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The premise alone is enough to set your head a-spinning. First, start with a bunch of sixties garage bands, the kind immortalized on the legendary Lenny Kaye<\/strong>-curated Nuggets<\/em> album. Now flash forward to the 1980s and beyond, when a second wave of bands spring up in tribute to the garage\/psych sound of yesteryear. Now flash forward again to the 21st<\/sup> century, and have a number of those original 60s acts get back together to pay tribute to arguably the finest of those second-wave bands. Got it?<\/p>\n Well, get it. Because that’s the thinking that led to the new compilation In Fuzz We Trust: 60s Garage Legends Salute the Fuzztones<\/em>. Rudi Protrudi<\/strong><\/a>‘s group existed and exists to re-create (with original-ish tunes) the sound and style of bands like Gonn<\/strong> and The Music Machine<\/strong>, so even though they’re from different eras, their spirits are decidedly kindred.<\/p>\n Now, I’ll bet you didn’t know that some of those old bands were still around. And as it happens, some of ’em actually aren’t, now. In fact several of the artists featured on In Fuzz We Trust<\/em> have, sadly, passed from this dimension. Sean Bonniwell<\/strong> (Music Machine) and Arthur Lee<\/strong> (Love<\/strong>) are featured with The Electric Prunes<\/a><\/strong> and The Pretty Things<\/strong><\/a>(!) on a cover of The Fuzztones<\/strong>‘ \u201cAll the King’s Horses,\u201d even though Bonniwell passed in 2011, and Lee even earlier in 2006. The Seeds<\/strong>‘ Sky Saxon<\/strong> (\u201cGet Naked\u201d) died in 2009, and Electric Prunes bassist Mark Tulin<\/strong> passed away in 2011. So clearly this project has been in development for awhile.<\/p>\n And it’s been worth the wait. Over the last several years, the American expat band \u2013 now based in Berlin \u2013 has mounted any number of theme-based albums: Horny as Hell<\/em><\/a> employed brass and Hammond(!) organ; Illegitimate Spawn<\/em><\/a> collected younger bands influenced by The Fuzztones, and the recent Snake Oil<\/em><\/a> rounded up a bunch of groovy Fuzztones rarities and odds and ends. So in some ways, In Fuzz We Trust<\/em> is just the latest theme package.<\/p>\n But it’s much more. It’s thrilling to hear some of those 60s bands (some of whom remain pretty obscure) crank it up and attack Fuzztones songs. Soundtrack heroes Davie Allan and the Arrows<\/strong> blast things off in style with \u201cAvalanche,\u201d and things keep rolling from there. Shadows of Knight<\/strong> fold some, er, familiar riffs into a cover of \u201cI Never Knew,\u201d and elsewhere everybody’s favorite tonsured rockers The Monks<\/strong> take on \u201cHurt on Hold.\u201d<\/p>\n Question Mark and the Mysterians<\/strong> \u2013 one of the best live bands around today, no kidding<\/a> \u2013 are a perfect fit for \u201cActions Speak Louder Than Words,\u201d and Gonn tear into \u201cHallucination Generation.\u201d And while some of these vintage bands don’t include all of the original members (c’mon now; what did you expect in 2013?), Strawberry Alarm Clock<\/strong> core members Mark Weitz<\/strong> and Randy Seol<\/strong> turn in a nice reading of \u201cCharlotte’s Remains\u201d (also found on SAC’s latest album, 2012’s Wake Up Where You Are<\/em>. Long Island legends The Vagrants<\/strong> might not have Leslie West<\/strong> in the band these days, but their version of Rudi’s \u201cNine Months Later\u201d still rocks pretty hard. And Vanilla Fudge<\/strong>‘s rhythm section (Bassist Tim Bogert<\/strong> and drummer-to-the-stars Carmine Appice<\/strong><\/a>) make \u201cmincemeat\u201d (according to Protrudi’s liner notes) out of The Fuzztones’ \u201cBlack Box.\u201d<\/p>\n
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