This was the last of the four Dose compilations released by Arf Arf Records around 10 years ago (geez, I still think of 10 years ago as sometime in the 1990's), and probably the best of the bunch. The Dose series, depending on your criteria, runs in the middle-high end of the obscurity index, not quite as "out there" as the Psychedelic Experience, but certainly more so than Nuggets and its ilk. Compared to the others in the series it runs fairly heavy and also includes the lyrically weirdest songs. Just like the others it is a psychedelic road trip across the USA. Once again, I decided to spend a little time learning the backgrounds of the various bands contributing to the "wylde" psych scene:
The Sound Apparatus was from New Jersey and "Travel Agent Man" (Dee/Harris) was the B-side of their only single, released in 1969.
Finch was from Wisconsin and the wall-shaking "Nothing In the Sun" (Dougherty) was the A-side of their only single (oddly, the B-side is titled "Let It Be", not the Beatles song which came out a year later!).
The Nite Watchmen of Ohio actually managed two singles, of which "Mimic Jester" (Merchant) in the A-side of the second, released in 1969.
Sweet Cherry of Michigan released "Funny Things Floating" (Carli/Chaivre/Soucie) in 1967 as the B-side of their only single. Allmusic has an amusing short biography worth reading for those curious about what came next for the band.
Peacepipe brings us "The Sun Won't Shine Forever", (Uzonyi) the A-side of their 1968 single. The song would later appear on their full-length self-titled 1969 album. That's right....a full album! From what I can tell these guys were either from California or Arizona.
The Moon Dawgs had two singles to their name, with "Keep On Pushing" (Samuel/Schroeder), the A-side of the second one, released in 1968. Thanks to this other super-weird comp I found, I learned they are indeed from Louisiana.
A latecomer of sorts to these comps, Blue Creed released their only single in 1970, of which "Need A Friend" (Franko/Gordon/Rexroad) is the A-side. Thanks to even sketchier information, I'm reasonably confident these folks hailed from West Virginia, ground zero for chunky organ and caveman vocals.
And on the chronological other end of the scale is The Chocolate Moose. Hailing from Fort Worth, Texas, "Take a Ride" (Harris) was the A-side of their first single, released in 1966.
The Pawnbrokers were a North Dakota band moonlighting next door in the red-hot Minnesota/Iowa scene. "Realize" (English/Hanson/Richey/Rogne) from 1968 was a A-side of the first single.
The Christian Brothers hailed from California's Inland Empire and "Feeling Bad" (Carter/Edison) was the A-side of their only single (and I think the only thing ever released on Sidewinder Records).
Oscar and the Majestics have their own website. It's minimal but sometimes you have to take what you can get! "House of the Rising Sun 1969" (Price) was actually recorded in 1966 although it may have kicked around until an actual 1969 release, the A-side of their fifth (!) and last single. They were from Indiana but gravitated toward the Chicago scene by virtue of geography.
Liberation News Service of Philadelphia is another trip to musical bizarro world. "Mid-Winter's Afternoon" (Esko) was their only single, holding down the A-side. However, they changed their name to the Esko Affair and scored two big-label single releases with Mercury.
Wet Paint is yet another one single sensation, this one from Massachusetts. "Glass Road" (John/Mike/Mike/Paul/Wally) is another latecomer, released in 1970. Apparently these guys also abhorred the use of last names.
The Waters is the reason I picked up this comp. "Mother Samwell" (Barrickman/Burgard), released in early 1969, also appeared on the Psychedelic Experience, Vol. 2 and is one of my favorite tracks. If you think nothing good has come out of Kentucky since Henry Clay, give this one a listen! (I've noticed we're getting A-side heavy and I'm getting tired of mentioning it, so I'll just say this is actually a B-side.)
The Chaparral Trio is another fine outfit from Texas. "Roxanne" (Hill) their only single, from 1969, is completely unrelated to the one put out by a certain law enforcement outfit about 10 years later. Too bad, think of all the royalties they could have scored. (oh hey, this is a B-side too)
Lime Frost has a primitive but informative website. "Post Bellum Blues" (Brown/Brown/Gregg/McNabb/Rice/Scott) from 1968 was their only single. This Michigan band did a TV gig in Canada, but that's about as famous as they got (thank the US military).
The Leather Pages were another Louisana band (who knew?). "Accept Me For What I Am" (Borges) from 1968 was their only single.
Blues Inc. give us a meh cover of Love's "7 and 7 Is" (Lee) from 1968. My friends over at Garage Hangover tell me they are from Ohio (which conforms with their Ohio-based label United Audio).
Wildwood was from California's Central Valley. Rockasteria has a great article on the band. "Plastic People" (Colli/Mora/Ross) is from 1968. The band made it to 1971 and although I only see two singles to their name, they recorded enough material to produce a nice compilation many years later. As with Lime Frost, the military wreaked havoc with the band.
"It Had To Be You" (Rakozich/Watson) from 1968 appears to be the sole output of The Portraits. Information is scanty, but I'm fairly sure these guys were from Wisconsin.
I think the real chronological outlier here is "I've Been You" (Mijal/White) from 1973. (Mikes) Mijal & White were from Michigan. It looks like Mike Mijal continued to enjoy a varied career through the 1970's.
The Tea Company is a favorite in this series, having also shown up on another Dose compilation (A Heavy Dose of Light Psych). "Come and Have Some Tea With Me" (Carr) is the B-side of this band's sole output, from 1968.
"Angel Angel Down We Go" (Mann/Weil) has no known artist associated with it. True obscurity! It was released in 1969 in support of the same-titled movie. I can only take a wild guess that it's a Los Angeles-based performer.
The Attack (not the British freakbeat band) channels Jimi Hendrix with "School Daze" (Strasz) from 1969. This is yet another Michigan band. Take that, Motown!
Mass Temper channels Led Zeppelin with "Gravedigger". I can't find anything about this band except they are from North Carolina and it MAY be from 1968. There always has to be one hard-case out there.
The Johnny Thompson Quintet draws things to a close with "Color Me Columbuth" (Thompson?). This weirdo from 1966 is a true novelty, taking the A-side ("Color Me Columbus") and doing a "lispy" version. These nutbars are from Monterey Park, California.
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