The Unwritten Law – This Whole World Is Blind / Actions Speak Louder. 1967 USA ~ California

From Napa Valley. The opener struck me as rather typical garage. I mean 'That Thing You Do' seemed to capture every garage band of the 60s perfectly. But then this crazy fuzz shows up. Not in the typical acid psych sense. Rather a heavily distorted garage sound. The b) side is a killer. Comes with a super organ groove, and that same fuzz they introduced late on the a) side. Love the jazzy Doors like rhythm. And then an organ solo - more Doors references. And it's an excellent song too. Something memorable and hummable. 2:20 is too short - I want four more minutes!

If looking to obtain a copy, a recent auction snagged $2,100. I'll stick to YouTube. Both these tracks are on various comps out there as well.

12/30/25 (new entry)

Long Richard – Force Myself / Lovin Cup. 1968 USA ~ Sacramento, California

The a) side is a drifty psych blues number with piano, electric guitar, and impassioned vocals. Has a jazzy styled rhythm. Vocals are strong and of the late 60s West Coast style. b) is a Butterfield Blues Band number. Again, bluesy in nature, but the psychedelic guitar playing takes it to the next level. Even some Steppenwolf styled riffing. Good two sider.

3.5

12/30/25 (new entry) 

Starchild - Long Way Home / Ocean. 1978 USA ~ Dallas, Texas

Really nice two sider. The a) side is more commercial in nature, but still based in space rock principles, especially considering the phasing. The vocals are female and bear a strong resemblance to my Proto Prog with Female Vocals list. This is especially apparent on the b) side which is more progressive rock in nature. The overall sound is late 70s or early 80s. Excellent guitar work throughout.

Not finding anything much about it. A comment on YouTube says it was made for a Sci-Fi Movie and Book. It also says Dallas. 

More research ties the Dallas reference together with this book. In the description they talk about an unfinished novel from a 40 year old movie treatment. And this was published in 2018. 40 years before? 1978. That sounds exactly right. I'm going forward with these dates and places.

3.5 / 4.0

12/30/25 (new entry)

Parente Band – Tramp / New Day. 1971 USA ~ Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Both sides are high energy instrumental jazz funk tunes. Great grooves on this one. The only soloist is the tenor saxophonist. I like his style, busy, melodic, and never out of control. The horn section is tight, and one could call this big band rock. Oddly, there are two distinct pressings for this 45. I've included the more informative one.

3.5

12/11/25 (new entry)

J.B. Green & Born Again - Rock Me Baby / Time. 1976 USA

A very interesting 45, as the music presented is not really single material. It's mostly a type of instrumental psychedelic jazz, very mellow, with fuzzy lead guitar, though not overly amplified. The a) side has vocals and is based in the blues, but once again it sounds more psych jazz than anything. 

I've read they're from Texas without corroboration. Discogs says the label is from Dallas but that's based on the record being pressed by A&R. I know the record plant from my days in DFW, but that doesn't mean the label or artist is from there. I didn't realize Josey Records owns it now. 

3.5 / 4.0

12/10/25 (new entry)

Catch - In The Garden / Brand New Day. 1974 USA ~ Chicago, Illinois

Another title that has a lot of misdirection on the ole WWW. Unknown soul funk gem is the screaming headline. Not really. The a) side is an excellent proggy hard rock track with loads of organ and guitar. The flip is a bit more poppy until they slide back into some more prog jam goodness. Plenty of early Santana references. This is a very good title, though I would think funk folks wouldn't be overly impressed. This is more in my strike zone.

4.0

12/10/25 (new entry)

Preserving the following from band member Jeff Beckler in case it gets wiped away some day: "I was in this band, we recorded it at Universal studios in Chicago. We were all from the Chicago area. It was 1974, the music was done in one take, and the vocals were added in one take. There were six people in the band. Lead guitar Rich Knoble, key boards Robert Blum, drums Mike Kariosha, Bass Tony Zerkawitz and 2 percussion and lead singers Chuck and Jeff Beckler along with the lead guitarist Rich Knoble. This group formed after originally being called The Looking Glass.When the New York looking Glass came out with The hit song Brandy , the group broke up and reformed its style into more progressive funk style of music. 2 years later we broke up and all went separate ways."

