ELECTRICK LOOSERS VOLUME FOUR - the prae-kraut pandaemonium that never was meant to be. thirty german undergrounded beat garage ravers re-unearthed and ex-zombiefied from the same treasure trove-source that brought you all the other millions off-ucking nukkets of teutonic pampers around your ears - established and ruling since 1987. deadicated to the hellth of the earth, but the world wood never lissen. sonic reducing for your education.
We revived the Prae-Kraut series, why shouldn't we do the same with Electrick Loosers. Intended as the CD-outlet of the Pandaemonium, there were 2 volumes that summed up Prae-Kraut 1- 4, but then we found it a bit boring to concentrate on stuff that has been done already, and we released a volume that rounded up all the German nuggets that have been scattered all over the place on trans-world garage comps and other publications, where they seemed to sit uncomfortable and lost (dare I say wasted?) a bit. Now I dug up the old master tapes of intended Prae-Krauts, which had to be re-made, re-modeled cause other enthusiasts got in the way, and were a little quicker with their German beat comps. Read the whole story on www.prae-kraut.de. I searched the net over now and couldn't find any posts for the old Visions of the Past volumes, Boom Boom, Beat on the Krauts and a couple of other releases that were red hot in the very early 90s, but obviously as hard to find today as the original Prae-Kraut vinyl is. So here we go with the second Prae-Kraut that never happend (in fact it is the first), and dedicate this one to our old friend XL Beaver, who did a great job when he came in first with about 15 of the numbers above. Better late than never, these all are tracks that were planned for the first 6 volumes of Prae-Kraut. And as we only selected our favourites, this one is vintage German Beat (no Swiss or Austrian contributions this time). 1000 thanks to Peppermint Patti for the formidable cover that lay around unused for 15 years.
here we go-go!
The War – SHELLEY (3'25)
Is It True – THE MERSEY KINGS (3'01)
Shoot Your Shot – THE PHANTOM BROTHERS (2'55)
The World For Us – SAD SACK SET (2'37)
Action Painting – THE RICKETTS (3'13)
I Don't Miss You – KENNY (2'33)
Bad Bad Boy – THE FREED (2'21)
Nobody – THE JAILBIRDS (2'50)
Blackbird Face – THE CHOSEN FEW (2'10)
German Measles – THE SUBJECTS (2'54)
Come Back – THE REBBELS (2'10)
T'was On A Monday Morning – THE STEADFASTS (2'30)
It's Great – JONAH & THE WHALES (3'25)
Please Be Mine – THE RACKERS (1'38)
Go Go Mojo – THE UNITED 5 (2'35)
I Feel Alright – BEATBAND G 66 (2'59)
I'm Not Like Everybody Else – THE IDLING DOMESTICS (3'30)
Brand New Cadillac - THE RANGERS (2'49)
She's My Baby – THE ORIGINAL SURFERS (2'56)
Uncle Willy – THE KENTUCKYS (2'50)
The Other Man – THE NEWS (2'18)
Hummel Twist – TONY CAVANAUGH & THE LIVERPOOL TRIUMPHS (1'42)
Lost John – THE STARFIGHTERS (2'22)
Noch einen Rum, noch eine Whiskey – MIKE ROGER & HIS MACHINE GUNS (2'21)
It's Love Baby – THE TONICS (2'16)
Set Of Teeth Nr. 5 – THE DIVERS (2'24)
Shimmy Shimmy – THE THANES (2' 15)
Darlin' – THE TONACS (3'12)
Comin' Home, Babe– PAUL NERO'S BLUE SOUNDS (2'33)
Hall Of The Mountain King – CASEY JONES & THE GOVERNORS (1'39)
SHELLEY: Eastbourne, Sussex. After 3 unsuccessful 45s for Pye they came over here and recorded two much better, but equally ignored singles. „The War“ was on Hit House Rec. You'll find the other 7“ on PKP 18 (here on this blog)*** MERSEY KINGS: one of these unpayable 45s on Scherer, the Heidelberg based private label, that gave us among others The Lightnings and The 5 Torquays. „Is It True“, b-side of „I'm A Hog For You“ (> PKP 14) was a minor hit for Brenda Lee, and was often covered by mid-60s beat bands. Another German version was recorded by The Pounds.