More U.K. Obscurities On U.S. Labels: The Dakotas Surf

 

THE DAKOTAS-The Cruel Surf/The Millionaire U.S. Liberty F 55618 1963

Liverpudlian Billy J. Kramer's Mancunian backing band The Dakotas were afforded the opportunity to shine in the own right in the spirit of Cliff Richard and The Shadows and like The Shadows plied their wares without their respectively separately billed vocalist as (initially) an instrumental combo. Their U.K. debut "The Cruel Sea" was launched in July 1963 as Parlophone R 5044 and issued here in September and re titled "The Cruel Surf" in an effort to convince buyers that they were a surf instrumental band. The ploy did not work and sadly there would not be another Dakotas 45 without Billy J. issued in the States. Both sides were penned by the group's guitarist Mike Maxfield and produced by George Martin. 

"The Cruel Surf" is an uptempo instrumental. It reminds me of "Guitar Boogie Shuffle" meets a Ventures LP track. It's catchy yet intricate enough in it's playing to not verge mundane, something that sadly a lot of 60's instrumental quartets sadly fall in to, in my view anyway. 

The Dakotas, courtesy of 45cat.com

"The Millionaire" is REALLY boring. It literally offers nothing to my ears and sounds like The Shadows at their absolute weakest....

Both tracks have been featured on a host of Billy J. Kramer compilations and are also both available on streaming. 

Hear "The Cruel Surf":

https://youtu.be/IAEcWLYrDuc?si=I6XAL6_pOR9yVIGy 

Hear "The Millionaire":

https://youtu.be/Hs-Gb49PQQY?si=bcM8ZkVRat-Gjz5M

Graham Day Interview 1988

Back in late 1988 I conducted a mail in interview with Graham Day (of The Prisoners fame) for my fanzine "Smashed Blocked" which I published in issue #4 in early 1989. I decided to locate it an digitize it and reprint it here:

Graham Day with yours truly, Bad Music Seminar, NYC 11/88

More U.K. Obscurities On U.S. Labels On U.S. Labels: The Troggs "Surprise Surpise"

 

THE TROGGS-Surprise Surprise (I Need You)/ Cousin Jane U.S. Fontana F-1630 1968

The Troggs U.S. run at the hit parade was sadly short and sweet with "Wild Thing" bludgeoning it's way to #1 in July '66 and "Love Is All Around" bouncing them back at #5 in November of '68, but between and after it was bleak, but that didn't stop Fontana records from prolifically releasing their singles...... 

Their follow up in the States to "Love is All Around" was the absolutely dog shit horrible "You Can Cry If You Want To", which was followed in September 1968 by today's selection, "Surprise Surprise (I Need You)". It was previously issued in The U.K and elsewhere in April with a different flip, the curiously named "Marbles And Some Gum". Canada followed the American lead issuing it with the two year old track "Cousin Jane" as a B-side. 

"Surprise Surprise (I Need You)" follows Reg Presley's usual leering lyrical pattern, though this time Reg is not doing the leering. Our protagonist arrives at his place to find "the lights were down, the light's were dim...the table lit by candle light a record player rolled" to find his girl was "making love to someone else instead of me" on top of a rollicking piano and a VERY distinctly proto-Ramones drum beat. Quite rocking!  I like this!

Curious Spanish picture sleeve with intentional defacement

The flip, "Cousin Jane", penned by their manager Larry Page in conjunction with David Mathews was previously issued in February '67 as a single by artist Barry Benson. The Troggs version first appeared as an E.P. track in Spain, Portugal and France in 1966 but did not surface in the U.K. until their "Troggs Tops 2" E.P. in July and their second British long player "Trogglodynamite" in 1967. For those not familiar "Cousin Jane", this is the band skirting the taboo of incest and boyhood lust ("Cousin Jane, come to stay again..each night tip toe across the landing kiss her lips just as she's standing there.. each night hold her until the morning...no one will ever know"). The subtle instrumentation is just a piano and what sounds like a glockenspiel which a touch of phlanging on the piano bass notes giving it an eerie and foreboding effect. Despite the song's risque topic it's actually one of my favorites by them in terms of delivery.

Both sides are available on a host of compilations and streaming services. 

Hear "Surprise Surprise (I Need You)":

https://youtu.be/ZXUoOsPLz28?si=w67B18OvoXo2O_TF

Hear "Cousin Jane":

https://youtu.be/DcWZvyQx0kg?si=6JK1ySKwmlxwCD2F

More U.K. Obscurities: The Scaffold "Liver Birds"

 

THE SCAFFOLD-Liver Birds/Jelly Colored Cloud U.S. Bell 849 1969

Liverpool's trio The Scaffold (Paul McCartney's brother Mike, future Poet Laureate Roger McGough and John Gorman) were discussed in previous posts about some of their earlier records where we gave a little background on their four previous American singles ("Lily The Pink", "Do You Remember", "Thank U Very Much" and "Goose". 

Today's subject was their fifth American 7" and also their final release of the 60's here. Curiously the sides were different than the U.K. release. "Liver Birds" (the theme to a British TV show of the same name, though a slightly different version than the actual TV theme) was on the bottom side of the inane "Gin Gan Goolie" there (Parlophone R 5812 October 1969). Issued here in December it featured "Jelly Colored Cloud" on the A-side. I've reversed them because I prefer "Liver Birds". 

