Oriphiel

It's time to get back to Garage Rock! While it's certainly fun looking at albums, the true heart of Garage Rock has always been in singles. Most independent bands back in the day didn't get a chance to release a full fledged LP, and their legacies have been perpetuated by those who have a taste for the wild and obscure, daring to delve into mountains of vinyl as they travel from one seedy thrift store to the next. Thanks to their efforts, hundreds (if not thousands) of vintage singles have been discovered and re-released on various compilations, giving us the opportunity to listen to them today! So in the spirit of single hunting, here are a few 45's. Some are by acts you may recognize (like Gene Vincent and Los Rockin' Devils), while others are pretty obscure.

The McKinleys - Sweet and Tender Romance/That Lonely Feeling - With the assistance of guitar idol Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin and Yardbirds fame, Sweet and Tender Romance takes on an incredible amount of depth for a Vocal-Pop number! The clean vocal harmonies layered over a rough and distorted guitar riff and a heavy drum beat create a very compelling and Garage-y sound. On the flip side, That Lonely Feeling is a more soft and traditional Pop Ballad, serving as the 'smooth' to the first track's 'rough'.



Gene Vincent - Bird Doggin'/Ain't That Too Much - Opening up with the Garage Rock mayhem of Bird Doggin', Gene Vincent proves that he can effectively experiment outside of his Rockabilly roots. After the great build-up of the intro, it's a fantastic track with rough vocals and distorted guitar work. The B-Side, Ain't That Too Much, is a twangy number more in the vein of his classic sound. However it still has the fingerprint of the 1960's on it, following the successful "Riff-Rock + vocal harmonies + Harmonica solo = Far Out" formula of the times.



The Pandoras - About My Baby (I Could Write a Book)/New Day - This vintage all-girl Garage-Pop outfit has nothing to do with the 1980's Revivalist punks of the same name! About My Baby is a catchy and bouncy Pop number in the trademark Beat style of the sixties. Unfortunately, I can't find their B-Side, New Day, anywhere.



The Pandas - Walk/Girl From New York City - The Pandas waste no time in drenching your ears with fuzz-guitars and slamming drums, using a back beat that sounds awfully similar to the signature riff from Roy Orbison's "Oh, Pretty Woman". The song culminates into a few great musical explosions preceding fun guitar and harmonica breaks! Turn the 45 over, and Girl From New York City starts up with a more Pop-sensible sound. Even if this B-Side isn't as energetic as the opener, the fuzz-guitars and steady drums work well with the clean harmonies to create a song that's easy to like.



Los Rockin' Devils - Gloria/Perro Lanudo - While the band Them hit the UK charts, and the Shadows of Knight attacked the U.S. billboards, Los Rockin' Devils brought the Garage Rock classic to the radio waves of Latin America. Their version isn't as rough as the original, however it still has a very fun energy to it with raw vocals and a Psychedelic electric organ! Their cover of "Shaggy Dog", titled "Perro Lanudo", is an odd-ball scramble that apparently did very well for their popularity back in the day. It's got fun electric organ work, and just as the name suggests, has vocalists barking like dogs!



The Mystery Trio - Willie Joe/Raindrops - I don't curse often, but all I can say is holy ****! That second guitar solo in Willie Joe is some of the fastest and fiercest Rockabilly noise I've ever heard! Excuse me while I search the floor for my jaw... As with many obscure 45's, the B-Side is nowhere to be found. I'll have to track it down someday!



State of Mind - Move/If He Comes Back - Move is a smooth Garage Rock number with a Blues-y tone to it, and a killer guitar break! I believe it appeared on one of the first issues of the Pebbles series of compilations, but got lost in the translation of the series from vinyl to CD. If He Comes Back is a straightforward Pop number, and it sounds like something The Rolling Stones could have made in their early days.