For those not in the know, fan albums are the attempts of me and many others to take songs and put them on an album, typically they’re made to improve upon something, such as an existing album or to take non-album tracks and put them on an album.
The Surf Teens are a great band that sadly didn’t get much appreciation. Their entire catalog is less than forty minutes. I couldn’t even find a picture of a band, so attached is an unrelated picture of teens surfing. Their one proper album in turn is very short, with only ten tracks. There are eight other songs they did, which will form this hypothetical second album. However, at least by modern standards, both albums could be considered EPs. Regardless, they’re still worth checking out. Note that I haven’t had much luck in terms of dates, but I think some are from 1965. The album title also doesn’t mean anything. For those that would rather treat all this as one big album, I’ve made playlists that list the second album directly after the first.
This is a passion of mine and if one person likes what I do, I’ll feel honored. I like suggestions on what artist to cover next, so if you know of one you’d like me to look at, feel free to suggest ‘em!
Zakary Thaks has turned out to be one of my favorite obscure bands I’ve discovered lately. They seem to be really well regarded by fans of garage and psych music, so it’s a shame there was not the chance for them to record albums. They started recording music in July 1966, so if they had recorded one album a year, we’d have probably four proper albums and a handful of strays that might add on an album or two. As such, some of these songs come from slightly odd sources and don’t have as much cohesion as I’d like. The first is basically a greatest hits, mostly being singles and b-sides. It is the main reason I love this band, due to the fiery playing with little studio touches. There are some unreleased cuts and interestingly three members of Thaks backing someone else. That singer, Mike Taylor, worked with the band a lot and I think these tracks fit close enough to be considered Thaks songs, especially based on something that will come up later. While my Face to Face album is very close to passing as a proper studio album, it mostly being singles makes it not feel like albums of the time. It does help everything was recorded in just over half a year.
Chris Gerniottis – lead vocals (tracks 1-4, 6-8, 10-11)
John Lopez – lead guitar (tracks 1-11) (Possibly not on tracks 5, 9)
Pete Stinson – rhythm guitar (tracks 1-4, 6-8, 10-11)
Rex Gregory – bass (tracks 1-11)
Stan Moore – drums (tracks 1-11)
Mike Taylor – lead vocals (tracks 5, 9)
The second album comes from a video the band recorded of covers. The recordings were not intended for proper release and thus the quality is a bit poor, but it’s a nice oddity to have. If Thaks was able to do one or two albums a year, this would probably not have been released, though there are some official live albums of the time with poor sound quality. The Summer of Love doesn’t have the excuse of capturing the band playing off a live audience of screaming fans, as this is basically just a rehearsal tape.
Zakary Thaks – The Summer of Love (1967) – YouTube
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“I’ve Got Levitation”
“Sock It To Me Baby”
“Love Is A Beautiful Thing”
“Mustang Sally”
“3/5 Of A Mile”
SIDE B
“I’m A Man”
“My Little Red Book”
“Shake”
“My Back Pages”
“Tell Her No”
PERSONNEL
Chris Gerniottis – lead vocals (tracks 1-10)
John Lopez – lead guitar (tracks 1-10)
Pete Stinson – rhythm guitar (tracks 1-10)
Rex Gregory – bass (tracks 1-10)
Stan Moore – drums (tracks 1-10)
Not only is this last album very short, but it spans two years! This draws from a period where the band was changing and not making much music. The earliest tracks are the rest of what was recorded with Mike Taylor singing, though I’m unsure if two of them feature Thaks. I have them here as one unverified source says so and none say otherwise directly. After the final single with the classic lineup, Chris and Rex were both fired, then the band almost immediately broke up. You’d think Rex would be embittered, but it seems not as the two members that wanted him gone most got him back in the fold and they formed a power trio. That trio of Rex, Stan, and John recorded, amusingly having been the three members to also be on the Mike songs. That means the Mike recordings have all of an official version of the band. Chris would rejoin near the end. Note that if you took the “Footsteps” and “Mirror” tracks and moved them to the first album, then erased the Mike songs, you’d have all the studio recordings of the classic lineup. I didn’t end up doing that because I wanted everything in order and for this last studio album to not be so extremely dominated by Mike. That does mean that sadly this great band in its best configuration only managed eleven studio tracks! That’s similar numbers to the Big Three.
Zakary Thaks – Everybody Wants to Be Somebody (1969) – YouTube
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Can You Hear Your Daddy’s Footsteps”
“Mirror to Yesterday”
“Gotta Make My Heart Turn Away”
“I’m Nobody’s Man”
SIDE B
“My Door”
“Green Crystal Ties”
“My Last Day”
“Outprint”
“Everybody Wants to Be Somebody”
PERSONNEL
Chris Gerniottis – lead vocals (tracks 1-2, 8-9)
John Lopez – lead guitar (tracks 1-9), lead vocals (tracks 5-6) (Possibly not on tracks 3-4, 7)
Pete Stinson – rhythm guitar (tracks 1-2)
Rex Gregory – bass (tracks 1-9), lead vocals (tracks 5-6) (Possibly not on tracks 4, 7)
Stan Moore – drums (tracks 1-9), lead vocals (tracks 5-6) (Possibly not on tracks 4, 7)
For those not in the know, fan albums are the attempts of me and many others to take songs and put them on an album, typically they’re made to improve upon something, such as an existing album or to take non-album tracks and put them on an album.
Despite my mixed views on psychedelic bands, The Electric Prunes stand as a very quality example of the genre. While they had five albums before their 1990s reunion, that’s not nearly as appealing as it seems. After the third album, the entire band quit and was replaced! Thus, the last two don’t feature the real Prunes at all. Even the third features the band more minimally, with guitarist Ken WIlliams not on every track. The group’s singer only counts the first two of those albums as being kosher. I wanted to see if I could get a fourth (or third) “true” Prunes album from the 60s. In terms of stray tracks, there seemingly was a gold mine of high fidelity demos from 1965. However, the first session, which yielded a perfect twelve recordings, don’t have perfect sound quality and more importantly, aren’t that good of performances, nor do they have the band’s classic psych sound. After a little bit of fire in the beginning, the momentum of the thing kind of dies out. It’s not the worst thing ever, but not that interesting. I don’t even like to think of it as a real Prunes album. I do have a soft spot for teenage garage bands for all their faults. They can’t all be first lineup Kingsmen.
