Lost In Tyme Blog

Aliens, Psychos and Wild Things Vol.1

01. Satellites - When Will You Stay
02. Satellites - The Next Boy
03. Wild Cherries - I Cried Once
04. Wild Cherries - Baby, Baby
05. Heart Attacks - Babba Diddy Baby
06. Swinging Machine - Do You have to Ask
07. Swinging Machine - Comin’ on Back Home
08. Lenis Guess - Workin’ for My Baby
09. Wild Thing - Weird Hot Nights
10. Swinging Machine - Do You Have to Ask
11. Proverbial Knee Hi’s - Crying for Her
12. Proverbial Knee Hi’s - Watch Out
13. Rude Awakening - A Certain Girl
14. Denis and the Times - Flight Patterns
15. Reactors - 1-A
16. Banana - There She Goes Again
17. Banana - She’s Gone
18. Dean Kohler - Gooseberry Pie
19. Beachnuts - What Makes You think
20. Psychos - Black River
21. Aliens - Love Someone
22. Journey Back - Runaway Baby
23. Journey Back - Synthetic People
24. New Directions - Springtime Lady
25. Steve Peele Five - Frankie’s Got It!
26. New Directions - Springtime Lady

This compilation follows in the vein of many similar regional '60s garage/psych collections that surfaced towards the end of the 20th century, thanks to a combination of ever deeper interest in obscurities and the general proliferation of cheap CD runs for a small but obsessive market. Like the best of the bunch, from Nuggets on down, a combination of liner notes, photos, and general stories provides a good amount of the appeal. This particular disc focuses on bands from the Tidewater area of Virginia, named after three of the groups featured here. All are pretty well unknown outside of the occasional appearance on a similar comp or two, and generally speaking the performances are an obvious mix of derivative originals and good-spirited covers dedicated to raising a fun cheap racket, like so many other regional hits and misses of the era. So coming to this for revelations isn't at all a good idea, but listening in for the heck of it often turns up some rough and ready fun. The higher octane numbers make this a good party disc and the various ballads are sweet enough, and as the compilers are proud to say, it's different from the regional "beach music" that the area is known for. Wild Thing are probably the most notable of the bunch, not only for their mighty fine "Weird Hot Nights" (dig the crazed laughs on the breaks) but their utterly insane look of huge silver pompadours and general alien decadence. It must have taken sheer chutzpah to even think of a look like that in 1966. Another noteworthy cut is from the Electrical Banana -- it's a fair cover of "There She Goes Again" by the Velvet Underground that suddenly breaks into a peppy, kick-up-your-heels ending. Not only was it probably one of the first remakes of that band ever, the actual recording was done via a gas-generator powered deck in Vietnam, where bandleader Dean Kohler, veteran of the Satellites (also featured on this collection) had ended up to serve his tour of duty! ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide

Aliens, Psychos and Wild Things Vol.2

01 The Panics - No More
02 Live Wires - Scrambled Eggs
03 The Roaches - Someone With A Heart
04 Miller Brothers - Jump,Jack,Jump
05 Smacks - Reckless Ways
06 Smacks - Nobody Else Is Gonna Do
07 Smacks - There'll Come A Day
08 The Flys - The Way Things Are
09 Nite Beats - You're A Better Man Than I
10 HazzardsHey Joe -
11 The Barracudas - I Can't Believe
12 The Escorts - My Only Love
13 Phantom - I Want To See Her Cry
14 Minuteman - Why Do I Cry?
15 Uprisers - Let Me Take You Down
16 Uprisers - Nine To Five
17 The Changing Times - Go Your Own Way
18 The Changing Times - Keeper Of Souls
19 Kool Kuzzins - Love Can Be True
20 Sound On Sound - Girl You've Got To Turn Me On
21 Shades, Inc. - Fragile Fruit
22 Creations - Better Watch Out
23 Creations - I'm Mad
24 Creations - Soul And Feelin'
25 Creations - To Whom It May Concern

