Which spelled doom for the local kids in the garage. By 1970, the days of fluke local hits were over; the odds against the typical garage band became so stacked they didn't have any kind of realistic chance anymore. Scouting changed too; it became more dependant on live concert reception; in the 1960's many garage bands didn't get to do many professional gigs. Consumers changed as well; with FM and stereo, the album became the chief unit of exchange between artist and audience. Prolific issuing of 45's ceased.
The heroes of this story might have gone on unnoticed and forgotten, had it not been for rock critic and future Patti Smith guitarist Lenny Kaye. Kaye compiled, and wrote liner notes for the seminal 1972 garage rock compilation (the first of its kind), Nuggets, which remains one of the essential rock records of all time. Kaye had grown up listening to a lot of garage rock, and recognized it for what it usually was: a smorgasbord of fuzz guitar, leering Jagger-types, Byrdsy folk-punk, aggressive rave-ups, raga rock, Kinks-style power chords, crashing, bashing drums, bizarro experimentation, hippie harmonies, Animals-flavored blues, embryonic acid rock, blatant Dylan rips, drug songs, getting-the-girl songs, sunshine and balloons songs, mystical mumbo-jumbo, acute paranoia, heartwarming bathos, giddy naivete, and wilful malice.
It's the pure stuff of rock 'n' roll; the real stuff.
Nuggets was a revelation and a sensation when it was released, touching off a garage rock anthropology effort that rivals blues and jazz for its thoroughness. Thousands of lost 45's have been unearthed, hunted down, released from the vaults, and traded on tapes. Countless "garage band" anthologies have been released, each containing artists more obscure than the last, from the farthest reaches of the globe. Rhino has issued an excellent series, also called Nuggets that extrapolates Kaye's idea much further. Once the Nuggets compilations are exhausted, the larger Pebbles series awaits, which makes the most obscure nobodies on Nuggets seem famous in comparison.
Plenty of it is adolescent-sounding amateurishness; most of these musicians were in their teens or very early twenties. Some of it is spine-tingling; little 2 or 3 minute jolts of adrenaline centered on a bouncy distorted riff, or a singer's leering drawl. Much of it is solid rock 'n' roll; some of it is inspired. Some hold their own right up next to their exalted influences; a handful are arguably the greatest rock 'n' roll ever made.
Article comments
1 - The Proprietor
The Standells reunited for a live show in 1999 (with Dodd, Valentino and Tamblyn; Gary Lane didn't participate) released as "Ban This! Live From Cavestomp".
The definitive Remains recording was the Capitol audition, which was released as "A Session With The Remains" by Sundazed a few years back. It's an especially fierce recording (their original "Why Do I Cry" is much more powerful than on the Epic LP).
2 - Victor Plenty
Excellent work as always, uao. Interesting mix of stuff almost everybody knows about ("Louie Louie" for example) right alongside songs many of us may never have heard of.
One minor quibble on your title: I'd recommend taking out the apostrophe. It makes the construction look like a possessive, rather than a plural; garage rock belonging to 1960, rather than garage rock from the entire decade of the Sixties.
Also interesting that "96 Tears" came from such obscure origins. The local "classic rock" station plays it all the time. For some reason I'd always assumed it was from a more well-known band with lots of other hits.
3 - uao
Thank you Proprietor, for your ever-useful nuggets of knowledge; I always appreciate them.
Victor Plenty: as an English language instructor, I'm sensitive to apostrophes. However, I've been taught that in addition to denoting a passive, they can also be used when puralizing a specific number: 1960's vs. 1960s. Maybe I'm wrong; I'm too lazy to fish out my Elements of Style right now. But I'll sleep on it, and if the title bugs me in the moring, I'll change it.
Thanks ;-)
4 - uao
I meant "possessive" not "passive" I am a famously lousy typist.
5 - Victor Plenty
It can be equally correct to pluralize a number with an apostrophe, or with just a plain S. You are of course quite right about that, as a general rule. In this specific case, it's the context that makes the construction seem possessive and not plural.
If the title had been "Garage Rock of the 1960's" it would be clear you intended the plural, with or without the apostrophe.
Of course the larger cultural context makes it unlikely any native English speaker would interpret "1960's Garage Rock" as a reference to only the year 1960, but for the benefit of any readers who might not share that cultural context, it would be more clear to leave the apostrophe out.
As I said before, it's a minor quibble, but I at least wanted to make it a clearly stated quibble. :)
6 - uao
For me it's like talking shop, I like it. Your point is a good one, given the wording of the title. You've convinced me; I've reworded it.
7 - godoggo
Where are the chick's?
8 - godoggo
Correction: Wheres.
9 - Michael J. West
Awesome list, UAO! Thanks for linking to the Essential Pebbles collection, too--in any era, that awesome CD is as indie (and as freakin' great) as it gets.
10 - godoggo
Just out of curiosity, I googled both names for the decade in the NY Times, figuring they'd have it standardized. Apparently I figured wrong.
Results:
about 24,200 from nytimes.com for "1960's"
about 23,400 from nytimes.com for "1960s"
A lot (not all) of the latter are from book etc. titles, so I guess the apostrophe wins. But I don't like it, myself.
11 - GoHah
Great article. Maybe this group is more borderline Garage (since they evolved into different directions), but I think the biggest amphetimine-jolt of that time comes from Love's "7 and 7 Is"--that'll give you chills.
Oh, I think the decades are supposed to be written apostrophe-free (but spoken with the apostrophe left in).
12 - wum
Good article, look forward to part 2.
13 - Grammar Cop
Apostrophes never make something plural. 1960s is correct.
14 - JC Mosquito
1960s is indeed correct, but doesn't look as psychedelic as 1960's.
15 - Dr Dreadful
1960s is correct.
1960's is incorrect.
You will not use it.
You will be assimilated.
16 - Christopher Rose
This 3 year old article has been corrected, thanks Grammar Cop.
Resistance is futile.
17 - Dick Stewart
And always keep in mind that:
'60s refers to the years of the 1960s
60's refers to temperature
Dick Stewart
Editor - The Lance Monthly