After this, there was another demo session that I liked more, feeling like the halfway point between the first twelve recordings and the classic sound. The main issue is the low audio quality being worse than the studio songs. There’s also a few studio strays before the first album and then later on a few after the second album, which I really like. I originally was going to make an album of either every stray track after The Sanctions or at least those in between that and the first album, but problem is they don’t gel together at all. Even if I was to collect them, they’d be a very short twenty-four minutes. Thus, I like to think of them as being released as a series of EPs. Down the line, what if they were released as a compilation called 3Ps?
The Electric Prunes – California (2004) – can’t find
The Electric Prunes – Feedback (2006) – YouTube, Spotify
Without Ken Williams:
The Electric Prunes – Return To Stockholm (2012) – can’t find
The Electric Prunes – WaS (2014) – can’t find
Thus, I frankly can’t make a real “fourth Prunes album”. At best we have a few strays which admittedly are sometimes great. As a consolation prize, there is the live album and also a reunion career which originally featured the three main members of the band. Two of them have since left. I haven’t really taken any look at the reunion era. I will say I know there are at least some strays from then, but I don’t know much about them.
“Oh by gee, by gosh, by golly. Life to him was oh so jolly. Dad, what happened to the Toonerville Trolley?”
This is a passion of mine and if one person likes what I do, I’ll feel honored. I like suggestions on what artist to cover next, so if you know of one you’d like me to look at, feel free to suggest ‘em!
For those not in the know, fan albums are the attempts of me and many others to take songs and put them on an album, typically they’re made to improve upon something, such as an existing album or to take non-album tracks and put them on an album.
Death is a classy early punk band that packed politically charged lyrics with aggressive and funky playing. They’re great players, which shows in a lot of my favorite songs of theirs being instrumentals. Still, “Politicians In My Eyes” is an iconic track. Their catalog is a bit confusing. It consists of the occasional non-album single and three LPs recorded with the classic lineup, one of which was not released for decades; then they reformed without their deceased guitarist David Hackney and are still actively recording. On top of all this, the bundle has gone through many name changes. I’ve defined the band as whatever includes its two constant members, Bobby Hackney on bass and vocals and Dannis Hackney on drums. Another amusing discovery is that before David died, the other two members formed a new band called “Lambs Bread” and released several obscure albums. If you consider that even in the music labeled “Death” the guitarist changed, then there’s no reason not to consider Lambs Bread more of Death. The cherry on top is that the guitarist of reformed Death, Bobbie Duncan, had played in Lambs Bread. It is worth noting that much of Lambs Bread is so obscure that I couldn’t find it online. I will still list the info I found.
Another frustrating fact is that while a lot of 70s classic lineup demo material has been released, some doesn’t come with a recording date. The release with this problem is listed as being cut vaguely from 1974 to 1976. It’s also said to mostly predate the band’s 1975 studio recordings. How I’ve ordered things, any song without a known recording year I’ll assume is 1976, which leaves one album’s worth of material with confirmed dates of some 1973 or 1975 and a follow up. However, I suspect that if I did have all the dates the first album would be the 1973 tracks and a ton of demos, then the second would be the studio sessions and what came after. Fortunately, the sequences I’ve made are still strong regardless.
Alternate ideas for this album title were the group’s early name RockFire Funk Express, their first album’s name …For the Whole World to See, or my Spotify playlist Introduction By David. I picked the one I did as it’s been a little joke that’s run through my mind for a while. This album is a bit longer than I’d have liked, but some of the band’s completed albums are similarly lengthy. Also note that for the World album, originally Death were to record twelve tracks, but only got to do seven. This resulted in a little under thirty minutes. Thus, you can imagine that those twelve songs may have totaled around forty-five minutes if completed. Another concern is that the album is front loaded with too many instrumentals, but I wanted to preserve the actual sequencing for World within this one. Otherwise, I might have moved one of the instrus to around the middle of side b.
Death – Can You Give Me A Thrill??? (1979) – YouTube, Spotify
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Can You Give Me A Thrill???” (Recorded Between 1974-1976)
“People Look Away” (Recorded Between 1974-1976)
“The Storm Within” (Recorded Between 1974-1976)
“David’s Dream (Flying)” (Recorded Between 1974-1976)
“We Are Only People” (Recorded 1976)
SIDE B
“North Street” (Recorded 1979 Or 1980)
“Restlessness” (Recorded 1979 Or 1980)
“Open Road” (Recorded 1979 Or 1980)
“Dannis On The Motor City Drums” (Recorded Between 1974-1976)
Anything I couldn’t find by Lambs Bread is simply not linked. However, you can find some of their material for purchase on their website: https://www.lambsbreadband.com/
“We’re Gonna Make It” (1992 (Featuring Death’s classic lineup))
“The Masks” (2011)
“Keep On Knocking” (2011)
“Cease Fire” (2017)
“Give It Back” (2018)
“World In Disguise” (2023)
There are modern-era live recordings and a documentary for those interested. Considering how there are no released demos of the studio material of the 70s and 80s other than just once, I bet there are some that were recorded, but not released. Hopefully they will be in due time. More new music, such as LPs, would also be nice.
This is a passion of mine and if one person likes what I do, I’ll feel honored. I like suggestions on what artist to cover next, so if you know of one you’d like me to look at, feel free to suggest ‘em!
For those not in the know, fan albums are the attempts of me and many others to take songs and put them on an album, typically they’re made to improve upon something, such as an existing album or to take non-album tracks and put them on an album.
The Stooges are one of the all time great rock bands. Personally, that’s mainly off the strength of their middle effort, Fun House. Still, it was clear there was more to love. There are a lot of live recordings and stray tracks, so it’d be fun to see what can be done, especially because many have given a shot at what could be called the “fourth” Stooges album. My love is mainly with the classic lineup of singer Iggy Pop, bassist Dave Alexander, guitarist Ron Asheton, and drummer Scott Asheton, so I wanted to see what we could cook from them mainly.
On top of their two studio albums, I found eight stray tracks. Two live 1970 tracks are “Going to Ungano’s” and “Have Some Fun”/“My Dream Is Dead”. They suffer from poor sound quality and the first not being a song. However they’re still fun listens, so I’ve linked to them in their natural environment, Live at Ungano’s, August 17, 1970. Two tracks I hear are from 1968 are actually from 1971, “Ron’s Jam” and “What’s You Gonna Do”. Apparently two members of the Stooges, including famous singer Iggy Pop, were absent from these, so they’re getting tossed. The remaining four make for a surprisingly lengthy album of thirty-four minutes. It will be listed below with the surrounding albums. While noticeably less cohesive, it’s still a fine listen.
