MICHIGAN MAYHEM! - Vol 1 (top notch 60S compilation, featuring garage, psych and hard rock entries) COMP CD

28 forgotten 60Õs Michigan garage gems. TRACKS: Sweet Cherry Ð Eight Day Blues, Blues Co. Ð Love Machine, Illusions Ð City Of People, James T. & The Workers Ð I CanÕt Stop, Quests Ð Scream Loud, Outcry Ð CanÕt You Hear, Psychotics Ð If You DonÕt Believe Me DonÕt, Chevrons Ð Hey Little Teaser, Grifs Ð Catch A Ride, Undecided Ð Make Her Cry, Aardvarks Ð IÕm Higher Than IÕm Down, Black Rose Ð Love Handles, Pagens Ð Mystic Cloud, Jammers Ð YouÕre Gonna Love Me Too, Ebb Tides Ð SŽance, Terry Knight & The Pack Ð How Much More, Olivers Ð I Saw What You Did, Quests Ð IÕm Tempted, 9th Street Market Ð IÕm A Baby, Beaubiens Ð Times Passed, Rationals Ð Little Girls Cry, Sweet Cherry Ð Funny Things Floating, 9th Street Market Ð YouÕre Gone, Ruby Ð Confusion, The Old Exciting Scot Richard Case Ð Get The Picture, Rationals Ð I Need You (alternate take), Ascots Ð So Good, and Pleasure Seekers Ð What A Way To Die. DESCRIPTION: For fans of riff-driven, raw garage rock, Michigan Mayhem Vol. 1 is a good place to start. Most of the tracks on this are good and it's a fairly eclectic compilationÑfrom the acid rock of Black Rose to the psych-pop of the Pagens to the to the R&B-influenced garage rock of the Rationals to the countrified homage to beer by the Pleasure Seekers. Not all of the tracks on Michigan Mayhem Vol. 1 work but the range of styles represented here makes this compilation an interesting and essential documentation of the time period. Seance by the Ebb Tide provides an example of the low-budget horror film music that a number garage revival bands focused on several years later. I'm not sure why this was the caseÑmusic like this too often just plods along. The last track in this collection What a Way to Die by the Pleasure Seekers is notable because they were an all-female band with a young Suzi Quatro on bass. The song asks her boyfriend not to make her choose between him or beer, which she loves above all, apparently. The title comes from the acknowledgement that beer does not lead to a healthy lifestyle, "I may not make it to 21 but what a way to die" (Hey, remember when alcoholism was funny?) The flip side of this single is much better but not included here. Both sides of the Pleasure Seekers' single are available (with much better sound quality) on the compilation Friday at the Hideout, but that's not to say that Friday at the Hideout is a better compilation than this one. The driving, infectious garage rock on Michigan Mayhem Vol. 1 more than compensates for its occasional inconsistency and less-than-perfect audio quality. As indicated in the title, all of the bands on this compilation came from Michigan, which had thriving scenes of all sorts of music, particularly in Detroit. Perhaps what makes Michigan such a good source of garage rock of the sort on this compilation is that it incorporates eclectic influences while still retaining the inspired amateurism of garage rock. Highly recommended!