JohnTem82387976

24 January 2013

Love Society - Without You/ Do You Wanna Dance





Label: Scepter
Year of Release: 1968

Love Society were one of many, many low budget bands operating in the USA in the sixties - and I'll stop short of using the word "garage" to describe all their records.  Originating from the small town of Plymouth in Wisconsin, their earliest discs were slightly treacly, innocent pop affairs, and that's evidenced by the slow, smoochy close harmonies on the actual A-side here "Do You Wanna Dance". Never have a late sixties provincial group sounded so indebted to the very earliest works of the Beach Boys.

Despite first appearances, though, the group could pack a much moodier punch, and the flip "Without You" is far better.  Filled with droning organs, despairing guitars and minor-key misery, it's West Coast sounding in a Doors rather than Wilson sense of the word.  On this track, their slick vocal harmonies are put to a much more interesting use in tandem with a distinctly underground sounding tune.  

Known and documented members are Keith Abler on vocals and guitar, Steffen on guitar, and Dellger on drums.  All these people would go on to join cult seventies prog rock group Sunblind Lion in the seventies who have left behind slightly more of a mark in rock's great biography.  They still occasionally gig around North America in this guise to this day.

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