Alexander was later replaced. Nothing came of this period between him leaving and the first breakup other than some live recordings that weren’t released for a long time. I am not very fond of these due to low quality. There might be unreleased material with or without Alexander I don’t know about. I’m highlighting the following releases as they contain songs not featured elsewhere.
Have Some Fun: Live at Ungano’s (2010) (Recorded 1970) – YouTube, Spotify
You Don’t Want My Name… You Want My Action (2009) (Recorded 1971) – YouTube, Spotify
The band then famously reunited with James Williamson on guitar, Ron moved to bass, and the gang retitled “Iggy and the Stooges”. I was able to get one album’s worth of high quality strays for the follow-up to Raw Power that would’ve made a slightly lesser, but still solid installment. In parentheses are the compilations these are sourced from or some other identifier.
Raw Power (1973) (Highlighting the superior Iggy mix) – YouTube, Spotify
Jesus Loves The Stooges (1974) (Recorded 1972-1973) – YouTube, Spotify
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“I Got a Right” (Born in a Trailer)
“I’m Sick of You” (Born in a Trailer)
“Louie Louie” (More Power)
“Scene of the Crime” (More Power)
“Gimme Some Skin” (More Power)
“Open Up And Bleed” (More Power)
SIDE B
“Money” (More Power)
“Cock In My Pocket” (2022 Mix)
“Jesus Loves The Stooges” (Jesus Loves The Stooges)
“Heavy Liquid” (Live at Richards, Atlanta, Georgia, October 1973)
“Born in a Trailer” (Jesus Loves The Stooges)
PERSONNEL
Iggy Pop – vocals
James Williamson – guitar
Ron Asheton – bass
Scott Asheton – drums
Now what of other tracks recorded around this time, sometimes of high fidelity? Well, I either found those other ones really poor songs or more often poor quality. I also didn’t want to bother sifting through the countless releases compiling various live tracks and other oddities, but just know they’re there if you like fuzzy guitar riffs and yelling. My current game is collecting stray tracks, so I thought of an idea.
Let’s say Iggy and the gang breakup, as happened in real life, then the record company asked for another album. Having no desire or ability to make a sixth studio album, and to embrace the punk rock spirit, Iggy took those low quality strays and made a giant and unlistenable compilation. Worried this would damage his career, he credited it as “Twiggy and the Tooges”. He also did himself a favor and got to work on the Kill City album. This album is two and three-quarters hours long. If it was released, it probably would have taken up about four LPs. Note that there’s no rhyme or reason to what versions of songs are picked. (I also don’t count this as a “fan album”. No way I’m relistening to these to make sure they’re sequenced well.)
The Shit Box (1975) (Recorded 1972-1974) – YouTube, Spotify
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Instrumental” (Heavy Liquid)
“I’m Hungry” (Raw Power (50th Anniversary Legacy Edition))
“Hey, Peter” (Raw Power (50th Anniversary Legacy Edition))
“Doojiman” (Raw Power (50th Anniversary Legacy Edition))
“Johanna” (Heavy Liquid)
SIDE B
“Rubber Legs” (Heavy Liquid)
“Pinpoint Eyes/Cry For Me” (Heavy Liquid)
“Tight Pants” (Heavy Liquid)
“Head On” (Rehearsal) (Raw Power (50th Anniversary Legacy Edition))
SIDE C
“I Need Somebody/Sweet Child/I Like The Way You Walk” (Morgan Sound Studios, Ypsilanti Michigan March 1973)
“Can’t Turn You Loose” (Morgan Sound Studios, Ypsilanti Michigan March 1973)
SIDE D
“Hey Baby” (Detroit Rehearsals Spring 1973)
“Wild Love” (Heavy Liquid)
“Till The End Of The Night” (Heavy Liquid)
“Head On Curve” (Heavy Liquid)
SIDE E
“I Come From Nowhere” (New York & Detroit Rehearsals, 1973)
“Old King Live Forever” (New York & Detroit Rehearsals, 1973)
“Look So Sweet” (New York & Detroit Rehearsals, 1973)
“Mellow Down Easy” (New York & Detroit Rehearsals, 1973)
“Move Ass Baby” (New York & Detroit Rehearsals, 1973)
SIDE F
“My Girl Hates My Heroin” (New York & Detroit Rehearsals, 1973)
“She Creatures of the Hollywood Hills” (Jesus Loves The Stooges)
“I’m a Man” (Jesus Loves The Stooges)
“Ballad of Hollis Brown” (Jesus Loves The Stooges)
SIDE G
“Purple Haze” (Jesus Loves The Stooges)
“I’m So Glad” (New York & Detroit Rehearsals, 1973)
“New Orleans” (Live, The Whisky A Go Go, Los Angeles, 16 September 1973)
“Rich Bitch” (Live, The Academy Of Music, New York City, 31 December 1973)
SIDE H
“Wet My Bed” (Bimbos 365 Club S.F Jan 1974)
“Delta Blues Shuffle” (Jesus Loves The Stooges)
“Fire Engine” (Jesus Loves The Stooges)
“I Got Nothin’” (Bimbos 365 Club S.F Jan 1974)
Of course there would later be a well regarded live album:
Kill City is not a Stooges album. It’s a collaboration between the two main minds of the latter day Stooges. It’s also a forgotten oddity, so for my money worthy of being featured. It, like all the other material, showcases Iggy and his gang as not perfect Gods of rock, but those that experimented and at times failed. Still, just because some of this is not perfect doesn’t mean it’s not sharp and helps to define five great musicians from Motor City. You could call them the Motor City Five. Attached below is my friend, Ken’s, concept for a follow-up to Raw Power. I had no part in this.
This is a passion of mine and if one person likes what I do, I’ll feel honored. I like suggestions on what artist to cover next, so if you know of one you’d like me to look at, feel free to suggest ‘em!
For those not in the know, fan albums/album edits are the attempts of me and many others to take songs and put them on an album, typically they’re made to improve upon something, such as an existing album or to take non-album tracks and put them on an album.
The Luv’d Ones are a fun band I’ve listened to a few times. They don’t distinguish much from other hard rock 60s girl bands, but that is still a good sound and they deserve to be enjoyed. One reason I didn’t make an article about them the first time I listened to them is because it seemed everything they did was on a twenty-track compilation album. I decided they still deserved this project, with that comp just being divided in half, as the music drags as one sixty minute block, however I then found some more rare tracks that also help give this article legitimacy. They first recorded under the band name “The Tremelons”, which had the exact same lineup, so it’s strange these early tracks aren’t on that compilation. They also aren’t on Spotify, which is why the fan album with them isn’t on Spotify either.
