโ€™ was left off the acclaimed album โ€™Fools Goldโ€™โ€ฆ The song was written in their early days when they wore paisley shirts, sported bowl haircuts and were pretty much unknown outside of their home City of Manchester. Itโ€™s a shame all of that baggy shite spoilt them.

The only place to find the infectious jangle pop of โ€™Mersey Paradiseโ€™ was on the B-Side of the 12โ€ release of โ€™She Bangs The Drumsโ€™. It wasnโ€™t even available as a regular B-Side on the single format.

The first time I heard this tune was on the radio and I thought it was by some obscure Scottish jangle band and I got my pen ready to write down the groups name so I could go out and buy it. Imagine my surprise when it turned out to be The Stone Roses.

โ€™Mersey Paradiseโ€™ is the best thing they ever did.

Best garage revival singles

THE DUKES OF HAMBURG โ€“ โ€™Little Loverโ€™/โ€™Itโ€™s My Faultโ€™ (Screaming Apple SCAP 051) 1998

A release worth checking out on the respected Screaming Apple Records label is this one by The Dukes Of Hamburg. If primitive 60s style beat is your bag well, youโ€™re gonna dig this slice of vinyl.

โ€™Little Loverโ€™ is a lo-fi punk beat cover of The Hollies tune whilst the other side is a version of โ€™Itโ€™s My Faultโ€™ originally recorded by German band The Rattles.

THE ROAMINโ€™ NUMERALS โ€“ โ€™Fruit Of The Dayโ€™/โ€™Buckle Up!โ€™ (Beluga 002) 1998

Beluga Records was a small indie label out of Stockholm, Sweden that is now defunct. But the label did release early 45s by The Roadrunners, The Maggots and this gem by The Roaminโ€™ Numerals.

The Roaminโ€™ Numerals included in their ranks ex Fuzztones, Twisted and Headless Horsemen lead guitarist Elan Portnoy. I donโ€™t know the names of any other band members.

โ€™Fruit Of The Dayโ€™ sounds similar to those garage rockers he wrote with The Headless Horsemen with spiky lead guitar licks high in the mix. โ€™Buckle Up!โ€™ is perhaps the better side with bursts of wah wah but the words to the song are undecipherable.

Trevor Gallant from Beluga Records recently contacted me and kindly shared an image of the cancelled sleeve design. Trevor confirmed that 10 copies of the 45 in this sleeve were shipped to Australia before The Roaminโ€™ Numerals requested that future copies were sold with the psychedelic negative sleeve.

Follow Flower Bomb Songs on my Facebook page. I add loads of things I just donโ€™t have time to post on my website.

This record had another sleeve when it was released, but was stopped by the band and reprinted. (about 20 copies managed to leave the label headquarters). Beluga

SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES โ€“ โ€™Dear Prudenceโ€™/โ€™Tattooโ€™ (Wonderland SHE 04) Sept 1983

This 45 was an unexpected foray into psychedelia by a band more associated with the 70s punk rock scene in England, but by 1983 they had developed a more complex sound and had undergone a few personnel changes.

One such change was the introduction of Robert Smith from The Cure on lead guitar. He took over duties from John McGeoch and persuaded the band to record The Beatles classic โ€™Dear Prudenceโ€™.

The Siouxsie and the Banshees version is a much quicker assault with Robert Smithโ€™s guitar to the fore.

During this period he was solely using a Vox Teardrop Mark VI. Producer Mike Hodges also uses the technique of phasing or โ€™skyingโ€™ as itโ€™s sometimes known to create that otherworldly soundscape.

Best garage revival singles

THE REACTIONS โ€“ โ€™I Want Youโ€™/โ€™Frenziedโ€™ (St. Valentine Records SVR-014) 1986

Power Pop bands werenโ€™t exactly falling over themselves in the mid 80s but three piece group The Reactions used the Flaminโ€™ Groovies template well adding their own touch of modernisms. Some pleasant Rickenbacker guitar leads and the drum patterns weaved are splendid as they say.

Both the rocker โ€™I Want Youโ€™ and the instro โ€™Frenziedโ€™ are worth checking out.

The Reactions were from Cleveland, Ohio.

line-up:
Dave Swanson 
(guitars, drums)
Chuck Wagner (guitars, lead vocals)
Brian P. McCafferty (bass)

Great 7โ€!! when the Reactions end Dave star with the Rainy Day Saints and Brian with the BEATNICK TERMITES. regards!!

