NOTE:
This
page is devoted to the
man who, out of all of
the Beach Boys
contemporaries, most
closely matched Brian
Wilson in style and
output. Gary Usher
helped Brian Wilson
shape the songs of
much of the early Beach
Boys albums, from the
hot-rod craze of "Fun,
Fun, Fun" to
the deeply
introspective "In My
Room."
Usher's own recordings,
most of which were
released under
pseudonyms,
are archetypes of the
California sound,
closely hewing to the
sound and
style of early Beach
Boys songs. For
much more information
about this prolific
artist, as well as a
complete discography,
check
out GaryUsher.com
The
Hondells Vol. 1 -
1964: You're Gonna Ride
With Us
ATM
Records
3811 AH [CD
Only];
Released 1995
The
Hondells were the outlet
for most of Gary
Usher's early
records. Created
during Usher's tenure as
music
director for the film The
Girls On The Beach
(which had cameo
appearances by the Beach
Boys), Gary heard one of
Brian's new songs for
the film "Little Honda"
which he immediately
thought was a hit
record. But Brian
wasn't planning to issue
it as a single, so Usher
decided to record his
own version with
producer Nick Venet at
Mercury Records.
He asked some
professional studio
musicians to cut
the track,
and released the
single under the
name The
Hondells. The song
was indeed a hit, and
Usher had several
other tracks recorded,
using sidemen like Glen
Campbell and members of
the vocal group The
Castells to help
out. After the
single
hit the top 30 on the
charts, other tracks
were quickly cut for an
album and the group The
Hondells became a
marketable name.
The studio and touring
personnel shifted
throughout the groups'
history, but the sounds
and quality of The
Hondells were
consistantly high.
This disc, which
chronicles The Hondells
output for 1964, is
great - a thick slice of
car/motorcycle/drag
music
that sounds just as fun
and vital today as when
it was
written. Favorites
of mine include "Little
Honda," "Ridin'
Trails," "The Wild One,"
"Black Denim" and "My
Buddy Seat."
The sound is firmly in
early Beach Boys mold,
with songs sounding as
if
they could be b-sides or
album tracks on Little
Deuce Coupe
or Shut Down Vol. 2.
Where the
Hondells veered
away from other, similar
groups is in
their use of vocals -
unlike other surf/drag
groups, the Hondells
were
primarilly a vocal
group, and Usher had a
great vocalist in Chuck
Girard (sort of a
less-nasal Mike Love),
and backup vocals
provided by
Usher, Glen Campbell,
Joe Kelly, Richard
Burns, Usher himself,
and
others. This fine
compilation, available
only as an
import, sports a
hefty thirty-six tracks
(!) and excellent
liner notes by Stephen
J. McParland and is
highly recommended.
The
Hondells
Vol. 2 -
1965-1970: California
Sunshine
ATM
Records 3814
AH [CD Only];
Released 1996
A strange thing
happened after the
Hondells had their early
success - Gary Usher
gave
them up.
Having accepted a
post at Decca Records,
Usher handed the reigns
of the Hondells over to
producers Nick Venet
and Mike Curb at
Mercury, who continued
to milk the
Hondells'
name and personnel, in
the process turning away
from the harder-edged
sound that had defined
them in their first
recordings, and making
them
more "pop" oriented,
with songs like "Ski
Party" and "Winter A
-Go-Go"
trying to find a new
sport for the Hondells
to latch onto,
and others like
"You Meet The Nicest
People On A Honda"
(taken
from a commerical
jingle) or the bouncy
"Follow Your Heart"
showing off
the slick, new sound
that showed Curb trying
to market the Hondells
to
the widest possible
audience. But
instead of washing out
with
this sleeker, more
commercial Hondells,
some very interesting
experiments occured,
with a wall-of-sound-ish
"Sea Of Love;" an
up-tempo "Endless Sleep"
or the poppy "Do As
I Say" (which has
no involvement from the
Hondells touring or
session players) being
cut
and released under the
Hondells name.