Those Tremelon recordings were all released in 1965 according to Discogs. The Luv’d Ones box set says the material contained within it was recorded between 1966-1968. Everything released in 1965 or 66 almost is the length of a full album, so I added in some extra tracks and hoped they were recorded in 1966 and thus could hypothetically be released then. The later stuff we’ll say was released 1968.
The Luv’d Ones – Truth Gotta Stand (1966) – YouTube
Char Vinnedge went on to do some solo recordings, none of which I could find. They’re all listed below with possible release dates, which could be wrong.
“Better Look Out” (2011)
“You Asked Me To Go” (2011)
“Friend / Reprise” (2011)
“Silence” (2011)
“It’s Over It’s Done” (2011)
“Life Sentence” (2011)
“Rock Myself To Death” (2011)
“Trucks In My Head” (2011)
“Deathwish” (2011)
“I Never Sing The Blues” (2012)
“Bittersweet” (2012)
“Green Bird” (2012)
“With You I Am Without” (2013)
“How Could You Ask Me To Go” (2013)
This is a passion of mine and if one person likes what I do, I’ll feel honored. I like suggestions on what artist to cover next, so if you know of one you’d like me to look at, feel free to suggest ‘em!
Skip to links if you don’t care about the reading.
For those not in the know, fan albums are the attempts of me and many others to take songs and put them on an album, typically they’re made to improve upon something, such as an existing album or to take non-album tracks and put them on an album.
I’ve decided to make a few revisions to my earlier fan albuming of the great Buddy Holly. 50s LPs’ common track sequencing is better than I’ve given it credit for, so I’ve decided to respect that. Thus, all these albums have twelve or thirteen tracks. I’ve also left alone the two official albums, so they can be slotted in. Conveniently, the amount of tracks recorded before those albums and the ones after fit the twelve or thirteen track rule nicely, so I won’t have to have pre and post “the main two” album tracks on the same LP. I’m unsure of what to do with the later official albums by the Crickets without Holly. Maybe I’ll do a stray track version and also a version that fixes the weak sequences?
As I like to do, I want to define what counts as a band track or a solo track. Based on the nature of these recordings, every track without Bob Montgomery is more or less solo Buddy, seeing as he was clearly the intended star of the show and most recordings credit him as a solo artist. However, seeing as there were band names and bandmates that have been unfortunately understated historically, “The Two Tones” name will be utilized for the period where the backing band was reasonably in flux, such as when Bob, Sonny, Jerry, and the various bass players were sometimes there and sometimes not. The members were mostly just Buddy’s friends and not session players. When Jerry and Joe are present, that’s what counts as “The Crickets”. Originally, I was going to utilize the fact that every Crickets track has Jerry and say he was the only necessary player to make something the Crickets, but defining a band by one person drives me crazy.
This next idea might be a little controversial. Seeing as Holly’s fellow musicians had identities and musical statements, I’ve decided to include recordings where Holly is backing another vocalist, specifically one of his bandmates. I will not be including every track to ever feature Holly, just the ones where someone was really in his circle. If Buddy and the Crickets formed in the 70s, they might’ve taken this approach, with someone else occasionally getting vocals for the sake of it. Finally, let’s have a little fun and build some alt history around this! There is certainly a lot of untrue information below, so be warned!
The History of Buddy Holly, as it pertains to his LPs
A young boy named Buddy Holley became interested in music in the late 40s. After recording a twelve-track album at home in 1949, he submitted it to Columbia Records to be released, but they responded back saying, “This sound quality is worse than a Charley Patton record.” Upon asking for the tracks back, Columbia admitted that confusing it for their own material, they junked it. Fortunately, one track was preserved on what Holley had intended to be a single for the album, “My Two-Timin’ Woman”. While future historians were hopeful there’d be a b-side, on the other end was merely “Chattanooga Choo Choo” by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra, albeit falsely credited to Buddy. As his interest in music grew, Holley began performing with artists. The first notable one was Bob Montgomery. While initially only doing informal jams, in mid 1952 they decided to become an official group. The two credited themselves, “Buddy and Bob” and at points under both of their full names. For the sake of symmetry, an “e” was added to the first letter of their names. Due to another artist being named “Buddey Folley and Bobe Montgomeery”, this was changed the other way, with both “e”s being removed. The two failed to obtain a recording contract, though continued to tape informal performances. Frequently during Montgomery’s hyena howling, the tape recorded burst, rendering the material lost. In a later interview, he went on to say, “I wish I wasn’t too cowardly to simply destroy all our recordings upfront, instead of being sneaky about it.”
Interested in other projects, Montgomery would occasionally leave the group. After a particularly thoughtless incident of him not showing up to a performance, Holly fired him. He was replaced by Jack Neal. During a recording session where the two cut two tracks, Montgomery returned to announce that he had a car now. Back in the fold, Buddy and Bob would continue to record and busk. Deciding to expand their group, the duo searched for more players. They only got as far as up the street, as Bob’s car broke down. Through the window they saw high school associates Sonny Curtis, Larry Welborn, and Don Guess, allegedly under the name, “The Beatles”. After a sprint under the name “Buddy & Bob & The Pidles”, Holly decided the name was too long and Montgomery’s name should be removed. After a disagreement and a power struggle, Montgomery left and took Welborn with him. When asked why, Welborn said, “I won’t be on some of these recordings, so I gotta go for this story to make sense.” After offering some wine and chocolates, Buddy won back the two, though not consistently. Curtis and Guess also were inconstant, with different people being available at any given time.
By the time thirteen tracks were finished, the group signed with Sun Records, who would distribute, after Buddy Holly strummed his guitar for three hours to get the record deal while Bob Montgomery and Sonny Curtis whistled “Sweet Adeline”. They were surprised this worked as they needed the talent scout to fill in on fourth. In trying to think of a name for the group, Buddy Holly came up with “Buddy Holly and his Holy Buddies”. Montgomery wanted it to go “Bob Montgomery is the most important member of this band.” Curtis reached a compromise between the two with “The Two Tones”. Holly thought his name would be included, which the others disagreed with doing. The encounter went as follows: “But there’s three of us, that name suggests there’s two. “Okay, then it refers to guitar tones.” “What’s that to do with anything?” “I don’t know, but we’ll kick you out if you keep at it.”
BUDDY HOLLY & THE TWO TONES – FOR THE LOVE OF TEXAS (Cover and title of re-release. Original omitted Holly’s name and was in a white sleeve.)
