New York Spotlight: The Rogues - You Better Look Now

The New York Spotlight continues!

Today's song comes from The Rogues out of Buffalo. The Rogues were James Pierotti on vocals, Michael Spriggs on lead guitar, Dave Smith on rhythm guitar, Robert Radel on bass and Gary Jaros on drums. They had a big following in the area and even had their own nightclub, The Rogues Gallery, which apparently would book them quite regularly. The guys released at least two, some say three, singles and we're gonna have a listen to the flip-side of their first single, You Better Look Now written by James, Michael and Robert and, like a previous New York Spotlight feature, was released on Audition. Frankly, it's among the finest examples of a garage pop ballad out there. It's really well- crafted with a lovely jangly reverby sound and a great little guitar solo to boot, but it's the sincere lyrics delivered soulfully over a perfect melody that drives it home. I also dig how the refrain seems to appear out of nowhere not to be seen or heard from again. It must have been tempting to throw it in again after every verse, but they didn't, and the result is perfection. Thanks guys! The A-side is an awesome version of Train Kept-a-Rollin too.

Like many, I first heard this song as performed by The Chesterfield Kings in the mid '80s and you can read more about it here.

The Rogues have a facebook page where our photos were found. Flower Bomb Songs has a bunch of fan photos too.

See you on the Flip-Side!

White Whale Records Spotlight: The Turtles - Outside Chance

We're wrapping up our White Whale Records spotlight with arguably the best song ever published by the little label that only lasted five years. The song is Outside Chance and is performed by the label's standard bearer, The Turtles. The Turtles scored a few hits for the label such as Happy Together and the rather painful to listen to Elenore. But this wasn't one of those hits. Outside Chance was released in the Summer of 1966 and was the band's 5th single. The copy you see above is particularly rare as it appeared only as a promo in the Pacific Northwest in July. The single was officially released a month later with a different Flip-Side and a different serial number. Just geekin' out for you record collectors. 

Outside Chance is a superbly crafted song written under a pseudonym by the late Warren Zevon. It just drips with "60s-garage cool" juices. Killer opening riff, defiant lyrics and a remarkably odd bridge. Throw in the jazzy electric piano solo and Howard Kaylan's wonderfully diverse vocal delivery as he easily goes from gentle to growly, and you have a perfect song. Perfect. Mark Volman does most of the harmonizing and Chip Douglas, John Barbata, Al Nichol and Jim Tucker rounded out the band.

The Chesterfield Kings covered this number on their 1979 debut album. Click here for a song-by-song run down of that album. 

Until next time, we'll see you On The Flip-Side!

White Whale Records Spotlight: The Clique - Superman

In search of the elusive White Whale (records) for another day. You can call us Ishmael!

The Clique hailed from Houston, Texas and emerged out of Houston garage band, The Lavender Hour, perhaps best known for their 1967 song, I've Got A Way With Girls. That number was covered by The Chesterfield Kings sometime around 1986. (We wrote about their version a couple of years ago. Check it out here). 

Back to The Clique: Truth be told, I don't have much positive to point towards when it comes to The Clique. They did an okay cover of The 13th Floor Elevators' Splash 1, but their bubblegum sound took over on way too many of their songs other than this one fabulous pop song called Superman. It is of course the Flip-Side to a lesser song pimped out as the A-Side. And it would have stayed largely obscure if not for a band from Georgia called R.E.M. who covered Superman nicely in 1986 for their Life's Rich Pageant album. The harmonies on this song are superb and the simplicity of the structure of the song make this irresistible. I'd argue that the song sounds like a song from earlier in the 60s, but this was released in the Summer of 1969 as the music all around them was getting very heavy and very self indulgent.

Until next time, we'll see you On The Flip-Side!

San Jose Suite: The Harbinger Complex - Time To Kill

Our final day of the San Jose Suite has us crossing the city line into neighboring town, Fremont, California. Cheating, I know. But we're talking about the world's shortest drive on the 880.

The Harbinger Complex were made up of Jim Hockstaff, Ron Rotarius, Robert Hoyle, Jim Redding, and Gary Clarke. The band put out two singles on local labels and two more songs on a bay area compilation called A Pot of Flowers. Today's song, A Time To Kill, which already received a link from us in an excellent Chesterfield Kings article written by Jack Hayden for this site, was on that compilation. It's a funky little song with a palpable Byrds influence.

The very understated Time To Kill, written by Hosckstaff and Hoyle, allegedly touches on some of the thoughts Hoyle experienced upon his return from Vietnam.

Enjoy our final day's salute to San Jose (and just slightly beyond) bands.

Album: Here Are The Chesterfield Kings - Side 2

Today brings us the original versions of the songs that grace side 2 of Here Are The Chesterfield Kings. The first installment, side 1, can be seen here.

