Oriphiel

Continuing with the EP Madness...

Sir Psycho



In the late 1970's, in the heart of the Punk and Post-Punk years, many different musical scenes sprung up as bands experimented with the sounds that they could achieve. One such fledgling scene was the emerging genre of Psychobilly, and The Sharks were one of the bands that helped it to make the transition into the 1980's. Comprised of Alan Wilson, Paul Hodges, and Steve Whitehouse, these UK rockers broke up in 1986, just three years after releasing their debut album. However, they reunited in the early 1990's, and set about once again helping their genre to continue into a new decade. They've been together ever since (and, in fact, have just recently released some new material). This EP, "Sir Psycho", was released in 1996, three years after their come-back.

1. "Side Show Freak" - With twangy guitars, a frantic vocalist, and plenty of style, this Psychobilly number has all the hallmarks of the genre. It's a solid number, but lacks a little bit of the raw intensity that the style has become infamous for.

2. "Sir Psycho" - This track has more energy to it, with a quicker pace and a fun intro. Also, The Sharks' UK roots really show here, as their accents are much more noticeable than in the first track. I like it!



3. "Cold Heart" - Another quick and scrambling track! Similar to the last song, this one is just as energetic, and has quite a few skillful guitar breaks played with a generous amount of twang.

4. "Between Two Worlds" - The final track of the EP. Unfortunately, I can't find this song anywhere. Looks like I'll have to track it down one of these days...


I suppose I should warn you that these songs have explicit lyrics here and there...

The Sharks have a pretty fun time with this one, keeping things moving at a good pace. Their particular style of Psychobilly focuses more on speed and cohesion rather than the wild intensity of their peers. Don't be misled by that statement though, they have quite a bit of excitement to their music, and I imagine that these songs would be the perfect soundtrack if you ever find yourself drag racing with the devil!

Oriphiel

It's time to finish off this wave of EP Madness...

Cold Wars



This EP was released in 1979 by the cult Scottish Punk band The Rezillos! It was crafted using songs from their debut LP, and put out during a turbulent time in their history, being the last material that they released together in their current incarnation. After breaking up, they had a bit of a revival in the 1980's under the new name "The Revillos", who are still putting out new material and touring to this day. Comprised of Fay Fife (the eccentric lead vocalist), Jo Callis (who later joined The Human League), Eugene Reynolds, Hi-Fi Harris, Dr. D.K. Smyth, William Mysterious, and Angel Paterson, as well as many other members at different times, here are The Rezillos!

1. "Cold Wars" - A New Wave Punk song through and through. It's a fun and solid number, with the distortion and thrashy energy of other Punk songs put out at the same time.



2. "Flying Saucer Attack" - The Rezillos take the intensity of Punk Rock and mix it with their own distinctly light-hearted sound! One of their classic songs (along with "Top of the Pops", which was a solid hit for them), it captures them in their brief prime.

3. "Twist and Shout" - A live track! It's kind of odd, being a Post-Punk take on a classic Rock 'n Roll tune, but it generally manages to entertain throughout. This is the only song on the EP where Fay Fife isn't the lead vocalist (I believe Eugene Reynolds is singing here, but i'm not positive).



This is kind of an awkward EP, being a re-release of older material with a live track seemingly added as a bonus, and it seems like it's simply an attempt on the part of their label to cash in on an imploding band. Still, Flying Saucer Attack is as fun as it's always been, and while Cold Wars isn't one of their strongest tracks, it's still a fairly solid Punk song.

And thus ends this round of EP Madness! Sadly, that means it's now time for us to part, however fear not! I'll return before too long, bringing with me a new and exciting album for us to examine. Until then, keep on being amazing people, and remember that the best music happens in the Garage!

Oriphiel

Looking through Bomp Records' extensive catalogue of albums and singles, I found a band that caught my interest. Named "Les Hell on Heels", from Phoenix Arizona, they're apparently the remnants of a short-lived band called "The Peeps". After starting over with a new name, they joined Bomp to cut their self-titled debut album, which was received fairly well (by the few people who heard it, that is). While information on this obscure band is hard to come by, Bomp's listing for their CD credits production to Jack Endino (who has a good reputation, working with bands like Mudhoney). Comprised of Chela LaRue, Paula Monarch, Katie Rose, and Kristin Machynski, here is their 2004 debut!

