Tuesday, August 09, 2005

The Inexpensive Handmade Look: What Good Is Up?/Ice Cream Man (Brunswick 55334)


And the one-shots continue to pour in! It may seem strange that this garage-psych item would appear on Brunswick, as that label was better known for Jackie Wilson and other soul artists, but that's what happened. "Ice Cream Man" is a garage punker with snotty, Dylan-esque vocals and cool fuzz in which the singer wails about his travails as the man of the title. "What Good Is Up?" is even better. Here we get some good hard psych in waltz time with searing harmonica, smokin' guitar and lots and lots of echo effects. The singer sings a lot of so-called profundities like "What good is up when all roads lead down," or something like that, but you won't care. You'll be too swept up in the whirlwind of sound to notice. This particular track was comped on the difficult-to-find "Psychedelic Disaster Whirl" compilation LP. The single appears to be the only thing this group ever did. It came out in 1967. And, as the singer says, "I know the truth is written, if you look for it."

1 comment:

Todd Lucas said...

"What Good Is Up?" is also comped on 30 Seconds Before The Calico Wall.