*** No need to repeat all the praise about Rendsburg's PHANTOM BROTHERS (read Ugly Things 24) The second and last 7“ was a sledgehammer version of Jr. Walker's „Shoot Your Shot“, released in '67 on the tiny ND/NC label, misspelled on cover as „Shoot Your Shut“.*** The SAD SACK SET's only single showed up on Cornet '67. Marek Lieberberg, later boss of Mama Concerts and nowadays one of Europe's richest impressarios and promoter of madness like Rock am Ring, was a member of the band from Frankfurt, and while the song was credited to the group on the label, it's note for note The Hollies' „Little Lover“.*** I know of 3 different German combos called RICKETTS (well, one of them spell with as single „t“). The Ricketts in question, probably from Greater Cologne, first appeared with 5 tracks on the '69 concert-compilation „Wir im Scheinwerfer“ (= we in the spotlight) on Resono. „Action Painting“ was the most obvious choice for garage heads, but you'll find one of their real songs (with lyrics, that is) on old Prae-Kraut vinyl. (>vol 7.) Their 45 on BASF is best avoided.*** KENNY (MacGaskill) from Glasgow came to Germany with The Fleets and stayed in Kassel when they left. He recorded here for Metronome, Ariola and GM, and his backing bands were The (Scottish) Sonics and The (German) Cars. His best side was „I Don't Miss You“ for GM in '66, and he is accompanied by The (uncredited) Cars.*** Still foggy after all these years... Absolutely nothing known about THE FREED and this frantic garage stormer from '67 on the small Rex label.*** One of many German JAILBIRDS, these here came from Mainz and put out a sought-after private pressing in'66. „Nobody“ is the closest we come to a ballad here. You'll find the flip „I'd Like To Go“ on Prae-Kraut 19 (Just scroll down a bit) *** THE CHOSEN FEW from Hofgeismar near Kassel started as The Rolling Beats (documented on the Telefunken LP „Twist Battle Party“). „Blackbird Face“ (CCA, 67) was the first single, the second and last was on GM Rec. (> PKP 3), where they backed girl singer Gesine Darieux on one side.*** Not to be confused with the ones from Munich, these SUBJECTS hailed from Troisdorf and began as The Spitfires (undocumented). This sole 7“, a private pressing on SP, 67, is pure trash with some of the most hilarious „lyrics“ this side of Malepartus II. The flip side was on PKP 10.*** THE REBBELS (Koblenz) claim delibarate choice of wrong spelling. (Well, Electrick Loosers does the same.) The best side of two singles for Bellaphon was „Round The World“ (> PKP 3), but „Come Back“, flip of „Monkey Monkey“, is a close runner up. The boys got quite upset, when they had to find out that John Christian Dee, the Adam of Eve and pain in the asses of many a German band on Bellaphon and CBS, put his name under the title on the label.*** With only 3 songs released, THE STEADFASTS (Memmingen) reached cult status among fans of the moodier kind of garage rock (remember „Class of '66“ ?). The debut was a split single with The Cashions (>PKP 9), followed by this CCA 45 in 66. H.-W. Kunze translated „Monday Morning“ and recycled it with at least 3 different German crooners on his label. *** Nürnberg's JONAH & THE WHALES mutated to Ihre Kinder by the end of the decade. „It's Great“ (Vogue, 66), a sharper version of a 7“ by The (UK) Monotones , was their only release. Jonah was Jonas Porst, son of a rich and famous man. A projected second single was shelved, but can be heard on PKP 15 and 17. *** These RACKERS came from Kassel and are not the ones from Weilburg of „Crazy Haunted House“- fame. Their only 7“ was released '66 on the very fine Paletten label.