Search - Various Artists :: Texas Garage Bands 1

A good set of garage punk from the Lone Star State

Laszlo Matyas | 05/23/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Volume 1 of Cicadelic's (Later Collectibles') six-part series devoted to Texas garage rock is a two-disc survey of the output of Sea Ell records, a tiny Houston-based label that put out records by artists from all over the Lone Star state. Although the firm only put out seven singles (two of which were country records), this album's compilers have obtained a wealth of demo and rehersal tapes recorded by Sea Ell bands. These latter make up the bulk of the set. There are plenty of jewels to be gleaned here; these two discs should keep nerds (such as myself) busy for quite some time. However, this is strictly for bona fide garage fans; newcomers will prbably be put off by the ultra crude sound quality and the fact that these bands really do sound like a bunch of high school kids practicing in their garages.

Still, there's plenty of good stuff for the diehards: Disc 1 features some fantastic stuff from a variety of groups- "Make Me Some Love" is a tough, groovy single by the Knights Bridge, while its b-side, "CJ Smith" is an eerie, organ-driven folk rock stomper. Satyn's Children provide two psych-tinged groovers, and George Washington & The Cherry Stompers are responsible for a couple of wonderfully crude pop-oriented tunes. The Wolves (who, annoyingly, didn't make any recordings in the 60s but rather in 1970) turn in three neat little hard-driving blues rockers. Interestingly, there's also a number by Paul Hutchins ("People Gonna Walk On You") that's pretty much straight-out country. With its catchy melody and rolling piano line, it's actually a pretty good tune. If disc 1 can be said to have an all-out "classic," it's probably be the Intruders' "Temporary Insanity," which is a rollicking slice of pre-punk menace with some wonderfully snarled voals and a leering guitar line. It's not hard to imagine, say, the New York Dolls recording a version of this song.

Disc 2 consists entirely of demos and rehersals by two bands: The Smokin' Bananas and the afformentioned Intruders. For a bunch of recordings that were never intended for commercial release, these songs are pretty entertaining. The Bananas are a folky, Beatle-influenced garage-pop band who managed to record some wonderfully catchy songs: "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" is propulsive and catchy, while "What a Day for Sunshine" has a wonderfully exuberant main melody. They also recorded "The Blues Room," an awesome psychedlic blues jam with some stinging guitars and an anthemic chorus. The Intruders (whose demos take up the bulk of the disc) more closely fit the standard garage rock rubrick, and they turn out some good songs in the process: "I've Been There Before" and "The Lone Stranger" are good examples of this, and the instrumental freakout "See the Light" is just plain fun. The disc also contains about sixteen minutes of the group rehersing "Temporary Insanity." This makes for oddly interesting listening; there's a certain appeal to hearing the group bash out the song in utterly sloppy fashion, spitting out disjointed guitar chords, slipping hsalfway in and out of verses, and spinning off into free-form instrumental breaks. It says something about the world of garage rock when the actual finished product (the single verison on Disc 1) isn't much more refined than the ultra-informal rehersals.

Anyway, if you're a garage rock fan, this set is more than worth your money. There's nothing that's absolutely amazing, but for the most part, its good stuff. Yay, 60s obscurity!"