Genre: garage
Rating: **** (4 stars)
Title: A Plane View of the Barracudas
Company: Justice
Catalog: LP 143 A/B
Year: 1967
Country/State: Highland Springs, Virginia
Grade (cover/record): VG/VG
Comments: minor stains on back; great overall shape
Available: 1
GEMM Catalog ID: not yet listed
Price: $270.00
While they never attracted much attention and
during their five year existence probably sold fewer albums than one of
today's mid-sized acts sells in a day, The Barracudas stand as garage rock
classics, making their sole 1967 album a sought after and prized collectable
(and I'm not just sayng that since I own a copy ...)
Formed in 1964 in the Richmond, Virginia suburb of Highland Springs, the
band started out as a six piece, but by early 1965 was down to a quintet
consisting of keyboardist Butch Earnardt, rhythm guitarist Chris Layne, lead
guitarist Mike Parker, bass player Sam Shaw and drummer Don Thurston. A
steady stream of local dances and battle of the bands competitions began
attracting a local audience and led Thurston's father to take an active role
as band manager. By early 1966 the group had formed their own Cuda label,
releasing the single 'I Can't Believe' b/w '20-75' (Cuda catalog number 1).
While it did little in terms of sales, the single attracted the attention of
producer/record label president Calvin Newton who wasted no time signing
them to his Winston Salem based Justice Records.
1967 saw the release of their sole LP - "A
Plane View of the Barracudas". In terms of content the
set offered up a then-standard mixture of R&B oriented material (the
frat band required 'Gloria') and more conventional pop-rock (a
nifty cover of The Byrds' 'Feel a Whole Lot Better'). To his
credit Newton generously allowed the band to include two original songs - 'I
Can't Believe' and 'I'll Never Fall In Love Again' (two of
the more impressive numbers). Musically most of the set was rather raw and
rough, though enthusiastic performances such as 'I'm a Lover, not a
Fighter', 'Not Fade Away' and an extended 'I'm a
Man' (complete with some knock-your-socks-off fuzz leads), more than made up for other performance and production short comings. Among the few
blatant missteps were a needless cover of Jr. Walker's 'Shot Gun' and
a plodding take on The Beatles 'All My Lovin''. (In case you want
to save some bucks, in 1995 the Collectables label reissued the collection
in CD format under catalog number COL-606.)
"A Plane View of the Barracudas" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) I Can't Believe - 2:58
2.) Not Fade Away - 2:13
3.) I Call Your Name (John Lennon - Paul McCartney) - 2:12
4.) Gloria - 2:45
5.) Blue Blue Feeling - 2:39
6.) I'm a Lover, not a Fighter - 2:02
(side 2)
1.) I'll Never Fall Again - 1:56
2.) Feel A Whole Lot Better - 2:20
3.) All My Lovin' (John Lennon - Paul McCartney) - 2:00
4.) I'm a Man - 5:56
5.) Shot Gun - 2:52
In the wake of the album's release the band continued to play the
mid-Atlantic frat circuit. They managed to release on follow-on 45 'Days of a Quiet Sun' b/w
'Apple Pie' on their
reactivated Cuda label (Cuda catalog number 2) before calling it quits in
1969.
9.