CHOCOLATE WATCHBAND
 The
Chocolate Watchband never charted a record nationally. Indeed, ask most
casual 1960s rock fans about them and you'll probably get little
more than a blank stare. Most will remember their AVI Records labelmates
the Standells more clearly, because they actually managed to chart a few
singles. Alas, the Watchband had the disadvantage of being a punkier
band than the Standells, and suffering continual lineup changes.
The
Chocolate Watchband was a mod-outfitted garage punk unit par excellence,
their sound founded on English-style R&B with a special fixation on
the Rolling Stones at their most sneering. After hooking up with
producer Ed Cobb, a former member of the 1950s vocal ensemble the Four
Preps, the group released No Way Out in mid-1967, though the Watchband
had already begun breaking up. A new incarnation carried them through
1967, though the band's existence as a viable performing unit were all
but over. The group's producers had other ideas, however, releasing two
more albums (The Inner Mystique, One Step Beyond) in 1968 and 1969,
sporting the band's name but not too much else associated with the
group.
That
would probably have been the end of the group's story, but in the early
'80s, record buyers and, more particularly, young musicians discovered
the Watchband. A set of Australian reissues of the group's albums
quickly found a market in America and Europe. Thus, it was no surprise
when, in 1994, Sundazed Records reissued the complete Watchband catalog
on compact disc. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
DISCOGRAPHY
Albums
No Way Out: Tower ST 5096 (1967) The Inner Mystique: Tower ST 5106
(1968) One Step Beyond: Tower ST 5153 (1969) Get Away: Orchard 3716
(2000) At the Love-In Live!: Roir 8272 (2001)
Singles
"Sweet Young Thing" / "Baby Blue" : Uptown 740
(1966) "Misty Lane" / "She Weaves a Tender Trap" :
Uptown 749 (1967) "Are You Gonna Be There (At the Love-In)" /
"No Way Out" : Tower 373 (1967) |
