The Age Of Reason "Bang Bang"US 1969 Garage Blues
- 10 years ago
The Age Of Reason. "Reason" 1969 US.Private Garage Psych.
Pressed in minute quantities by Arlington,Virginia-based Georgetowne label, 1969′s “The Age of Reason” lay largely forgotten until it appeared in one of Austrian vinyl collector Hans Pokora’s books – 1001 Record Collectors Dreams.
Like anything listed in one of Pokora’s books, the album’s subsequently become a high priced, in-demand release. This late-1960s release is also a pretty good example of hype and rarity taking precedence over quality. That’s not to imply the album’s bad, rather for the big bucks it commands, you could certainly find a couple of more enjoyable releases. It also isn’t the psych monster some high priced dealers would have you believe.The band apparently came together in 1967, featuring the talents of keyboardist Tommy Didly, former The Telstars bassist Terry Gorka, drummer Bill Manning, and lead guitarist Billy Windsor. They somehow attracted the attention of the California-based Ascot Records which signed them, releasing a one shot single 1967′s ‘(Your Love Is Like a) Magnet’ b/w ‘I’m a Free Man.Two years later they were apparently back in the Washington, D.C. area, releasing what may have been a vanity project on the small Arlington, Virginia-based Georgetowne label (the address on the album is within walking distance of my office). Produced by drummer Manning, “The Age of Reason” offered up a mixture of late-1960s FM covers (Dylan, Savoy Brown Blues Band, Ike Turner) and band originals.The players were all pretty good with keyboardist Didly featured on most of the songs. That meant the album was never less than professional, but devoted to covers, side one really didn’t do a great deal for my ears. Best of the lot was their opening Dylan cover. Showcasing a couple of band originals, side two was marginally better with Manning’s ‘The View From Tom Thompson’s Cell’ standing as one of the best performance.Elsewhere the biggest surprise was their cover of ‘Temptations Bout To Get Me’. The result was a totally unexpected knockout slice of blue-eyed soul. Shame they didn’t record more in this vein. (Bad Cat Records)..
Pressed in minute quantities by Arlington,Virginia-based Georgetowne label, 1969′s “The Age of Reason” lay largely forgotten until it appeared in one of Austrian vinyl collector Hans Pokora’s books – 1001 Record Collectors Dreams.
Like anything listed in one of Pokora’s books, the album’s subsequently become a high priced, in-demand release. This late-1960s release is also a pretty good example of hype and rarity taking precedence over quality. That’s not to imply the album’s bad, rather for the big bucks it commands, you could certainly find a couple of more enjoyable releases. It also isn’t the psych monster some high priced dealers would have you believe.The band apparently came together in 1967, featuring the talents of keyboardist Tommy Didly, former The Telstars bassist Terry Gorka, drummer Bill Manning, and lead guitarist Billy Windsor. They somehow attracted the attention of the California-based Ascot Records which signed them, releasing a one shot single 1967′s ‘(Your Love Is Like a) Magnet’ b/w ‘I’m a Free Man.Two years later they were apparently back in the Washington, D.C. area, releasing what may have been a vanity project on the small Arlington, Virginia-based Georgetowne label (the address on the album is within walking distance of my office). Produced by drummer Manning, “The Age of Reason” offered up a mixture of late-1960s FM covers (Dylan, Savoy Brown Blues Band, Ike Turner) and band originals.The players were all pretty good with keyboardist Didly featured on most of the songs. That meant the album was never less than professional, but devoted to covers, side one really didn’t do a great deal for my ears. Best of the lot was their opening Dylan cover. Showcasing a couple of band originals, side two was marginally better with Manning’s ‘The View From Tom Thompson’s Cell’ standing as one of the best performance.Elsewhere the biggest surprise was their cover of ‘Temptations Bout To Get Me’. The result was a totally unexpected knockout slice of blue-eyed soul. Shame they didn’t record more in this vein. (Bad Cat Records)..