Unfortunately, this
caused Dick Burns, who
was the only consistant
member of the Hondells
on the road, some tense
moments, since he had no
control over what the
Hondells were singing or
putting out on
45s. This musical
pillaging of the
Hondells name and sound
continued throughout the
1960s, with the
occasional single or
commerical being cut and
released,
and their sound
constantly changing as
the studio personnel
came and
went. But the
Hondells name continued
to be used, and Gary
Usher even returned for
some sessions, cutting
several tracks in 1966
and '67, with Randy
Thomas on lead
vocals, and
pulling songs by
Boyce & Hart ("Let's
Dance On"), and
John Sebastian ("Younger
Girl") into the
mix. Volume
2 in the series contains
a lighter sound,
but is almost as
enjoyable as the first
volume.
The
Hondells
Vol. 3
- Aliases And
Alternatives
ATM Records
3824-AH [CD
Only];
Released 1998
By the time ATM
Records got to Volume 3
of their massive
Hondells release
program, the
law of diminishing
returns was beginning to
take effect.
Since The Hondells were
essentially only session
musicians and singers,
all under the auspices
of producers Gary Usher
and Mike Curb, the same
players showed up not
only as the Hondells,
but in different guises
as
well. So on this
third volume you not
only have "The
Hondells" - you also
have The Sunsets, The
Four Speeds, Gary Usher
and
The Usherettes (who are
better known to Beach
Boys fans as The
Honeys),
The Competitors, The
Go-Go's, The Devons, and
some guy named Don
Brandon. And while
the producers are able
to create a
different sound for each
group, the songs (nearly
all bearing the
producing/writing stamp
of Gary Usher) quickly
begin to sound the same,
song after song after
song. Granted, the
music is supposed to
be juvenile, lightweight
fun, but I got tired of
listening to the same
rev-ving car sounds,
with the same basic
rhythm tracks over
lyrics that
don't dig very deep:
"The Chug-A-Lug,"
"Playmate Of The Year,"
"My
Little Beach Bunny,"
"Doin' The Swim" (a lame
stab at creating a new
dance craze) and (my
personal favorite title)
"Bustin' Buns." Or
hearing car song after
car song with no
development of the
genre:
"R.P.M.," "My Sting
Ray," "Four On The
Floor," "Cheater
Slicks," ""Wide
Track," "Little Stick
Nomad" and "The Ballad
of Bonneville" are all
pretty generic entries
in the car/drag canon -
but then many of them
are simply re-recordings
of earlier Super Stocks
records; Usher had no
compulsion against
recycling old songs over
and over again, but
after a
while it gets
monotonous. But
there are some good
songs as
well: I especially liked
the songs by the
Go-Go's, which have a
nice
bright sound compared to
"The
Competitors" who
have a thicker
production
sound. And
the opening tracks by
the
Hondells are fine, with
alternate takes of "Sea
Cruise," "Follow Your
Heart," "Endless Sleep,"
"Let's Dance On," "Yes
To You," and "Another
Woman". This
release, like all the
others have exhaustive
liner notes by Gary
Usher biographer Stephen
McParland, as well as
pertinent discography,
photographs and
production notes.
The
Hondells
Vol. 4
- More Aliases
And Early
Recordings
ATM
Records 3829-AH [CD
Only];
Released 2000
Astoundingly,
there
were still LOADS of
stuff in the vaults to
put out on yet one more
32-track collection of
Hondells material.
To be fair, most of
the tracks on this CD
are not credited to "The
Hondells" as such, but
to the many permeations
of the session players
who revolved in and out
of the group. The
first twelve tracks on
volume 4 are all
credited to "The Ghouls"
with Dick Burns doing
most of the Boris
Karloff impersonations,
and a Beach Boys
rip-offs present in
the form of "Be True To
Your Ghoul" and a Jan
& Dean parody on
"Little Old Lady From
Transylvania."
It's amusing once, and
generally well-produced
(I especially like the
dreamy, unsettling
instrumental "Dracula's
Theme") but
the album as a
whole fits firmly
into the "novelty"
bin. Also
included on this CD are
a couple of takes of
"School Is A Drag" from
the Super Stocks (more
on them later), several
cuts from a solo Gary
Usher, including his
most famous song
"Sacramento," but also
several
rarities: "The Beetle,"
"(That's) Just The Way I
Feel," "It's A Lie"
and "Rave On."
