The Chosen Few - Lucille/It Just Don't Rhyme

Keeping with the Indiana theme, here's another record from the Hoosier State. This one is a 1960's garage rock disc by the Chosen Few, a band I've seen listed variously as from Muncie, Anderson and Indianapolis. I believe this is also the same Chosen Few that went on to record singles for the Talun label, release a late 60's album on RCA and later become Limousine and finally the Faith Band in the 1970's. Today's record dates from 1967 and is the band's second release on the Denim label. Alas, their early singles are quite elusive, so I haven't heard the first Denim record.

The a-side here, as listed on the label is "Lucille". It's a remake of the Little Richard classic. It won't make you forget the original but is quite good in its own way. This version is an r&b influenced pounder, designed to get you up on your feet. It has a big beat, some nice organ work and lots of wailing harmonica. You're also "treated" to the same live audience sound effects present on all of those Kingsmen albums. And an announcer comes on at the beginning and says, "And now to turn you on, we present the Chosen Few!". He sounds like the guy who did the voiceovers on all of those 60's radio spots for Coke. You know, the one who'd say something like, "The Fortunes on about Coca-Cola".

Over on the flipside, we have what I consider to be the main attraction of this record. "It Just Don't Rhyme" has a lot of the same attributes as "Lucille". It's tailor made for dancing, with lots of organ and a shot of rhythm & blues. In fact, listening to this record, I can imagine the Chosen Few were a really hot live attraction, playing lots of sweaty, hip-shakin' dance floor fillers. "It Just Don't Rhyme" is heavier on the guitar and is what I assume a band original. The lyrics aren't very clear though. I've listened to it countless times and still can't decipher most of the words. All I can tell for sure is that the singer knows a girl whose mind and body don't go together. I assume that means she looks older than she acts but not sure. The words aren't too important though. The song itself is more than compelling enough to hold my interest. It was comped on one of the Michigan volumes in the Highs of the Mid-Sixties series of all places. Like a lot of garage compilations, I guess that one's not long on accuracy.