The Gants
Roadrunner - The Best Of The Gants

(Sundazed Recordings)

www.sundazed.com

Release date: June 20, 2000

The Gants - Very Cross The Mersey American garage bands of the 1960's usually fall into one of two easy categories: Beatles wanna-be's or Stones wanna-be's. To learn the basic facts about a quartet of high school boys called the Gants, that they hailed from the bluesy state of Mississippi, and that their most successful single was a full throttle cover of "Roadrunner," by Mick and Keith's beloved Bo Diddley, one would be forgiven for thinking this band would be filed under the latter. But this excellent 20 track collection from Sundazed Recordings proves that the personal record collections of vocalist, guitarist and prime songwriter Sid Herring, guitarist Johnny Sanders, bassist Vince Montgomery and drummer Don Wood clearly favored Capitol over London. Their three albums and assorted singles for Liberty Records between 1965 and 1967 present some of the most Beatleish music ever captured by an American combo, full of Mersey melodies and tasty harmonies. But they also present, albeit to a lesser degree, some straight ahead rock and roll, based on distorted guitar riffs and grooves. Either way, their music certainly warrants attention from any fan of 1960's pop.

No listener with any sense of 1960's pop appreciation will miss the numerous nods to the Beatles on several tracks. Sid Herring himself admits in the booklet notes being not only a big fan of the Fabs but an ardent student of their work, making mental notes of characteristics for future reference. For example, Herring used the piano solo of "In My Life" as a starting point for the main melody of his excellent "I Wonder." As anyone might guess from the title, "My Baby Don't Care" carries some of the genes of "Ticket To Ride." On the other hand, if you guess that the Gants' "I Don't Want To See Her Again" borrows from a Lennon-McCartney song of almost identical title given to Peter and Gordon, you'll be wrong. Instead, it sounds like the early Fab instrumental "Cry For a Shadow," with words hung around a melody straight out of "From Me To You." In fairness, though, on all of these songs the Gants put enough of their own ideas into these songs to keep them from sounding merely like cut-and-paste jobs. The instrumental blend of, say, "I Wonder" is a bit heavier and thicker than any pre-1967 Fab record.

On the other hand, several cover versions seem to have been arranged in a mindset of "How would the Beatles have done it?" Clearly, Herring picked up plenty from With The Beatles (Whoops, sorry. Make that Meet The Beatles. See how easy it is to forget that the Gants were American?) as he sings the standard "Stormy Weather" and Bo Diddley's "Crackin' Up" with the same high, distorted voice John Lennon used on many 1963 recordings. Likewise, "I Want Your Lovin'" from 1966 (a year after England's The Sons Of Fred tried it for single size) suggests The Gants really enjoyed "Act Naturally" but thought it needed more harmonies.

And then again, other covers follow the original quite closely. They replicate the Dave Clark 5's hit recording of "Try Too Hard" to the letter, and stay pretty close to Eddie Cochran's original "Summertime Blues." Garage fans still requiring more versions of "Gloria" can find a decent one on this CD, in a version that sounds like a perfect 50/50 mix of Them's classic and the Shadows of Knight's US hit (even though the latter hadn't been recorded yet.) But when the Gants go after the Shadows' arrangement of Bo Diddley's "Oh Yeah," they sound like a second rate high school band simply copying a current hit, even falling off the beat towards the very end.

The Gants wear other colors on other original tracks. "Spoonful Of Sugar" (no, it's not the *Mary Poppins* song) is delightful, and provides a sort of answer to anyone who ever wondered what a Cyrkle cover of Bob Dylan's "I Want You" would have sounded like. The pleasant "Six Days In May" brings to mind the Searchers with its twelve string guitar, while the equally enjoyable "Somebody Please" has a Paul Anka-style vocal over a backing reminiscent of both the Byrds' 1965 output and The Critters' "Mr. Diengly Sad." "Never Go Right" is one of those great 6/8 garage-ballads, with a small dose of menace but finding room for an "Oh Yeah" or two straight out of the Zombies' "You Make Me Feel Good." On the more hard-rocking side are a stab of Johnny Burnette's "Little Boy Sad," notable for a weird lead guitar sound by way of a makeshift vocoder prototype (several years before Peter Frampton asked Joe Walsh to show him the way to the Rocky Mountain) and the crunchy, Stones-tinged "Smoke Rings." While both songs please, it becomes clear that the Gants came across better with more melodic compositions. "Dance Last Night" is a rather ordinary 1960's one-four-five tune about some rocking band that made a dance come alive (it's hard to tell if the lyric is "The dance really caught on fast" or "The Gants...") Still, the inclusion of Nashville's legendary Charlie McCoy playing the "I Should Have Known Better" harmonica riff, and a guitar just like the one used on The Four Seasons' "Let's Hang On" keep your ears tuned in. Also included is a self-penned carbon copy of "Roadrunner" entitled "I'm a Snake," with hissing sounds in place of "beep beep."

"Greener Days" from 1967 brings the disc to a wonderful close, as well as takes the music down a completely different path. Written and arranged by pre-Bread David Gates, "Greener Days" swaps the twangy guitars for violins and cellos. The end result sounds like the template for "My World Fell Down" by Sagittarius with its minor key verses over staccato strings and minimal drums into a bouncy major key chorus. Though not their absolute finest moment, "Greener Days" gives an indication of progression the Gants were undertaking. Unfortunately, not too many people knew it. The record stiffed when the Gants could not tour to promote it at a time when national interest in the record was quickly building. To tour then would have required dropping out of high school, and their principal informed them that if they truly had their heart set on quitting school to travel, he would gladly assist by placing a call to the most efficient travel agency of the late 1960's - the Draft Board! A few months later, after two more flop singles, the four disillusioned graduates (thanks in part to the disillusioned Liberty Records) un-Ganted themselves.

Though the overall running time of Roadrunner leaves plenty of room for additional tracks (the two follow ups to "Greener Days" would have been interesting to hear,) the disc succeeds in presenting all sides of the Gants (even if the Merseyside had always been proportionately larger than the others.) Sundazed additionally deserves credit for the collection's excellent fidelity, as only the first generation master tapes were used. The booklet gives a detailed history of the Gants with amusing sidebars and anecdotes. Sid recollects about a party the Gants were to attend in New York City with the Rolling Stones and two Beatles in attendance. It ended up being cancelled when the entire city lost power, the famous 1965 blackout putting the Apple's nightlife on an all-night hold, and taking the Gants' chance to meet their idols right off the stove. (although a quick look in the Mark Lewisohn Beatle books shows that supposed attendees Paul and Ringo were actually in London that week of November 1965 with comrades John and George working on some soul music of the rubber variety.)

One notable gaffe in the booklet: The booklet sells the Gants' sole Billboard chart entry six positions short when it claims that Roadrunner only peaked at #52.

At its best, Roadrunner is a spoonful of sugar to the ears. But even at its worst, it shines from the earnestness of four young boys taken by rock and roll, having a good time turning that enthusiasm into something of their own. In short, it's impossible not to feel charmed after listening to this disc.

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