*** THE UNITED 5 may well be a Dutch band, as a group of the same name, who had a single called „Go Go Baby“ on CCA, definitely came from Ijmuiden. „Go Go Mojo“ is a totally different song from a 7“ on Saba/MPS, and the similar titles caused a lot of confusion among collectors. Anyway, same or other band, both singles were exclusively released in Germany 1966. *** Formerly known as The Gang, Cologne's G 66 were inspired by Q65, when they were looking for a hipper name. They had a big following in their hometown, but only released this one single on Vogue (66). The flip can be found on PKP 10. *** IDLING DOMESTICS!?! Wow, bold construction of a name. What they meant to say was „Faules Gesindel“.They came from Delmenhorst and won the Battle of the Bands '67 in a draw with The (rather dull) Confusion. The result was a split-single sponsored by the local newspaper Delmenhorster Kreisblatt. Cool choice to give one of Ray Davies' best songs a try, but back then this was just the overlooked flip of „Sunny Afternoon“. *** The origins of THE RANGERS (not to be confused with Frederic's Ruhrpott Rangers) are unknown, but the only 7“ on Privat Records (a private pressing nevertheless) is a bit of a sensation, because it obviously was made before The Renegades had a monsterous Continental hit with the song they stole from Vince Taylor. Here everything is properly correct.: Title, writer's credits and Vince's arrangement.( Though The Rangers tighten up a bit and lay down something like the blueprint to The Clash's version on „London Calling“.) *** THE ORIGINAL SURFERS from Holzminden were another bunch of young hopefuls, who payed CCA-owner Kunze for recording and pressing of a first (and last) single 1966. Despite the name, they tried to be a tough R&B-band like The Stones and Spencer Davis' Group, and hadn't much in mind with surfin'. „She's My Baby“ sounds suspiciously like „Everybody Needs Somebody To Love“ to my ears. *** Like The Phantom Brothers, who also only had 2 singles, Wuppertal's KENTUCKYS were one of Germany's most infamous rowdy-bands, legendary for weird behaviour and outrageous stage antics. „Uncle Willy“, seemingly inspired by Zoot Money's version, was the first of 2 records for Bellaphon in '66, and showed up on one of the backlashing Continental Pebbels, but I guess it's time to dig it up again. More of The Kentuckys on PKP 3 & 9. *** THE NEWS from Bad Kreuznach were another of these non-hit-wonders with a one-off 45 on a backyard label. Local heroes for a year or two, but at least you have something to show your grandchildren, when they doubt that you've ever been young. Their lone single showed up in '65 on Uniphon. *** TONY CAVANAUGH was a black American drummer and singer stuck in Hamburg, where he found enough work in the Top Ten Club and other venues, and drummed and recorded uncredited with many touring acts. Under own name he recorded for Decca, Somerset and Metronome between '63 and '67. His wildest release was the '64 live-LP „Rock-Twist-Slop-Hully Gully“, and „Hummel Twist“ is the funniest statement on migration, integration and being a stranger in a strange town I've heard since Eddie Wilson's „Dankeschön, bitteschön, wiederseh'n, I wish I could sprecken sie Deutsch“. If you want to listen to the whole LP, click at >Berlin Beatet Bestes<>THE STARFIGHTERS, well, looks like – thanks to Franz Josef Strauß – every town had a band of that name. These here came from Iserlohn, and like so many, they started as a skiffle group. The one and only 7“ was released '64 on Team Rec., and sold well enough to be picked up by Bellaphon for national distribution. „Lost John“, the old Lonnie Donegan number, is better known in The Lords' version, but if the release dates are to be trusted, The Starfighters came first. *** MIKE ROGER was Nürnberg's answer to Elvis. Or Fats Dominio, if you dare a look at the covers of the many singles he put out on Aba Nori, a label he kept alive alone with his slopdance-craze records. Some even made the lower registers of the charts. Born Hermann Glöckler in 1930, he was the king of the bad part of town