THE TRIP โ€“ Stick Like Glue (Voxx Records 200.019) 1984

The second and last song by The Trip to be compiled was โ€™Stick Like Glueโ€™ written by Tom Neale. This garage psych winner appeared on Greg Shawโ€™s โ€™Battle Of The Garagesโ€™ Vol 2.

I wonder if the Don Ciccone in The Trip is the same person who was a member of The Critters and wrote their famous song โ€™Mr Dieingly Sadโ€™

Answers on a postcard as they sayโ€ฆ.

line-up:
Tom Neale
 (guitar, organ, vocals)
Don Ciccone (guitar, vocals)
Steve Balestra (bass)
Vic Gentile (drums)

Don Ciccone from The Trip recently got in touch and confirmed that he is NOT Don Ciccone from The Critters. He has provided the following information:

Funny you should mention the unreleased tape. it was supposed to come out in the 80s on a label called Sounds Interesting out of New Jersey but they folded.

The problem was always that we didnโ€™t quite have enough tracks for an album. We had something like 8 songs.

12-string guitar

Some label in Australia wants to put it out but again they want us to find extra tracks.

We did record a different version of โ€Stick Like Glueโ€ โ€“ with 12 string and organ. Right now weโ€™re trying to go thru the tapes and see whatโ€™s there.

I donโ€™t know how Tim Gassen got the tape. That was a surprise, seeing us in that book.

We got a LOT of fan mail when those two songs came out on those comps and a fair amount of press, considering.

Tom Neale and I still work together, writing songs and jamming. The other guys are on the East Coast but weโ€™re all still in touch. Iโ€™d love to put the band together again.

No, Iโ€™m not the same don Ciccone as the Critters guy (sorry don). and โ€Stick Like Glueโ€ was our first release. โ€Never Too Late For Lindaโ€ was second. โ€“ Don

THE TRIP โ€“ โ€™Never Too Late For Lindaโ€™ (Goldmine tape A-135) March 1985

Goldmine Magazine sponsored the cassette only release of new bands with that 60s influence calling it โ€™Garage Sale!โ€™ Most of the bands on it had previous releases on small labels such as The Gravedigger V, The Tell Tale Hearts, The Fuzztones and The Unclaimed.

I was more interested in the bands that didnโ€™t have much or any exposure before and one of those bands that stood out were The Trip.

The liners of the tape state that they hailed from San Franciscoโ€™Never Too Late For Lindaโ€™ has got some choice fuzz and a spooky sounding organ. The band also had a song called โ€™Stick Like Glueโ€™ compiled on Voxx LP โ€™Battle Of The Garages Volume 2โ€™.

But apart from these two songs mentioned that was it from The Trip, although Tim Gassen mentions in his book โ€™The Knights Of Fuzzโ€™ they have an unreleased tape of material that has never seen the light of day.

Don Ciccone: yes there is an unreleased tape of Trip material. you might be interested to know that โ€Never Too late for Lindaโ€ was covered by San Franciscoโ€™s Angel Corpus Christi which came out on a CD called THE 80โ€™s on the Gulcher label.

THE HOODOO GURUS โ€“ โ€™I Want You Backโ€™/โ€™Hoodoo You Loveโ€™ (Big Time BTS 1177) March 1984

One of the few Australian bands to make it outside their native land were Sydney based quartet The Hoodoo Gurus. โ€™I Want You Backโ€™ is very anthemic and Iโ€™m not sure how you would describe the sound. Is it power pop or garage rock? Maybe it was this strange mix that got them to a higher level success wise.

members:
Brad Shepherd 
(guitar/vocals)
Dave Faulkner (guitar/lead vocals)
Clyde Bramley (bass/vocals)
James Baker (drums)

THE MYSTREATED โ€“ โ€™The Emperor Wears No Clothesโ€™ (Shindig Records 002) 1997

โ€™Lovely Sunday Dreamingโ€™ was the final album offering by English band The Mystreated before they disbanded shortly after itโ€™s release. When The Mystreated started making records one reviewer said they sounded like an inept Monkees but by 1997 theyโ€™d become very competent musicians and this album is loaded with such great melodies.

The strangely named โ€™The Emperor Wears No Clothesโ€™ is my pick from this long player. Itโ€™s a melancholic raga psych gem with killer organ and lead guitar breaks closing out the song.

