The Turtles - Almost There

The Turtles weren't exactly known for  hard edge rock-n-roll, but this may change your mind (a little). 

The Turtles released their first single in July of 1965. That single, on White Whale Records, was a harmless cover of Bob Dylan's It Ain't Me Babe. But the lucky kid that bothered to flip the record over was treated to an original composition by the band's lead singer, Howard Kaylan. That song is Almost There, a pounding beat number reminiscent of The Kinks' instrumental, Revenge. The song tells the tale of a young man on a journey to see his girl. The poor lad has to travel 10 miles everyday just to see his baby. Thank goodness, like all Angelenos, he had a car to use to see her, bye and bye. 

It appears that this single is not only the first record ever released by the Los Angeles band, but also the first record ever released by the short lived White Whale Records. Not a bad start for either. 

Until next time, we'll 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!