Usher usually took
backing vocal duties on
his
productions, and for
good reason: his voice
just isn't up to par
with
other vocalists.
The Indigos also show up
on a couple of
tracks - The Indigos
were the
original "touring"
band for the
Hondells, but these
tracks are pre-Hondells
outings, with "Get Up
And
Go" and "Inspiration"
which are good for
comparison with the
early
Hondells recordings; and
even earlier Indigos
tracks show up in the
three Dick Burns and
Bobby Fry numbers:
"Daddy's Dice," "(Big)
Molly,"
and "Crazy Blues"
(credited only to
Burns). The
Hondells show
up in only five tracks:
instrumental versions of
"Younger Girl,"
"All-American Girl," "My
Little Bike," and "The
Pack" and then in a
live reunion which took
place in 1981, and
features an interview
with
Gary Usher and Roger
Christian, and a ragged
performance of "Younger
Girl." A
satisfying end to an
illuminating series.
Hot
Rod
City
Vault
VS-104
[LP], Sundazed SC
11025
[CD];
Released 1964, CD
Release September 29,
1995
Gary
Usher and Richard Delvy,
flush from their
success with the top-ten
album Shut Down
(which
they produced), was
asked by Vault Records
to try and duplicate
that
success on their label.
Vault had already
contracted surf-rock
band The
Challengers to play on
the tracks, but never
having written car tunes
before, Usher was
brought in to lend an
authentic touch.
Given three
fictional group names to
work with - The Customs,
The Quads, The Grand
Prix, and the
aforementioned backing
group, The
Challengers, Usher also
brought in friends Dick
Burns (The Hondells),
Paul Johnson, Bobby
Hart, Paul Johnson,
Dennis McCarthy
and others to
quickly shape an album
of hot rod tunes in
order
to strike while the iron
was hot. The resulting
album, Hot
Rod City, while
no masterpiece, captures
the raw energy of
the drag-racing circuit,
and includes several
songs of interest to
Beach Boys fans.
Included are the
previous Usher
compositions "RPM", a
cover of Chuck Berry's
"Maybelline," and three
Beach Boys songs,
"Little Deuce Coupe,"
"Shut Down," and
"409." In
comparison
with the originals by
the Beach Boys, these
covers are pretty weak,
with the vocalists
unable to match the
harmonies and vocal
prowess of
Brian Wilson, and Co.,
but otherwise are
competently
played.
Other songs, like
"Competition Coupe" with
a miscast lead vocal by
keyboardist Dennis
McCarthy, fail
completely, but other
songs, namely
"Nifty '50" and "'54
Corvette," are fun
slices of
mid-sixties Americana.
Sundazed Records has
added
eight bonus tracks to
the original LP, using
the same session
musicians
as the album, and there
are several
tracks here which
are
better than what was
released on the
album, with
the "Fun, Fun, Fun"
clone "The Blonde in the
406" which is a
great story-song, and
also a rare Brian Wilson
song which was
originally written for
teen-idol Paul Petersen
"She Rides With Me,"
which receives
a faithful reading
here. But overall,
this album
will sound like
Beach Boys cast-offs
from their
early days, with little
here that matches the
artistry or performance
chops of The Beach Boys.
The
Super Stocks
(Featuring Gary Usher):
The Complete Recordings
One Way Records
S22-18680 [CD
Only];
Released 1964, CD
Release December 1,
1995
The Super
Stocks
were the fictional
group which Gary Usher
used (along with
Hondells) to
release his material.
So prolific was the
producer, that all
three
Super Stocks LPs were
released within the
space of a year! This
double-CD, now out of
print and commanding
outrageous prices,
collects
not only the contents
of the three records
the Super Stocks
released,
but also sundry
tracks which appeared
on various Surf/Drag
compilations like Shut
Down, Hot
Rod
Rally, and Big
Hot Rod Hits as
well as
a dozen unreleased and
alternate tracks.