Les Hell on Heels



1. "My Kind of Trouble" - Opening with a straightforward Punk-style rocker, Les Hell on Heels attack with short and rough bursts of guitar work, loud and solid drumming, and steady bass playing. The dirty and laid-back vocals tie it all together, allowing these girls to kick things off with a fun and memorable bang!

2. "Got What You Need" - A fantastic and catchy Pop-Punk number! It kind of sounds like a roughed up and psyched out version of Nikki and the Corvettes, having clear and sweet vocals/harmonies layered over furious Punk instrumentation! This is a great song, and it leaves quite an impression.

3. "Hell on Heels" - Heavily influenced by the rough-yet-catchy sound of Pop-Punk bands from the late 1970's, as well as the Skate-Punk bands of the 1990's, this is a very rough and uncompromising foot-stomper! These girls can definitely rock with the best of 'em.



4. "He's Alright" - A great mixture of sweet and snarl, the guitar is distorted almost to the point of having a fuzz-effect over it! Another track that slams into you, without a moment's rest.

5. "Said and Done" - This one changes things up by having a slightly less grit to it (although the slamming drums and almost-fuzz-guitar returns in grand fashion). Altogether, a very strong and catchy Pop-Punk song.

6. "Ain't so Cool" - Similar to the other tracks on the album, albeit a little more scattered and sloppy. It's still fairly solid, even if it lacks the catchy polished-roughness of the earlier tracks in lieu of going for a purely raw sound.



7. "Real Thing" - The vocals here remind me of Paula Pierce's gloriously sloppy Garage Rock snarls! The drumming and guitar work are handled very well in this one, having a nice and heavy Punk tone to them.

8. "Broke Down Love" - I like the "Destroy that Boy"-esque lyrics in this Punk number ( like "I'll take him down to the junkyard, and smash him for parts!"). Definitely has a fun charm to it's wild energy, and the slow-down at the end is a nice touch.

9. "Waste of Time" - Starting with a nice guitar riff, this rough track has a good amount of fairly clean vocals harmonies to give it depth. Of all the songs on this album, this is the one that borders most on Hard Rock/Garage Rock territory.



10. "Pretender" - A very infectious number, I quickly found myself drumming along to it! Another Punk track that relies on a core guitar riff and steady drumming, although they mix things up by changing the riff near the end of the song, before the guitar break.

11. "Snake Eyes" - This one edges on on a Metal sound when it begins, having heavy use of bass drumming and low guitar playing. However, it quickly becomes a Pop-Punk song, finishing the album just as it started; with a beautiful bang!


If you listen to their album on youtube, keep in mind that whoever uploaded it made a mistake; they mixed up the names of two tracks. Their upload of "Said and Done" is actually "Ain't so Cool", and vice versa.

Les Hell of Heels are often identified as a Garage Rock band, and their inclusion to Bomp Records lends authenticity to that label. However, I think it's much more accurate to say that they're a Pop-Punk band through and through. In that regard, this album is a very solid piece of work, and is a fantastic marriage of brutal minimalism with bubblegum hooks. Although it lacks much experimentation and variety, it's also incredibly catchy and engaging. All in all, I highly recommend it, and I'll be keeping an eye out for more of their work!

Oriphiel

Before I update this journal any further, I have a question for all of you; what do you think of the format? Last week, beginning with my entry on The Ace of Cups, I started holding off on posting youtube videos until the end of the entry, where I'd put two or three songs that were highlights of the album (and I later edited The Muffs' entry to reflect this format as well). Should I keep going in this direction, or should I stick to the old format where videos were few and far between? I could also follow the norm in journaltopia and stick to posting videos inside of spoiler tumbnails, but I personally like the way that pages look when they have videos plainly embedded in them. Should I do fewer special entries, like EP Madness, Boys Versus Girls, the Singles Mixer, and Mystery Shots? Should I focus more on Garage Rock, and less on other genres?

