Customer Reviews

Melts In Your Brain...Not On Your Wrist - The Complete Recordings

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ace compilation producer Alec Palao has done a heroic job of untangling the convoluted history of one of garagedom's most revered bands. In doing so, he rewrites their not-quite-a-one-hit-wonderness into a compelling story of a great garage band that was completely undone by their producer, label and themselves. Fermented in the same San Jose, CA scene that produced The Count Five and Syndicate of Sound, the Watchband never managed a national chart breakthrough, and their signature recording, "Let's Talk About Girls," isn't wholly a product of the group. Their albums are at turns even more distant, featuring whole tracks recorded by other groups!

The entire history of the band - and more importantly the releases dropped under the name "The Chocolate Watchband" - is essayed here in excellent detail. Palao sorts through the various versions of the group, identifies the tracks that were altered by their producers (with substitute lead vocals from non-group members dubbed onto finished tracks), and highlights cuts recorded by completely separate bands and released under the Watchband's moniker. Interviews with the band's members help flesh out the various machinations involved in constructing these recordings, including the group's albums, all three of which were released after the Watchband disbanded.

What stands out most strongly is how good the results were - original, dubbed, and recorded by others. And even more surprising, how homogenous it seems. Even with the discography in hand, it's hard to internalize the crazy circumstances involved in waxing these sides. The best example is the band's signature cover of The Tongues of Truth's "Let's Talk About Girls." Watchband vocalist Dave Aguilar's original lead was scrubbed and replaced by non-band member Don Bennett's, who, in fact, was instructed to imitate Aguilar's original. This "original" Bennett version - the one most listeners are familiar with - is included alongside a version with a new Aguilar vocal dubbed in place. A similar pairing is included for the band's cover of "Medication." The newly cut vocals are truly more than a gimmick - they sound great and give a good idea of the band's original visions for these tracks.

Big Beat's double CD has it all - the albums, the singles, the oh-so-tangled story in words and pictures and poster reproductions. The discs also include bits of extra studio chatter, which are mildly interesting once and (due to the lack of separate CD index marks) intensely annoying on repeated plays. Worse, the chatter for a particular song is attached the end of the preceding track, necessitating manual editing (Goldwave, anyone?) of any rips that you make. This is a nit in the context of such a fine compilation, but one that Big Beat should think about for future releases.

A 2-CD, 43 track complete coverage (not compilation), but reportedly a complete repetoire of Chocolate Watchband's recordings. Cuts from their three 'proper' albums, 'No Way Out' ('67), 'The Inner Mystique' ('68) and 'One Step Beyond' ('69). See my reviews of all three. Plus,there are several exclusive cuts here that I've never seen available anywhere before. Like a couple of nicely done covers, Ray Davie's "Til The End Of The Day" and Don Everly's "Since You Broke My Heart".Plenty of other must-hear Watchband tunes here,like "Let's Talk About Girls","Don't Need Your Loving","Misty Lane","In The Midnight Hour",the jammin' "Milk Cow Blues", "Psychedelic Trip" and heavy-tripping "Voyage Of The Trieste" (seriously,if this cut doesn't get your toes tapping,you should seek professional help). Recently caught their club performance in an old movie 'Riot On Sunset Strip' (sort of like a movie version of the old Dragnet TV show). So highly recommended,it hurts.

There are some good reviews here but I think a word to the naive is in order ..many of the tracks on this 'collection' are not the CWB at all and possibly the worst stuff Ive heard from a major label...[er..Capitol] ..Rest assured, this is a great garage band when they are actually on the records...ACE has done a great job of putting together absolutely everything under the groups banner, but some of these tracks, especially on disc 2, do a disservice to the band. As the excellent bio here explains, the producers decided to record about one-third of these tunes while the band was OUT OF TOWN///...SOME OF THE COVERS ARE SO WEAK THAT EVEN THE NOVICE CWB COLLECTOR WILL SMELL A RAT/.. I still recommend this package because its the only place you can get ALL the good stuff in one swoop...however, you might wanna keep that thumb near the 'skip track' button there, especially on disc 2/ .... britman

"I'm not like everybody else"... well they certainly were NOT like everybody else in the late 60s! Edgy lyrics, well managed distortion and rhythm exploration at the edge of what is possible for dancing (and it is most danceable in places!) The Chocolate Watch Band is one of those mind expanding bands like Dirty Lucy or Pink Floyd but in their own style: if you like mainstream music, just don't bother! For everyone else - this album is good to listen to when you're getting ready for going out to a doof or a dance or a concert of some description, great to have on when doing the housework or to incorporate some tracks into your party playlists. What I'm trying to say is: crank up the volume to pub band level and it's at its very best!