Steve Akin – It's Heavy / I'm Trippin' Alone. 1970 USA ~ Houston, Texas

First track is heavily reliant on the blues, with some country, folk, and rural vibes. The flip is faster with some nice acoustic guitar jamming, and vocals that have a distant resemblance to Jimi Hendrix. Not bad. I wouldn't call it funk or psych though, which is what you'll see out there.

12/10/25 (new entry)

Joe Glover & Chrome City – Sweet C C / Chrome City Funk. 1978 USA ~ Ohio

Now here's a goodie. From Warren, Ohio and best I can tell, this is all they did. There's some ghetto rant on YouTube if you want to learn more about them. Neither track has been comped to date. The a) side is disco with synthesized strings, a smooth groove, nice melodies, and some wicked guitar soloing. B) moves over to funk, also has a strong groove, and it doesn't take long for the guitar to start blasting out a cool solo. I want this.

4.0

12/10/25 (new entry)

The Smoke Ring - Heavy Metal Whale / Triangle. 1972 USA ~ Nebraska

The Smoke Ring were a Nebraska 60s pop act. Their final 45 (of many) looks more promising than it is. However, there seems to be some misdirection about it as well. Discogs has a note that the a) side is Reggae. Nope. It sounds like War with the addition of steel drums. The b) side is labeled as Pop. RYM does similar. Nope. To me it sounds like a typical North American early 70s hard(er) rock track with harmony vocals and a lot of Hammond organ. Not bad at all.

12/10/25 (new entry)

La Familia Inc. - La Tuna / This Time. 1972 USA ~ San Francisco, California

Now this one really caught me off guard. The beginning of 'La Tuna' has a nice tight horn section, with rhythm electric piano, playing Latin salsa music similar to early Santana in their native roots mode. Then comes the most screaming fuzz guitar I've heard in ages! We're talking Carlos Santana x2 here. Very unexpected but we get our total money's worth in this extended solo. This is followed by a trumpet lead which leads to a psychotic "La Tuna" rant, and then back to the horns. Whew - what a killer track! The b) side flips over to the Chicago Transit Authority, and reminds me of the more poppy tracks from their first three albums. Unfortunately there are no Terry Kath like breaks, but it's still a pleasant song.

Both of these tracks are on their second album from 1972 called Para La Gente. No idea what kind of consistency the album holds. But 'La Tuna' needs to be comp'd on some psychedelic anthology. 

Own.

9/16/25 (new entry)

Earth Opera - Colorado / Kick'en Back. 1976 USA ~ Colorado

Hard to imagine two bands with the name Earth Opera, but here it is. And the other group was relatively well known from the 60s, so it's a rather strange choice. Perhaps they thought they could get away with it buried way out in the desolate ranch lands of eastern Colorado. I mean, seriously, Otis is in the middle of nowhere. I live in the state and I've never even heard of it.

They actually squeaked out an album as well, and both of these tracks are on it. The reviews that I read about the album are pretty harsh, but I didn't find these two tracks so bad. Both fit into the mid 70s hard rock zone, with a little bit of dude posturing. There are no extended solos to help the lack of songwriting. Perhaps the 45 length makes it more tolerable?

It's from Colorado, so I'll keep it.

3.0 / 3.5

Own.

9/4/25 (new entry)

Holly Near - Back Off / Unity. 1982 USA ~ California

Holly Near appears to be your typical LGBTQ activist Californian that checks every woke box, and will likely be long forgotten in the decades to come. Most of her music is in the predictable folk rock or soft rock realm. But her one legacy may be this 45. Like Dianne Davidson, the music on display goes against her typecast. Essentially it's sellout deep groove disco with some fine guitar and African drums on the B) side. A nice curio that I think I'll hold onto for a bit.

3.5

Own.

8/9/25 (new entry)

Underdogs - Get Down On Your Knees / Surprise, Surprise. 1966 USA ~ Detroit, Michigan

This past weekend I found a pack of ten 45s for 70 cents total, or 7 cents each. This and the four below were part of it. All in near mint shape. If there were more like this, I couldn't find them in the bins. Of those ten, this was the heavy hitter from a financial perspective, though I enjoyed some of the others a bit better. All the same, the a) side is a strong punk garage cut with gnarly guitar (what a title for the era!). The b) side is more from the rock & roll or surf school though the vocals maintain that nasty nasal tone we tend to associate with the raw side of garage music. Note that Bob Seger is one of the writers. Good one.

