This is another strong entry in the impressive Garage Beat '66 series, a seven-volume series produced by retro-maestros Sundazed. Unlike the other compilations reviewed here (well some of them anyway), this series doesn't dabble too much in psych, leaning more toward the bands sporting strong Kinks and Yardbirds qualities, with some dashes of surf thrown in for good measure. Although the Beatles were undeniably large and in charge during this period, only one of the songs openly apes their style ("Don't Try Your Luck" by the Quarrymen, and don't ask me how they were able to get away with that name). It should be noted that this isn't necessarily the earliest artifacts of garage music which predate the British Invasion and tend to draw more from the more rumbly aspects of leathery 1950's bands.
There is one crossover with Nuggets, the opening track "1-2-5", presented here with a somewhat different mix (I think this is mono and Nuggets was stereo?). I know that the novelty "Asparagus Horror Stories" was on one of the Pebbles series. The Groupies had a different track on Nuggets. The one here is a lot more energetic though seems raw to the point of unfinished (it just sort of trails off).
Future volumes of this series would ratchet up the psych element, which is kind of unfortunate as the selections lose their distinctiveness among other competing compilations. As for this volume, if you like weird, make sure you reach the final track, "Ghost Power" by the Cords. Whereas some bands called themselves "Monks", these guys were actual monks! Judging from the sound they produce, I think somebody spiked their communion wine with 4Loco.
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