The
core members of the
Super Stocks were Glen
Campbell, Richie
Podolor, and Paul
Johnson on guitars;
Hal Blaine on drums;
and Steve
Douglas on sax. Usher
sang some of the early
vocals, with Chuck
Girard,
Ritchie Burns, and Joe
Kelly also
singing; but
Girard
eventually took over
most of the vocal
duties. The Super
Stocks
intially had a tougher
sound than the
Hondells, with strong
garage-rock/surf-rock
roots in their
playing, and while
their first LP, Thunder
Road, is a
routine entry in the
car/drag genre, with
lots of reverb guitar,
sax
breaks, and drum
breaks, a few of the
songs stand out -
especially the
last three, "Draggin'
Deuce," "Hot To Trot"
(with a vocal
reminiscent
of Dennis Wilson's
early singing), and
"Custom Caravan"
closing out the
album with a nice
hook. The second
album, Surf Route
101 has
a richer sound to the
production and sweeter
harmony vocals which
stands up well with
the Beach Boys efforts
at this time.
The
songs run the gamut
from straight ahead
Surf-Rock ("Ventura,"
"Oceanside" and a
ticking "Midnight
Run") to a
thinly-disguised
rewrite
of Brian Wilson's
"Pamela Jean" (here
called "Muscle Beach
Party") to a
subtly-flavored
"Balboa Island."
As an album, Surf
Route 101 is
far more enjoyable
than its predecessor,
and
shows a real increase
in songwriting and
production skills by
Usher. The final
album, School Is
A Drag,
leans even more
strongly in the Beach
Boys direction, with
the addition
of falsetto vocals,
and several songs all
patterned after the
rah-rah
attitude of "Be True
To Your School."
Besides the title
song,
you'll also find
"School Bus Blues,"
"Let Freedom Ring"
(about waiting
for the school bell to
ring) "Hot Rod High,"
"Class Day," and
"Gridiorn
Goodie."
Side B of the album
reverts back to
drag-racing and cars
as it's theme, with
the songs "Saturday's
Hero,"
"Readin' Ridin' and
Racin'," "A Guy
Without Wheels," "Wild
One,"
"Little Honda," and
"The Last Walk"
finishing the
long-play careers of
The Super
Stocks.
Finishing out the set
are several
unreleased tracks,
including "Surfer's
Holiday," "This Bike
Of Mine" (a
remake of the Beach
Boys "This Car Of
Mine" with a faster
take),
"Coffin Nails," "Beat
'65," "Free Fall" and
several untitled
instrumentals.
The quality of the
songs and production
rises
noticably with each
album, and this
collection is a
fascinating foray
into how Gary Usher
grew as a producer and
artist.
Unfortunately the slim
fold-out booklet which
reproduces the three
album covers contains
no other notes on the
group or recordings,
and
although I was album
to purchase it for
under $15,
this set is
getting hard to find
at reasonable prices.
Mr. Gasser
& The Weirdos: The Rat
Fink Collection
LP Releases: Hot
Rod Hootenanny
- Capitol
ST-2010 [LP] (1963);
Rods and Ratfinks -
Capitol ST-2057 [LP]
(1964);
Surfink! - Capitol ST-2114
[LP] (1964);
CD Release: One-Way
Records 18319 [CD];
Released May 30, 1995
Disc:
1
1. Hot Rod
Hootenanny
2. Fastest Shift
Alive
3. You Ain't
Nothing But A
Honda
4. Mr. Gasser
5. Mad'Vette
6. Termites In My
Woody
7. Eefen It Don't
Go Chrome It
8. 1320
9. Weirdo Wiggle
10. Dragnutz
11.
Chopped
Mash
12. My Coupe
Eefen Talks
13. Three Kats
In A Tub
14. T.J.T.
15. Hey,
Ratfink
16. 1947
Avanti
17. Cherry-Top
Charlie
18. Lonely
Stocker
Disc:
2
1. Ballad Of
Eefin Fink
2. Cool, Cool
Rod
3. Hearse With A
Curse
4. Waltz Of The
Ratfinks
5. Fink Rod 409
6. Surfink
7. Well, I'm
Goin'
8. Surfer Ghoul
9. Doin' The
Surfink
10. Little Fink
Surfs Again
11. Ratfink High
12. Phantom
Surfer
13. There's A
Dog-Gone Ding In
My Ding-Dong
Board
14. Big Bad
Surfink
15. Surfink
Blues
16. Finksville
U.S.A.