Any feedback would be appreciated! And as always, if you know any obscure bands, albums, or musical scenes, please send them my way!

Moss

I Like what you are doing with the vids although not sure what mods think. And I'm too dumb to understand the point of using spoilers.

Oriphiel

It helps the page load faster, as the videos are hidden unless you open up the spoiler thumbnails. I personally don't like doing it, but I was curious to see if anyone was having trouble loading the journal.

Pet_Sounds

I'm not having any problems with it.

My advice: if you want to write about garage rock, write about garage rock. If you want to write about psychobilly, write about psychobilly. Write about what you want to write about--people are interested.

__________________
Everybody's dying just to get the disease

Trollheart

There's a general rule/request that people using more than I think three videos on an article (may be page, not sure) spoiler them. This is because when the mods approve an entry any large amount of videos can slow down or, in the case of me once to my shame, shut them down completely. It's important to realise that we don't all have the latest hi-tech doodads, and some of our computers can't cope with all that data.

So I believe the polite thing to do is spoiler any videos more than two or three at a time. Personally, I stopped using videos late last year; I know it helps break up text but to be honest if anyone wants to hear examples of the music I'm writing about it's easy to hit Youtube.com, and to my mind if my descriptions and writing are not enough to give you a flavour of the band or the artiste, or to get across the points I'm trying to, then that's a flaw with my writing and using videos to illustrate my points is just an easy and lazy way out.

Also, often finding YTs can be annoyingly hard.

I don't mind either way, but I do find that with, for instance, Unknown Soldier's journal, my PC will struggle a little as it gets to the videos, and it's not by any means a piece of crap.

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Oriphiel

Boys Versus Girls: "Pebbles Volume Two" Versus "Girls in the Garage Part Three"

It's been awhile since we looked at "Girls in the Garage", the series that kicked off this journal, and I've also neglected to feature much of the Pebbles series. So, to remedy the situation, we'll pick up right where we left off with both collections, pitting them against each other in a no-holds-barred battle of the sexes! Which compilation will come out on top? Let's find out!

Girls in the Garage Part Three


The album cover is NSFW, so have a picture of The Liverbirds instead!

1. The Liverbirds - "Why Do You Hang Around Me?" - Opening up the ceremonies are the queens of Merseybeat themselves, The Liverbirds! Their love of Bo Diddley always seemed to give their Beat songs a slight Blues-y feeling, and this one is no different. A solid tune, although not one of my favorites of their work.

2. The Liverbirds - "Diddley Daddy" - And here's a shout out to the classic bluesman Bo Diddley himself, with a cover of one of his numbers. It's got a nice bit of blues grit to the guitar playing, but at heart it's still a dancehall Merseybeat song.

3. Patti's Groove - "It Won't Last Long" - This one has already been featured in this journal, back when I announced that I'd be looking into Post-Punk and Rockabilly. It's still as fun and energetic as ever!

4. Plommons - "Last Train to Liverpool" - I believe these girls were from Sweden... regardless, they've got the Liverpool fever that came over most everyone back during the British Invasion! This is a solid and charming Garage-Pop number.


The Plommons!

5. Mandy and the Girlfriends - "Money" - Mixed in an odd fashion, the volume of the lead vocals and the drums overpower everything else, including the barely present guitars, electric organ, and background vocalists. Still, the snarling proto-punk vocals are easily the most interesting part of this take on Barrett Strong's Motown classic, so it all works out!

6. Jenny and the Statesiders - "Putty" - Nice! With a great heavy backbeat and catchy vocals, this is one of the strongest tracks so far. The guitar break was pretty fun, as well!

7. Tone Benders - "Little Black Egg" - A weird song that is sweet and sloppy at the same time. The master that it came from must've been pretty faded, because I can't make out just what the vocalists are saying...

8. Jacqueline Taieb - "7:00 a.m." - The English language version of the French original "7 Heure du Matin", which was featured on "Girls in the Garage Volume Two". It's just as awesome as the original, and I actually kind of prefer the way this version sounds.


Jacqueline Taieb, once again!

9. Cake - "Baby That's Me" - A pretty straightforward Garage-Pop number. It's the normal bubblegum fare of the day, but for some reason it's kind of creepy sounding. Especially the strings near the end.