While the record didn’t make great waves commercially, it was considered strong enough for a follow-up to be put into motion, though the boys would have to record their own way as before. Holly tired of the folk sound and was determined to move on. Deciding to embrace more of the new genre of rock upon hearing Elvis Costello, Holly recruited drummer Jerry Allison. “He was so small, but could bang so loud,” he later said. Montgomery and Welborn soon left the group due to not wanting to leave folk. Holly, Curtis, Guess, and Allison proceeded to complete the album, with one folk side and one rock side.
BUDDY HOLLY & THE TWO TONES – BABY, WON’T YOU COME OUT TONIGHT? (Cover and title of re-release. Original omitted Holly’s name and was in a white sleeve.)
Decca, impressed with Holly’s singing ability, offered him a contract. It was agreed between him and Decca that he should be the sole singer and namesake. Curtis and Guess promptly left for this reason. “I’ve finally done it, I’m a star!” Due to poor rehearsals, Holly and Allison were fired and Curtis and Guess were brought in as a new act. When they didn’t gel as a duo, Holly was brought back in to stabilize them. Curtis’ country leanings proved problematic for what Decca wanted, so in Holly’s willingness to be the lead, accepted the poppier sound, as that meant he could sing lead. After a stint with percussionist Doug Kirkham, Allison was brought back as to quote Guess in an interview, “He was able to hit the drum.” The single “Blue Days, Black Nights” proved a success and more material was produced. Guess was considered to be an ill fit and flexing his clout, Holly had him briefly fired. As Curtis began to exert dominance, he had Guess come back. Holly then fired him again, to which Curtis again rehired him. After being rererefired and rererehired, Curtis proceeded to quit along with Guess.
Holly, not wanting to be pigeonholed to being considered part of a band, recorded some material with session men. Unbeknownst to him, Guess was among them, having been since hired by Decca for such recordings. It’s suspected by Holly historians that he had not noticed him due to having grown out a Walrus mustache. To the horror of the singer, the record was credited as “Buddy Holly & The Two Tones”. WIth the record done, Holly took two takeaways from his experience, he is sick of the Two Tones name and the material without Allison is simply too lacking for that reason. And thus, Jerry would be affixed to the fold, rendering Holly a member of a band.
Wanting to leave the band name behind him, Holly left Decca. Working on ideas for songs, Allison and Holly jammed out a series of covers over one night. Looking for a reliable bassist, they then got Larry Welborn. When asked why he rejoined due to originally leaving over a disagreement with the musical direction, Welborn simply said, “Money.” Despite these recordings not being intended for release, Sun Records obtained them through a bootlegger whose name, while not identified, used the pseudonym, “Todd From Germany”. For a quick buck due to his success at Decca, the material was released. While Holly was horrified, finally something was credited to “Buddy Holly”. The release just credited to “Buddy Holly” was a misprint that Holly himself witnessed. Afterwards, the name was changed to “Buddy Holly & The Two Tones”.
Upon release of Rip It Up, Holly shamefully announced it was a failure and he feared the worst for his career. Welborn promptly quit, but Allison later claimed to have had enough faith in Holly to think things would work out. Despite this, he auditioned to appear in other bands, though he was only accepted by vocal groups, who promptly fired him after hearing him sing. While Holly stayed home and practiced music, Allison was more sociable, often trying to meet new people. Through this he met Niki Sullivan. When Holly discovered Sullivan shortly thereafter, he was impressed. Allison later confessed that he thought Sullivan was Holly due to their similar appearance, and when he learned of his mistake, he pretended he knew all along. A recording of the “That’ll Be The Day” track was overdubbed with Sullivan’s vocals before being sent to producer Norman Petty. Petty liked the song so much that the group was recruited to record more. Needing a new bassist, Buddy Holly searched, ultimately finding the teenage Joe B. Mauldin. Upon Sonny Curtis turning down the offer, Niki Sullivan was christened as the group’s rhythm guitar player.
Before committing to the band, Petty had them back other artists, often without Niki, who was often not interested. These recordings were later released on an album. During the sessions for the group’s first LP, Norman Petty made a deal. Allison discussed it in a 2001 interview, “Norman knew that as just one act, our airplay was limited, so tracks were credited to different names: ‘Buddy Holly’, ‘The Crickets’, ‘Buddy Holly & The Crickets’, ‘B. Holley’, ‘Buddy, Jerry, n’ Joe’, ‘Buddy & The Hollies’, etc.” “That’ll Be The Day” was released as “The Crickets”, to distinguish it from the recent tarnish to Holly’s name and became a huge hit. Fans often confused Buddy for Niki, which frustrated Buddy as Niki was apparently absent from many tracks and thus didn’t deserve to be considered the star of the show. Niki in turn was sick of being pelted with flowers on the street. Still, the group was rejuvenated. They kept working and ultimately finished…
BUDDY HOLLY & THE CRICKETS – THE “CHIRPING” CRICKETS (Same as official version) (Cover and title of re-release. Original omitted Holly’s name.)
The success of the record caused the band to hit the road and begin touring extensively. While some feared this would cause Holly to become irritated, the opposite happened. He was so happy to be winning that he was reported as always having a smile, saving kittens from trees, and fixing Niki Sullivan’s glasses. Still, the touring and lack of obscurity caused the others to become exhausted. This got to the point of everyone wanting to take a break. To aid in stress, outtakes from the first album were used to fill some slots on the second Crickets album. Notably, the material was incomplete to the point of lacking much guitar. Speaking of guitar, Niki Sullivan while on break fell in love with a pretty fair maiden, whose name he did not know. He thus quit the group. Holly, Allison, and Mauldin then cut a few tracks from scratch and Holly overdubbed guitar lines on the outtakes.
BUDDY HOLLY & THE CRICKETS – BUDDY HOLLY (Same as official version) (Cover and title of re-release. Original omitted The Cricket’s name.)
Buddy Holly was praised for its distinct and innovative playing and more emotional and ballad-driven tracks, which had been considered not commercial enough for The “Chirping” Crickets. In the views of some, it was considered Holly’s magnum opus. Holly finally felt like he had made it. When Joe asked how he felt about an LP being credited to just his name, Buddy was said to act like he didn’t care, then was later heard cheering on the toilet. He licensed his image to commercials and merchandise and received increasing respect from his bandmates. He had essentially made two teenagers celebrities. Thus, Jerry and Joe had begun to show interest in recording their own music or backing other artists. They had to put a pause on this for the time being, as the next Buddy Holly & The Crickets record was due soon. In exchange for more money, they had to get the album out as soon as possible. The result focused on more lighthearted songs, even featuring two novelty numbers with lead vocals by Jerry Allison. Holly was lukewarm on them, but wanted to keep the peace, especially as that meant there were two fewer songs to come up with. This also meant he had more pull for a controversial decision.
