With its galvanizing wake up call of “We’re Completely the Same” Daniel Hortter delivers an opening salvo for the times on the driving “The Two of Us.” Hortter has mentioned that the song was derived from the intolerance that he and his black girlfriend faced for being in an interracial relationship at the time. Musically, this jolting and fierce song stops listeners in their tracks to be in the now with a sound similar to Rare Earth, Eric Burdon and Arthur Brown. Propelled by copious congas, “Little Woman” sweeps down like the cool Canadian air mass known as the Guess Who before spiraling into a guitar freakout. The flared-out and heavy duty "Crowd Pleaser” enters the scene with its propulsive drumming and flashes of wah-wah slotting them somewhere between Blue Cheer, Black Pearl and Deep Purple. Being such an evocative and monster song, it's surprising that "Crowd Pleaser" has not yet been tapped to be featured in a television series and/or on movie soundtrack. After all this righteous ruckus, “Never Put Away My Love For You,” surprises listeners with its softness bordering on Bee Gees wispiness. This offset sound is actually not a stretch at all as the Yellow Payges were even known to have the smooth Herman's Hermits hit “There's a Kind of Hush” in their 1968 live repertoire. Given they first made their name as the house band at The Hullabaloo on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, versatility was their calling card and this adeptness allowed them to span several '60s crosscurrents. In their current configuration, they were able to pull off impressive live covers of Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston’s “It Takes Two” and the epic "River Deep – Mountain High,” All roads lead to their showstopper “I’m a Man/Here ‘Tis” as it demonstrates their unwavering devotion to gritty rhythm & blues and the rough & tumble influences of Bo Diddley, Yardbirds and Eric Burdon and the Animals in particular. With its vocals through a megaphone effect, primal production and Daniel Hortter on harp, “I’m a Man/Here ‘Tis” sounds either like it's from 1966 or something from a garage punk band that Crypt Records would have unleashed in 1996. This rave up builds and builds before being topped off by an incendiary drum solo pounded out by Danny Gorman. Volume 1 presents an overall hard-edged iteration of the band stamped with metallic tinges and some road wear so prevalent during the late hours of the '60s. It's almost a blessing that the standout selections contained within never became national hits as they might now be cursed by classic rock radio redundancy. Nonetheless, they more than paid their dues during the upended late '60s with the results being songs that continue to endure with a message and delivery for the ages.
Volume 1 was actually the tip of the iceberg as the band had an extensive past that stretched back to 1965 and the surf music scene of Torrance and the Sunset Strip of Hollywood, The band went on to appear with the Byrds, the Leaves, the Seeds, the Doors, Love, Buffalo Springfield, Grateful Dead, Turtles and even toured 6-months with the Beach Boys. They were all set to tour Japan in 1968 with Eric Burdon and the Animals, but things fell through. Yet, it might have been fortuitous as the Animals encountered problems with visas and the Yakuza. On a side note, Volume 1 surprisingly appeared in the Japanese record store racks upon my visit to Osaka in 2019. Upon inspection, this particular disc didn’t travel over the Pacific to reach Time Bomb Records as Big Pink Music of Korea remastered and reissued Volume 1 in 2015.
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| 2013 L to R: Daniel Hortter, Danny Gorman (drums, the Palace Guard), Michael Rummans (bass, the Sloths), Dave Provost (guitar, Droogs, the Textones, Davie Allan & the Arrows) |
The music industry probably pressed them to be the next Grass Roots, while their true direction aligned them in the direction of the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds and R&B. In that regard, the hard working band from Torrance were one of the most commercially successful mid-sixties acts of the Long Beach/San Pedro/South Bay scene that produced the Music Machine, the Merry-Go-Round the Sons of Adam, Things to Come, Power and the adjacent Westside act the Sloths. Michael Rummans of the Sloths joined the Yellow Payges in 1967 and then again during their 2013 reformation. His topflight bass playing reminded me of Bruce Foxton of the Jam. Not settling in or on one particular style may have smudged the Yellow Payges in their and/or Uni Records’s attempts to make them a national household name. Their aptly named posthumous singles collection "Crowd Pleasers" presents a refreshing variety of songs that are stylistically diverse as AM radio's Top 40 of the time with occasional descents into the freeform FM underground. Still, being all things to all people is exhausting and possibly led to their demise.
Their first single “Never See the Good In Me” features Daniel Hortter’s almost scat like singing accompanied by some coiling sitar runs which assert their presence and attests to their adventurous approach from the start. The sweeping showdown of "Jezebel" under its Southwestern shadings is my favorite rendition I have heard thus far of this oft-covered rockabilly/garage staple. With a stinging fuzz lead riding over the galloping rhythm guitars, harmony galore and all strapped together by a bending bass "Our Time is Running Out" is their most magnificent single ride and side in their 45 rack. The Jimmy Webb inscribed "Sweet Sunshine" makes for another highlight that rises and rises on the energy of its radiant, soulful and poppy chorus. "Judge Carter"is decent horn rock a la the Buckinghams with an especially noteworthy overlapping horn outro. If "Just What I was Looking For" resembles a languorous Monkees song, it’s not a coincidence as it was written by Goffin/King who regularly lavished the Monkees with their gifts of composition. Featuring a jingle-jangle folk-pop sound and going back home theme, "Home Alone" is their great lost buried B-side. Decorated by a Hammond organ and complemented by early Cryan' Shames-ish chiming guitars, "Home Alone" (like the aforementioned “I’m a Man” on its top side) elusively avoids to sound like its release year of 1970-by five intense years! The Complete Yellow Payges Singles '67-'70 reveals so many additional sonic layers, facets and dimensions of this highly regarded and competent band, all while being extremely listenable. Their current live performances attest to their undeterred way of approaching the present moment with soul, wisdom and idealism of the mid-sixties and making the most of the opportunity to continue creating sounds that are needed and now.
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| Daniel Hortter in 2019 wearing the yellow blazer for the first time in 50 years. Danny Gorman on drums. |
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