Lee Harris - When The One You Love Don't Love You/Lasting Romance (1958)

Here's a recent diamond-in-the-rough spot from one of my favorite places to hunt for records. No idea who this is, but the cool label design was enough to make me blow a dollar on it!

There's a bit of Buddy Holly influence on the A-side, but the B-side is much slower.

The Montanas - Top Hat (1968)

Before these Brits had a hit with "You've Got To Be Loved", they released this record.  This side, written by Barry Gibb, was not released as a Bee Gees song until it appeared on a compilation of previously unreleased material in 1970 - so it seems likely that the song was passed down to the Montanas to do with as they pleased.

The Outer Limits - Just One More Chance/Help Me Please (1967)

Back in 2009 or so, I traveled to Chicago while my sister was on a college visit.  While there, I had the opportunity to poke around a record store in Evanston.  I don't remember the name, but it had many of the "Garage Greats" bootlegs, as well as a selection of imported Deram CDs.  "Help Me Please" was on a CD entitled "The Freakbeat Scene," which remains one of my favorite compilations.  I finally snagged a US copy of this record for a very reasonable price off of eBay...

Fresh Air - I'm Tired/Sway (1972)

This Wisconsin release features two covers - the A-side is a Savoy Brown song, while the B-side is a Rolling Stones takeoff.  I haven't heard the Stones' version of "Sway," but I have heard the original "I'm Tired," and I prefer this one better.

This is the most expensive record I have bought yet ($40) but I think it is worth it, though 1972 is a little late in the game for a garage rock song.

The Honeycombs - I Can't Stop (1964)

The lesser-known follow-up to the Honeycombs' smash hit "Have I The Right?" in September 1964, this single made it to #48 on the charts three months later.  It is a classic Joe Meek track and a real pounder - too bad it did not get a single release in the UK.

Roy Orbison - Southbound Jericho Parkway (1969)

When the words "experimental psych" come into one's head, there's a good chance that Roy Orbison is not the first person associated with them.  But this 7-minute epic shifts styles, themes and genres in an innovative way.  Why it was an A-side is something to ponder - it would have shattered the glass ceiling of 3 minutes for a hit single (though this unwritten statute was becoming more lax when this was released in 1969).

The Searchers - Popcorn, Double Feature (1967)

The very same band that gave us "Needles and Pins" takes a quick foray into well-produced psychedelic pop. This was their last release on the Kapp label; it would be another four years until they released another single, on RCA.

Jack Wild - Some Beautiful/Picture Of You (1970)

Let us hearken back to 1970, when children's television was inane, musicals were a part of mainstream culture, and Sid and Marty Krofft were not yet completely batshit insane in terms of which TV shows they produced. Out of these three factors came Jack Wild, hot on the heels of "Oliver!". "H.R. Pufnstuf" and its accompanying movie shot him to stardom, and Capitol Records signed him for an album and a couple of singles.

This record is far from perfect, but it is decent for a big-name guy like Wild.  One would have thought that, given his Broadway fame, he would have been allowed to exercise his vocal talents a bit more - but heavy production was apparently in order for these two tunes.

The Lords - Glory Land/Raindreams (1967)

Straight out of the psychedelic throes of Germany, the Lords appeared to be a pretty popular beat group. Here, they do a Lonnie Donegan-written A-side and lend their own killer touch to the B-side.

This record came straight out of a very frigid flea market in Berlin, Germany when I visited in the spring of 2011.  Three euros brought it back here to Cincinnati.