Various
The Gaiety Records Story, Vol. 2
At last, a second collection of rare singles from the label that produced the cream of the mid-sixties crop of Canadian garage, punk, and psychedelic music! The Gaiety roster was rich in talent (the 49th Parallel, Jarvis Street Review, and Souls of Inspyration, not to mention the Checkerlads, White Knights, Dewline, Tomorrow's Keepsake, NRG, Merriday Park, and Portland Street South)-but it was not rich in resources, which is why these singles are so incredibly rare. This second Gaiety Records volume has twenty-four tracks in all, ranging from the ferocious punk psych of Solid Reputations Lies to the wonderfully druggy (and truly demented) Ode to a Cucumber, A Berry, and A Flower", a song that deserves to be in the pantheon of weird psychedelia right alongside the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Bands Help, Im a Rock. NRGs UK psych-inspired Magic Man, much in demand in collectors circles, is here in all its glory-along with six other tracks by this underrated band, including the psychedelic groover Withcraft. Other highlights are four more terrific beat/pop songs from the Plague and Lexington Avenue (bands who would become better known later as Jarvis Street Review). Tracks by the Checkerlads, Tomorrow's Keepsake, Flying Colours, Portland Street South, round out the disc, and (we hope) bring pleasure to everyone.