behind the railroad tracks, and with his Machine Guns he backed a lot of touring C&W and R&B-singers. „Noch einen Rum“ (64) was the b-side of „Veedeboom Slop“, his second minor hit, and a number that Tony Sheridan later covered for Polydor. Rogers died in 1984. *** Hamburg's TONICS should be more than familiar with every Prae-Kraut-follower. While so many of their singles are best forgotten, „It's Love, Baby“ (65, Elite Special) is a real winner. Written and first recorded by Hank Ballard, there are a couple of other beat arrangments around, most noteably the one by The (UK) Knack. *** THE DIVERS from Kulmbach recorded 3 titles for CCA in'66. Why they (or H.-W. Kunze) neglected the best one when the single was pressed, is hard to understand. But „Set Of Teeth Nr. 5“ (great title!) didn't stay unreleased completely. What not even The Divers knew, and what's written down wrong in all specialists' books: There is this CCA single by Lord Crazy called „Crazy, Crazy“, and indeed the instrumental track of The Safaris' song of the same name was used. On the flip we have this outrageous „Witchy Bitchy Super Duper Eyeball Highball...“-thing (see PKP 8), a backwards-track in the tradition of Napoleon XIV's b-sides, and everybody thought that it's The Safaris again. It's not. If you listen closely, you'll recognize that Kunze used The Divers' leftover. Here it is in all its glory as it was meant to be heard.*** THE THANES from Munich's suburb Pasing were extremely charming and polite guys (as the TV-documentary „Beat auf dem Lande“ shows), but optic-wise they made The Stones look like acolytes. All 4 sides of two '66 singles on Meilton are covers, and due to lacking abilities on instruments, they even make „Things We Said Today“ sound rough and rocking. „Shimmy Shimmy“ was one of the stage-standards on the German club circuit, and lots of interpretations are documented. While it was a hit for The Orlons, the best and oldest version I found in my collection is a Bobby Freeman 7“ from 1959. *** Although the only 7“ of THE TONACS ( not to be confused with The Tonics) came out on a major label (CBS, 66), there's not much known about the band. They were a quartet from the Frankfurt hinterland, I've been told. And they somehow remind me of the early Bernd Frank singles...*** PAUL NERO is of course jazz legend Klaus Doldinger, who later fertilized Krautrock with his bands Motherhood and Passport. „Comin' Home, Babe“, the old Ben Tucker number, still is a floorfiller in the marvellous hit version of Mel Torme, but garage freaks will be more familiar with The Downliners Sect's rendition. Alongside Stefan von Dobrcinsky, Sahib Shihab, Atilla Zoller, Ingfried Hoffmann and Peter Trunk, - names that should let your jaws drop in awe, but probably won't, ignorant bastards! - we hear Klaus Voormann on bass and another third of Paddy, Klaus & Gibson, Gibson Kemp on drums. (Taken from „The Big Beat“, 65) *** CASEY JONES & THE GOVERNORS were the most successful of all ex-patriate Brit bands in Germany, but they had a reputation for turning R&B classics to simple, stomping sing-along-ditties, and a breakneck-speed version of Edvard Grieg's „Hall of The Mountain King“ from „Peer Gynt“ came as quite a surprise, when it showed up on their second, much rarer LP for Golden 12 in '65. And Casey had the nerve to take over the writer's credits!!! As I do with this little historical report. Stay tuned. The Lolly Pope.
A Sturclub Production 1992 - 2010
probably recorded during the sessions for trout mask replica late in 1968 or early in 1969 (sounds like new years mourning) this is the captain speaking whilst disregarding a late laid piano and nobody cares either. neither. the dust blows forward and the dust blows back and the wind blows black through the sky the beefheart beats no more slobbery fields forever!