Like the first compilation in this series, the focus of this collection of regional garage/psych singles from the '60s covers Virginia, in this case looking more at the north of the state, near the D.C. area and elsewhere. As with the predecessor, it's a fun labor of love -- besides packing the disc full of goodies, including a slew of never released cuts, the compilers have a lot of photos and band stories to offer. One statement says it all: "True fans want the human side, not just the sides on old 45s." There are a few numbers that cropped up elsewhere, but the liner notes promise cleaner transfers and indeed everything sounds pretty darn good throughout, given both the recording conditions and the need to transfer from vinyl at points. The general musical flavor remains pretty much the same -- there's nothing really deathless throughout the 25 songs on the compilation, but all the vaunted energy and good times ascribed to the American garage explosion has a fine echo here. Standouts include the nervy "Jump, Jack, Jump" by the Miller Brothers, with some just threatening enough vocals on the verses, and a fairly echoey but still excitable enough take on the Yardbirds' "You're a Better Man Than I" by the Nite Beats. There are a lot of numbers that were clearly designed first and foremost for the local dances and gigs just about all these bands thrived on -- the Live Wires' "Scrambled Eggs" and the murkily recorded but still sharp "Let Me Take You Down" by the Uprisers are two good examples. Two brothers, Larry and Stanley Burnell, crop up in a number of bands and as producers along the way -- being a pretty good rhythm section obviously made their services in demand! ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide

Aliens, Psychos and Wild Things Vol.3

01 Shades, Ltd. - Frog Hunt on Mars
02 Del-Fi's - Now It's Time
03 Perpetuated Spirits of Turpentine - I'm a Lucky Guy
04 Perpetuated Spirits of Turpentine - I'm a Double Naught Spy
05 Rejects - Just a Little Bit of You06 Wanted & Co. - Why
07 IV Pak - Whatzit08 Lost Souls - Minds Expressway
09 Lost Souls - For You
10 Changing Tymes - The Only Girl I Love
11 Banana - I'm a Man
12 Clover - Way She Smiles
13 Baracudas - Days of a Quiet Sun
14 Bosom Blues - Hippie Queen
15 Morning Disaster - Song of Innocence
16 Morning Disaster - Black Leather Books
17 Morning Disaster - Urban 44
18 Velvet Haze - Last Day on Earth
19 Shirley Hughey - Pink and Green
20 Plague - Cherry Road
21 Wilson Castle - Party
22 Wilson Castle - The Greatest Moments
23 Wilson Castle - Instrumental

The third installment of Arcania International's exhaustive overview of Tidewater/Richmond Virginia garage and psych from the mid-'60s is chock-full of bands that -- well -- no one has ever heard of. Like the folks at specialty labels like Gear Fab and Norton, Arcania recognizes the appeal of unknown, unsigned bands from yesteryear. And though much of this material is extremely lo-fi (Velvet Haze's fuzz-drenched "Last Day on Earth") and amateurish (Banana's disastrous "I'm a Man"), there are several gems to be found. Some tunes, like Wilson Castle's "Party" and The Bosom Blues Band's "Hippie Queen" reveal legitimately sincere attempts at musical sophistication, posing the question; what could some of these bands have accomplished with a skilled producer and first-class recording gear? The surprisingly good CSN&Y-soundalike psych-ballad, "Cherry Road," by a band called Plauge is just another fine example of this. What is, perhaps, most interesting about these bands, though, is to hear their imitation of the more popular sounds of the day. Shades of the Animals, Yardbirds, Jefferson Airplane, Iron Butterfly, and the Byrds are clearly evident. And while this collection proves that a fuzz box in the wrong hands -- or at the wrong feet -- can be a room-emptying disaster, there is no denying the exuberance, innocence, and bittersweet naivete of rock's under-the-radar bands of the 1960s. Compilations such as this, however, are perhaps most interesting to the un-initiated as -- at best -- social anthropology. This is not for the average vintage rock enthusiast, but dive right in if you are looking for something slightly strange but surely fun. ~ John Duffy, All Music Guide