A strange year. I thought I would end up with nothing, but got a few nice things:
Australia
Tony Barber – Someday … Now!, LP. Calendar, R66190
Top album by the former Aztec. The intro and some of the songs are marked by Barber Tony’s quirky sense of humour, but that’s no problem as most of the album is ace beat tunes, many of which cannot be found elsewhere. My copy is on the budget Calendar label, but it’s basically the same as the Spin original and came out only shortly after
The Easybeats – It’s 2 Easy, LP. Parlophone, PMCO 7257
I got a copy of the band’s debut album two years ago, but after reading the George Young biography recently, I was itching to get the other Australian releases. It’s 2 Easy is a great second album with so many good songs: ‘Women’, ‘Come and See Her’, ‘Sad and Lonely and Blue’, ‘In My Book’, 'Wedding Ring’, etc. I couldn’t find a decently priced copy of Volume 3, so I bought the 2019 reissue; I know that doesn’t count, but still a great record
The Easybeats – Who’ll Be The One/ Do You Have A Soul. Parlophone, A 8251
Maybe not as fantastic beat-wise as some of the earlier releases, but still two mighty fine tunes
The Kravats – Baby Let Me Take You Home/ Bali Hai. W&G, WG S 2403
B-side is an instrumental. A-side is a good version of the The Animals’ first single
The Purple Hearts – Early In The Morning/ Just A Little Bit. Sunshine, QK 1448
Both great songs. The A side is an arrangement of a US prison song from the southern states. I wonder where the band first heard that in 1960s Brisbane
Robby Snowden – Talkin’/ No One Really Loves A Clown. Clarion, MCK 1663
Surprised to see the Tony Barber song on the A-side from this Perth singer, but it’s a good version. B-side’s good too
Robby Snowden – Surrounded By A Ray Of Sunshine/ Just A Little. Clarion, MCK 2168
The A-side is pap and best avoided, but the B-side is cool and worth more than the one star it receives in the Kommotion! discography, but that’s just an opinion [STOP PRESS!! I see there is a new edition and ‘Just A Little’ has been upgraded to two stars. Must have given it another spin]
England
The Pretty Things – Come See Me/ £.s.d. Star Club, 148 557 STF
I have been obsessed with the Sandy Edmonds (NZ) version of the A-side since I first heard it a long time ago. It doesn’t appear for sale very often. Edmonds’ rendition is a pretty straight copy of The Pretty Things version, which is fantastic. Does anybody know the story of the song? I had always thought it was an original, but it’s written by a team of US songwriters. Did anybody else record it before The Pretty Things? The B-side is a Taylor/May classic. My copy of the record is the German release
France
Jacques Dutronc – EP. Disques Vogue, EPL 8667
Premier track on this EP is undoubtedly the super-cool ‘Le Responsable’, although I can appreciate the non-psych/garage tracks as well. This purchase is solely due to the enthusiasm of forum members Jim and Outside Looking In, as I had not heard of M. Dutronc beforehand. Thank you, gentlemen
Jacques Dutronc – Mini-Mini-Mini/ Et moi, Et moi, Et moi. Vogue Schallplatten, DV 14566
I also had a look at some other recordings by this artiste and decided to pick up his debut release from 1966. Both songs are beat-heavy with absurd lyrics. I like them. My copy is the German release, which for some reason reverses the track listing; the French original has ‘Et moi, Et moi, Et moi’ on the A-side. But they are both great songs
Hong Kong
Shao Fong Fong/ Wu Fung – Your Cheating Heart/ Hanky Panky. Pathe, PHK 1015
I bought this for the B-side. I’ve got a couple of Asian versions of ‘Hanky Panky’ and they are all pretty good. And seeing as how Shao Fong Fong recorded the super-groovy ‘I Love A Go Go’ I thought this could be rather special. It’s not. The song is performed in a ‘comic’ vein by the male actor Wu Fung and the musical backing is lame. Avoid.
Indonesia
Koes Brothers – I’m In Jail, EP. Top, TOP 21002
Released in 1970, according to Discogs, which would seem to be right from the little I know about the Malaysian Top label. But I am sure the EP was recorded several years earlier, as the band had already broken up by 1969. Also, the tracks are in a similar vein to the two LPs the band released in 1967, after they really had been in gaol [see Garagehangover for more on that story:
https://garagehangover.com/koes-bersaudara/] The tracks on the EP are all good pop psych. The standouts for me are the hypnotic ‘Cause I Don’t Know’ followed by the more mainstream ‘Disappointed I Am’. The final track on the EP, ‘Land Of Evergreen’, appeared on the Koes Bersaudara CD re-release from a few years back.
New Zealand
Johnny Devlin’s Devils –Teen Beat/ Rumble. Teen, TC 007
Well, it’s from 1959, so we can’t call it garage I suppose. But what a great instrumental double-header covering Sandy Nelson and Link Wray. Both sides are a bit different to the originals, but ‘Rumble’ probably varies the most, with a spoken intro, a few group screams, and a brighter sound. Top versions, and I have always wanted a record on the Teen label
b/w does that mean a lesser grade copy is up for grabs?
