Bad Seeds & Liberty Bell - Bad Seeds & Liberty Bell (1966 - 1967)

Bad Seeds & Liberty Bell - Bad Seeds & Liberty Bell (1966 - 1967)

The Bad Seeds were the first rock group of note to come out of Corpus Christi, Texas, itself a hotbed of
garage-rock activity during the middle/late 1960s. They started when guitarist/singer Mike Taylor and bassist
Henry Edgington, then member of a local band called the Four Winds, met up with lead guitarist Rod Prince and
drummer Robert Donahoe, who had been playing in a rival band called the Titans until its demise. Prince wanted
to form a new group, and he, Taylor and Edgeington became the core of the Bad Seeds, who were signed to the
local J-Beck label in 1966. They stayed together long enough to record three singles during 1966, of which two,
"A Taste of the Same"/"I'm a King Bee" and "All Night Long"/"Sick and Tired," are unabashed classics of
blues-based garage-punk, three of them originals by Taylor (who wrote most of their originals) or Prince.
Even their normally maligned second single, "Zilch Part 1"/"Zilch Part 2," has some worth as a pretty hot pair
of throwaway tracks. The band's sound was the raunchy Rolling Stones-influenced garage-punk typical of Texas
rock groups in the mid-'60s.

Following the breakup of the group after the summer of 1966, Mike Taylor became a writer and producer for the
the Zakary Thaks, another Corpus Christi-based band (who were signed to J-Beck after being spotted playing on
a bill with the Bad Seeds), and also recorded singles in a folk-like mode as The Fabulous Michael. Rod Prince
went on to become a key member of the legendary band Bubble Puppy, who were signed to Leland Rogers'
International Artists' label, and the post-psychedelic group Demian. ~ Bruce Eder & Richie Unterberger, All
Music Guide

With a few breaks, the Liberty Bell might have been America's Yardbirds -- as it worked out, however, the
group suffered the undeserved fate of being a footnote in the history of Corpus Christi rock bands. Formed in
Corpus Christi, Texas in the mid-1960s, they were originally named the Zulus and played a mix of blues-rock
drifting toward psychedelia, driven by some fairly ambitious guitar work by lead axeman Al Hunt. In 1967, they
hooked up with Carl Becker, the co-owner of J-Beck Records, which, at the time, was recording the hottest local
band, the Zakary Thaks. Becker signed them to his new Cee-Bee Records, and suggested a name change to the
Liberty Bell.

The group's lineup at the time of their first single, a cover of the Yardbirds' "Nazz Are Blue" backed with a
cover of Willie Dixon's "Big Boss Man," included Ronnie Tanner on lead vocals, Al Hunt on lead guitar, Richard
Painter on rhythm guitar, and Wayne Harrison on bass. This record did well enough locally to justify further
recording, and these sessions yielded the best songs of the group's entire history, "Something For Me," "For
What You Lack," "I Can See," and "That's How It Will Be." Fast-tempo, fuzz-drenched pieces with catchy hooks,
these numbers made the group sound like an American version of the Yardbirds with more of an angry punk edge,
courtesy of lead singer Ronnie Tanner. But the real star of the group was lead guitarist Al Hunt, who wrote
most of the material in those days and played like Jeff Beck on a good day.

Tanner exited the group in early 1968 and was replaced by Chris Gemiottis, formerly of the Zakary Thaks, who
also brought a quartet of original songs with him, which were somewhat less punk-oriented and attempted to be
more profound. The group switched to the Back Beat label, which specialized in R&B flavored material. The
Liberty Bell continued in its psychedelic/garage direction before releasing a soul-style number, "Naw Naw Naw"
(on which only Gemiottis participated, with a studio band backing him) for their final single, late in 1968.
The Liberty Bell came to an end in 1969 when Gemiottis returned to his former band. In 1995, however,
Collectables Records released a 14-song collection of their music. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide

Tracklist:

1. Taste Of The Same 2:48
2. I'm A King Bee 2:42
3. Zilch Part1 1:45
4. Zilch Part2 2:18
5. All Night Long (Tried To Hide) 2:20
6. Sick And Tired 2:34
7. I'm Nobady's Man 2:31
8. My Last Day 1:59
9. Gotta Make My Heart Turn Away 2:43
10. People Sec.IV 2:59
11. Checkerboard 3:27
12. Arkansas 2:24
13. The Nazz Are Blue 2:55
14. For What You Lack 3:00
15. Al's Blues 2:54
16. Thoughts And Visions 2:39
17. Naw, Naw, Naw 3:06
18. Reality Is The Only Answer 2:12
19. I Can See (1st Version) 2:31
20. Bad Side Of The Moon 3:23
21. Big Boss Man 2:31
22. That's How It Will Be 2:40
23. Something For Me 2:30
24. Look For Tomorrow 2:02
25. Recognition 2:44
26. Eveline Kaye 2:53
27. I Can See (2st Version) 3:01
28. Out In The Country 2:17