Cherry Red always does this kind of thing so well. So high hopes for the Pushin’ Too Hard – American Garage Punk 1964-1967 box set.
Pushin’ Too Hard is a 94-track celebration of 1960s garage punk. Admittedly, if you have all the Nuggets stuff, you might well have this covered. But if you don’t, have a look at the track listings here. It’s an impressive collection.
At least, it is if garage punk is your genre. Fuzz guitars, swirling organs, harmonicas, thumping drums and slightly aggressive vocals – you know the type of thing. Just think of the title track of this box set for an example.
It wasn’t called garage punk back in the day. That’s a term that was added some years later as a catch-all for the kind of thing you have here. Bands inspired by the ‘British invasion’ acts plus home-grown sons like surf, blues and folk rock. Bands formed, played locally and occasionally broke out. Others drifted into obscurity before being re-found years later.
Of the ones who made it are the likes of The Seeds, The Sonics, The Standells, The Shadows Of Knight, The Thirteenth Floor Elevators, Love, and The Electric Prunes. Some even had US Billboard hits, like The Strangeloves with ‘I Want Candy’, The Castaways and ‘Liar, Liar’, The Bobby Fuller Four with ‘I Fought The Law’ (#9), and The Seeds with ‘Pushin’ Too Hard’. This wasn’t just kids in a garage practising.
But some of it was more niche, so the box set mixes names like the ones above with rarities from The Blue Beats, The Dirty Wurds, The Apparitions, The Bedlam Four and The Jackals – released here on CD for the first time while many other tracks have never been released in the UK before.
94 tracks over three discs and available to pre-order now ahead of the January 19th 2024 release. It sells for £23.99.
Find out more at the Amazon website
TRACK LISTING
DISC ONE
1. The Rangers – Justine
2. Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs – Wooly Bully
3. The Strangeloves – I Want Candy
4. The Barbarians – Are You A Boy Or Are You A Girl
5. The Denims – I’m Your Man
6. The Castaways – Liar, Liar
7. The Remains – Why Do I Cry
8. The Beau Brummels – Just A Little
9. The Seeds Featuring Sky Saxon – Pushin’ Too Hard (Unedited Version)
10. The Leaves – Too Many People (Single Version)
11. The Front Line – Got Love (Trident Version)
12. The Brogues – I Ain’t No Miracle Worker
13. The Standells – Rari (Extended Version)
14. The Spades – You’re Gonna Miss Me
15. The Lyrics – So What!!
16. The Mad Hatters – I Need Love
17. Don & The Goodtimes – Little Sally Tease
18. The Coastliners – Alright
19. The McCoys – Fever
20. The Bobby Fuller Four – I Fought The Law (Single Version)
21. The JuJus – You Treat Me Bad
22. The Girls – My Baby
23. The Raymarks – Louise
24. The Emperor’s – I Want My Woman
25. Paul Revere & The Raiders – Just Like Me
26. Liverpool Five – Heart (Album Version)
27. The Bad Seeds – A Taste Of The Same
28. Merrell & The Exiles – She’s Gone
29. The Bees – Forget Me Girl
30. The Misunderstood – Don’t Break Me Down
31. The Seeds – Out Of The Question (Version 1, Take 1)
DISC TWO
1. The Thirteenth Floor Elevators – Tried To Hide (Single Version)
2. Love – My Little Red Book
3. The Mojo Men – She’s My Baby (Autumn Version)
4. The Electric Prunes – Ain’t It Hard
5. Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band – Diddy Wah Diddy
6. Dirty Wurds – Mellow Down Easy
7. The Outcasts – I’m In Pittsburgh (And It’s Raining)
8. The Knickerbockers – One Track Mind
9. Rocky & The Riddlers – Flash And Crash
10. The Dimensions – Knock You Flat
11. The Unusuals – I’m Walking, Babe
12. The Shadows Of Knight – Dark Side
13. We The People – Mirror Of Your Mind
14. Sterling Damon – Rejected
15. The Soothsayers – Please, Don’t Be Mad
16. The Esquires – Judgement Day
17. The Century’s – Hard Times
18. The Sonics – You Got Your Head On Backwards
19. Link Wray & The Raymen – Hidden Charms
20. The Misunderstood – Thunder ‘N’ Lightnin’
21. Zakary Thaks – She’s Got You
22. The Squires – Going All The Way
23. The Blue Beats – Extra Girl
24. The Free-For-All – Show Me The Way
25. Chris Morgan & The Togas – There She Goes
26. The Executioners – I Want The Rain (Vocal)
27. Limey & The Yanks – Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind
28. The Apparitions – She’s So Satisfyin’
29. The Hustlers – If You Try
30. The Echoes Of Carnaby Street – No Place Or Time
31. Sparkles – No Friend Of Mine
32. Velvet Illusions – Velvet Illusions
DISC THREE
1. The Standells – Barracuda
2. We The People – You Burn Me Up And Down
3. The Rationals – I Need You
4. The Other Half – Mr. Pharmacist
5. Neal Ford & The Fanatics – Shame On You
6. The Choir – It’s Cold Outside
7. The Newbeats – Top Secret
8. The Fire Escape – Love Special Delivery
9. ? & The Mysterians – Girl (You Captivate Me)
10. The Third Bardo – I’m Five Years Ahead Of My Time
11. Ken & The Forth Dimension – See If I Care
12. The Off-Beats – Tired Of Crying
13. The Mistics – Why Baby Why
14. The Headstones – Bad Day Blues
15. Roy Junior (Roy Acuff Jr.) – Victim Of Circumstances
16. The Sparkles – Hipsville 29 B.C. (I Need Help)
17. The Jackals – Love Times Eight
18. The Galaxies IV – Piccadilly Circus
19. Front Page News – Thoughts
20. Fenwyck – Mindrocker
21. The Jefferson Handerchief – I’m Allergic To Flowers
22. The Buddhas – Lost Innocence
23. The Ohio Express – Try It
24. Tidal Waves – Action! (Speaks Louder Than Words)
25. The Liberty Bell – For What You Lack
26. Thursdays Children – You Can Forget About That
27. The Jades – Come Back
28. The Checkmates – Talk To Me
29. The New Yorkers – Again
30. Georgy & The Velvet Illusions – Mini Shimmy
31. The Bedlam Four – No One Left To Love