17. Santa
Barbara
18. Midnight Run
REVIEW: Whereas
Brian Wilson was
struggling to break out of
the artistic confines of the
surf and drag
music scene, becoming more
musically adventurous with
every album, Gary
Usher remained firmly in the
genre which he had gained
the most
success. In 1964,
he left producing the studio
bands
that had gained him
notoriety and jumped on the
commercial bandwagon
with this triple-LP
collection of songs which
were tied into the
creations of illustrator Ed
"Big Daddy" Roth,
whose warped characters were
all the rage
during the mid-1960s,
gracing decals, posters,
t-shirts, and eventually
were made into a very
popular series of plastic
models. In
the best traditions of
corporate greed, it was
decided to expand the
characters into the music
market, and this trio of
albums was quickly
made, and Gary Usher,
Columbia Records local
hod-rod music impresario,
was tapped to help write,
produce, and sing on these
hot-rod themed
platters. While not
breaking any new ground
musically, the
albums definitely have a
sense of fun, with the first
album Hod
Rod Hootenanny
sporting a redneck aura and
songs like
"Termites in My Woody" and
"Eefen It Don't Go, Chrome
It" which have
a sly humor tied to
groovy surf 'n' drag music
which ranks
among the best of the
era. Unfortunately,
the albums
themselves have no
information on who sings or
plays on these tracks,
and unless you want to spend
hundreds of dollars for
Stephen
MacParland's excellent
series of musical
biographies on Gary Usher,
you're left like me to
simply sit back and enjoy
the music.
The songs are generally
bright invocations of car
worship, with the
unique addition of prominent
female vocalists in the
backing
vocals. Songs I
especially like are the fun
"Cool, Cool Rod"
which is about a
supercharged ice-cream
truck, the frenetic
instrumental "Surfink," the
very funny Beach Boys parody
"Surfer Ghoul"
and the rocking "Ratfink
High." One-Way Records
released all
three LPs on a double CD set
in 1995, which has since
gone out of
print, and is ridiculously
over-priced, but unlike the
later "Big
Daddy" Roth tie-ins below,
this set is actually worth
checking out.
The New
Sounds of The Weird-Ohs
Hairy Records/Mercury 60977
[LP];
Released May 1964
1.
Huey's Hut
Rod
2. Leaky Boat
Louie
3. Daddy the
Swingin'
Suburbanite
4. Francis the
Foul
5. Drag Hag
6. Flame Out
Freddie
7. Sling Rave
Corvette
8. Killer Mcbash
9. Davey the
Psycho Cyclist
10. Wade a
Minute
11. Digger
12. Endsville
Eddie
The
Sounds
of The Silly
Surfers
Hairy Records/Mercury
20977 [LP];
Released
November, 1965
1.
Hearse on
a Surfari
2. Gremmie
Out of Control
3. Hot
Dogger and Surf
Bunny Ridin'
Tandem
4. Hot
Dogger Hangin'
Ten
5. Wave
Hog
6. Hodad
Makin' the Scene
With a Six Pack
7. Monster
Surfer Hangin'
Six
8. Woodie
on a Surfari
9. Gremmie
Scared Plenty
Hangin' Twenty
10. Beach
Bunnie Catchin'
Rays
11. Hot
Dogger Ridin'
the Wake
12.
Cowabunga
Surf's Up
REVIEW:
This fifth
(!) collection of
songs which were tied in to
the creations of illustrator
Ed "Big Daddy"
Roth and the commercial
tie-in plastic models is a
pretty weak affair,
with songs that sound
derivative of everything
from the Beach Boys
first album (which it most
strongly resembles), to
every other surf and
drag record which Gary Usher
was involved with. A
collection
of songs tied around the
two-dimensional stereotypes
of surfer guys and
gals, the music is strictly
fourth-tier stuff, with
clunky melody lines
tied to lyrics that are
grade-school level, at best:
There's
a real cool
head who makin' the scene
with a six-pack in hand,
he's a cola fiend
with dirty hair and greasy
fingernails
you can follow him by his
messy trails. ["Hodad Making The
Scene With A
Six-Pack"]
Roger
Christian, Nick Venet,
Jimmie Haskell, David Weiss,
Gary Usher and
producer Reuben Klamer fill
the grooves with as many
sound-effects and
topical references as they
can, but for an album that's
aimed mostly at
young teenagers, the songs
are sorely lacking in humor
and are bereft
of catchy hooks.
