FOUR DISCS, EIGHTY TRACKS,
from a band that had one hit record!
The Challenge Recordings - 4 Compact Disc Boxed Set
including a 40 Page Booklet!
When "Lies" exploded from AM radio speakers everywhere in 1965, listeners were caught off-guard. Who was this band that had captured Beatles' zeitgeist and repatriated it into a charging slice of American proto-punk? Featuring an amazing vocal performance from Buddy Randell, The Knickerbocker's "Lies" peaked at #20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at #1 in the hearts of new fans around world. Thanks to its inclusion in Lenny Kaye's essential Nuggets compilation, it continues to amaze and inspire subsequent generations of garage maestros everywhere.
Brothers Beau and John Charles, from Bergenfield, NJ, formed The Knickerbockers in 1962. Taking their name from Knickerbocker Road in nearby Tenafly, NJ, the band went through various lineups until vocalist/saxophonist Randell joined in 1964. Along with drummer Jimmy Walker, this is the quartet singer/songwriter Jerry Fuller ("Travelin' Man," "Young Girl," "Lady Willpower") caught at Albany, NY nightspot, the University Twist Palace. Fuller signed them to Los Angeles indie label Challenge and they recorded three albums for the label, full of self-penned classics along with carefully selected covers.
The LPs showcased the versatility of the group, forged in the live Northeast club scene. It was no accident that The Knickerbockers were chosen as the very first Sundazed Music artists in 1989. Now, 26 years later, Sundazed returns with the definitive boxed set on this vital American band. The collection includes tracks from the breadth of the band's career, from their bar band beginnings to their forays into psychedelia. The rockers, the ballads, the breath-taking vocal ensemble numbers: they're all here. It charts the incredible evolution of the band in just three short years, painting a full portrait of the band's wide-ranging talents.
Beyond the Challenge LP tracks and singles, the box includes material NEVER before released! Recently-discovered demos in the 4-Star Publishing vaults plus Beau Charles personal acetates yielded a treasure trove of unheard recordings. Beau and John Charles, along with Jimmy Walker, were heavily involved in the creation of this release. The Charles brothers provided two scrapbooks kept by their late mom chronicling the band, much of which is reproduced in the lavish set booklet. For the booklet, master rock writer David Fricke penned the introductory essay and intrepid American music historian Dominic Priore contributed extensive liner notes.
Eighty tracks from a band with exactly one hit single? That's precisely what Sundazed does! Meticulously mastered from the original analog master tapes and acetates, the entire set is produced in glorious mono, including previously unheard mono mixes. Taken together, the discs and notes provide a portal back to when a three-minute single could change the world, if only temporarily. Take a step back in time and rediscover the band that launched Coxsackie's (and the world's) premier reissue label!
Also available as a digital download on iTunes.
4 stars from The All Music Guide!
"...a time capsule of what American rock & roll really sounded like in the mid-'60s."
Read the review here!
TRACK LIST:
Disc 1:
1. You Really Got Me
2. All Day And All Of The Night
3. Money
4. The Jolly Green Giant
5. Twine Time
6. Land Of 1000 Dances
7. The In Crowd
8. The Jerk
9. Jerk Town
10. She's Not There
11. All I Need Is You
12. Bite Bite Barracuda
13. Room For One More
14. Downtown
15. Limbo Rock
16. In The Misty Moonlight
17. It's Not Unusual
18. Whenever I See You (demo) [previously unissued]
19. Mighty Mighty Barracuda (previously unissued)
20. Last Call (previously unissued)
Disc 2:
1. Lies
2. I Can Do It Better
3. Can't You See I'm Trying
4. Please Don't Fight It
5. Just One Girl
6. I Believe In Her
7. Wishful Thinking
8. You'll Never Walk Alone
9. Your Kind Of Lovin'
10. Harlem Nocturne
11. The Coming Generation
12. I Want To Hold Your Hand
13. There She Goes
14. I Know A Place
15. King Of The Road
16. The Hully Gully
17. The Girl From Ipanema
18. I Ain't Got A Right
19. Lies (demo)
20. For Her (demo) [previously unissued]
Disc 3:
1. One Track Mind
2. I Must Be Doing Something Right
3. She Said Goodbye
4. Come On And Let Me
5. Give A Little Bit
6. Playgirl (version one)
7. The Pad And How To Use It
8. Like Little Children
9. She's Gotten To Me
10. Is That What You Want
11. Come And Get It (version one)
12. Turn To Me
13. Just Out Of Reach
14. You're Bad
15. Gotta Stop This Dreaming
16. I Want A Girl For Christmas
17. My Feet Are Off The Ground (version one)
18. You're Something Else (demo) [previously unissued]
19. And Then You (demo) [previously unissued]
20. I Must Be Doing Something Right (demo) [previously unissued]
Disc 4:
1. Chuck Berry Medley
2. We Got A Good Thing Going
3. Playgirl (version two)
4. High On Love
5. Stick With Me
6. Come And Get It (version two)
[previously unissued]
7. Chapel In The Fields
8. Love Is A Bird
9. Rumors, Gossip, Words Untrue
10. I Love
11. Can You Help Me
12. Please Don't Love Him
13. What Does That Make You
14. Sweet Green Fields
15. Guaranteed Satisfaction
16. Come And Get It (version three)
17. As A Matter Of Fact
18. They Ran For Their Lives
19. My Feet Are Off The Ground (version two)
20. Funny Face (demo) [previously unissued]