Ways & Means - Little Deuce Coupe/ The Little Old Lady From Pasadena

Curious Brit-takes on the Beach Boys

Label: Columbia
Year of Release: 1966

The Ways and Means have already featured on this blog back in 2019, when we took a look at their downright sinister psychedelic harmony single "Sea of Faces". That record has fascinated me for many years as an example of something which sounds as if it might have been trying to be a commercial hit rather than an underground sound, but everyone's aspirations disappeared down the back of the mixing desk at some point during the process. 

Certainly, this record - their debut a mere seven months before that one saw the light of day - showed no signs of any desire to produce a delirious sounding record. Both sides here are very straightforward and faithful reproductions of the Beach Boys sound with only a slightly (and perhaps appropriately) damp atmosphere letting things down slightly; it's hard to hear any warmth or glee in these renditions which in places sound a little perfunctory. It could have been a case of one too many takes in a pressured studio environment or possibly the group felt hamstrung by the material.

Whatever, 1966 was way too late for a British group to take a chance on scoring a hit with covers of early Beach Boys material. While the group had to wait awhile to take flight in the UK, they were very far from a marginal or unknown quantity in mid-1966 and "Little Deuce Coupe" had been made available on the "Fun Fun Fun" EP a few years before. The Ways and Means' performances here are hard to fault, but they were more interesting when they pushed the boat a little bit further out. 

Ways & Means - Sea of Faces/ Make The Radio A Little Louder

Woozy, strange and melancholic slice of winter 1967 psychedelia

Label: Pye

Year of Release: 1967

Ways & Means were a British vocal harmony group whose singles were normally quite straightforward pop affairs. Their most famous release, 1968's "Breaking Up A Dream", is sprightly and has a mod-ish kick which has led to it being well-appraised by collectors of that style and era. Their first 45 in 1966, on the other hand, was a cover of The Beach Boys' "Little Deuce Coupe" which was a faithful facsimile.

Between those two releases sat this little ghoul of doom, a vaguely disorientating and psychedelic outing which also sounds as if it's emerging from someone's personal crisis. "Sea of Faces" was released in the dead of winter 1967, and has an intriguing and captivating arrangement. It wails, howls and begs its way from beginning to end, sounding like the Gibb brothers drunk out of their minds on vermouth while lurching about riding a choppy ferry from the Isle of Man to the mainland UK. "I want YOU!" the band screech with unsteady feet, and if I were the lady in question, I wouldn't come back to any of them. It's a bit disturbing, but in a good way. 

The flipside "Make The Radio A Little Louder" takes a more traditional soul-pop tune and arrangement, but still has a wobbly, woozy feeling which threatens to disrupt the order at any moment. Ultimately though, it's not as interesting.