This two CD set purports to include the entire recorded output of the Chocolate Watchband...or maybe it's Chocolate Watch Band; I've seen it both ways. (So, let's simplify this and call them CWB.) The package is intriguing in a number of ways. First, it attempts - with what I would suggest is a bias towards lead singer Dave Aguilar and the band members around him - to chronicle the recording and business history of the band with producer Ed Cobb and Capitol/Tower Records. Second, it seeks to revise history - no, recover is a better term - by presenting several of the band's songs with Mr. Aguilar's vocals. This action reverses a move carried out with the original master tapes for reasons that are a bit murky. Third, the compilation provides some guidance into what was more-or-less an open secret; namely that a number of 45s and LPs contained tracks that - in addition to having Mr. Aguilar's vocal excised in favor of those by Don Bennett - were performed by other bands under contract to the Capitol family of companies under the CWB name. All of this is why, when you check the track listing, you read that the Aguilar vocals were done in 2005 and that tracks are listed as being performed by The Yo-Yoz or The Inmates or The Hogs.

Now, I have sung the praises of `Get Away,' a more recent album by the band which is one of the better examples of a 60s band maturing into something much better than its first incarnation. And, by virtue of `Nuggets' and other compilation packages, I was familiar with CWB's hits (`Let's Talk About Girls' and `Can You Be There for The Love-in?'). But, I was not aware the songs were a Frankenstein's monster of sorts with a different lead vocal. (And, be aware this is not the only such example. Barry McGuire had his vocal stripped from `California Dreaming' and replaced by the Mamas and Papas.)

I don't know why Capital/Tower and Ed Cobb did this or let this happen. The liner notes mention that the CWB lineup and maybe commitment to being a band was bit unstable and tenuous. So, maybe you would want to say the efforts to insure a product was available went to an extreme. Or maybe you say the powers-that-be didn't care for Aguilar's vocals - he also may have quit the band temporarily at this time - so a decision was made to go with someone. Maybe, the band couldn't produce enough songs to fill the planned album and refused to do the filler presented or were on the road when the album needed to be done, so management brought in hired guns. The end result was only a small proportion of the CWB material issued was 100% CWB.

And the rest is of highly marginal quality in the opinion of this reviewer. While Don Bennett's voice is stronger and deeper, his performances are sluggish and rather uninspired. There are also other cuts the sound of which bear little or no resemblance to how the actual CWB sounded. Instead one hears stuff that sounds like the folks in charge were simply filling space on the albums with the result being a peculiar melange of melodies that drift more cloesly to jazz and blues. Again, the key point is that it does not sound like the CWB!

The recreated tracks and the ones not messed with are, on the other hand, fabulous and well worth the cost of the set. After you do the hits - sung with an urgency and passion entirely absent on the Williams versions - I particularly suggest listening to both the LP and 45 versions of 'Baby Blue.' While not deviating a great deal from Dylan's approach, Dave Aguilar brings a tonal quality that speaks volumes about pain and love and presages what will be going on decades later.

A good outfit, some cool old 1960s Psychedelia.

Think their name did not help them.

The rumors that Jerry Garcia of the Dead stepped in on one studio session

has been circling around Deadland for years. Some say it was really Jerry Miller

of Moby Grape.

Either way I was interested and bought the cd.

Glad I did, love the cover and very amusing.

Lots of music on this lp and well worth the trouble of acquiring if you enjoy

rare 1960s Bay Area bands that disappeared.

If only they called themselves just The Watchband, think they might have been around

a bit longer.

M and Ms aside.....the colors spiral around in your head when the music swirls just right.

I posted a Bulletin on this band on May 9, 2008 and revisited them again on February 10, 2009.

I'm doing it again for my newer MySpace friends that missed out on this outstanding band that I wanted all to know about and what to get.

