The EVERLY BROTHERS- Love Is Strange/Man With Money

A perfect single. Both sides.

Released in 1965, when the Everlys were one of the only rock'n'roll era acts still being influenced by and influencing the cutting edge of pop music, and still having hits, at least outside the US. I would guess that most of the British groups listened carefully to the production and particularly the guitar sounds on this record (the ever amazing James Burton), and that 'Man With Money' was a touchstone for the future sound of The Who.

The EVERLY BROTHERS- Love Is Strange

The EVERLY BROTHERS- Man With Money

The STRANGE BOYS- Woe Is You and Me/Baby, Please Don't Go

Really enjoying this Texas band just now. The A side of this single comes off a great album called 'The Strange Boys and Girls Club' (on the magnificent In The Red record label). Like the Black Lips they play old music but make it fresh and vital. Their sound is a garagey slurred take on the blues, with a real pop ear under raw production, and for me it really hits the spot. The B-side is an old blues/rock standard that I first heard in its rock form (Them, Amboy Dukes, AC/DC*), but The Strange Boys laid back shuffle takes it further back toward Big Joe Williams 1935 version, though John Lee Hooker gets the writing credit on the Strange Boys' sleeve (not sure how that works, good lawyers I guess).

I obtained this 7" from Missing Link one of two great Melbourne record shops still selling new music, both from city centre basements, and thriving through a love of music and strong connection with the local scene. While Missing Link leans towards punk, metal and experimental stuff, the other great store (and record label), Off The Hip, focusses on garage and '60s style rock. Wish there was something like either back in embra.

The STRANGE BOYS- Woe Is You and Me

The STRANGE BOYS- Baby, Please Don't Go

*I'm afraid I couldn't resist posting this clip of AC/DC camping up 'Baby, Please Don't Go' with Bon in a drag, fag in hand!

TONI McCANN- My Baby/No/Saturday Date

Here we have a reissue from Zenith Records (who run their own vinyl pressing plant in Melbourne) of three songs from Toni McCann's impossible to find first two singles, even this reissue is pretty rare now. The legend on the reverse of the sleeve states: "Our very own (child) queen of punk", and the wild garage beat sounds contained within live up to this.

Toni recorded these tracks when she was just fifteen years old, backed by Tony Worsley's band, The Fabulous Blue Jays, and they stand as the toughest female fronted tracks of '60s Australian beat, a match to anything on the wonderful Girls From the Garage compilations. There's a cool interview with Toni here.

TONI McCANN- My Baby

TONI McCANN- No

TONI McCANN- Saturday Date

The GREEN TELESCOPE- Two By Two/A Glimpse/Make Me Stay

Speaking of The Thanes, here is singer Lenny Helsing, pre-Thanes in The Green Telescope. It may seem slightly mad (and probably is) to go all the way around the world to buy a record by an Edinburgh band, but you just don't see these in Scotland anymore, plus I was much too young to buy it first time around. To my surprise I've seen lots of Lenny's old records (Thanes, Green Telescope and even The Stayrcase) in various Melbourne record shops and having spoken to a few folks it seems that he was a bit of hero here back in the garage revival days, and of course Melbourne label Corduroy (now defunct?) put out a couple of The Thanes' records.

Anyway, I've posted the three band originals (the other track is an Outsiders cover, naturally). The production is great especially considering the 1985 date, and although obviously indebted to '60s garage and nederbeat, some punk/indie elements (in a good way), nice songwriting, and Lenny's awesome vocals combine to make this much more than an exercise in nostalgia; in fact to my ears it's one of the best artefacts of the 80s garage revival.

I think some of these tracks are on a CD entitled 'Gardyloo! Edinburgh's Detritus 1983-2003' a collection of overlooked garage and rock'n'roll. Unsure if you can get this in the shops, but if you message Beatsville they might sell you one, as I know Angus has plenty in his cupboard! Lenny also drums on the cracking new Wildebeests LP which I advise tracking down.

The GREEN TELESCOPE- Two By Two

The GREEN TELESCOPE- A Glimpse

The GREEN TELESCOPE- Make Me Stay

The FROWNING CLOUDS- Time Wastin' Woman/Sorry Business

Here is a new record! These Geelong kids (next town along from Melbourne) recently played a Friday night residency at a bar near my house, and I ended up catching them twice. They play super enthusiastic and authentic 1960s r'n'b in the style of the very early Rolling Stones/Pretty Things/Beatles, with a large dash of Back From The Grave garage. Now they certainly aren't the first or will they be the last to play this stuff, but they do it really well. Nearly all the songs are fine originals (the only cover I noticed was 'I'm Rowed Out' by the Eyes) that manage to combine really raw playing with great melodies, and they have two ace frontmen who split singing/snarling/harmonica duties.

Back in the UK we have some really cool garage bands (The Thanes to pick the best Scottish example) but, no offence guys, most of them are hardly spring chickens! So the fact The Frowning Clouds are all about 17 years old and look just like like their 60s idols really adds to the authenticity, as did the screaming girls down the front of the stage (I kid you not).

These two songs come from their first record, an EP (though is it really an EP if it only has 3 songs and plays at 45?) released by a small Spanish label Monterrey, and although the production could be better, this is a fine debut. Watch out for a full length LP that's in the works.

The FROWNING CLOUDS- Time Wastin' Woman

The FROWNING CLOUDS- Sorry Business

THE AVENGERS- Listen Listen/Just One More Chance

I got this single in Brisbane, where The Avengers ruled the roost for a couple of years in the late '60s (no relation to the New Zealand band of the same name). 'Listen Listen' is a fabulous Beatles rip-off; a confident, melodic rocker, excellently produced by Howard Gable. Unfortunately the brash style, that works so well on the A-side, doesn't hit the spot on the flip, where their cover of The Outer Limits' 'Just One More Chance' lacks the fragility that makes the original such a good track.

