Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Hey - it's not all about LP's here: Two Awesome 45's - Jigsaw and U.S.A. Records

These are from my crate of 2 or 3 thousand 45's.  I rarely take them out.  Sad to say, but my 45's are in disarray.   Just heaved into a storage tub, and roughly categorized in ziploc bags.  Shameful, I know!  Last summer I scored a box of approx. 150 for ten bucks at a garage sale.  I had no idea Sky High by Jigsaw was such an awesome song.  The other 45 (in the photo, on right) is important based on the label - U.S.A. Records.  Greg Kot, the rock music critic in the Tribune, last year  reviewed a 2-DC compilation called “2131 South Michigan Avenue: '60s Garage & Psychedelia from U.S.A. and Destination Records.”  Kot wrote – “the compilation highlights the ‘60s Golden Age of Midwestern garage-rock, when bands such as the Buckinghams, the Cryan’ Shames, and the Flock scored national hits. Housed in a dingy recording studio at 2131 South Michigan Avenue across the street from Chess Records in Chicago, the U.S.A. label and its Destination offshoot signed those marquee names and dozens more who never were heard from again, some with good reason.  But there are more than enough shots of one-hit-wonder creativity amid these 40 tracks to justify the release, in particular the thrift-store psychedelia of Park Avenue Playground’s “The Trip,” the Near North Side sneer of the teenage Foggy Notions, the rooster-in-a-henhouse strut of the Lost Agency’s “One Girl Man,” and Oscar Hamod & the Majestics boasting, “I’m the soul finger, bay-beee!” over a nasty fuzz-tone guitar.” Thanks Greg!

3 comments:

  1. Thanks for bringing back to life "Sky High", I hadn't heard that in ages and danged forgot about it! Again, wasn't popular music then just plain fun and innocent?
    Spencer

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  2. but it was sort of popular. I recall driving around in Steve Anderson's Cougar with John F. and that song was always on WLS and super CFL...

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  3. What a memory....Steve's Cougar and hearing this song!
    Sp

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Thanks for commenting!