Holly became interested in session players or otherwise new talent he hadn’t worked with. He felt limited by mostly having worked with teenagers with often different interests to him. To dip the toe in this new sound, he had three lead guitar parts played by Tommy Allsup, who was recruited as the band’s new guitar player, replacing Niki. Sonny Curtis had asked to rejoin, but was turned down. Joe was frustrated at not being featured on “Heartbeat”, which instead included George Atwood on bass. Buddy said Joe’s performance wasn’t up to his liking.
After listening to what had been finished, The Crickets felt they could do better. Unsure of where to go, the group focused on a second album of backing other people. Buddy was not particularly interested, but put his name to it, anyways. In looking for options for the next proper LP, Joe and Jerry felt they should reconnect with their past and start out by jamming with people they used to play with or see where trends were going with teenagers (which they of course were in tune with, being teenagers themselves). Buddy was interested in pop, especially that didn’t originate from Texas and thus he became interested in the New York music scene. Hoping to get a fresh start, Buddy formed a new band in secret consisting of Allsup, George Atwood, and Bo Clarke on drums, all of whom had appeared on the last Crickets record. This lineup cut two tracks before Holly felt it wasn’t working and fired them. Due to contracting reasons, Allsup remained a Cricket.
Holly was given a reminder his album of backing other artists was late. He then formed a new band with Sanford Bloch on bass, Ernest Hayes on piano, and Panama Francis on drums. After some recording, Francis proved an issue and was replaced with Phillip Kraus. After some recording, Kraus proved an issue and was replaced with Clifford Leeman. Holly returned to The Crickets and powered through to the end. The tracks without The Crickets would be saved for a solo project.
Niki Sullivan is not on this record.
BUDDY HOLLY & THE CRICKETS – THE SOUND OF THE CENTURY
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Well… All Right” (3-31)
“Take Your Time” (4-5)
“Fool’s Paradise” (4-6)
“Think It Over” (4-7)
“Real Wild Child”
“Mona” (3-28)
SIDE B
“Lonesome Tears” (4-8)
“It’s So Easy” (4-9)
“Oh, You Beautiful Doll”
“Heartbeat” (4-10)
“Come Back Baby” (4-15)
“Reminiscing” (4-16)
“That’s My Desire” (From Buddy Holly (1958) bonus tracks)
Norman Petty – organ (tracks 2-4), percussion (track 9), piano (track 13)
Vi Petty – piano (tracks 3-4)
The Roses (Robert Linville, Ray Rush, David Bigham) – backing vocals (tracks 3-5, 7-9)
Glen “Bob” Clarke – drums (tracks 5, 9)
Tommy Allsup – lead guitar (tracks 7-8, 10)
George Atwood – bass (track 10)
King Curtis – tenor saxophone (tracks 11-12)
Al Caiola – guitar (track 13)
Donald Amone – rhythm guitar (track 13)
William Marihe – backing vocals (track 13)
Robert Bollinger – backing vocals (track 13)
Robert Harter – backing vocals (track 13)
Merrill Ostrus – backing vocals (track 13)
Abby Hoffer – backing vocals (track 13)
The Sound Of The Century was finished late, but still received massive acclaim, which put the pressure on for the group to best themselves. Holly, still determined to try a new style, went to his band, saying he wanted to go to New York and embrace more trends. Tommy felt Buddy had a stronger musical vision and thus wanted to go with him. The group, unable to meet in the middle, said they’d split for now. Jerry and Joe could continue as the Crickets, while Buddy would finally go solo. He was said to have missed them and that it’d be strange not having their names or the band listed on his future records. Buddy returned to work. After some recording, now with strings, asked to be included by executives, Bloch, Hayes, and Leeman proved to be an issue and were fired. With neither the backing other artists album or his solo album done, Holly felt desperate. He considered calling Joe, Jerry, and maybe Niki or Sonny, to finish his records, but he wasn’t willing to give up so easily and would try something slightly less desperate.
Following a lead, Holly went to Clear Lake, Iowa to the “Surf Ballroom”. He went to see up and coming country artist Waylon Jennings. He knew he had teamed up with Atwood and Clarke. During their performance, Buddy fell in love with Waylon’s style. Despite allegedly having intended to take the others and leave Jennings, Holly instead decided to have the three of them and Allsup back him. When asked why Buddy was asking for the others back, he said he wanted to do what was most comfortable for Waylon. Thus, the quintet did two tracks Waylon was working on. Buddy liked them so much he wanted them on his solo album, instead of the secondary release. Waylon then became sick and was unable to play, which caused the others to finish both records without him. Holly & His Buddies Volume 2 was released to decent rates, though not being considered as interesting or desirable. Holly was at least proud to have released it before 1958 and to have received a letter of congratulations from Jerry and Joe, who sent him a copy of their new single credited to “Sonny Curtis & The Crickets”.