10. Minnie and the Kneebones - "Me and My Miniskirt" - I couldn't find this song as it's labeled on the CD, but I did find a version by Karen Young and the Knee Caps. Maybe they mislabeled it? Anyway, the version I heard was a Garage Pop number with sweet vocals and the occasional Psychedelic guitar riff in the background. It's a tribute to the miniskirt, which was all the rage in the world of 1960's fashion.

11. Surfer Girls - "Draggin' Wagon" - This is a blatant knock-off of Johnny B. Goode, with the lyrics changed to be about surfin' and drivin' around in woodys. Heh, I kind of like it!

12. Kay Bell and the Tuffs - "Surfer Stomp" - Awesome! This is an incredibly infectious twangy and wild surfin' tune, and it drips energy! I love it!


Kay Bell!

13. Jean Robinson - "Weekend Blues" - Another very odd track. This one sounds like it was heavily influenced by the teen melodrama Pop numbers of the 1950's, yet it has the rough fuzz of low production values layered over it.

14. Feebeez - "Walk Away" - The compilation returns to 1960's style Garage Pop, with this simple Beat number about breaking up.

15. Sham-ettes - "Big Bad Wolf" - A sort of Blues-y Beat song, this one is actually pretty solid! I like the electric organ that kicks in during the chorus.

16. Debs - "Sloopy's Gonna Hang On" - Probably made in response to the lighthearted classic "Hang on Sloopy". It's actually got a surprisingly heavy backbeat, and the guitar solo is fantastic (just like in the original)!


The Debs' 45!

17. Society's Children - "Mr. Genie Man" - Heh, it was only a matter of time before a fuzz-drenched Psychedelic number popped up! This one is kind of all over the place and isn't very solid, however it's energy gives it a sense of charm.

18. The Pussycats - "Dressed in Black" - Returning from Part Two, The Pussycats bring a a very clean and classy cover of a Shangri-Las number to the table.

19. Jeff and the Atlantics Featuring Cathe - "I'll Find Him" - I really like the tune of this one, even if the vocalist seems a little out of their element in a Blues-y Beat song. I'd love to hear this track covered some day. Anyway, the real stand-out here is the drumming, which is very loud and steady.

20. The What Four - "I'm Gonna Destroy That Boy" - Most vintage all-guy Garage Rock bands loved to play songs about their conquests, and this Garage Pop classic by the all-girl What Four was one of many to turn the tables on them. With a name like "I'm Gonna Destroy That Boy", you'd expect it to be pretty wild, but it's actually fairly straightforward (although the lyrics are still really fun).


The What Four!

21. The Girls - "Rocket for Girls" - Space Rock time! This is a groovy track about a bunch of girls taking a rocket into outer space, beckoning the listener to come along with them.

22. Stacy's 5th - "This Thing" - A haunting Vocal-Pop ballad with fantastic vocals and backing harmonies.

23. Angel and the Devines - "Octopus" - Finishing off the album is another 1950's influenced Garage Pop number, this one with a few Psychedelic sound-effects and Beach Boys-esque backing harmonies.



Though not as rough and impactful as the first entry in the series, and not as varied and memorable as the second, the third does a good job of looking at obscure Pop and Beat-style groups, with a little bit of the surfin' sound thrown in for kicks. It's a solid compilation, but there's a lack of any stand-out or otherwise iconic songs. The girls are off to a good but somewhat shaky start... let's see if the boys can pass them by and take the lead!

Oriphiel

Continuing the Boys Versus Girls battle, here are the boys!

Pebbles Volume Two



1. The Satans - "Makin' Deals" - Here comes Satan himself, and he's on the prowl for souls! Released in 1966, these guys sound an awful lot like the early Rolling Stones. Whats really interesting is that this song has some similarities to the Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil" (with both asking the listener to "guess my name!"), which wasn't recorded until 1968. Did the Stones perhaps rip these guys off? No, they didn't; both songs sound completely different. Still, I think it's fair to say that these boys gave them a little inspiration.

