Two brilliant sixties garage instrumentals by unknown persons
Label: Philips
Year of Release: 1965
It's always faintly frustrating when I locate a single I really like, but the artist(s) behind it seem so elusive that I'm unable to offer you good people any kind of background whatsoever. In this case, this bunch of Eastside [one word] Kids seem to have no relation to the other Los Angeles based East Side [two words] Kids who arrived later in the sixties and issued several singles, although there seems to be some dispute online about that fact.
Billy Carl co-authored the A-side "Subway Train" and there's evidence to suggest that this is Billy Carlucci who eventually served in the 1910 Fruitgum Company. It seems probable that he was a member of this very short-lived outfit too. The author W.E. Strange may also be the guitarist Billy Strange the session musician. As for the rest? No idea. No data. If you know, please pass your knowledge on.
Whatever, what we have here is two thrilling instrumental sides, with the W.E. Strange penned flip "Sunday Stranger" having by far the best sound to my ears. The combination of ripping guitar riffs, organ grooves and pounding drum patterns makes it an absolute shoe-in for any mod or garage night, and it's a delight. My feet haven't stopped twitching yet. One of those records I picked up at a very reasonable price indeed, and I'm delighted for having done so.
1 comment:
I love mysteries like this.
Chris Bishop already tackled your earlier post here: https://www.garagehangover.com/the-sound-of-the-seventh-son-and-the-east-side-kids/
The only thing I can add is that the only other single with a "Billyjo Productions" credit, appears to be this Cloudwalkers single from the same year: http://www.45cat.com/record/nc750310us
Based on that (where the credited engineer may be the Joe in Billyjo) it seems likely that this was recorded in NYC. See https://www.garagehangover.com/cloudwalkers-sunglasses/
That engineer, Joe Venneri, was added to Mercury Records' staff in the summer/fall of 65, around the time this came out. (Philips owned Mercury at that time). https://books.google.com/books?id=PykEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA32&dq=%22joe+venneri%22+billy&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj_7OrB8MTbAhUNKKwKHUzVCacQ6AEIMTAC#v=onepage&q=%22joe%20venneri%22%20billy&f=false
Chris Bishop suggests a link to The Secrets, of which Moehrle (aka Morley) and Gentile were members. It is certainly plausible that this was a version of that group before they became Crystal Mansion.
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