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Thee Midniters are generally acknowledged to be the most fearsomely rockin' Chicano band to come out of the fabled East L.A. scene of the mid-'60s. Although their chart success was limited to their version of "Land of a Thousand Dances" (an extended live take of which is among the tracks included here) and they were beaten to the punch on that one by fellow scenesters Cannibal & the Headhunters -- the latter's version charted a month earlier and rose higher -- the rest of Thee Midniters' output leaves no doubt that they were the more ferocious band. A few fine collections of the group's limited output on such labels as Whittier and Chattahoochee have previously found their way to market, but Norton typically ups the ante with the most comprehensive set yet, accompanied by exhaustive liner notes by Domenic Priore and a slew of great vintage photos. Although Thee Midniters were known primarily for their sizzling covers of then-current rock & roll and R&B hits, the majority of the tracks here are originals, written by various combinations of bandmembers. The originals (especially "Whittier Blvd." and its cousin, "Down Whittier Blvd.") and covers both show a heavy allegiance to funky soul of the Stax and Motown varieties (great covers of the Contours' "Do You Love Me" and Barrett Strong's "Money"), as well as happening bands like the Rolling Stones ("Empty Heart") and Them ("Gloria"). On both "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" (Stones via Solomon Burke) and their insane blast-out on the Mitch Ryder medley of "Devil with a Blue Dress/Good Golly Miss Molly," Thee Midniters are simply on fire. On occasion, the group showed a tendency to veer off into what would soon morph into psychedelia, but most of these 19 tracks, cranked to the max with blessed distortion, are unscathed, gritty rock & roll.
Condition NEW
TRACK LISTING
1. Whittier Blvd.
2. Jump, Jive and Harmonize
3. Gloria
4. Love Special Delivery
5. I Found a Peanut
6. Welcome Home Darling
7. Land of a Thousand Dances
8. Down Whittier Blvd.
9. Everybody Needs Somebody to Love
10. Never New I Had It So Bad
11. Empty Heart
12. Hey Little Girl
13. Looking out the a Window
14. Money
15. Thee Midnite Feeling
16. Devil with a Blue Dress/Good Golly Miss Molly
17. Dragon-Fly
18. Do You Love Me
19. Down Wittier Blvd
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