The Midwest
Distortions by The Litter (1967)
With a debut album called Distortions, you pretty much know what you’re getting. The Minneapolis rockers hit the ground running with a dynamite track written by their producer, Warren Kendrick. “Action Woman” is a blast of distorted guitar courtesy of Zip Caplan and the massive drums of Tom Murray. Singer Denny Waite holds his own in the middle of the storm. The sound far surpasses most of what was called garage rock at the time.
And that’s just the start. The Litter chose their covers well, doing a Cream-like version of the Skip James’ blues classic “I’m So Glad,” and a trippy take on Buffy Marie-Saint’s “Codine” built on Jim Kane’s bass. And there are a couple of Who songs tossed into the mix – an even faster version than the original “Substitute” and an even more distorted (of course) cover of “A Legal Matter.”
They close with an explosive “I’m a Man.” Throughout, the sound pours out of the speakers. The Litter went through more breakups and reconciliations than a Tuesday afternoon soap opera. The band stayed hot, but the sound grew a bit more generic.
Gloria by the Shadows of Knight (1966)
You can listen to both and decide for yourself whether you prefer the aforementioned Hangmen or the legendary Chicago blues rockers Shadows of Knight cover of Van Morrison’s “Gloria.” When Jimy Sohns sings it, it rivals Morrison’s iconic original. And like the Blues Project, Shadows takes a turn with Muddy Waters, only they are cranking out of kicking version of “I Got My Mojo Working.”
Warren Rogers’ guitar has plenty of fun with John Lee Hooker’s “Boom Boom” and does the requisite Chuck Berry riff on “Let it Rock,” which also features bass player Joseph Kelly pulling double duty on harmonica.
They close out Gloria with three straight Willie Dixon classics that show off their blues pedigree. But Sohns and Rogers contribute a couple of strong originals as well – a hard-rocking “It Always Happens This Way” and “Darkside,” which even flirts with a bit of ELP-style psychedelia. Sohns died a few years ago, causing a lot of old-time Chicago-area music fans to dig through their old LPs and give “Gloria” another spin.
Fever Tree by Fever Tree (1968)
The fabulous tension in Houston’s Fever Tree grew out of the dueling impulses of guitarist Michael Knust and keyboardist Rob Landes. It allowed them to explore hard rock blues, which was well suited to singer Dennis Keller’s baritone, as well as more classically-inspired progressive rock. It’s right there in the opening two tracks from the self-titled debut album. “Imitation Situation1” could be a Sergio Leone composition. It transitions instantly into the blues rock of “Where Do You Go?” Often, they explored both sides of that sound within the same song.
The third track on Fever Tree was their one and only hit – “San Francisco Girls” is virtually perfect psychedelia, with Landes’ harpsichord and organ miraculously finding a way to fit in with Knust’s guitar solos. A lot of their songs were written by Knust or Landes along with their producers Scott and Vivian Holtzman. But they may have been at their best doing spaced-out covers, as on Wilson Pickett’s “Ninety-nine and One Half,” which again throws multiple synth sounds into the guitar-driven blues stomp.
They also tackle a Beatles medley, with Landes’ synth harpsichord opening a window on “Day Tripper” before interpolating a bit of both “Eleanor Rigby” and “We Can Work it Out.” Finally, they do a downright lovely version of some Buffalo Springfield-era Neil Young on “Nowadays Clancy Can’t Even Sing.” The band split up after a few more albums. Landes went on to an eclectic career in Houston as a writer, arranger, and performer. Knust occasionally put new lineups together, but Fever Tree never recaptured that early tension.