The Standells – Little Sally Tease

The Standells

Listen -The Standells – Little Sally Tease – MP3

Greetings all.

I hope all is well on your end as another week comes to a close.
The daylight savings time thing has come to an end, and this year (as opposed to all those in the past that I can still remember with any clarity) it doesn’t seem to be causing me any trouble. Usually I find my self dragging my ass around for at least a week as I pull myself into synch with the clock.
I’m putting this post up a little early since the fam and I are hitting the road for a couple of days of R&R.
The tune I bring you today has been a favorite since back in the garage revival days of yore. Back then, next to the Chocolate Watchband, the Standells loomed over the mid-60s like some kind of garage punk colossus, having created several anthemic tunes and having the added benefit of having recorded for a major label and having their moving image captured on film a number of times.
Though for most garage heads the go-to Standells numbers are ‘Sometimes Good Guys Don’t Wear White’ and the Nuggets-y ‘Dirty Water’, my faves by the LA combo have always been lesser known killers like ‘Why Did You Hurt Me’ and today’s selection, their ramped up cover of Don and the Goodtimes PNW classic ‘Little Sally Tease’.
Originally waxed by D&the GTs, then later covered by the Kingsmen, ‘Little Sally Tease’ is one of those stompers that seems as if it were created in the lab of a mop-topped mad scientist attempting to formulate the perfect garage punk record, having exhumed and stitched together pounding drums, throbbing combo organ, fuzz guitar and snotty adolescent girl trouble lyrics of the first order.
The original version of the song is no small potatoes, but the Standells took it into the studio and beat it like a rented mule until every single drop of snot and bad attitude was placed on display like a hood ornament on their own high powered muscle car. Things get off to a strong start with heavy bass and witch doctor drums, but it isn’t until the chorus, shredded guitar solo and combo organ workout that things reach a truly explosive climax.
‘Little Sally Tease’ is a cut on the 1966 LP ‘Dirty Water’ which may pack more garage punk power than any full length in the history of the genre. Alongside the title cut, ‘..Good Guys’, ‘Medication’, ‘Little Sally Tease’ and ‘Why Did You Hurt Me’, you also get slamming covers of ‘19th Nervous Breakdown’ and ‘Hey Joe’, as well as the cover photo of the Standells looking positively badass.
It’s just that heavy.
As your physician I recommend you get this on a CD (or patch the MP3 thingy into the car radio) and drive around with the stereo at full blast and the windows wide open. No sense in hiding the fact that you’re a fuzz addled freak from the rest of the neighborhood, is there? Hmmmm?
Dig it and I’ll see you all on Monday.

Peace

Larry

PS Head over to Funky16Corners for the second half of the the 5th anniversary celebration.

2 Comments

Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI