? & The Mysterians, The Best of ? & the Mysterians: Cameo Parkway 1966-1967
CD Reviews
Landmark Upper Midwest Garage Rock Soul
hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 12/05/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The Cameo Parkway box set ("Cameo Parkway 1957-1967") released earlier this year included the Mysterians' garage rock standard, "96 Tears," along with their debut album's leadoff, "I Need Somebody." Having been sequestered in Allen Klein's vaults (along with the rest of the Cameo Parkway catalog) for nearly forty years, the freshness of the master tapes blew away the cobwebs grown over countless gray-market remastered-from-vinyl reissues. This follow-up volume, one in a set of eight to drill down on specific Cameo Parkway artists, fleshes out the rest of the Mysterians' seminal mid-60s recordings.
Though the band couldn't be expected to wax another side as fully realized and potent as "96 Tears," the rest of their catalog is no slouch. There's a Stax-like funkiness underpinning the band's garage rock, making these tunes danceable in a more seductive manner than their coastal contemporaries. The band wrote most of their own material, and picked up a few purpose-built tunes (like the super-fine "96 Tears" knock-off -- and Smash Mouth cover hit -- "Can't Get Enough of You Baby") and covers that include bluesy readings of "Stormy Monday" and The Isley Brothers' "Shout." The slower (and stereo) unreleased take of "96 Tears" is a nice addition, if only for how well it shows the supercharged power of mono mixing on the original.
"After decades of having to listen to remakes Cameo has finally released the origional recordings on CD. One of Americas true great garage bands."
~ cool ~
running_man | Chesterfield Twp., MI | 02/16/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Here's what "cool" was all about in 1960. Unfortunately, the year was 1966 and "cool" had moved on to psychedelic rock, leaving ? and the Mysterians in the rear view mirror... except for a little ditty called '96 Tears' that unashamedly shot its minimalist self all the way up to #1 on the national charts. This lone track, miraculously manifesting itself in my backyard of Saginaw and Bay City, Michigan, stands with 'Louie Louie' and 'Satisfaction' as one of the defining hits of 1960's rock. It demonstrates that what's cool in any era stays cool. Louis Armstrong was cool in 1928, and his cool is still cool today. Elvis was cool in 1968, and that cool is still cool today. And just as Ricki Lee Jones defined cool in the 1970's, ? defined his own brand of cool in the 1960's. So I say, "Once cool, always cool".
? and the Mysterians logged two Top 40 hits in 1966 ('I Need Somebody', which leads off this collection, rose to #22 as the follow-up to '96 Tears'), and if life was fair they would have scored another Top 40 selection with 'Do Something To Me'. This disc includes all of these tracks, as well as both of ?'s full-length albums presented in their entirety. Their first album is clearly the better of the two. And as the band established a funky, stripped-down rock sound, that disc worked it's way up to number 66 nationally. Their follow-up album took on a fuller, deeper sound featuring more echo and bass, and at times their recordings took on a Young Rascal-ish or Tommy James and the Shondells-ish sound. I prefer the original, garage-laden take from the first LP.
The best segment on this 27 track collection is offered in the first six tracks. There are loads of great hooks and memorable, though simplistic melodies to be had. Most of the tracks are funky rock tracks, with the exception of the bands cover of 'Stormy Monday' (which ?'s silky vocal delivery is perfectly suited to), and the fifth track, 'Set Aside', a piano-driven standard instrumental blues number. From time to time, such as on 'Why Me', where the sound evolves dangerously close to bubblegum music, the band demonstrates their diverse capabilities, but nothing is better than when these Texans churn though their funky minimalism.
Some of the compositions on the disc, the large majority of which were penned by band members, are certainly 'second-tier' in quality, such as '"8" Teen' and 'Don't Break This Heart Of Mine', and these lesser tracks appear with greater frequency on the band's second album. The weakest strand of tunes begins with track 18, 'Hangin' On a String', and proceeds through track 22, 'Just Like a Rose', with the exception of the guitar-driven funk of 'It's Not Easy' on track 20. There is also, unfortunately, a shameless '96 Tears' imitation, 'Can't Get Enough Of You, Baby'. It might have been a decent song had '96 Tears' never existed, but this is an obvious attempt to cash in on what should have remained an unimitated melody. This faux pas is more than compensated for, however, by the inclusion of a '96 Tears' alternate take, a slower and more bluesy stereo version, as the last track. The boys also offer up a nice cover of The Isley Brothers 'Shout' (more slick than rugged, however, which the composition deserves), and their own version of 'Midnight Hour', not to be confused with Wilson Pickett's dynamo number, but a sweet composition nonetheless. Most of the 27 tracks, even those straying from the band's most successful formula, possess redeeming qualities, not the least of which is ?'s smooth voice, matched only by his cool persona.
For quite some time, quality digital recordings of ? were difficult to come by. Cameo-Parkway records, perhaps best known as Chubby Checker's label, finally got around to remastering and reissuing the catalogs of their top performers in 2005, and ? and the Mysterians were included in the lot. The band represents a slice of rock and roll not readily occupied by other bands of the era. Perhaps their biggest distiction was to sound minimalist in an era of excess and experimentation. However they are to be defined, their value must be experienced to be appreciated. This package includes informative liner notes from Jeff Tamarkin, and several period photograph and displays of memorabilia. Unfortunately, lyrics are not included, and despite three track listings, no where are running times for the tracks offered, although most tracks seem to struggle to pass the two minute barrier. But that's cool, too. Dig it."
Excellent retrospective of a talented band
Valnastar | Deep 13, USA | 01/16/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"They may have been a one-hit-wonder, but what a hit! 96 Tears is still a unique rock song, full of hypnotic atmosphere and clever musicianship more than 40 years after its release. The other material on the album is interesting and for the most part, equally well-played and quite enjoyable though less remarkable and less commercial than the band's one big hit. Some songs are ballads, a few are quite bluesy, and others bristle with the unique sound that made 96 Tears a song worth listening to for more than 40 years. With 27 tracks on the CD it's a good sampling of what this band had to offer. I waited for years for this music to become available on CD and purchased this disc without hesitation once I discovered it. Don't sit "down there, lookin up", buy it now!"
