It's Impossible Not To Be Charmed By The Gants
nanker | New York | 12/12/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"American garage bands of the 1960's usually fall into one of two easy categories: Beatles wanna-be's or Stones wanna-be's. To learn that the Gants hailed from the bluesy state of Mississippi, and that their most successful single was a full throttle cover of "Roadrunner," by Mick and Keith's beloved Bo Diddley, one would be forgiven for thinking this band would be filed under the latter. But this excellent 20 track collection from Sundazed Recordings proves that the personal record collections of these four high school boys clearly favored Capitol over London. This CD, whgich collects the highlights of their three albums and assorted singles for Liberty Records between 1965 and 1967 presents some of the most Beatleish music ever captured by an American combo, full of Mersey melodies and tasty harmonies, as well as some straight ahead rock and roll, based on distorted guitar riffs and grooves. Either way, their music certainly warrants attention from any fan of 1960's pop. No listener with any sense of 1960's pop appreciation will miss the numerous nods to the Beatles on several tracks. For example, lead singer, guitarist and songwriter Sid Herring used the piano solo of "In My Life" as a starting point for the main melody of his excellent "I Wonder." As anyone might guess from the title, "My Baby Don't Care" carries some of the genes of "Ticket To Ride." "I Don't Want To See Her Again" borrows not from a Lennon-McCartney song of almost identical title given to Peter and Gordon, but rather the early Fab instrumental "Cry For a Shadow," with words hung around a melody straight out of "From Me To You." In fairness, though, on all of these songs the Gants put enough of their own ideas into these songs to keep them from sounding merely like imitators who cut and paste. The instrumental blend of, say, "I Wonder" is a bit heavier and thicker than any pre-1967 Fab record.On the other hand, several cover versions seem to have been arranged in a mindset of "How would the Beatles have done it?" Herring sings the standard "Stormy Weather" and Bo Diddley's "Crackin' Up" with the same high, distorted voice John Lennon used on many 1963 recordings. Likewise, "I Want Your Lovin'" from 1966 (a year after England's The Sons Of Fred tried it for single size) suggests The Gants really enjoyed "Act Naturally" but thought it needed more harmonies. And then again, other covers follow the original quite closely. They replicate the Dave Clark 5's hit recording of "Try Too Hard" to the letter, and stay pretty close to Eddie Cochran's original "Summertime Blues." Garage fans still requiring more versions of "Gloria" can find a decent one on this CD, in a version that sounds like a perfect 50/50 mix of Them's classic and the Shadows of Knight's US hit.The Gants wear other colors on other original tracks. "Spoonful Of Sugar" (no, it's not the *Mary Poppins* song) is delightful, mixing elements of the Cyrkle and Bob Dylan's "I Want You" would have sounded like. "Six Days In May" brings to mind the Searchers with its twelve string guitar, while the equally enjoyable "Somebody Please" has a Paul Anka-style vocal over a backing reminiscent of both the Byrds' 1965 output and The Critters' "Mr. Diengly Sad." "Never Go Right" is a great 6/8 garage-ballad with a small dose of menace. On the more hard-rocking side are a stab of Johnny Burnette's "Little Boy Sad," notable for a weird lead guitar sound by way of a makeshift vocoder prototype (several years before Peter Frampton asked Joe Walsh to show him the way to the Rocky Mountain) and the crunchy, Stones-tinged "Smoke Rings." Also included is a self-penned carbon copy of "Roadrunner" entitled "I'm a Snake," with hissing sounds in place of "beep beep." "Greener Days" from 1967 brings the disc to a wonderful close, as well as takes the music down a completely different path. Written and arranged by pre-Bread David Gates, "Greener Days" swaps the twangy guitars for violins and cellos. The end result sounds like the template for "My World Fell Down" by Sagittarius with its minor key verses over staccato strings and minimal drums into a bouncy major key chorus. Though the overall running time of this CD leaves plenty of room for additional tracks (the two follow ups to "Greener Days" would have been interesting to hear,) the disc succeeds in presenting all sides of the Gants (even if the Merseyside had always been proportionately larger than the others.) Sundazed additionally deserves credit for the collection's excellent fidelity, as only the first generation master tapes were used. The booklet gives a detailed history of the Gants with amusing sidebars and anecdotes. At its best, this CD is a spoonful of sugar to the ears. But even at its worst, it shines from the earnestness of four young boys taken by rock and roll, having a good time turning that enthusiasm into something of their own. In short, it's impossible not to feel charmed after listening to this disc."
Top end garage - The Gants
will | USA | 03/29/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I understand that these guys were from Mississippi during the sixties. I read about them in the 2001 Oxford American Music issue. That led me to buy some of their music and man was I surprised. These guys are great. Not your typical garage band. After more research I discovered that they have gotton the original members back together recently, and have played in New York for the garage band thing that Steve Van Zandt has been involved with. The reviews that I read were glowing. Said things like better than ever. This does my heart good to know that some of us still have it in us. Would love to see them perform one day. Rock On.....Will"
Track Listings (20) - Disc #1