Exceptions include the
melodic drive of "A
Woodie On A Surfari" and the
ultra-sexist "Beach Bunny
Catchin'
Rays." For some
strange reason, the writers
also include
several "monster" references
in their songs, with
"Monster Surfer
Hangin' Six," and "Hearse On
A Surfari" all employing
"Monster Mash"
rip-offs which quickly grow
old. For a collection
of songs
which are demanding $300 on
collector's circuits, I'd
expect more
quality from the artists
involved, but The Silly
Surfers sound more
like Gremmies than
Hot-Doggers. About
half of the songs are
this album were later merged
with half from the Weird-Ohs
album above
to create a dual platter of
both artists, Music to
Make
Models By.
The Revells:
The GO
Sound Of The
Slots!
Reprise
Records RC-6160 [LP], Sundazed
Records SC
6067 [CD];
Released 1965, CD
Release September
29, 1995
This
has to be one of the
goofiest ideas for an
album that I've ever come
across. Gary
Usher was tapped by
then-current
Reprise/Warner exec Jimmy
Bowen to
capitalize on what he
perceived was the next
"big thing" among teen
males: Slot Car
Racing. Today, I
imagine it would be an
album
devoted to the X-Box, but
hey, this was
1965... Gary Usher
used many of the same
personnel from the
Hondells at a December
1964
recording session
including Glen Campbell,
Richie Podolor, Bill
Cooper and Jerry
LeMire on Guitars, Dick
Burns on bass, Randy
Thomas on Keyboards and
Hal Blaine on drums.
The rushed
nature of the project for
the fictional Revells was
evidenced in the
song selection, most of
which were quick rewrites
of earlier Usher
releases: The Hondells "My
Little Bike" became "My
Ferrari GTO"; The
Super Stocks "The Wild
One" morphed into "Wait
'Til Next Time"; "Two
Wheel Show Stopper" showed
up as "Little Stockers"
and "School Is A
Drag" was recast as
"School Is
A/Gas."
Despite the
inherent goofiness of an
album devoted to a slot
car racing, The
Go Sound Of The Slots!
is actually a fair album,
with
professional
playing, bright
vocals and songs that
only ocassionally
embarrass themselves:
"Slot City?" "My Baby Digs
Slot
Car Racing?" - it's more
than made up for by the
cool chorus on
"Fastest Little Racer" or
the bluesy-Righteous
Brothers-like take on
"My Little Slot Coupe," or
the
sidewinding feel of
"Wait 'Til Next
Time". Sure, it
still sounds like
second-rate
Beach Boys, but even
that's better than most.
1. Death
Valley Run 2.
Hill Climb 3.
Mean Streak 4.
Side Car 5.
Two Wheel Show
Stopper 6.
Haulin’ Honda 7.
Devil on Wheels 8.
Ridin’ Trails 9.
Slow Ride South 10.
Johnny Take Care 11.
Scrambler
REVIEW:
The
Kickstands and The Knights
were two more pseudonyms for
Gary Usher's
usual group of studio
musicians and singers who
had been working for
him as the Hondells, The
Super Stocks, and countless
other incarnations
of hot rod/surf
groups. They were
essentially Capitol Records
"house band" and the first
album here by The
Kickstands, Black
Boots & Bikes,
was released in 1964,
and
has recently been remastered
and released by pop label
Sundazed, and
contained several of
Usher's compositions which
had
seen release under
other guises, including
"Death Valley Run,"
"Mean Streak," "Devil On
Wheels," and "Ridin'
Trails". Other
cuts on the album include
the competent instrumentals
"Hill Climb,"
"Haulin' Honda," "Side Car,"
"Slow Ride South," and
"Scrambler" making
this a fairly routine
collection of
vocal/instrumental garage
rock. Both Usher and
Dick Burns take lead vocal
duties, while
Jerry Cole, Glen Cass are on
guitar, William A. Oden and
Steve Douglas
blow saxophones (which
gives the album
a grittier
brass sound than other,
similar albums), with Earl
Palmer on drums, and
Stephen LaFever on
bass. It's a good,
vibrant slice of
mid-sixties hot-rod music.
