You Gotta Have… Moxie
Volume 2 (AIP)
by Jon Sarre
Eighty-some-odd tracks from national and international acts that even flew under Lenny Kaye’s Nuggets radar but that a couple people (Bomp chief Greg Shaw, Dave Gibson and ultimately, Greg Shaw again) nevertheless thought worthy of preserving for posterity. So… worldly completist collector of obscure garage punk unknowns (whoops, that’s another series altogether), you who can stomach what’s past Back From the Grave Part Twelve or whatever, will ye shell out the bucks for Bomp sub-label Archive International Productions’ newest offerings? Depends on how deep ya really wanna dig, I suppose. But still, the rhetorical question “Do pigs have wings” fails to underscore that said farm animals have a tendency to wallow.
Down to the barnyard we go, with Volume Two of the AIP/Pebbles sampler of the now defunct (upon founder/President/virtual sole employee/compiler of Boulders and more Dave Gibson’s demise in the early ’90s) Moxie Records trove of barely recorded nobodies from parts as diverse as Memphis, TN and Corvallis, OR. This edition contains, alphabetically “E-R,” which was apparently the way the Boulders series also worked (Vol One was “A-D,” and the remainder of yer ABCs is forthcoming on number three). We kick it all off with the spooky, farfisa-driven Halloween shlock, Cramps meets Sam the Sham madness of Ohio’s Ebb Tides and their “Seance.” On the heels of that come Eddie and the Snowmen with one (I think) original, one traditional (“Danny Boy”), and one Tommy Roe meets the Gentrys cover and they pretty much set the standards for this two-CD set: not a helluva lotta creativity, usually lousy sound, but a fairly listenable survey of American rock’n’roll of the pre/post British invasion world.
For a prime example, here’s HB & the Checkmates‘ “Louie Louie” rip-off, “Louise Louise,” where these dumbasses attempt to do something their audience will like without havin’ to do another cover (HB hailed from the PacNorthWest where the Wailers, the Sonics, Paul Revere and the Raiders, and the Kingsmen had already beaten the song into the ground). Ithaca, NY’s Huns obviously didn’t let the terrible recording quality distract ’em from their Ray Manzarek jams meets Standells’ “Dirty Water” punk (and they also end up on Back From the Grave Four, possibly without the board completely failing in the middle of the song). If goofy humor is what yer lookin’ for, then check out Jerry and the Landslides‘ Xmas novelty/Stones parody “Get Off My Roof,” but then the Laymen get things all serious again by hi-jacking Dave Allan and enough of the “TV Eye” riff to make ya think…
Deep in the heart of Texas were the Livin’ End, who (I think it’s the same band) do some better material on a SunDazed Texas Twisted comp I have, but their psychedelicized Kinks rip-off works well here. Dayton, Ohio’s band of the same name aren’t quite as good, and neither is a non-“It’s a Happening” track from Philly’s Magic Mushrooms. The Man-Dells rip-off Richie Valens and the Swinging Medallions, while the Mersey Men do the same for Willie Dixon and Bo Diddley. The Mops‘ “Please Kill Me” proves that Guitar Wolf ain’t some Nipponese aberration and Mystic Number National Band‘s Screamin’ Jay Hawkins not via Creedence Clearwater Revival “I Put a Spell on You” is make-my-brown-eyes-blue-eyed soul of the highest order. Getting into the “R”‘s, Seattle’s Rain contribute Pretty Things and Them knock-offs and Randy and the Radiants offer up what was probably Sun Records’ only garage rock release… I guess ole Sam Phillips didn’t see that comin’…
Volume 12 of the ever-continuing Pebbles saga (it’s “The World” on this one) shows ya just how many corners of the Earth were touched by the long arm of the Fuzz. Lotsa Europeans here, but the Japanese (on the Bunnys noisy surfarific “Moanin'”) and the New Zelanders (via the Pleazers‘ cover of the Who’s – but I think penned by Creation’s Shel Talmy – “Bald Headed Woman”) also get in their licks. For good stuff, we have Belgium’s Four Rockets with their “Tired of Waiting”-reminiscent “The Place Where She Lives,” Dutch band Phantoms‘ Diddley-beat “Roadrunner,” the Satins‘ (from Portugal) Chuck Berry pre-Johnny Thunders getting the idea “Too Much Monkey Business,” and French-speaking but otherwise okay Noel Deschamps doin’ John Mayall’s “I’m Your Witch Doctor” (unhelpfully translated into Gallic). Holland’s (who apparently were actually English) Scorpions (not to be confused with the later West German pop-metalers of the same name) score with some bratty harp and organ-flavored primi-punk. Lebanon’s Cedars offer MiddleEastern-spiced Byrds-style pop, whilst oddball en français Evariste snarls out dada nonsense I probably couldn’t understand even if I’d paid more attention in high school. Evariste’s countrymen tho’ not soulmates, the Five Gentlemen chirp thru the Zimmerman-speak of “Dis Nous Dylan,” which seems more interesting when ya take into consideration that the chords sound similar to “Like a Rolling Stone.” As something like this should offer, the notes (I guess ’em to be penned by Greg Shaw or a well-informed henchman) are pretty informative ‘cept for the fact that I’m missin’ the last page so trivia is unavailable on the Entertainers and the Brothers Grimm. They are, however, from Holland and Australia, respectively.
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