Phase II Productions

Stop! b/w One Down Seventeen More to Go

I have to admit that with ownership of every volume of the seminal “Back From the Grave” compilation for roundabout 15 years I erroneously felt that conferred some sort of “complete” knowledge of Sixties garage rock upon myself. The fact that I plunged and even bought a considerable number of the original copies of 45s featured on the compilation was all the more self-justification I needed. “I got this” I clearly thought to myself. Damn I can be stupid.

Yet every few years, I will be hipped to something that was shockingly NOT included on “Grave” and melt my mind.

Past examples have been the Driving Stupid’s “Horror Asparagus Stories”, Kack Klick’s “Lord, My Cell is Cold”, the Purple Persians “I Heard the Word” and Mogen David & the Grapes of Wrath “Don’t Want Ya No More” all as killer and “Grave”-worthy songs from the Sixties that my ears were delighted by.

And yeah, I know that there’s literally HUNDREDS of other garage rock compilations out there, but “Back From the Grave” always felt like it had the best approach and the material that was most directly in line with my personal taste. Forays into comps like Pebbles or Boulders or Highs of the Mid-Sixties usually resulted in one or two compelling tracks, but were probably far more disappointment than anything.

So this year’s entry into the canon of songs that should have been on “Back From the Grave" is Phase II and specifically “Stop!" Fantastically fuzz-drenched. Appropriately attitudinal. Possibly punk. From Indiana…and that’s close enough to Michigan for these purposes. I would be willing to guess the b-side “One Down Seventeen More to Go” is the only song ever with that name. It’s not 100% my steez but provides for a solid counterpoint to the a-side. And sometimes, that’s all a b-side needs to provide. Solid two-siders aren’t for everyone.

I consider Sixties garage essentially “done." The important things have all been said and I would be quite surprised if anyone were able to deliver an approach that’s vaguely compelling (outside of the 1960s, I feel like the Black Lips and the Gories were the only ones to actually make that happen). That being said and that being sad, I am comforted by the fact that there is seemingly a renewing wellspring of songs actually from the 60’s that continue to present themselves for discovery. Shit, Crypt put out THREE new volumes of “Back From the Grave” two years ago. I’ll be fine just fine for years to come.