The
Knights: Hot Rod High Capitol
ST-2189 [Hot Rod
High] [LP]; Released
1964
1. Hot Rod
High 2.
Midnight Auto 3.
Lonely Little
Stocker 4.
School Days 5.
Three Wheeler 6.
Be True to Your
School 7.
Hot Rod, U.S.A. 8.
I Get Around 9.
Ditch Day 10.
Rock Around the
Clock 11.
Theme for Teen Love 12.
Skippin’ School
REVIEW:
The Knights
album (also available
separately through
Sundazed), taking the title
Hot Rod High
from the Usher/Christian
song, is a slicker piece of
work, with smooth
vocals, stinging guitar work
(thanks to Glen
Campbell and
Tommy Tedesco) and a couple
of Beach Boys cover songs
("Be True To Your
School" and "I Get Around" -
as well as a cover of Chuck
Berry's
"School Days" (Ring Ring
Goes The Bell), which the
Beach Boys would get
around to covering
themselves in 1979).
Also found is a fine
cover of The Rip Chords "Hot
Rod U.S.A." There are
also some
real groaners of songs
included here, from the
embarassing "Lonely
Little Stocker" (with a
plaintive vocal provided by
Gary Usher) and the
icky "Theme For Teen
Love" which was penned
by album producer
Jim Economides. The
Knights are given a
teeny-bopper sound
with high, sweet harmonies
that are given a big boost
by the engaging
vocals of former Castells
member Chuck Girard, but
otherwise car-music
fans might be put off by the
almost
too-clean approach
taken here. These
majority of
songs here were recorded
in a single
days' session on
July 23rd, 1964 at
Capitol Studios, but
nothing here sounds
rushed or sloppy - it's all
very slick and
professional.
Closing out the album are
the original "Happy
Days" theme - "Rock
Around The Clock" and the
campy "Skippin'
School" which has the virtue
of some goofy horn-honking
sounds and
"Ooo-Ooh!" backing vocals
that make it a fun
closer.
Gary
Usher: Hot Rod U.S.A.
Usher 201 [CD];
Released 1994
A
quasi-legitimate release
that
collects 30 rare tracks by
various groups, all
overseen by Gary Usher,
including The Timers, The
Sunsets, Dave Myers &
his Surftones,
The Pendletons, The Wheel
Men, The Pyramids, The
Silly Surfers, The
Wierd-Ohs, The Neptunes,
The Marketts, The Go-Go's,
Mr. Gasser
& The Weirdos, Rachel
& The Revolvers, The
Road
Runners, Gary Usher
himself, and The Super
Stocks. Although
many of these tracks can
be found on the exhaustive
Hondells discs
listed above, many have
never seen the light of
day on CD before, and
with excellent sound and
track-by-track liner
notes, this rare release
is worth seeking out for
fans of the genre.
The majority of
tracks here are penned by
Usher, from "The Battle
Hymn of the Republic"
rip-off "Lonely Surfer
Boy", to two 1960 singles
released under Gary
Usher's own name: "You're
The Girl" (which was his
first 45, released
on the Titan label) and
its b-side "Driven Insane"
which has backing
vocals by future Honeys
member Ginger Blake; solo
compositions like The
Wheel Men's "School Is A
Gas," the instrumental
"Gear!" and The
Pyramids "Custom
Caravan." An
unusual chord
structure and prominent
piano solo distinguish The
Pendletons "Barefoot
Adventure" and the
ultra-rare comedy track
"Wave Hog" which is sung
by
Gary Usher - is credited
to the Silly Surfers and
was commissioned for
a model-kit building
company! Following
this is two follow-up
tracks: "Francis The Foul"
(which is about a cheating
football player)
and "Leaky Boat Louie",
both taken from a 1965
comedy album by the
Weird-Ohs. Other
highlights are the Four
Seasons-inspired
"Shame Girl" b/w "I've Got
Plans" by the Neptunes and
what is credited
as "the only enjoyable
cut" from the comedy album
Rod's N'
Ratfink by Mr.
