We The People "Declaration Of Independence" 1966-68(rec) 1992(comp)****

Yet another 60's garage band chosen with the "random selection" method - I guess that's natural because I have a lot of those in my collection. The first thing I noticed upon hearing this CD again was a light crackle, which had me wondering: is it a symptom of the CD getting corrupted somehow? I can't remember if it was there from the beginning. You read so much about disc rot, yet you rarely notice it. For my part, I've mostly seen it happen to many self-recorded CD-Rs. I long since got rid of (almost all of) my CD-Rs anyway, as I don't have any space left for them. Then I do have a few legitimate CDs (1 or 2 per 1000) that suffer from the typical disc bronzing, combined with sound deterioration. But this one shows neither a bronzing effect nor the pin prick marks that are also consistent with CD rot. Which makes me think it may be a flaw in the source material: the source most probably is original old 7' singles, in less than mint condition.

We The People never did release an LP in their lifetime, although their singles (7 of them, for 3 different labels) were pretty successful locally. For whatever reason, they failed to gain radio play nationally, but proved nevertheless quite influential, with bands like The Fuzztones covering "You Burn Me Up And Down" and "My Brother The Man", while "In The Past" was also covered by bands as far away as California, Paris, and Athens. This (semi-bootleg) French compilation, initially released in vinyl in 1983, was their first ever LP. The CD version (from 1992) adds two "bonus tracks", the contents of their debut single My Brother The Man b/w Proceed With Caution (1966), both written by Wayne Proctor (guitar/vocals). The former is memorable for its muscular riff, fuzz guitar, and strange yelps, while the latter is also a potent garage rocker. The LP contains 2 more garage/fuzz monsters, "Mirror Of Your Mind" and "You Burn Me Up And Down" (also 1966, by 2nd guitarist/singer Tommy Talton). Once again, the pounding drums, distorted guitar, organ, and aggressive vocals with lots of screams, are the band's calling card. The B sides are a nice ballad called ”The Color of Love” and “He Doesn’t Go About It Right”, a folk rocker reminiscent of electric, Highway 61-era, Dylan. Out of the 16 songs here, there's only one cover (of The Rascals' "Love Is A Beautiful Thing") which is pretty rare for 60's garage bands. But We The People just happened to be a sort of garage "supergroup" comprised by members of various bands of the Orlando (FL) area, and each brought their own talents (and songs) in the mix - Proctor's "In The Past" being one of the most interesting. The fast arpeggios of the intro, which are repeated later, reminded me of some of Dick Dale's "oriental" tunes like "Misirlou". In reality it was a home-made variation of an instrument called octophone, similar to a much larger mandolin. Proctor had further customized it by using banjo strings and inventing his own tunings for it. Despite the catchy chorus and in-vogue sitar-like sound (The Beatles and Yardbirds were experimenting with sitar around the same period), it didn't catch on, with local DJ's preferring the B Side, a ballad called "St. John's Shop". This compilation includes two versions of it: 1st version is folkier, while 2nd version has a more accomplished baroque/psychedelic sound - probably this was the one on the single. Where they found the other one, I don't know - not by the band members themselves, a later interview reveals they never had any contact with the label whatsoever. Another previously unreleased track was "Declaration Of Independence", a nice pop-rock number. Probably from 1967, it bears some resemblance to their other singles from that year "Follow Me Back To Louisville" and "Love Is A Beautiful Thing". "Lovin' Son Of A Gun" sounds like some of the Stones' mid 60's pop/country hybrids. By that time, Proctor had left the band to enroll into college - not for the education per se, but in order to avoid the draft and Vietnam. "The Day She Died" is an affecting Tommy Talton ballad, while the band's last single from 1968 consists of a heavy fuzzed-out rocker ("When I Arrive") and an agreeable soul tune ("Ain't Gonna Find Nobody"). All in all an excellent garage compilation that proves We The People belong up there with the likes of Seeds, Sonics, Standells etc. But I wouldn't recommend it, since now there are other compilations available, compiled with the band's cooperation and featuring better sound and previously unreleased material. The best of these is double CD Mirror Of Our Minds.

***** for You Burn Me Up And Down, In The Past, My Brother The Man

**** for Mirror Of Your Mind, He Doesn't Go About It Right, Declaration Of Independence, When I Arrive, St John's Shop (2nd Version), Proceed With Caution

*** for (You Are) The Color Of Love, Lovin' Son Of A Gun, St John's Shop (1st Version), Follow Me Back To Louisville, Love Is A Beautiful Thing, The Day She Died, Ain't Gonna Find Nobody (Better Than You)