Considering how adored the Squires are by garage rock aficionados, it’s surprising this sole collection of the Bristol, Connecticut band’s work is only available on vinyl. And what’s even more frustrating is Going All The Way With The Squires! (Crypt Records) is long out of print. But that shouldn’t stop you from tracking down a copy of the album!
A complete documentation of the band’s efforts, Going All The Way With The Squires! even features the stuff they recorded when they were initially called the Rogues. Formed in the spring of 1965, the band inked a contract with the Peyton label, and released a single later that year. Blending the melodic perspectives of the Beatles with flashes of Beau Brummels fashioned folk pop, “Oh No!” backed by “It’s The Same All Over The World” proposed all the markings of a two-sided hit record. Simple but peppy rhythms marinated in a tasty sauce of yearning vocals, ribbons of ringing chords and sparse arrangements leads the disc to be a garage rock whammy.
The Rogues cut some further material for Peyton Records, but such ventures failed to manifest onto plastic. Among these numbers are “We Can Try” and “I Can’t Do It,” which proceeded to show off the band’s forte for writing and performing teen folk punk. And then there’s “The Original,” a giddy little instrumental.
April 1966 was the date the band, now billed as the Squires, delivered the phenomenal “Going All The Way.” Pressed on the Atco label, the stupendous song contained enough power and electricity to light up New York City, as it exploded through the rooftops with space age riffs, ghostly harmonies, whipping breaks and shades of psychedelic magnetism.
Drafted of daring designs and optimism by the pound, “Going All The Way” saw the Squires take a big step forward, but unfortunately the disc tanked when it came to impressing the national charts. The flipside of the tune, “Go Ahead” rested firmly on a folk pop axis, as it chimed in time to the aching plea of a distraught boyfriend.
Filled to the gills with jangling Rickenbacker guitars, cheesy organ thrills and lots of catchy hooks, Going All The Way With The Squires! benefits from the kind of untutored energy that makes garage rock so potent and exciting. Raw but poppy, here’s a band that definitely would have earned heavy airplay if given the chance.
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