THE SUNNYBOYS โ€“ โ€™Happy Manโ€™/โ€™Tomorrow Will Be Fineโ€™ (Mushroom K8335) June 1981

The Sunnyboys hailed from the Sydney area and were named after an orange flavoured frozen ice treat. They got their break supporting The Lipstick Killers and a record deal with Mushroom Records soon followed.

โ€™Happy Manโ€™ was their first 45 for Mushroom but itโ€™s the B-Side โ€™Tomorrow Will Be Fineโ€™ that gets the nod and enters the recommended 50. This is a fine power pop record and was no doubt an influence on bands that followed in Australia a couple of years later.

THE LEARS โ€“ โ€™Her Magic Smileโ€™/โ€™Donโ€™t You Knowโ€™ (Misty Lane Records 028) 1995

Dennis Dalcin: Wow! I was so surprised to see my old bandโ€™s single included on your great blog! Iโ€™m Dennis (guitar/vocals) with The Lears.

Both of these songs are ones that I wrote & sang lead on. These were ever only very rough mixes and NOT the way we really wanted them to sound.

We were asked by Massimo of Misty Lane Records if we would allow him to release these as a single on his label. We were glad to finally have something recorded in a real recording studio get released.

Our our previous releases were from recordings done on a 4-track machine that Paul Mutchler had, and they were recorded in a garage!

They were true garage recordings! I too believe we never reached our peak musically before the band split after first Paul then I moved back to Clearwater/St Petersburg respectively. Thanks for your support of The Lears!!

FREDDY and the FOUR-GONE CONCLUSIONS โ€“ โ€™Stand Upโ€™/โ€™Todayโ€™ (Get Hip GH-228) 2002

โ€™Stand Upโ€™ is an obscure Del Shannon song that wasnโ€™t released in his lifetime and here Michigan based Freddy Fortune and his band deliver the goods with respect. It also features Max Crook, Del Shannonโ€™s original keyboard player providing a solo on his custom built Musitron keyboard.

The flip โ€™Todayโ€™ is a tasty folk rocker with lots of jangle and similar in style to the last recordings by Freddyโ€™s previous band Fortune and Maltese and the Phabulous Pallbearers.

DEL SHANNON โ€“ โ€™Stand Upโ€™ (Liberty Records) 1966

Del may be sporting his late 50s early 60s mutton chops and what must be the largest sunglasses in the world but that didnโ€™t stop him writing and recording the GREAT โ€™Stand Upโ€™ in December 1966.

It was never released in the 60s (the liners of the CD โ€™The Further Adventures Of Charles Westoverโ€™ donโ€™t say why) – itโ€™s amazing that something sounding so โ€™radio friendlyโ€™ was never released at the time.

The song was recorded at SRS Studio in Hollywood and produced by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart.

Tommy Boyce and Del Shannon would sadly commit suicide in the 90s by shooting themselves in the head.

TEENAGE FANCLUB โ€“ I Need Direction (Columbia XPCD1303) 2000

Time for a pure pop overdose by Scottish band Teenage Fanclub. โ€™I Need Directionโ€™ is a perfect mix of Byrdsian guitars and Beach Boys harmonies. Iโ€™ve never heard better โ€™bah bah bahโ€™s since the mid 60s.

An utter delight in every way.

THE HYPNOMEN โ€“ โ€™Trip With Satanโ€™ (Gearhead RPM 014) May 2000

Having a โ€™trip with satanโ€™ is one of the things Iโ€™d never want to do in my life but itโ€™s a good title and this mini album by The Hypnomen should have been highly recommended by myself but unfortunately the drum beats sound WAY too modern for my taste.

The production is also clean and tidy, itโ€™s as if all of the life has been sucked out of the tunes for the modern mod set. โ€™Sunstroke Dreamerโ€™ a more laid back instro is not as annoying.

If you donโ€™t know about The Hypnomen, theyโ€™re from Helsinki (I think) and their early 45s are cool surf garage style instros. By 2000 though it sounds like theyโ€™re playing by numbers.

So this enters my list of 50 purely because I dig the cover, which rips off the poster for 60s flick โ€™Girl On A MotorCycleโ€™.

black and blue descriptive fonts on a transparent background. Red symbol of a plug cable showing.

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6 responses to “Best Garage Revival Singles”

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  2. […] Dulfinโ€™ was the flip side and itโ€™s a mournful teen garage loner/outsider trip about a girl not worth bothering about. It starts off with a spoken intro over some mysterious bass […]

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