Sunday, July 09, 2017

Freddy & the Four-Gone Conclusions Wigged Out Sounds

Action-packed with fuzz, folk-rock, beat and R&B, “The Wigged Out Sounds” present Freddy and Co. back on the forefront of the middle-sixties garage scene they helped re-open and restore so many years ago.  Freddy’s bands and songs have always stood out from the pack because of their ability to demonstrate a Riot on Sunset Strip sense of urgency underneath Gold Star Studios harmonies and melodies.   The band’s essential element is Freddy’s versatile and veritable voice--that can scorch and sneer like a post-baseball/pre-metal Jim Sohns and then curve into the sweetest ‘60s pop. A live favorite from the ol’ Gold Dollar in Detroit to the Gold Coast in Las Vegas, the single "Today" opens up the album with its striking folk-rock jangle and valiant harmonies that rivals anything on Renaissance by the Association. (The only thing missing is a shrink-wrap sticker demanding that Ben Franklin and Woolco record shoppers, “Tune-In TODAY to the Wigged Out Sounds!”) The piercing, snarling and Tax-ing "Fell from Grace" hooks and lifts the band over the their competitors and the corrosive Detroit river a la the front cover of the first Outsiders album.  "I Can't See You" surges like a live-wire charged with uncoiling freakbeat as seen through the unraveled vision of Arthur Lee.  Halting and haunting are the first two words that tumble down on the keyboard to describe their centerpiece cover of Del Shannon’s "Stand Up." Max Crook and his Musitron organ even appears on this stunning rendering that puts an instant smile on the face and leaves its indelible melody in the head for days.   Like a mid-sixties top 40 boss radio station, the hits keep a coming (each with their own singular and distinct nature) like the forlorn folk-beat of “Cry in Shame” and the fierce fuzz storm of “(Come on Over) To My Side.”  An Ian & the Zodiacs song “Why Can’t It be Me?” is given an American garage overhaul to pleadingly express the stinging sentiment which waylays in the hallways, sidewalks and teardrop driveways of life. With their instantly captivating and built to endure “Wigged Out Sounds,” Freddy & the Four-Gone Conclusions have fulfilled the tall orders and high expectations of listeners around the world.  Moreover, they have continued the big legacy already set by “Little Girl,” “Little Black Egg,” and “Little Annie Lou” with their own “Little Bit O’ Soul.”

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