I'm not particularly a fan of the Turtles. They were good and all, actually pretty great, but I don't really gravitate towards their type of sixties folk pop and la la harmonies. But behind nearly every artist that you or I may think humdrum, there's at least an oddball or two that will surprise you. Here's three Turtles oddballs.
The Crossfires were a high school band, the future Turtles, less Mark Volman. Check "Fiberglass Jungle" below, a first rate surf song with a just dirty enough sax solo. It's not just a decent stab, it's really good. The next one, the Turtles' "Almost There" was a B-side, which is why it will be unfamiliar to most of you. It's surprisingly and uncharacteristically garage, in a mid-sixties Seeds and Music Machine soaked L.A. sort of way, and it kicks ass. Serious ass. Instant favorite and all that.
This next one is a real oddity. Post-Turtles Volman and Howard Kaylan, AKA Flo and Eddie, doing reggae. They did a whole LP of it, Rocksteady With Flo and Eddie. On paper, that sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. But the LP was recorded at Tuff Gong, Bob Marley's studio in Jamaica. Still, could go south, right? But (you reggae fiends will be surprised by this), the musicians included Aston "Family Man" Barrett on bass, Carlton "Santa" Davis on drums, Earl "Chinna Smith on guitar, and Augustus Pablo on keyboards. Sheeiiit. If you don't know those names, let's just say the were the cream of the crop back then. Legendary today. Unfortunately the results, though good, are less then astounding.
The Crossfires were a high school band, the future Turtles, less Mark Volman. Check "Fiberglass Jungle" below, a first rate surf song with a just dirty enough sax solo. It's not just a decent stab, it's really good. The next one, the Turtles' "Almost There" was a B-side, which is why it will be unfamiliar to most of you. It's surprisingly and uncharacteristically garage, in a mid-sixties Seeds and Music Machine soaked L.A. sort of way, and it kicks ass. Serious ass. Instant favorite and all that.
This next one is a real oddity. Post-Turtles Volman and Howard Kaylan, AKA Flo and Eddie, doing reggae. They did a whole LP of it, Rocksteady With Flo and Eddie. On paper, that sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. But the LP was recorded at Tuff Gong, Bob Marley's studio in Jamaica. Still, could go south, right? But (you reggae fiends will be surprised by this), the musicians included Aston "Family Man" Barrett on bass, Carlton "Santa" Davis on drums, Earl "Chinna Smith on guitar, and Augustus Pablo on keyboards. Sheeiiit. If you don't know those names, let's just say the were the cream of the crop back then. Legendary today. Unfortunately the results, though good, are less then astounding.
~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Listen:The Crossfires - Fiberglass Jungle mp3 at Bang (?)
The Turtles - Almost There mp3 at Bedazzled If direct linking is disabled, go there to get it. Trust me, it;s worth it.
Flo and Eddie - Dancing Mood (streaming) at YouTube
The rest of the LP can be heard here.
The Turtles - Two more at Bedazzled Go there,
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