When this album was initially released on the Ace label in 1984, a lot of people believed it was a long lost treasure by a long lost 1960s band.
Considering not a soul remembered the group, nor was there a shred of information to be found anywhere on these guys, vinyl fanatics were either drooling with excitement, thinking the holy grail of garage rock had been unearthed, or they were questioning the authenticity behind the disc. Advertised as the soundtrack to a movie called “Give Daddy the Knife Cindy,” the album was obviously a hoax and a joke, because if there was such a film there would have surely been a record of it somewhere.
Soon enough, the truth was revealed. The “Give Daddy the Knife” film never existed, and Naz Nomad and the Nightmares was actually England’s prized punk band, the Damned — operating under a pseudonym. At the time the group cut the record, interest in garage rock was hot and heavy, with compilation albums like “Pebbles,” “Back From The Grave,” and “Highs In The Mid-60s” introducing kids left and right to obscurities from days gone by. The Damned had always cited these nuggets as inspiration, so they were perfectly suited to do what they did.
Revisited with enthusiasm, energy and edginess, covers of the Litter’s “Action Woman,” Big Boy Pete’s “Cold Turkey,” the Electric Prunes’ “I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night),” the Seeds’ “The Wind Blows Your Hair,” Them’s “I Can Only Give You Everything,” the Human Beinz’ “Nobody But Me,” the Rockin’ Ramrods’ “She Lied,” Kim Fowley’s “The Trip” and Paul Revere and the Raiders’ “Kicks” are among the items included on the record. A pair of original compositions, “(Do You Know) I Know” and “Just Call Me Sky,” an ode to Sky Saxon of the Seeds, also appear on the album.
Armed with an obligatory repertoire of scratchy fuzz guitars, pumping Farfisa organs, shaking tambourines, trashy drum beats and bare-boned vocals, Naz Nomad and the Nightmares channel the spirit of 1960s garage rock with impressive results. But those with technically inclined ears will note the production is a bit too refined to be a genuine ’60s recording.
Nonetheless, the Give Daddy the Knife Candy disc (reissued by Dionysus Records in 2004) rates fairly high on the cool factor, and will definitely turn the crank of connoisseurs of both vintage and second generation garage rock.
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