The Chesterfield Kings knew these garage masterpieces intimately and understood the period that gave birth to them, and in compiling this diverse blend of nascent and obscure rock and roll, they created a kind of cross-section garage masterwork that never did, never could, materialize in the heyday of this music. It was the fate of any number of excellent acts that rose to the top and produced an album, such as The Chocolate Watch Band or The Sonics, that their album's integrity would become compromised as a result of some pressure to record a popular song or two, or an overzealous manager with studio musicians on the side, or any of the other multitude of pitfalls that assailed these productions. And the obscure acts, like today's The Mourning Reign or The Exotics or yesterday's Painted Ship or The Rogues, who all released seminal garage creations worthy of close study, had to settle with the publishing one or two singles, if they were lucky. So, with an exceptional ear and uncanny taste, The Chesterfield Kings mined this quarry and infused their findings with craftsmanship and attention to detail -- infused it with their own sound -- and served it all up on Here Are.

I hope you enjoy!

The Chocolate Watch Band - No Way Out

The Exotics - Come With Me

The Shades of Night - Fluctuation

The Mourning Reign - Satisfaction Guaranteed (see more here)

The Moving Sidewalks - 99th Floor

The Harbinger Complex - Time To Kill

Little Phil and the Night Shadows - 60 Second Swinger

Album: Here Are The Chesterfield Kings

Sometime in the fall of 1984, while spending a year in England, I was thumbing through a record store in Guilford, south of London, when to my astonishment I came across a copy of Here Are The Chesterfield Kings.  Having just been introduced to this album – and 60’s garage in general – by a friend back in the States, I knew this album was gold.  Isolated from my friend’s and my collection of records back home, I found myself studying this and a few other albums in my lonely little high-schooler bedroom.  The songs Little White Lies, Sixty Second Swinger and Come With Me got special attention.  They gave insight into this other kind of music - unruly, menacing vocals set to a raw pounding beat and inventive instrumentation.  Other songs such as You Better Look Now, Time to Kill or Outside Chance showed the more melodic side to the mid-‘60s music I craved to hear.  As a whole the music on this album was so charged that at times I literally couldn’t believe what I was hearing; and the album was so faithfully presented in the vein of a mid-‘60s era release, from the actual recordings to the picture of the band on the front of album, right down to the images and layout on the back of the album, that I must admit to not knowing for some time in which era this was initially recorded.  This just added to the allure.

The Chesterfield Kings formed in 1979 in Rochester, New York, and were one of the earliest ’60s revival bands as they rode that first crest that included The Lyres out of Boston and The Crawdaddys out of San Diego. In the next few years the Chesterfield Kings – Greg Prevost, Doug Meech, Rick Cona, Andy Babiuk and Orest Guran – released several singles and played locally, and all the while several influential garage-specific compilations – Pebbles and the Pebbles offshoot Highs In the Mid-Sixties - entered the mix. By the time of the Chesterfield King’s 1982 release of “Here Are”, ‘60s garage or otherwise ‘60s-inspired music had a foothold, albeit a distinctly underground foothold, on both coasts and the garage revival was well on its way.  While many of these early acts embraced the ‘60s garage ideal with a zeal, and some frankly nailed it – see The Unclaimed’s Primordial Ooze EP or The Tell-Tale Hearts' eponymous LP – if you wanted the blueprint at a granular level it was Here Are Chesterfield Kings.

Today we look not at Here Are but at the original versions of the songs behind the album.  The album is all covers, something I didn't really get only until recently, such was their ownership of the material. Although the ‘60s garage comps were hitting their stride by 1982, as of the date of release of this album as far as I can tell only one song on it had been comped.  In the pre-internet, pre eBay days, the general awareness and availability of some of these songs, let alone the actual wax, must have been pretty slim indeed, which makes this album all the more stunning.

Today - Side 1.  Stay tuned for Side 2 in the coming days. Enjoy!

The Sonics - The Hustler

The Rogues - You Better Look Now

The Turtles - Outside Chance

Painted Ship - Little White Lies

Zakary Thaks - Won't Come Back

The Choir - I'm Going Home

The Chocolate Watch Band - Expo 2000

Song of the Week: The Chesterfield Kings - I've Gotta Way With Girls

I admit, I am always a little shocked when I put this single on my turntable and it still plays. That's because when I first picked it up in 1984, I played this thing about 69 times a day and I was sure I was going to wear the grooves out. But it still works!

The band is none other than The Chesterfield Kings, whom hailed from the music mecca of America, Rochester, New York. The quintet all met at the legendary House of Guitars (best music store I have ever visited) sometime around the year 1979. They all loved 60's garage, had access to some of the best instruments from the 60's, and the singer, Greg Prevost, was, and still is, a very impressive record collector who helped the band flesh out their set-list. The band started off with a bevy of covers, but, over time, they weaved in more and more of their own compositions.

Our SoTW, I've Gotta Way With Girls, is an original composition from the band a cover from a Texas band that I was previously unaware of, The Lavender Hour. Don't know how I've missed them. The Flip-Side of I've Got A Way With Girls is an equally good original song, She Told Me Lies, which utilizes the all important Hand Saw as an instrument. Back in '84 I was more enamored with the Vox Organ heavy A-Side to the point that my mommy told me I might go blind if I spun it as hard as I liked to do in those younger days. But these days, it's the Flip-Side that grabs my attention and turns my palms all black and hairy. And specifically Richard Cona's awesome guitar work that, unlike most garage band revivalists, shows great restraint in tone and attack. I just love me that classic Rickenbacker sound.

Enjoy.