Gasser & The Weirdos:
"The Lonely
Stocker" - which was
strangely enough the
weakest track on the
Knights
album above. Also
found are a Gary Usher
vocal on the
Wilson-Usher collaboration
"Shut Down" which was
released under the
name The Road
Runners. The CD is a
real grab bag of songs,
but all of them are worth
hearing - unfortunately,
again this CD is
floating around on the
fringes, but can be found
at used CD shops and
rare record dealers.
Barefoot
Adventure: The Four Star
Sessions 1962-1966 Sundazed
Music, Inc [LP, CD]; Released
August
19, 2008
Disc:
1
1. R.P.M. (The Four
Speeds)
2. My Little Surfin'
Woodie (The
Sunsets)*
3. Barefoot
Adventure (The Four
Speeds)*
4. Four On the Floor
(The Four Speeds)
5. Cheater Slicks
(The Four Speeds)
6. C.C. Cinder (The
Sunsets)
7. The Chug-A-Lug
(The Sunsets)
8. Gary Usher
Interview Part 1*
9. My Little Beach
Bunny (The Sunsets)
10. Playmate of the
Year (The Sunsets)
11. Lonely Surfer
Boy (The Sunsets)
12. Soul Stompin'*
13. Nifty '50*
14. Power Shift
15. Mag Wheels
16. Gary Usher I
nterview Part 2*
17. My Sting Ray
(The Four Speeds)
18. 426 Super Stock
(The Competitors)
Disc: 2
1. Wax, Board and
Woodie*
2. Draggin' Deuce*
3. '54 Corvette*
4. My Little Surfin'
Woodie (The Sunsets)
5. Gary Usher
Interview Part 3*
6. R.P.M.*
7. Barefoot
Adventure (The Four
Speeds)
8. Cactus Juice*
9. Coney Island Wild
Child*
10. Sugar and Spice*
11. Twins*
12. Milky Way
13. Quicksand*
14. Gary Usher
Interview Part 4*
15. You Made a
Believer Out of Me
(with The Honeys)*
16. Waiting for t he
Day (with The
Honeys)*
17. Tied Down*
18. Harder and
Harder*
REVIEW:
Gary Usher has never
had the critical respect
of some of his
starrier peers, such as,
say, Brian Wilson,
although that's not
entirely fair. In
the beginning of his
career as a
writer/producer, he was
hired to duplicate the
surf and hot rod sounds
that were being pushed to
the teenagers of the time,
and he did so with
an uncanny ear; hiring top
session players and
performers, and
releasing the songs under
a variety of monikers: The
Four Speeds, The
Sunsets, The Knights, The
Kickstands, The Hondells,
and others.
And when, in the
mid-1960s, the music began
to change and
become
more introspective, more
adventurous, Gary Usher's
music followed
along, with often stunning
results, when he paired
with artists most
notably, Curt Boettcher.
This double-disc
retrospective from
Sundazed is an ideal
introduction to Usher's
output - although
necessarily brief, Barefoot
Adventure
is an blast-from-the-past
time-capsule of California
sounds which will
send the listener straight
back to Southern
California, circa 1962.
From fuzzy,
reverb-drenched race songs
like "R.P.M." and
"Four on
the Floor" to girl and boy
surfer odes "My Little
Beach Bunny" and
"Lonely Surfer Boy", Usher
was consistently able to
tap into the SoCal
zeitgeist much like The
Wilsons and their
contemporaries did so
successfully. For
collector's, this set is
filled out with a
bunch of bonus tracks,
many of which are making
their CD debut here,
including two rarities
from The Honeys, which
should light up the eyes
of Beach Boys fans.
And sprinkled among
the rarities are
several
snippets of interviews
with Gary Usher, where he
talks about the songs,
the times, and the people
involved. A great
double CD, with a
fabulous booklet (notes by
music historian Stephen
McParland),
fantastic sound, and
enough gems to rate a high
recommendation.