BUDDY HOLLY – TRUE LOVE WAYS
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Love’s Made A Fool Of You” (4-11)
“Wishing” (6-20)
“Early In The Morning” (4-12)
“Now We’re One” (4-14)
“When Sin Stops”
“That’s What They Say” (5-28)
SIDE B
“True Love Ways” (4-17)
“It Doesn’t Matter Anymore” (4-19)
“Raining In My Heart” (4-21)
“Moondreams” (4-23)
“Jole Blon”
“What To Do” (5-24)
PERSONNEL
Buddy Holly – lead vocals (tracks 1-4, 6-10, 12), rhythm guitar (tracks 1-2), lead guitar (tracks 5-6, 11-12)
Tommy Allsup – lead guitar (tracks 1-2), guitar (tracks 5, 11)
George Atwood – bass (tracks 1-2, 5, 11)
Bo Clarke – drums (tracks 1-2, 5, 11)
Unknown – rhythm guitar (track 2)
Al Chernet – guitar (tracks 3-4)
George Barnes – lead guitar (tracks 3-4)
Sanford Bloch – bass (tracks 3-4, 7-10)
Ernest Hayes – piano (tracks 3-4, 7-10)
David “Panama” Francis – drums (tracks 3-4)
Phillip Kraus – drums (tracks 3-4)
Sam Taylor – alto saxophone (tracks 3-4)
Helen Way – backing vocals (tracks 3-4)
Harriet Young – backing vocals (tracks 3-4)
Maeretha Stewart – backing vocals (tracks 3-4)
Theresa Merritt – backing vocals (tracks 3-4)
Waylon Jennings – lead vocals (tracks 5, 11)
King Curtis – saxophone (tracks 5, 11)
The Roses (Robert Linville, Ray Rush, David Bigham) – backing vocals (tracks 5, 11)
George Tomsco – guitar (tracks 6, 12)
Stan Lark – bass (tracks 6, 12)
Doug Roberts or Eric Budd – drums (tracks 6, 12)
Al Caiola – guitar (tracks 7-10)
Doris Johnson – harp (tracks 7-10)
Clifford Leeman – drums (tracks 7-10)
Abraham Richman – tenor saxophone (tracks 7-10)
Sylvan Shulman, Leo Kruczek, Leonard Posner, Irving Spice, Ray Free, Herbert Bourne, Julius Held, Paul Winter – violins (tracks 7-10)
David Schwartz, Howard Kay – violas (tracks 7-10)
Maurice Brown, Maurice Bialkin – cellos (tracks 7-10)
True Love Ways was another hit. Holly had already gotten started on recording demos in his apartment for his next record. Due to slimy deals that resulted in him making very little money, he had to start touring as soon as possible. Holly then bought a bus from 1927 and hit the road. They were stressful and cramped and resulted in Clarke and Atwood quitting. Jennings, feeling indebted to Holly, said he wouldn’t leave. The group soon found the young and spirited Carl Bunch, who Holly called “Jerry 2”. Unable to find a bassist as soon as anyone would like, Jennings was recruited. Touring continued to be a stressful endeavor, with everyone missing the ease of flying. As much could be said for Carl, who got frostbite. Possibly due to a reported disliking of Carl, Holly then chartered a flight for only him, Jennings, and Allsup. Ultimately and infamously, through contrivances, Waylon and Tommy were replaced by popular artists Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. The plane soon crashed after takeoff. Holly’s body wasn’t found.
Those that knew Holly, and even those that didn’t, were shattered. Norman Petty, not to turn down an opportunity to make money, licensed several old recordings of Buddy Holly, mainly from the Two Tones era, and overdubbed them with a band called The Fireballs. These were considered shoddy and like cash-ins, with people really wanting new material. Petty then found the apartment tapes and overdubbed them. Jennings insisted on being an advisor for the sake of accuracy and managed to convince Petty to not overdub certain tracks, as he had heard Buddy say he wanted things “As they had been – stripped back.” He only got Petty to go along with this when he said it would cost less.
Giant was considered a fitting tribute to Holly, feeling like a culmination of his different styles. His past band members and friends were reported to have liked the record. After Holly, Waylon Jennings and Tommy Allsup started solo careers. Niki Sullivan tried continuing his career, but soon essentially retired. Most of the minor players became session men and were always eager to do interviews and shows that focused on Holly. Jerry Allison, Joe B. Mauldin, Sonny Curtis, and to a lesser extent Norman Petty weren’t so inclined to remain in the shadow of their friend and mentor, and their story continues…
BUDDY HOLLY & THE CRICKETS – HOLLY & HIS BUDDIES VOLUME 1
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
Jim Robinson – “A Whole Lot Of Lovin’”
Jim Robinson – “It’s A Wonderful Feeling”
Jack Huddle – “Starlight”
Jack Huddle – “Believe Me”
Sherry Davis – “Broken Promises”
Sherry Davis – “Humble Heart”
Fred Crawford – “By The Mission Wall”
SIDE B
Buddy Knox – “Swingin’ Daddy”
Buddy Knox – “Whenever I’m Lonely”
Gary Dale Tollett – “Go Boy Go”
Gary Dale Tollett – “Gone”
Gary Dale Tollett – “The Golden Rocket”
Gary Dale Tollett – “I Overlooked An Orchid”
Gary Dale Tollett – “Look To The Future”
Gary Dale Tollett – “Honey Honey”
PERSONNEL
Jim Robinson – lead vocals (tracks 1-2)
Buddy Holly – guitar (tracks 1-15)
Jerry Allison – cardboard box (tracks 1-2), drums (tracks 2-15)
Vi Petty – piano (tracks 2, 4)
Joe B. Mauldin – bass (tracks 1-4, 7-9, 14-15)
The Roses – backing vocals (track 1)
The Bowman Brothers – backing vocals (tracks 2, 4, 7)
Jack Huddle – lead vocals (tracks 3-4)
Sherry Davis – lead vocals (5-6)
Jack Vaughn – rhythm guitar (tracks 5-6)
Unknown – bass (tracks 5-6)
The Picks – backing vocals (tracks 5-6, 14-15)
Gene Medley – backing vocals (track 6)
Fred Crawford – lead vocals (track 7)
Norman Petty – organ (track 7)
Buddy Knox – lead vocals (tracks 8-9)
Gary Dale Tollett – lead vocals (tracks 10-15), guitar (track 14)
This is a passion of mine and if one person likes what I do, I’ll feel honored. I like suggestions on what artist to cover next, so if you know of one you’d like me to look at, feel free to suggest ‘em!
For those not in the know, fan albums are the attempts of me and many others to take songs and put them on an album, typically they’re made to improve upon something, such as an existing album or to take non-album tracks and put them on an album.
One of the most wonderful girl bands I’ve discovered lately is the Daughters of Eve. While they do effective versions of the more “rocking” tracks, I especially like the ballad-y stuff that makes use of their haunting vocals. The first track of theirs I ever heard is “Hey Lover” and it’s easily their best song. While they have very few singles, fortunately there’s enough extra tracks for a full album. I’m really curious where these extra tracks came from and why they were recorded. I expected something like a live show (which is how bands like Cradle got their album), but these sound just like studio tracks. Also, I originally made the tracklist identical to a bootleg I saw on RYM called “In the Garden of Eden”. However, a few things about it I didn’t like, so I changed it around a little. The order is still mostly the same.
This is a passion of mine and if one person likes what I do, I’ll feel honored. I like suggestions on what artist to cover next, so if you know of one you’d like me to look at, feel free to suggest ‘em!
For those not in the know, fan albums are the attempts of me and many others to take songs and put them on an album, typically they’re made to improve upon something, such as an existing album or to take non-album tracks and put them on an album.
