Little Black Egg

The Nightcrawlers | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 6, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Phantom Sound & Vision
• ASIN: B000A2PLPW
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,537,914 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Little Black Egg

2. A Basket of Flowers

3. Sally in Our Alley

4. Who Knows

5. Me for Me

6. If You Want My Love [Undubbed Version]

7. I Don't Remember

8. If I Were You

9. The Last Ship

10. Show Me the Way

11. What Time Is It

12. You're Running Wild

13. Washboard

14. Sticks and Stones

15. He Shouldn't Hurt You

16. Cry

17. Route 66

18. All Day and All of the Night

19. Grown up Wrong

20. Oh! Baby (We Got a Good Thing Goin')

See all 24 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

UK compilation for 60's era Florida folk-rock/garage band. Includes in-depth sleeve notes from original band members plus rare photos from their archives. 24 tracks including, 'If You Want My Love' (Undubbed Version) and 'Washboard' (Early Version). 2000 release. Slimline double jewel case. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars +1/2 Should've-been-better anthology of Florida garage band, August 10, 2004

By 

hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Little Black Egg (Audio CD)

Along with "Louie Louie," this Florida band's 1965 single "The Little Black Egg" is one of the most enigmatic (and catchy) tunes in pop history. Primitively recorded, the single had to be released three times before it caught on at the bottom of the Billboard charts. Still, regional play made it a garage band staple in the mid-60s, and its catchy guitar riff and childlike lyrics still fare well today. In typical "That Thing You Do" fashion, the original NightCrawlers lineup had broken up by the time the single began to catch, and a reforumulated group filled out an LP and recorded a few more singles before evaporating. The band's sole LP release, included here in its entirety, adds several more Beau Brummel-esque folk-rock originals, highly influenced by the British Invasion, all rendered in superbly basic garage-rock style.

For all the tracks that were gathered to flesh out this one-hit-wonder band, this collection is oddly unsatisfying as the ultimate statement on the band's recorded history. In particular, the tracks are sequenced oddly, neither following the order of singles releases, nor duplicating the band's Kapp LP. The latter can be reproduced as 1, 12, 5, 6, 7, 2, 10, 11, 4, 13, though even there you'll find that the version of "If You Want My Love" removes the dubbing Kapp added for the LP (which, like it or not, is how it was issued). The title tune has a nasty squeak (one of the drummer's pedals?) not evident on the original LP, and the tape used for "Me for Me" is surprisingly hissy. The album tracks are all mono (which makes sense, since the stereo LP - which sounds surprisingly good - was electronically produced), except for "Little Black Egg," which was recorded in true stereo. Several of the bonus tracks (8, 14-15, 17-22, 24) are true stereo. Also surprising is that the latter-day single "My Butterfly" is missing. Overall, this simply doesn't sound as good as the original vinyl; perhaps the tapes had deteriorated by the time they got around to making a digital transfer.

Alec Palao's liner notes put the band in context, and extensive remembrances from the band make for good reading (and provide the songwriters' explanation of the origin of "The Little Black Egg."). This is absolutely worth picking up, whether or not you have the original vinyl. If you don't have the vinyl, it's a quick and fairly thorough introduction to the band. If you do have the vinyl, the extra tracks (including a fine acoustic demo of "Washboard" and the previously unreleased Brummelesque "He Shouldn't Hurt You") are worth the price of this CD; just hang on to your original records, as this CD is not an equal substitute.

4-1/2 stars, if allowed fractional ratings.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Nightcrawlers "The Little Black Egg", February 20, 2001

By 

Charles W. Smith (Hinesville, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Little Black Egg (Audio CD)

Oh! What memories! I learned to play guitar with the title track in the mid 60s. Makes me remember going to dances with live bands playing in the old days before disco. This disk will make you old timers like myself want to dance again. This is from a time when making music was fun not big business. A must for anyone who was a teenger during these times. I also remember how practicing "The Little Black Egg" on guitar kept my family up at night. Thanks for the memories.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great 60's Garage Music, January 1, 2003

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Little Black Egg (Audio CD)

Finally, a great quality mid-60's garage band I been searching for for years. Not just a one song wonder but a good album all the way through.