V.A - The Sound Of Young Sacramento (1964-68) [2000]

Refreshingly nostalgic -- and surprisingly listenable -- is this eclectic sampler of Sacramento bands from the early dawn of psychedelia. Few but the hardest core collector would know these groups or their tunes, yet in their period stylings (1964-1967) one instantly recognizes a host of diverse inspirations -- Bo Diddley, the Merry-Go-Round, Spanky & Our Gang, the Vejtables, Count Five, and the Castaways, to name a few. Granted, the majority of these bands were not studio-polished; many of their songs were likely recorded in one or two takes (and thus might be properly regarded as demos). Rising above the faults and primitive production, however, are lightning flashes of brilliance. Case in point is the Living End's "A Night Like This," so perfectly Zombies in concept as to beg the question: Did Rod Argent write it and did Colin Blunstone sing it? (The answer is no on both counts, but could there be a better Zombies cop?) If England's Rockin' Berries had ventured into California folk, the result might have been a tuneful ballad like "And That's Why," here given a fine reading by Sacramento's resident Anglophiles, the Coachmen. The turbo-charged rhythms of The Psy-Kicks' "Second Time Around" recall their Australian contemporaries, the Easybeats while the Chelsea Sidecar's "Thinking of You" is cut from much the same cloth as Monkee Michael Nesmith's "The Girl That I Knew Somewhere." Raucous and raw is the snarling "I'll Be Gone" by the Opposite Six. And finally, kudos to the Insurgents for sheer originality; their beatnik bongo spin on "Summertime" breathes new life into the venerable Gershwin standard. Not every band anthologized here can be recommended, but collectors should credit Alec Palao, the Bay Area's preeminent audio-archeologist, for researching and making available this enlightening chapter in California's musical evolution.