Various "Psychedelic States: New York In The 60s, Vol. 3" 1965-1971(rec) 2011(comp)****

This kind of CD is not usually one I look forward to reviewing: too  many tracks from too many different bands mean a lot of work. But my human jukebox woke up humming the tune of Shocking Blue's "Send Me A Postcard Darling", which got me looking at my garage/psych shelves. When my eye fell on this CD I drew a complete blank: I couldn't remember ever listening to it before. Reading the booklet I was even more surprised: the liner notes started with the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attack on New York, combined with a strong denunciation of the U.S. invasions on Iraq and Afghanistan. According to the writer "The thousands of brave men and women who have died there is yet another repeat of a disastrous and flawed foreign policy. The economic ruin our country has suffered over these ten years further amplify the need to elect leaders who have the interests of American people (at heart), not the Wall Street capitalists that profit from this death and misery". Not quite what I expected reading in a booklet with the stars, stripes, and statue of liberty on the cover. But it gets one thinking about who is the real patriot: one who acknowledges that something is wrong with his country and tries to fix it, or one who says "my country, right or wrong" and "love it or leave it". A question that is just as relevant in the 21st century as it was when these songs were recorded (1965-1971).

Gear Fab is a relative newcomer to the 60's reissue campaign started by Lenny Kaye's legendary Nuggets compilation. Dozens of specialized labels have since unearthed 1000's of rare singles by unknown 60's garage bands. Gear Fab's Psychedelic States series takes the geographical approach, much like another favorite series of mine, Highs In The Mid 60's. They've been very thorough about it, always searching for unreleased -or, at least, lesser known- gems. One of the songs here immediately rang a bell: The Fugitives' melodic garage rocker "Mean Woman" was perviously included in the German Mindrocker volume 7 comp which has been in my collection for more than 30 years now. I also knew "Tripsy" from the Beyond The Calico Wall compilation, but the rest of the songs were new to me. This CD is the 3rd one dedicated to New York by the Psychedelic States series, and I'm happy to report that the quality of the material remains high. Sound quality, of course, is predictably poor: the source is old 7' singles or acetates, some of which are quite scratchy and noisy. Even if they weren't, the production values for this kind of garage records often are abysmally low. But the conviction and enthusiasm of the (mostly teen) performers is catching. Some of the lyrics are deliciously cheeky: the usual girl putdowns abound, while the Kinks-like "Doctor Friend" contains the hilarious line “I know you’ve never studied medicine as such…” - and then there's the unbelievable 10-minute epic "Destruction" by the fantastically-named Thrashing Butterflys Of Divine Happiness. Introduced by an organ playing Bach's famous toccata in D minor, it unfolds with apocalyptic lyrics, anguished vocals, frantic drumming, and fuzzed-out guitar solos. To this they add various effects, screams, and someone pretending to smoke dope; everything but the kitchen sink. One discerns the influence of fellow New Yorkers Vanilla Fudge, yet it's still one of a kind. Not that originality runs high in this collection, it's usually just more of what you've already heard in countless other garage comps. Fortunately, though, here you get more in-your-face garage rock than commercial 60's pop stuff. If you like The Standells, Music Machine, or Count V, you're bound to dig The Aggregation, Eric & The Smoke Ponies, Morning After, III And A 1/2, and Cucumber - what a name, Cucumber! One of the joys of these compilations is checking out inventive band names like the aforementioned Thrashing Butterflys Of Divine Happiness, Moustache Wax, or Household Sponge. Alternatively, some bands differentiate by using imaginative word spellings like Sonic Lyne, Luv Wons, or The Peepl. The latter contribute a psychedelic ballad from 1967, truth be told one of the lamer moments here. "White And Frosty" and "Love Me Girl" are a couple of cooler ballads featuring nice organ, while some of the highlights are provided by melodic mid 60's garage by the likes of  The O'Aces, Luv Wons, and Fugitives. There's some more R&B-influenced stuff by The Tweeds, Chain Reaction, Jazzmasters, Sonic Lyne and Moustache Wax, and a couple of surf-a-delic instrumentals ("Tripsy" and "Velvet Acid", both recorded in 1967). The fact that this CD doesn't stop at 1966-67 as most garage comps do, allows it to include some more psychedelic/hard rock numbers like Household Sponge's Doors/Iron Butterfly-like "Second Best" and Glass's "And You Hurry" (from 1971, the most recent track here). Not forgetting the two excellent garage-fuzz-hard rock singles from 1969 that open this CD, "What Ever Happened To Us?" by The Upward Movement and "Hide Your Face In Shame" by Sound Solution. All in all, a good job by Gear Fab that's bound to satisfy garage rock fans. Being one, I enjoyed listening to it even though I probably have a hundred 60's comps that are just as good or better in my collection. Like each one of them, this is worth getting if only for being a throwback to a magical time in the history of rock when neighborhood bands operating from their garage were every bit as vital, and produced more records than, professional musicians operating from high-end studios.

***** for Mean Woman (Fugitives)

**** for What Ever Happened To Us? (The Upward Movement), Hide Your Face In Shame (Sound Solution), So Good (The O'Aces), Tripsy (Pebble Episode), You Lied To Me (The Aggregation), I'll Give You More (Erik & The Smoke Ponies), White And Frosty (The Whether Bureau), Love Me Girl (The Tigermen), Don't Make Me Cry (Cucumber), Please Don't (Luv Wons), Second Best (Household Sponge), And You Hurry (Glass), Don't Cry To Me Babe (III And A 1/2), I Don't Need You Today (Morning After), Destruction (The Thrashing Butterflys Of Divine Happiness)

*** for We Got Time (The Tweeds), Home Type Girl (The Overtones), Ever Lovin' Man (The Chain Reaction), Velvet Acid (Tony Dee), Doctor Friend (The Druids), Walkin' (Jazzmasters), Last Time (Sonic Lyne), Summertime (Luv Wons), I'm Gonna Get You (Mustache Wax)

** for Freedom (The Peepl), The Real Thing (The Front End)