The Monks are generally known and defined by their one and only LP, as if nothing else was ever made. While that’s not far from the truth, there is a little more they did. That material is consistently less hard hitting than the famous album. The group are still surprisingly strong at infusing psychedelia and pop, with the drumming a particular highlight. That being said, these aren’t must-listen recordings by any means. While The Sonics managed to get almost a second full length worth of hard edged tracks, and all the way to a third of very quality work, these stray Monks would almost best be described as a different band. If you like the famous Black Monk Time and want more of it, you should go to other bands with a proto-punk style, as Black is all you’ll get from the Monk pot. If you want decent rock tunes and interesting alternate versions of songs, then here you go, what is essentially another group.
These two album names were apparently considered to be the names of potential follow-up albums. I don’t think they’re great titles, especially because of the change in sound for one and the same songs of the other, but I thought it was cute to do. If albums of new material had come out under those names, it probably wouldn’t have been like what’s below, with album-only tracks that were never recorded.
The three “fan albums” are Silver Monk Time, which details demos and live cuts of what’s on Black and also… Gold Monk Time, which features no overlapping songs with Black. The third are stray “modern” recordings by members of the band. Just for fun, also included is the live reunion album and more solo projects, as well as a list of what exists, but I couldn’t find.
THE MONKS – SILVER MONK TIME
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Boys Are Boys (1964)”
“Monk Time”
“Love Came Tumblin’ Down”
“Space Age”
“We Do Wie Du”
“Boys Are Boys (1965)”
“Pretty Suzanne”
“Higgle-Dy Piggle-Dy”
SIDE B
“Oh, How To Do Now (1965)”
“I Hate You”
“Boys Are Boys (1966)”
“Oh, How To Do Now (1966)”
“Complication”
“I Can’t Get Over You”
“Cuckoo”
THE MONKS – GOLD MONK TIME
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Monk Chant”
“I Can’t Get Over You”
“Cuckoo”
“Love Can Tame the Wild”
“He Went Down to the Sea”
“Pretty Suzanne”
SIDE B
“Hushie Pushie”
“There She Walks”
“Julia”
“P.O. Box 3291”
“I Need U Shatzi”
“Yellow Grass”
“I’m Watching You”
GARY BURGER & DAVE DAY – IT IS CHARLES TIME
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
The Spectors – “Oh, How To Do Now” (1993)
Alec Empire & Gary Burger – “Monk Time” (2006)
The Fall & Gary Burger – “Higgle-Dy Piggle-Dy” (2006)
The Havletones & Dave Day – “That’s My Girl” (2006)
SIDE B
Charles Paul Wilp & The Monks – “It Is Charles Time” (2006)
Faust & Gary Burger – “Beware (The Transatlantic Feedback)” (2006)
Dave Day – Having A Party With Dave Havlicek (1994)
Dave Day – “I Want The Right To Be Free” (1997)
Dave Day – “Don’t Ha Ha” (1997)
THE MONKS ARE
Gary Burger – lead guitar, lead vocals, tambourine
Larry Clark – organ, backing vocals, piano, tambourine
Dave Day – banjo, rhythm guitar, banjo guitar, tambourine, backing vocals
Roger Johnston – drums, backing vocals
Eddie Shaw – bass guitar, backing vocals, trumpet, brass instruments
This is a passion of mine and if one person likes what I do, I’ll feel honored. I like suggestions on what artist to cover next, so if you know of one you’d like me to look at, feel free to suggest ‘em!
Despite being in poverty, David Gilmour managed to record at least nine tracks before being picked up by Pink Floyd in late 1967. Most of these were with a band called Jokers Wild, which yielded a few other talented players in Rick Wills and Willie Wilson. That being said, those two didn’t join yet when the five 1965 recordings were cut and the two 1966 ones (which at most featured Wilson, Wills joining a few months later) are lost. Those looking for those two with Gilly can turn to the 1978 album, David Gilmour. Wilson was also minorly on 1970’s The Madcap Laughs, which prominently features Gilmour.
The original Wild line-up on those five ‘65 cuts does have some interesting similarities to 1964-1965 Pink Floyd one. The blues and rock influences sent them on a similar path, though Gilmour’s side of the pond has more outlandish vocals and consists of entirely covers. The instrumentation is pretty often mediocre, including the guitar, which lacks feeling or flow, sticking out uncomfortably from the rest. The other bandmates aren’t much better, unlike with Floyd, who were solid, save for their lead guitar player Bob Klose. Clive Welham comes out the best of the Jokers, with a dominating and passably-powerful backbeat. He would probably be lackluster if playing with bands at least a little better.
“Why Do Fools Fall in Love” has very poor vocals, perhaps going for the type you’d hear on a novelty song. These recordings are at their best when raucous. That raucousness is delivered more on “Walk Like a Man”. It has some energy, with the vocals not misplacing confidence. It’s fun. “Don’t Ask Me What I Say” has incredibly weak instrumentation and vocals, all flattening out any impact this track could have, and has had when done by other artists. “Big Girls Don’t Cry”’s lead vocal is easy to appreciate due to its cheesy glory. The rest suffer similar problems. The ultimate bright spot is “Beautiful Delilah”, which is gloriously eclectic. It further demonstrates the wasted potential, with the band doing other tracks that could be more crazy than they are. Perhaps David spent his rehearsing time on this one track, as the licks he plays keep up the pace nicely?
The Jokers Wild stuff could believably be famous among garage rock circles, even if no one in the band went on to do anything better quality or better known. Due to the guitar playing and reasonably uninteresting song choices, these aren’t for me, other than Walk Like a Man and Beautiful Delilah, which emphasize the fun, free spirit of the outfit. It seems like the band were really enjoying doing those two, especially Gilmour on the latter. That’s a quality that is very appealing to many garage fans. For better and for worse, these lean on the novice side. You can imagine a bunch of teenagers so confident in their ability that they rush this together, without considering the relative permanence of such a thing.
In 1967, David did two vocals for a movie. One source says Jokers Wild played on these, but I’m pretty sure that’s not true, due to the sound not at all being similar. David’s vocals on these tracks are just terrible, showing no love for putting in effort. They’re especially bad on “Do You Want to Marry Me?” “I Must Tell You Why” is slightly better all around due to being upbeat. The voice and inclusion of psychedelic tropes holds it back. Both of those tracks come off as product to appeal to fans of this sound. It does seem that really unsuited vocalists often find themselves on these sorts of recordings.
OVERVIEW
This is all definitely worthwhile for a David Gilmour fan for a single listen. I couldn’t tell ya for a garage fan or psychedelic one. I’d personally only possibly give a listen to Walk and Delilah again. Amusingly, Jokers Wild and 1964-65 Pink Floyd would have enough recordings to collectively make one album.
The Filme Diary 