Another off-ramp journey in the large Rock realm, into early/mid ’60’s Freakbeat & Garage rock.
Links to Wikipedia definitions of garage rock and Freakbeat.
From the definitions, Garage Rock was more of a North American phenomenon, while Freakbeat was more of an English mod orientation. To me, they are two sides of the same rock coin. Both are grittier & hard paced, without extensive production, resulting in a rawer and more authentic sound. There’s often lots of fuzz guitar, too, for you effects fans. In listening to these, you can certainly get hints at the upcoming evolution into psychedelia, hard rock & punk. I have included an Australian group, The Masters Apprentices, as I thought their sound fit well & they were of the time.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of these bands did not get near any commercial success. They existed locally, getting a bit of regional airplay and perhaps a single or two released if they were lucky. Thus, they really only exist today on compilation albums, and the production, thus sound, is often of much less quality than we’ve come to expect in our music today.
That being said, though, there is an honesty & simplicity in the music that I find quite enjoyable and refreshing. These are some of the roots of the musical styles I love, so I listen past the production issues. I hope you enjoy these as well.