"Liver Birds" is an incredibly catchy number with an opening drum beat that would not sound at all out of place in the Stone Roses era and a funky throbby bass line that falls right in behind the drums making for an incredibly infectious groove. The sing-along/sing-song lyrics espouse the joys of lasses from Liverpool:

"Luton girls have lovely voices, Sheffield girls make finest cooks, Glasgow girls are good at football, Liverpool girls win out on looks", and so on!

"Jelly Colored Cloud" was a track from the previous year issued on what had then been the band's only U.S. LP "Thank U Very Much". It's an odd duck, starting out with an almost nursery rhyme like intro with a child's toy xylophone and some whistling before it totally goes off the rails with fake opera soprano voices behind the fey lead vocals. Whoever decided to make this the A-side of an American single was clearly either in possession of an extreme sense of humor or perhaps dabbling in certain substances, OR so checked out in their job that they just decided not to bother listened to what they were putting out!

Both sides are available on the compilation CD "The Scaffold at Abbey Road 1966-1971" and on streaming. 

Hear "Liver Birds":

https://youtu.be/_97dpL4GejA?si=lLnoDbySZKthfBNn

Hear "Jelly Colored Cloud":

https://youtu.be/1KslAK-JGM0?si=U1fWjfkn0SB63FmL

Hear the original British theme for "Liver Birds":

https://youtu.be/5VFYuOJJdjE?si=497ncy-aKe3Tc6c5

The Moody Blues Mark One: In America Part Six

 

THE MOODY BLUES-Go Now!/It's Easy Child U.S. Lomdon 45-LON-9726 1964

The Moody Blues U.S. debut came in December 1964 when London issued their 2nd U.K. 45 (Decca F F12022) as 45 LON 9726, a cover of the Bessie Bank's tune "Go Now" (#1 across the pond in November 1964) with it's U.K. flip, a cover of the Lulu Reed/Freddie King duet "It's Easy Child". It stalled chart wise here upon it's release and was relaunched in January 1965 with a new flip, a group original called "Lose Your Money" which graced the flip of their U.K. debut single "Steal Your Heart Away" (a Bobby Parker track, issued in September 1964 as Decca F11971). When reissued it went to #10 in the U.S. hit parade becoming their highest charting U.S single until 1967's "Nights In White Satin" by an altogether different line up with a different sound.

"Go Now" is vastly different from the original thanks to the heavy echo that creates an almost drone effect on the backing vocals throughout the song and has a  nice up tempo touch to it courtesy of Mike Pinder's piano  moving from the soulful dirge of the original to an almost ragtime swing. It's been a bit played out by it's still a great version.

The flip, a cover of Lula Reed/Freddie King's 1962 single "It's Easy Child", though not as powerful as the original works. Denny Laine handles the lead vocals confidently and Mike Pinder, Clint Warwick and Ray Thomas hold down the backing vocals with Pinder playing a nice rollicking piano solo. 

Both tracks can be found on Deram/Decca's CD reissue of their U.K. LP "The Magnificent Moodies" which contains all of their Denny Laine era U.K./U.S. material and is still in print and is available on streaming as well. 

Hear "Go Now!":

https://youtu.be/KV9W0YJV3Tc?si=gMh5sWK_eN09utFg

Hear "It's Easy Child":

https://youtu.be/G2j0e9vgmF0?si=POd1JMhX262ipB47

THE PRISONERS RETURN!!!

 

More U.K. Obscurities: Ten Year's After

TEN YEARS AFTER-The Sounds/Portable People U.S. Deram 45-85027 1968

For me Ten Years After will always be pretentious blues rock dinosaurs. Their untitled 1967 Deram LP debut is not without it's charm (with the jazzy organ instro "Adventures Of A Young Organ" or the jug band blues humor of "Losing The Dogs") but overall it failed to grab me in any major way. How strange is it that the band's debut LP was issued before they ever released any singles?  That single is today's item of interest. It was launched in February 1968 in the U.K. (a month later in the USA as Deram 45-85027). I've flipped it for our post because I much prefer the B-side.

"The Sounds" should have been the A-side. Forget any blues pretensions or 20 minute Slim Harpo covers, "The Sounds" is a full on freakbeat gas from start to finish. Curiously it reminds me a bit of Dennis Couldry's "I Am Nearly There" (UK Decca F 12734 issued the same month) with it's downtrodden, morose vocals with lyrics of mental confusion brought on by "the sounds". Is it about paranoia? A bad trip? A man who has just about had enough of life?  You decide. There's occasional bluesy but blistering guitar licks that burst out while the main verses feature a subtle organ and almost Gregorian chant backing vocals that gloomily plod along like a freakout dirge and it just builds and builds. The organ gets funkier and sound affects slowly start to pile on creating a brilliant cacophony of paranoia and confusion. It stops abruptly and slowly creeps back in for a few seconds. Positively trippy, man.

"Portable People" is not as groovy. It's not as bluesy as the bulk of their LP tracks but it's a laid back affair with music box piano tinkling away that reminds me of a light weight Lovin' Spoonful track or Canned Heat at their most plastic blues. Totally inoffensive but totally disposable too.

Both tracks are available on a deluxe Deram/Decca reissue of their debut LP that is still in print and are also available on streaming. 

Hear "The Sounds":

https://youtu.be/2urSalzMI_4

Hear "Portable People":

https://youtu.be/lffCxMHbbIE