2. The Moving Sidewalks - "The 99th floor" - Here's a Garage Rock/Psychedelic classic! Straight from the 1960's, it's still just as frantic and fun as it's ever been. It's got some nice guitar work, and the screaming near the end is pretty great!

3. The Sons of Adam - "Feathered Fish" - Don't know if these boys had anything to do with the all-girl Garage outfit The Daughters of Eve. This song of theirs is pretty interesting, being a mix of dirty Hard Rock-style guitars with clean Folk vocals.


The Sons of Adam!

4. The Electric Prunes - "Vox Wah-Wah Electric Pedal Commercial" - Ahahahaha! I love it! "It's the now sound!"

5. The Hard Road - "You Rub Me the Wrong Way" - This one is kind of a remake of "Do You Love Me?" by The Contours. With fantastic fuzz-guitar work and sloppy vocals, it's hard to not love this odd-ball track!

6. The Lyrics - "So What!" - Here's another classic Garage Rock song! A whole mess of Revivalists liked this one, with bands like The Gravedigger Five covering it. It's got a nice and heavy beat to it, with some truly fantastic harmonica work, as well as rough and snotty vocals!


The Lyrics' 45!

7. The Buddhas - "Lost Innocence" - Nice and quick, this rocker dips it's toes into Psychedelic territory with it's groovy guitar breaks and sharp electric organ work in the background.

8. The Zakary Thaks - "Bad Girl" - I love it! This one immediately slams into you, being mixed really loudly. The vocals are sloppy, the guitars are thrashy, and the drums are slamming; this is Garage Rock heaven!

9. Randy Alvey and the Green Fuz - "Green Fuz" - Here's yet another Psychedelic/Garage Rock classic, which went on to be covered by the likes of The Cramps. Dirty and unpolished as hell, rumor has it that they band couldn't afford to record in a studio, so they just found a place with good acoustics and home-recorded this unto a reel in one take.


An interview with Randy Alvey of Green Fuz!

10. The Squires - "Go Ahead" - Returning from volume one, these boys aren't quite able to capture the epic tone of their classic Garage anthem "Going All the Way". Still, even though this track kind of awkwardly flirts with both Garage Rock and Pop-Rock without finding it's footing, it's a decent number.

11. The Little Boy Blues - "I Can Only Give You Everything" - This is another song that gets covered pretty regularly. With a solid backbeat, this one boasts some excellent guitar work, having a great break, and fuzz-guitar work throughout.

12. The Dovers - "She's Gone" - Finding a way to be both fast and melancholy, this distant Garage Rock number has a slight Psychedelic/Folk feeling to it.


The Dovers!

13. Phil and the Frantics - "I Must Run" - Very similar to the last track, this is another melancholy number from the Garage. Not my favorite track, but not bad.

14. The Dovers - "What am I Going to Do? - The Dovers return with another distant Garage track. I'm noticing a slow-down in the album as it comes towards the end...

15. The Choir - "It's Cold Outside" - A somewhat well-known Folk-Rock style Garage band, The Choir bring their solid vocals to the table with this fun addition to the compilation!


The Choir!

16. Bobby Fuller - "Wine, Wine, Wine" - A tribute to fermented grapes, this song has a kind of old-school Swing/Boogie Woogie dancehall feeling to it!

17. The Litter - "I'm a Man" - Finishing off the album is a cover of Muddy Water's classic. A nice harmony of Blues and Garage Rock, this is one of the strongest songs of the album!



This is a fantastic compilation! Having so many classic songs, as well as a mess of lesser known rockers, this album is a perfect introduction for anyone looking to get into Garage Rock! It holds up just as well as the first entry in the Pebbles series, and I highly recommend it!

And so the competition comes to an end. Who won? Well, just like the last round of Boys Versus Girls, this one is really no competition at all. And unfortunately for the girls, who claimed victory last time courtesy of Thee Headcoatees, the boys come out on top this time around. Girls in the Garage is a fantastic series, but the third entry just isn't solid enough to compete with the onslaught of classics as provided by Pebbles Volume Two!

It seems the boys have gotten revenge for their past defeat. Will the girls be able to reclaim their past lead? We'll find out the next time around!