Syndicate (usa/ca)
The Egyptian Thing
A collection of rare '60s L.A. garage rock taken from the band's 7-inches, plus four so far unreleased period recordings. The 8-page booklet offers pictures and band history by Mike Stax. The story of the Syndicate runs along similar lines to countless other rock'n'roll bands in the mid-sixties. They got together to have fun, made some noise on the local teen scene, recorded a couple of singles and then vanished into thin air, all within the space of the magical years 1965 and 1966. What makes the Syndicate special are those two hard-to-find singles. 'My Baby's Barefoot' and 'The Egyptian Thing', both released in 1965 are two of the most savage, hot-wired blasts of punk R&B mayhem ever etched into wax, while the flipside of 'The Egyptian Thing', entitled 'She Haunts You', showed the group were equally adept at moody, minor-key material. The 'Egyptian Thing' album presents the band's four A's & B's alongside four unreleased, same-calibre tracks from the same period, and an earlier 45 by the Ris-Kays featuring Syndicate front man Bill Rash. The ultimate Syndicate collection offers an unforgettable '60s garage-punk adventure.