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

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

The MASTERS APPRENTICES- Buried and Dead/She's My Girl

Hopefully, now my technical problems are over (I've purchasing a new stylus and moved from yahoo media player to divshare), this blog can get going and I can share some of the really great records I've scored in the last couple of months.

First up is an absolute monster of a 7" that I've adored since first hearing at least 15 years ago on a glorious bootleg compilation named 'Twisted Psychotic Teenage Fuzz-Busters' which was also my first introduction to the likes of Q65, the Monks and The Masters Apprentices other drop dead, sixties punk masterpiece; 'Undecided'.

I'm not sure exactly how rare/expensive 'Buried and Dead' is, but it took me a lot of looking around to find a copy until I got this slightly battered (though great playing) copy from the last Camberwell Record Fair here in Melbourne. As you can see from the photo the middle is popped, obscuring the song title, which is possibly why I got it for less than the cost of my tram fare.

'Buried and Dead' was Adelaide band, the Masters Apprentices second single, and to my ears is pretty unique sounding thing: huge guitar riff, massive drums, snarling, grunting punk/r'n'b vocal, with a nice 1967 sound effect and kinda raga section which don't detract from the rawness and aggression of the recording and performance. I guess if it was an English record you might call it 'freakbeat' but perhaps it owes more to the slightly earlier proto metal of 'You Really Got Me' era Kinks or the Easybeats' 'Sorry' and parallels the sort of records The Unrelated Segments were blasting out of Detroit at the same time.

The B-side is a great song in it's own right, if not up to the dizzying coolness of the top side, 'She's My Girl' is a kind of mid paced early Stones/Pretty Things bluesy number with another brilliant vocal from Jim Keays who snarls and slobbers over the top, telling us how he's not worthy of his girls attentions.

The Masters Apprentices went on to become one of the biggest bands in Australia right up to the early 70s, and made lots of great records, but for me 'Buried and Dead' and 'Undecided' (anyone got a spare?) will always remain their finest waxings.

THE MASTERS APPRENTICES- Buried and Dead

THE MASTER'S APPRENTICES- She's My Girl

And here is an amazing, and appropriately Halloweeny, promo film the band made for 'Buried and Dead':

DOUG ASHDOWN- Source

This album is a real beauty. I'm sure if it was an American or British release it would go for stupid money, not the $14 I spent. I love the cover which uses the same template as the great United States of America album also on CBS, perhaps there are more LPs with this design?

Doug Ashdown was an early folky from Adelade, who later became a successful country artist and songwriter both in Australia and the US, and Source, released in 1968, was his third LP. It seems that CBS had recognised his potential early on and may have brought him out to the USA before this LP was made (my info isn't very clear on this). The recordings on Source certainly seem steeped in the folk/country/psych/singer-songwriter thing happening in LA at the time. Brilliantly chosen and challenging covers, by the likes of Fred Neil (The Dolphins), Leonard Cohen (Suzanne), the Byrds (5 D), are given a very personal stamp with relatively spare arrangements, making the most of Doug's big beautiful voice, which at times reaches Fred Neil like intensity and purity, and 12 string guitar, alongside restrained flute, tablas, piano and occasional psychedelic studio effects. A couple of great originals 'Something Strange' and 'Gambaraga', and the opener 'He's All These Things' (composed by Dave Guard once of the Kingston Trio, who after moving to Australia in 1962 became a lynchpin of the progressive Australia folk scene) ramp up the more outsider freak folk vibe, with mystic/religious lyrics and subtly exotic, psychedelic instrumentation.

Source is a fine record with no bum tracks, that I would happily compare to some of my favourite LPs by the likes of Bob Lind, Fred Neil, Gene Clark, the Beau Brummels, et al. Now I just have to find a copy of Doug's 1970 double album of orchestrated country weirdness called The Age of Mouse...

DOUG ASHDOWN- He's All These Things

DOUG ASHDOWN- Something Strange