Own.

7/21/25 (new entry)

Jesse Anderson - I Got a Problem / Mighty Mighty. 1969 USA ~ Wichita, Kansas

Heard of Marvin Gaye? So has Jesse Anderson. And that's the story of the a) side. But here we go again - it's the b) side that has those-in-the-know nabbing this one for a relatively cheap price. This has some of the heaviest beats and breaks one will ever hear. And with the slow wah wah rhythm guitar, it's about as smooth as it gets. Once the flute is introduced as the lead instrument, followed later by some psych guitar (not overly amplified), one can only wish it went on for ten more minutes. And that's the only flaw for the instrumental - it's way too short. 

Own.

7/21/25 (new entry)

The Jaggerz - I Call My Baby Candy / Will She Believe Me? 1970 USA ~ Pittsburgh, Pennyslvania

The tale of two sides. The a) side is a trite bit of bubblegum boogie soul and is scant worth mentioning. I suspect that's where most everyone gets off this train. But hang in there folks, as it gets really great, really fast. On the six minutes flip (yep, six) you are treated to some early fuzz, followed by some funk rock, and then a lengthy organ, bass, drums jam reminding me of Sugarloaf or even first album Santana. The side closes as it starts with more fuzz. A great track hidden on the cushy side of the gum on your shoe. Don't miss this one, and it's common as raisins.

Own.

7/21/25 (new entry)

Wes Henderson - In Bed / Rea Lity. 1969 Canada ~ Vancouver, British Columbia

Vancouver based musician Wes Henderson has this one release under his own name and it's a goodie. The a) side is a familiar type of 60s soul rock with a passionate chorus and some fine electric guitar. It's the b) side (known as 'Rea Lity' on my copy) that seems to have gone unnoticed so far. Excellent driving psychedelic funk, not too far from the label's namesake Rare Earth. More focused than that with some stinging guitar work. Great drum fills as well. To be discovered.

Own.

7/21/25 (new entry)

Jeff Bond - Man and His Mountain / Alone. 1971 USA ~ Denver, Colorado

Very interesting two sider here. The a) side is a pleasant piece of sunshine pop with piano and horns. Bond has a soothing voice. Very professional sounding. It's the b) side that I think would have collectors going wild if they only knew about it. Definitely downer folk with flute, tympani, and chimes. Haunting.

There's mixed information out there on who Bond is. 45Cat says his real name is Neal Bond and he plays with the modern southern rock band Braxton Bragg Band from Portland. I'm pretty sure that's not correct.  Discogs had him mislabeled as the more famous author, most notably for the music of Star Trek. I've fixed that.

The label MARK also doesn't show up other than one entry in 45cat by a band called Blackbird. 

Own.

3.0 / 4.0

The Main Attraction - I Got Love For My Baby / What Do I Wish For. 1973 USA ~ Flint, Michigan

This was the crown jewel of our recent trip to Detroit. Dug this one out of a thrift shop for 25 cents! And it's in almost perfect shape. Even better is the sleeve has a handwritten note from someone in the band. Crystal Steele maybe? There is a phone number, but no such luck. Out of service and even an internet search turned up an unrelated name from the past. It was 52 years ago after all.

The music is what I'd call funky soul. The background is definitely funk but the two tunes are soul in nature. Female vocals dominate and there are no significant instrumental breaks. No matter, this one is special to me given the backstory.

Own.

3.5 / 3.5

The Tikis - If I've Been Dreaming / Pay Attention To Me. 1965 USA ~ SF Bay Area, California

From Santa Cruz comes The Tikis. Have you heard of the Beatles? So have The Tikis. Both tracks are similar to their 'She Loves You' style with a surf guitar mid song break. The Tikis later changed their name to The Other Tikis before moving on to their most famous moniker Harpers Bizarre. Feelin' Groovy baby.

Used to own.

5/20/25

The Merry-Go-Round – Come Ride, Come Ride / She Laughed Loud. 1968 USA ~ Los Angeles, California

Both of these tracks are very much influenced by the Baroque pop psych of the Beatles and all their followers. The A) side is likewise heavily orchestrated. Pretty good overall but not my favorite style of psych.

Used to own. This is the more obscure of the two She Laughed Loud singles by the band. Neither appeared on their sole album.

5/19/25