Want some bang for your buck? Here's a 60's garage rock disc that's outstanding and not too well-known, yet common enough that it won't set you back more than a few bucks. The Third Booth were a Peoria, IL band, the same town that produced the previously blogged Suburban 9 to 5. "I Need Love" made the lower rungs of the national charts in mid-1968, thus explaining why copies aren't too tough to locate these days.
The record opens with a bit of fuzzed out distortion, followed by a storm of pounding drums and ringing guitar. The vocals are spot on for a garage rocker and include some backing oohs, aahs and the like. But what really makes "I Need Love" for me is the generous helping of organ, including an excellent break. It gives the song a slightly haunting feel. Pretty cool for an up-tempo banger. It's been comped several times and should be relatively easy to find on CD, if that's your medium of choice.
To get your full money's worth, maybe you should seek out the 45, after all. That's because there's also something worthwhile on the flipside. "Mysteries" is a slower song, taken at mid-tempo but isn't much less garagey. The vocals are softer but somewhat moody and, while I'm no expert, it sounds like it's played in a minor key to accentuate that moodiness. All in all, an outstanding record that's among the best values for your garage rock dollar.
12 comments:
It is a great record...the group was from Pekin, Illinois, which is downstate from Chicago. Got a huge amount of airplay in Chicago and the rest of the midwest. It's not so cheap anymore, though; a copy just went for $22 on EBay.
Thanks Stuart, $22 is a bit more than I thought it'd go for. You know how eBay can be though. Patience is a virtue. I'd read about the Chicago airplay, particularly WLS. Not sure if it got spun in my hometown of Indy or not.
Great tune. I have it on a few comps but have never come across the 45 (though there are a couple of Montanas 45s on that label that seem to turn up everywhere).
Larry, yeah I have one of those Montanas records.
Brian, my copy of the Third Booth record has some surface noise on the b-side.
I have two copies of "I Need Love," both of which look cleaner than they sound. I don't know anything on this label other than the Third Booth and the Montanas.
"I Need Love" was played a lot on a local Top-40 outlet, WLLL in Lynchburg, VA. Triple-L had a tendency to play punkish 45's like "I Need Love", and thus were a treat to listen to. Luckily, my copy is pristine. It was great to be reminded of the tune and it sounded teriffic when I played it!
Lately I've found alot of great records on this label. Solid 60s pop with garage rawness.
Like what other records? I'm curious!
just wanted to let ya know THE THIRD BOOTH was a local band from the canton,il area ! it s lead singer was j.c.clore a very talented musician from canton ! one member was from the cuba-smithfield area and another cantonite deb rodney was in the band ! story has it they all hung out at the local rexall drug store (lewis pharmacy)and sat in the third booth there , thus became the bands name ! the booth is still there and the store is now the sweet shop ! ive heard there may still be initials cut into the the tabletop there ! really neat bit of history !!
We were a little band from Bushnell (west of Peoria) and Third Booth and the Doors were our heros. I have the Independence release 45 of "I Need Love" setting on a table next to me.
"I Need Love" is one of the great 60s garage band songs.
Was #2 on Chicago's WLS top 40 in the summer of 1968 behind Jumpin' Jack Flash
They were actually from Canton, Illinois. They got their name from sitting in the 3rd booth of the local soda/pharmacy shop.
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