Yes I know I'm "preaching to the choir" for collectors of garage style music, BUT for the ones that aren't familiar with this band be prepared for some outstanding music. :-)

Here is the 2 CD compilation that I'm talking about:

Chocolate Watchband - Melts in Your Brain Not on Your Wrist-The Complete Recordings 1965-1967 (Big Beat)-2005.

Check it out at allmusic.com that gave it a 4.5 star AMG Album Pick! OR amazon.com where 5 customers gave it an average rating of 4.5 stars.

What you get is 42 songs, 2.1 hours of music (1966-2005).

What I got was 16 songs, 51 minutes of above average songs (1966-1969), with 10 songs, 33.3 minutes reaching a 5 star rating IMHO.

BOTTOM LINE: I'm giving this double CD compilation a rating of 3.3 stars (number of stars / divided by number of tracks).

Don't be put off by my low rating of this compilation because if you look above you can see you could almost fill a CD with above average songs, and be guaranteed to hear some of the finest music from this era.

I have a feeling that if your friends heard these songs either in your car or at home they will be impressed. :-)

BELOW is the crème de la crème: that I found on youtube in the order of appearance on this compilation. Just click on the song titles to see what's available there.

Sweet Young Thing - The Chocolate Watchband - 1966 - "AMG pick. One of their BEST. ORIGINAL LINEUP as of July 13, 1966. Mick Jagger-esque vocals."

This San Jose band formed in the Summer of 1965 at Foothills College in Los Altos and were discovered late the following year by Ed Cobb (producer).

Don't Need Your Lovin' - The Chocolate Watchband - 1967 - "AMG Pick. RAW Mick Jagger-esque vocals, R&B beat."

Are You Gonna Be There (At The Love In) - The Chocolate Watchband - 1967 - "AMG pick. ONE OF THEIR BEST. Great Mick Jagger-esque vocals, beat."

Gone And Passes By - The Chocolate Watchband - 1967 - "BEST sounding version! Outstanding Mick Jagger-esque vocals. Psych-sitar-rock beat."

Milk Cow Blues - The Chocolate Watchband - 1967 - "NICE '80s version. Very good Sir MICK JAGGER-esque vocals, beat. Cover of popular song. Harmonica."

Let's Talk About Girls (Don Bennett, Vocal) - The Chocolate Watchband - 1967 - "AMG pick. COCKY punkish vocals. GREAT (guitar, drums, percussion) hooks."

I Don't Need No Doctor - The Chocolate Watchband - 1969 - "RAW R&B vocals. Nice guitar, drums, workout."

Voyage of the Trieste - The Chocolate Watchband - 1968 - "VERY GOOD Psych-jazz instrumental. VERY NICE soft guitar, flute, sax, beat."

In The Past - The Chocolate Watchband (band is Yo-Yoz) - 1968 - "ONE OF THE BEST. Is a BEJEWELED psychedelic treasure that ought to be in any collection. Best sounding version. Lost love song."

One of my favorite songs attributed to this band but was done by Yo-Yoz. What a GEM!

The Inner Mystique - The Chocolate Watchband - 1968 - "TRIPPY soft faux-jazz instrumental. NIce flute, guitar, drums, percussion."

This is a great Collection to cut your teeth on. If your like me, younger, but have a craving for that late '60s sound, you can't go wrong with The Chocolate Watchband. I used to think that great Psych./Garage Rock was only a British thing. Like The Beatles - Peppers, The Stones - Satanic, The Who - Sell Out, and The Pretty Things - S.F. Sorrow, these groups made some of the greatest albums of the 60's. The Chocolate Watchband is no exception to this line-up. Their first two records are just as strong or stronger than their British Counterparts. If you like trippy music check out Expo 2000, Gossamer Wings, Voyage Of The Trieste, In The Past, and Inner Mystique. If you like hard charging Garage Rock check out Let's Talk About Girls, Midnight Hour, I'm Not Like Everybody Else, Medication. I cannot say enough about this 2-cd set except that its a great look into great American psych./garage rock and won't cost you five hundred a piece like their records sell for.

bands sound is very much in tune with the times then...i think you will like it, give it a try!...just do yourself a favor, and steer clear of this other group who calls themselves "the merry go-round", ugggh, the worst...ever! but these guys are a-ok.