Thursday , March 28 2024
The Standells' first new album in over 45 years, `Bump,' is a trip back to 1966 proto-punk with new lyrics but familiar attitude.

Music Review: The Standells – `Bump’

For most of us old-timers, The Standells were a garage rock, proto-punk band best known for their 1966 one-hit wonder, “Dirty Water.” Ironically, while the song has many references to Boston in the lyrics and has become an official victory anthem for Boston sports teams, most notably the Red Sox, none of the LA-based Standells had ever been in Boston before they recorded the song. Interestingly, producer Ed Cobb wrote “Dirty Water” about a mugging he had suffered in the Massachusetts capital city.

But to relegate The Standells to “one-hit wonder” status is to forget the place they shared in mid-1960s pop culture. Formed in 1962, it was lead vocalist and keyboard player Larry Tamblyn who coined the band name, inspired by standing in booking agent offices looking for work. One early member, drummer and singer Dick Dodd, was a former Mouseketeer, and that wasn’t their only TV connection. The Standells either played music for or performed on Ben Casey, Bing Crosby Show, and, most famously, played “I Want to Hold Your Hand” on The Munsters. They were also seen and heard in teenage exploitation flicks like Get Yourself a College Girl, Follow the Boys, and Riot on Sunset Strip.

Musically, they were also plugged into the burgeoning LA rock scene. For a short time, their producer was Dewey Martin of the Buffalo Springfield. Another member with a short tenure was Lowell George of the Mothers of Invention and Little Feat. Then and now, the bassist is John Fleckenstein (Fleck), a veteran of Arthur Lee’s Love.

51dH7qq0ivL._SL500_AA280_Over the decades, The Standells became an on-again, off-again touring outfit with the normal changes in their line-up. In 2009, the group reformed with Tamblyn, Fleck, and singer/guitarist Mark Adrian, guitarist Paul Downing, and drummer Greg Burnham. Along with a short stint with bassist Dodd, this was the ensemble that headlined the September 2012 Monterey Summer of Love “45 Years On” Festival. Around this time, group leader Tamblyn decided the band had reached a “bump” in the road and needed to do something new.

This something new, not surprisingly, was Bump, their first new collection of songs in over 45 years. It’s true the short album is full of mostly new songs, but the sound is distinctly 1966. Appropriately, according to Tamblyn, the band built “our own Standells Garage Studio, and I must say that in doing so it spawned our creativity.” That meant writing new tunes but performing them just like they did in the old days—simple, straight-up crunchin’ rock and roll.

One of the early results of this surge in creativity was a cover version of The Seeds’ “Pushin’ Too Hard.” It was part of Global Recording Artists president Karl Anderson’s push to assemble tributes to the late Sky Saxon. To date, these have included the Strawberry Alarm Clock’s cover of “Mr. Farmer” and the Electric Prunes’ very psychedelic version of “Pushin’ Too Hard.” In the hands of The Standells, “Pushin'” gets a rather Kinks-esque treatment with ragged “You Really Got Me” chords on Bump.

I have to think the third track on the album, “Boston’s Badass,” is both a thank you to all the responses the band has gotten for “Dirty Water” and an attempt to give Boston a new anthem to sing along with at sporting venues. For everyone else, “Mr. One Percent” is an anthem for people who wish those at the top of the economical food chain would spread a little of the wealth around. Similar sentiments are expressed in attitudinal numbers like “It’s All About the Money” and “Big Fat Liar.”

No, Bump isn’t a record to pop in when you have seduction on your mind or if you’re considering a short period of meditation. On the other hand, it’s not a collection so loud and discordant you need to be under 50 to enjoy it. Rather, it really is a time-capsule of what garage rock was all about in 1966, very recognizable as being new tunes recorded to sound like they were being jammed out before the summer of love kicked in. If you liked The Seeds, Electric Prunes, The Stooges, and the original Standells, this is a fun outing to enjoy even if Boston isn’t your home.

About Wesley Britton

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3 comments

  1. Thanks so much for the kind words, Wesley.

  2. Larry Tamblyn and his crew definitely deserve kudos for keeping a classic band’s music and name alive, and I understand they had their original master tapes stolen, so it sounds like it wasn’t easy. That said, Wesley, I’m sorry, but which part of this record is a time-capsule of what garage rock was about in 1966? The quasi-metal guitar solos, the cheesy synthy organ patches, or the blatant autotune on the vocals? I guess if that’s the sound of 1966 then the orchestrations of “Revolver” and “Pet Sounds” were made with a digital sampler.

    It’s clear they put their all into this record, it’s hard to satisfy everybody…and I suppose it’s fine for what it is, if you like that kind of sound. But “attitudinal” aspects aside, a “distinctly 1966” trip for fans of the Seeds and the Stooges it ain’t. If this is garage rock to you, Wesley, to quote Inigo Montoya, “I do not believe it means what you think it means.”

  3. While I have to say this is an informative and insightful review
    , I’m in agreement with EulaliaC73. I THINK THE GUYS TRIED HARD , BUT , THE INSTRUMENTATION , PRODUCTION AND THE SHEEN ON THE VOCAL CHORUSES MAKE IT SOUND MORE LIKE A PRODUCT OF THE 80’S.
    THEY SAY YOU CAN’T GO BACK, AND , THAT MAY BE TRUE , BUT , OF ALL THE REFORMED OR REVAMPED BANDS THAT ARE / WERE PEERS TO THE STANDELLS , THE ELECTRIC PRUNES HAVE BEEN MOST SUCCESSFUL IN EXPERIMENTING WITH NEW IDEAS IN A CONTEXT THAT RECALLS THE 60’S , WITHOUT LEANING ON NOSTALGIA. That is’nt to say I don’t like the CD , or did’nt enjoy the band when I saw them , recently…..
    I THOUGHT THE GUITARIST, MARK ADRIAN , WAS FINE , WHEN HE WAS’NT SHREDDING . WHEN HE PLAYED RHYTHM GUITAR , HE DID A GOOD JOB. JOHN FLECKENSTEIN AND GREG BURNHAM ON DRUMS , PROVIDED A ROCK SOLID BOTTOM. TAMBLYN’S VOCALS HAVE IMPROVED , AND SEEING JOHNNY ECHOLS AND FLECKENSTEIN , THE LAST SURVIVING FOUNDERS OF LOVE , WAS NOTHING SHORT OF PHENOMENAL.
    THIS IS AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT BAND , IT MAY TAKE SOME PEOPLE TIME TO GET USED TO IT. I was told “Boston’s Badass” was written in defiance TO THE BOMBERS AT THE MARATHON . That’s what it appears to be , a statement about the band’s adopted hometown . and how they will not be driven down by this obscene , cowardly act. “Bump” is like a piece of art I try to look at differently , each time. It does’nt seem to invoke the old Sunset strip days of the original Standells , Seeds , Love (Barring a fine 7and 7 is) , Chocolate Watchband (From San Jose.), etc.. , but , the potential is there.