This garage rock extravaganza unearths rarities and spotlights classic tracks from the vaults of Stax, Original Sound, Vanguard and Fantasy Records.

A follow-up to the 2019 Record Store Day title ‘Poppies: Assorted Finery From the First Psychedelic Age’, ‘Double Whammy!’ surveys another influential underground scene of the 1960s: garage rock—or, as compilation producer Alec Palao describes it, “The American grass roots response to the British Invasion.” Thanks to the popularity of rock acts like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, bands without formal training or a slick, studio-tweaked sound suddenly had an opportunity for recognition and radio play. It was the beginning of an exciting new cultural era—one that celebrated the raw energy of youth culture, and where possibilities seemed limitless.

Focusing on the period between 1965 and 1968, the set features such legendary acts as the Music Machine, the Vagrants and Count Five, as well as lesser-known groups like Sacramento’s Group “B,” New York City’s Circus Maximus and Memphis’ the Poor Little Rich Kids. The 16-track LP also includes three previously unreleased tracks. Pressed on limited-edition translucent blue vinyl in a foil-wrapped jacket, the package includes liner notes from Alec Palao, who offers an in-depth look into each song on the compilation. Limited to 2,800 copies worldwide.

Double Whammy! A 1960s Garage Rock Rave-Up is also be available across all digital platforms on October 30th.

Interview with Alec Palao

The compilation is a follow-up to the 2019 Record Store Day title: ‘Poppies: Assorted Finery From the First Psychedelic Age, Double Whammy!’. What can we expect from the latest release?

Alec Palao: A 1960s garage compilation on vinyl, the format in which I became familiar with the genre back in the last 1970s, and certainly, outside of the original 45s, the best way that you can appreciate this kind of music. Programmed to entertain as much as educate.

How did the project of ‘Double Whammy! A 1960s Garage Rock Rave-Up’ start?

I’d been having discussions with Concord’s A&R department about the various vintage catalogues they control, and suggested some vinyl compilations as a way to shine a light upon some of the gems in those catalogues – most obviously so the material would be “polished up” for use in movies or ads, but also as a entertaining way to showcase some of the great and under-appreciated stuff they have in the vaults from Original Sound, Double Shot, Stax, Fantasy, Vanguard and other classic 60s labels.

How difficult was it to choose the tracks and what can you say about the mastering project?

Thanks to my familiarity with the repertoire, the initial compilation process probably took about five minutes! Seriously though, the only difficulty was deciding what to leave out because of the time restriction of the vinyl format. In most cases, thanks to my work for Ace/Big Beat and other companies, I had already gotten access to most of the master tape sources over the years so it was fairly straightforward to assemble the audio. Several of the unissued tracks needed to be mixed, which for me is always a very important stage in the process, because it is imperative I get the balance to match the other tracks that come from original singles or LP masters, as well as to authentically reflect the original feel and intentions of studio, producer or artist.

Focusing on the period between 1965 and 1968, the set features such legendary acts as the Music Machine, the Vagrants and Count Five, as well as lesser-known groups like Sacramento’s Group “B,” New York City’s Circus Maximus and Memphis’ the Poor Little Rich Kids. The 16-track LP also includes three previously unreleased tracks. Would you like to share a few words about some of the most interesting tracks? How did you come across the unreleased tracks?

As mentioned, I already had, or knew about, most of the contents of ‘Double Whammy!’, and of the completely unreleased cuts, storming tracks like ‘Can’t Get Enough’ by the Pullice or ‘Attention’ by Lonnie Duvall had been burning a hole on my hard-drive for many years, so it was great to have a project to get them out to the world to enjoy. A fair amount of the contents of the album were originally unissued, such as the alternate ending to ‘Psychotic Reaction’, but this is the first time any of those tracks have appeared on vinyl. Two I would single out are Joey Paige’s ‘Cause I’m In Love With You’, which was written by the Stones’ Bill Wyman, and I used the rare promo 45 mix that has a spoken intro by Wyman. And the full-length extended (by ten seconds!) take of the Music Machine’s classic ‘The People In Me,’ drawn from the original 10-track session tape, which comes to a proper end rather than a fade. I sent it to lead guitarist Mark Landon and he couldn’t remember it ever ending that way!

What else currently occupies your life?

Plenty more archival projects of all kinds, of course, and some more “viagra” rock LOL, this time with The Seeds. We have just prepared a new single for the groovy Hypnotic Bridge label which will be out soon!

Craft Recordings Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / YouTube