Thursday, March 12, 2015

Rocky Mountain Showdown: Phil & The Frantics - Say That You Will/'Till You Get What You Want

Rocky Mountain Battle of the Garage Bands extends into it's third day. And today we travel to Phoenix, Airzona.

Phil And The Frantics were fronted by one Phil Kelsey. He would be the "Phil" in Phil and the Frantics. The band had little impact outside of Phoenix and are probably best known for their Zombies-fied "original", I Must Run, which was included on the original Pebbles Volume 1. That song, like this one, was produced by one Waylon Jennings. Go figure. 

However, it is their second single that we spin today. In fact, I could make a strong argument, based on the strength of both sides of the single, that this double sided gem is one of the best garage records to come out of the mid-60s. That's why it's here, right?

The A-Side is the sublime Say That You Will, a song over flowing with quirkiness. Every aspect of the song: the saxophone, the chuncka-chunka incessant lead work and the funky little stutter stop organ breaks -- first heard at :25 -- are just wickedly odd. Everything, EVERYTHING, about this record is excellent.

The flip-side is the brilliant 'Till You Get What You Want.  Minor key organ, ethereal guitar work and Phil's faux British accent work perfectly. And then there is that surprisingly aggressive bridge that starts at 1:14. That would be Phil going from sensitive Phil to aggressive Phil in a snap of his Frantic fingers. Moody, baby. Moody.

Say That You Will or the flip, Till You Get What You Want? Let us know which you think is better in the comment section below. Oh, say that you will.
Until next time, we'll see you On The Flip-Side!

2 comments:

  1. I once tried to learn this song, so I wrote out the lyrics. None of the verses repeated and they seemed all convoluted, so, defeated, I threw in the towel. : ( What I love best about this, other than the chord progression behind the Till You Get What You Want refrain, is the ending. It could have easily faded out, but it doesn't. Instead it's got this great sparse arrangement starting at 2:18 with all instrumentation dropping out except the signature organ and triangle (!) riff. Enter the simple repeating bass line at 2:22, and then the drums returning with the stuttering rhythm guitar at 2:25. Too cool.

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  2. Nicely said, Jack. I'm not sure I could make out the lyrics, but, then again, you've always been a whiz at that.

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