A-Square (Of Course): The Story of Michigan's Legendary A-Square Records

by N/A

Overview

Michigan had one of the most vital rock & roll scenes of the 1960s, and while many of the best known Michigan bands came from the psychedelic-era movement that centered around Detroit's Grande Ballroom (most notably the MC5 and the Stooges), there was already a thriving rock scene going back to the early years of the decade, and one of the great movers and shakers in Michigan rock was a guy named Jeep Holland. Based in Ann Arbor, Holland managed one of the city's best record stores, booked bands, and launched a record label, A Square Records, that released classic sides from some of the area's most notable bands. A-Square (Of Course) is a fine and long-overdue retrospective of material from the A Square vaults, though the disc cheats a bit as a label overview. Instead of simply collecting A Square releases, compiler Alec Palao has also included material from a number of acts that Holland booked and managed, and while this gives a broader picture of the Ann Arbor/Detroit music scene in the mid-'60s (as well as a more detailed look at the sort of music Holland championed), if you're looking for an accurate history of the A Square label, some of the music here will throw you off the trail. And perhaps the best and best-known tracks on here, "Looking At You" and "Borderline" by the MC5, weren't really released by A Square -- the band's manager, John Sinclair, simply put the label's name and logo on their self-released single! But these minor gripes aside, this is a great sampler of top-notch mid-'60s rock & roll with the classic Michigan sound and feel. The Scot Richard Case (who later evolved into SRC) are represented with five songs, and while they weren't much on original material (the spooky "Who Is That Girl" is the only group-penned tune here), Scott Richardson was one of the best vocalists on the scene and their covers of "Get the Picture," "Midnight to Six Man" and "I'm So Glad" rock convincingly. The Thyme land a whopping eight songs on this collection, and while they weren't quite so remarkable to merit so much attention here, they had a sure hand for folk-rock (not a common thing in Michigan at the time) and "Window Song," "Love to Love" and "Very Last Day" are fine stuff. Dick Wagner, who later went on to star status backing up Alice Cooper and Lou Reed, is represented with three tunes by his early group the Bossmen (most notably a solid psych-tinged ballad "Listen My Girl") as well as a version of the Frost's "Mystery Man" that predated their speaker-shattering debut album Frost Music. James Osterberg, a year away from changing his name to Iggy Pop and forming the Stooges, handles both drums and vocals on the Prime Movers' raw reworking of "I'm a Man," and the Up's "Just Like an Aborigine" is nearly as good a summation of the White Panther Party ethos as anything the MC5 ever waxed. Anyone with a taste for mid-'60s rock will find plenty of buried treasure on A-Square (Of Course), and it's a must for anyone interested in the history of Midwest music. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	05/26/2008
Label:	Big Beat Uk
UPC:	0029667427425

Tracks

1. I'm So Glad  - Skip James  -  Richard
2. Looking at You  -  MC5  - Frederick "Freddy" Smith  - Dennis Thompson  - Rob Tyner
3. Somehow  -  Thyme
4. Stranded in the Jungle  -  Apostles  - Ernestine Smith
5. Get the Picture  - Phil May  -  Richard
6. No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed  - Richie Havens  -  Thyme
7. She Is a Friend  -  Rain
8. Easy Way Out  -  Bossmen  - Dick Wagner
9. Time of the Season  - Rod Argent  -  Thyme
10. Midnight to Six Man  - Phil May  -  Richard
11. Tired of Waiting for You  -  Apostles  - Ray Davies
12. Borderline  -  MC5  - Frederick "Freddy" Smith  - Dennis Thompson  - Rob Tyner
13. I Found You  -  Thyme
14. Who Is That Girl  - Steve Lyman  -  Richard  - Scott Richardson
15. Get Down  -  Half-Life
16. I'm a Man  - Ellas McDaniel  -  Prime Movers
17. Love to Love  - Neil Diamond  -  Thyme
18. Just Like an Aborigine  - Scott Bailey  - Bob Rasmussen  - Gary Rasmussen  -  Up
19. I Cannot Stop You  -  Bossmen  - Dick Wagner
20. Very Last Day  -  Thyme  - Peter Yarrow
21. Cobwebs and Strange  - Tony Crombie  - Keith Moon  -  Richard
22. Listen My Girl  -  Bossmen  - Dick Wagner
23. Window Song  - Ralph Cole  -  Thyme
24. Mystery Man  -  Frost  - Dick Wagner
25. I Found a Love  - Cat Stevens  -  Thyme

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Apostles   Primary Artist
The Scott Richard Case   Primary Artist
The Bossmen   Primary Artist
The Thyme   Primary Artist
The Up   Primary Artist
Half-Life   Primary Artist
Dick Wagner   Primary Artist
The Frost   Primary Artist
The Rain   Primary Artist
The Prime Movers   Primary Artist
MC5   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Steve Lyman   Composer
Frederick "Freddy" Smith   Composer
Bob Rasmussen   Composer
Andrew Sacks   Photography
Barry Wickham   Memorabilia,Photography
Tony Crombie   Composer
Skip James   Composer
Ellas McDaniel   Composer
Cat Stevens   Composer
Dennis Thompson   Composer
Rob Tyner   Composer
Rod Argent   Composer
Richie Havens   Composer
Peter Yarrow   Composer
Phil May   Composer
Ray Davies   Composer
Nick Robbins   Mastering
Alec Palao   Research,Liner Notes,Memorabilia,Photography
Barrie Smith   Package Design
Frank Holland   Liner Notes
Ralph Cole   Composer
Scott Bailey   Composer
Neil Diamond   Composer
Scott Richardson   Composer
Dick Wagner   Composer
Ernestine Smith   Composer
Keith Moon   Composer
Rob Shread   Audio Restoration
Gary Rasmussen   Composer