THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,090) The Liberty Bell — “I Can See”
Garage gold out of Corpus Christi, Texas, from the Liberty Bell (see #505), who “specialized in a blues-based brand of proto-punk influenced by British groups such as the Yardbirds”. (tasos epit, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUueHSyzV0Q) The unreleased at the time song, written by guitarist Al Hunt, is “a true Garage stomper” (walterfechter8080, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh8xyaTisqw), a “[f]ast-tempo, fuzz-drenched piece[] with catchy hooks [that] made the group sound like an American version of the Yardbirds with more of an angry punk edge, courtesy of . . . [lead singer Ronnie] Tanner.” (Bruce Eder, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-liberty-bell-mn0000259877#biography)
As thomassmith8721 says:
There was West Coast psych. There was East Coast psych. This is Gulf Coast psych, the forgotten psychedelic coast. Great garage guitar. The tone is awesome. I get that Texan Yardbirds promo thing. . . . These guys nailed that psychedelic sound. The guitar/organ combo drives this all the way. Great track.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQjeIa7ex1U
Of the LB, Bruce Eder writes:
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. . . . [O]riginally named the Zulus[, they] 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 Zachary 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 . . . Tanner. But the real star of the group was . . . 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 . . . .
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-liberty-bell-mn0000259877
Ronnie Tanner reminisces:
After graduating from Ingleside High School across the bay from Corpus Christi, Texas in 1966, I was a member of the rock band ‘The Acoustics’ and we got the opportunity to play . . . . in the ‘Big’ city where such local bands as ‘The Pozo Seco Singers’, ‘The Bad Seeds’, and a new group, ‘The Zachary Thaks’ were playing and getting radio air play on the top radio station KEYS. . . . [A]fterward . . . Carl Becker introduced himself to me and asked if I would be willing to come and audition for a band he was going to sign to his ‘CEE BEE’ record label. They were called ‘The Zulu’s’. I was asked to meet the band . . . and the audition went well. I was asked to join the group as lead singer and soon the band’s name was changed to ‘THE LIBERTY BELL’. Things moved quite quickly after that. Recording sessions in McAllen, TX, band photos, songs to write and covers to learn, and lots of appearances. It seems like just yesterday when the rhythm guitarist Richard Painter and I were driving around town and heard our first release, ‘The Nazz Are Blue’, come on the radio. . . . We were all so happy and worked so hard and dreamed of what would be next. . . . [W]e began to branch out to other Texas cities and enjoyed a year of incredible fun and soon other stations were picking up the record. . . . [I]n early 1968, we were being pitched to a major record label in Houston named Back Beat Records. [But] I was of draft age [and got drafted]. Chris Gerniotis, of the Zachary Thaks, was named as my replacement. . . . I remember returning home on leave from Basic training and seeing the band with Chris and I was incredibly proud having been a part of such a great band and great friends. . . . Corpus Christi, Texas was a very cool place to be in 1967 and 1968!
http://www.cicadelic.com/ronstory.htm
Here’s a slightly longer version. ”To the best of Hunt’s recollections, Cee-Bee Records believed the intro was too long and consequently dited an spliced a few seconds off the top.” (Mike Dugo, liner notes to the CD comp Garage Beat ’66: Readin’ Your Will!):
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I was totally expecting “ Friday on my Mind@ at the beginning of that clip!
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