The AVENGERS- Listen Listen

The AVENGERS- Just One More Chance

GENE SIMMONS- Haunted House/Hey, Hey, Little Girl

So far I've only blogged about Australian based artists, but my criteria is simply that they should be records I've acquired here, so this one's an infectious double sider of Memphis rock'n'roll novelty pop that I scored at a Melbourne record fair.

Gene Simmons was a minor rockabilly singer who recorded for both Sun and Hi records, who's name was later borrowed by future Kiss man Chaim Witz. 'Haunted House', which must of sounded a little behind the times when it charted in 1964, was originally done by Johnny Fuller in 1958 and Gene first heard the song performed live by Sam the Sham, who also recorded a version at about the same time. All three versions are great but I think Simmon's is the best. The B-side, a Simmons/Ray Harris original, is also a real fun tune with upfront piano and a bit of a New Orleans feel.

GENE SIMMONS- Haunted House

GENE SIMMONS- Hey, Hey, Little Girl

ROGER THWAITES- Age Of Time

This is the sort of thing that almost makes all those hours flicking through records in charity shops worth while! At the very back of a pile of about 200 hundred assorted Perry Como, Bavarian drinking song, classical LPs and other assorted recorded crap, was this record. In fact, I nearly didn't pick it up as the rather cheap looking cover suggested easy listening or religious folk songs, but after a scan of the back revealed a 1971 release date (on the tiny Sydney record label Sound Unlimited), no cover versions, no mention of God, and that the various musicians included 3 guitarists and a pedal steel/dobro I took the plunge.

So what did I get for my $3? Well, from the first song on, a surprisingly good LP which appears almost as if it had been produced with my specific tastes in mind! The vocals are mostly big and booming with plenty of echo, the songs are great, the lyrics interesting (mostly about the Australian outback and people), the backing a peculiar mix of folk, early rock'n'roll, psychedelia, country and pop, with some songs featuring scorching acid guitar and studio effects. The closest reference point would be Lee Hazlewood's solo LPs, which happen to be among my favourites, and if Mr Thwaites hadn't heard Lee (did his solo records get released in Australia?) then he surely must have been a fan of Elvis and Johnny Cash. Any complaints? Well, he's not as good as Lee Hazlewood at his best (but who is?) and I could have done without the prominent flute on a couple of tracks, but mostly this is a great, magical record.

The internet doesn't turn up much information on Roger Thwaites. The sum of which is roughly: that he recorded at least four more equally rare LPs: '200 Years of Colonial Australia', 'North By Northwest', 'Bound For Glory' and 'Ladies Love Outlaws', that he and his father lived in the small ex-gold mining town south of Sydney and were both involved in recording the area's history, that according to the sleeve notes to '200 Years' (1970): "He numbers among the few Australians who have wiped the dust of such cities as as Ankara, Istanbul, Allepo, Damascus and Baghdad off his shoes," and that Roger is performing a musical history of sheep shearing at next years Canberra's agricultural show! All very intriguing, but perhaps it's time Roger Thwaites got a bit of recognition for 'Age Of Time', and someone got it reissued.

I've picked out two of my favourites below but, honestly the rest of the LP is just as good.

ROGER THWAITES- Dobro Dan

ROGER THWAITES- Gully Raker

NORMIE ROWE- Hello/Home To Stay

Normie Rowe was a huge pop star in 1960s Australia and released many of the eras best selling records, some of which were pretty darn good. His career was cut short after being drafted into the army in 1967 with subsequent service in Vietnam. 'Hello', released in 1970 was his only post army hit. The A side, despite some interesting lite-psychedelic backing, is basically a cheesy pop ballad, written by Johnny Young who produced both sides.

'Home To Stay' on the other hand, is an exuberant 'southern' style funk rock tune written by Normie himself. Not sure who the backing band was on this, but the horn section is great, the guitar licks are firey, the drums are definitely funky; while Normie's vocal are fun and exciting. Certainly worth a listen.

NORMIE ROWE- Hello

NORMIE ROWE- Home To Stay

The THROB- The Fortune Teller/Believe In Me

The Throb! What a great name for a band, narrowly losing out to New Zealand's Hi-Revving Tongues as my favourite 60s Antipodean band name. The Throb were another legendary Australian mid-60s group with a great live reputation, leather clad image, and one further classic single ('Black' also released in 1966).

Again this is a 7" I have lusted after for a years, ever since hearing 'Believe In Me' on a compilation (I think, one of the Digging For Gold series). Apparently this record is generally sought after for the "better than the stones" cover of 'Fortune Teller', which is pretty good, though I prefer the Tony Jackson version which is in a similar vein.

More to my taste is the band original, 'Believe In Me' and it turns out the late great Dean Mittelhauser agreed with me. Here's an extract from his indispensable oz beat fanzine, The Livin' End: "...every time I reach for this single, I instinctively play the B side. "Believe In Me" is real moody - Denny Burgess' sings totally unlike any other of the Throb's fab tracks and you'd be hard pushed to pick this as the Throb. It's an atmospheric mover with this fantastic muted fuzz throughout. But, except for a wyld mini-explosion about three-quarters of the way thru, it's kept on a tight leash (like my fat cocker spaniel!)..." 'nuff said.

THE THROB- The Fortune Teller

THE THROB- Believe In Me