Graham Day and his compadres Wolf Howard and Allan Crockford have been part of the fabric of British garage rock for decades now. Yet, unless you’re a fan of the Medway sound via Billy Childish, you probably haven’t heard of them. You’ve been missing out, but fear not! This reissue with three extra tracks is an ideal starting point.
From The Prisoners to The Senior Service, Day has quietly been carving a career in quality tunes, be they of a garage, mod or psychedelic flavour. You can rely on him to come up with the goods. Put simply, he’s as good as Weller thinks he is.
From the opening title track, it doesn’t disappoint. ‘Mary’ has the immediacy of Steve Marriott fronting The Who, especially with the fluid bass line. ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Mind’ brings out the wah-wah and flailing drums, while ‘I Am The Fisherman’ has a melody and harmonies worthy of The Flamin’ Groovies.
‘Sitar Spangled Banner’ is one of Day’s favoured instrumentals, complete with Hammond. Of the extras, ‘Love Me Lies’ sees Graham flex his fingers, some far out solos, as does Hendrix cover ‘Freedom’, an equally groovy hip-shaker, and ’30-60-90’ is another instrumental which The Fuzztones and The Morlocks should be fighting over.
Most tracks are live, with vocals recorded in one take, and all the better for it. If you love your garage rock, this is the perfect introduction to Graham Day’s back catalogue. While gigs are rare, on 26th May, The Forefathers play Margate Mod and 60s Festival.
Buy ‘Good Things’ Here
Author: Martin Chamarette
Recent Comments