Tuesday, September 13, 2005

The Downliners Sect: Little Egypt/Sect Appeal (Smash S-1954)

TWO-SIDER ALERT! But what else could it be considering it's from one of Britain's leading purveyors of raw R&B-based rock 'n' roll? I'm talking about the one and only Downliners Sect. And with this, you get two blasts of Sect greatness for the price of one! Can't beat that, can you?

This is the Sect's second single. What's strange is it also holds the distinction of being The Sect's only release on a U.S. label. Smash picked it up from U.K. Columbia and distributed it here to nil response, then never tried again. Neither did anyone else. Too bad. The Downliners Sect were to remain an obscurity until Mike Stax came along, but that's a whole 'nother story.

Anyway, "Little Egypt" is The Coasters' version beaten up and battered as only The Sect can. It opens with loud carnival sound effects and we get Sect leader Don Crain doing the "hurry, hurry, hurry, see Little Egypt for one dime schtick" before the band gets down to business and starts rockin' out. They don't stop for no one with a barage of loud guitar and rough, snotty vocals.

"Sect Appeal" is even better. Boasting a propulsive Bo Diddley-style beat, this one's got it all, great raw guitar work, thumping bass and snarling vocals, not to mention the 135 MPH drumming. This one's kind of one of the band's theme songs (like "Be A Sect Maniac") and it's got enough sonic power to melt down all your neighbors! Now, that I can dig!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Notice the "Recorded in England" disclaimer. When this came out in early 1965, the British Invasion was going full throttle and record companies would put any reference to England they could on a record label in the hope of grabbing a DJ's eye.