Along with both sides of their 1970 single
"Boy Little Boy" and
"Outta Reach," this 19-track disc has five circa-1966 recordings by
the Hairem, and a dozen unreleased tracks from the late sixties by She themselves. The only reason this might achieve greater notoriety than the usual generic garage/psych release is via the novelty of hearing this raunchy style--an almost totally all-male domain--performed, written, and sung by women. The
Hairem cuts are primitive in the extreme, with ominous and minimal melodic content.
"The Snake" succeeds via its middle-eastern ambience and outrageously provocative (for the era) vocal and lyrics, but otherwise the songwriting is no great shakes and the performances, particularly the drumming, amateurish (which is not a compliment). The
She material is more accomplished, but pretty derivative of late-sixties psychedelic and hard rock trends, though delivered with some admirable aggression. Sometimes the
Doors influence is evident in the organ and the Jefferson Airplane
influence felt in the harmonies and tunes;
"When I Was a Little Girl" has that forlorn early San Francisco psych ballad feel, while the demo version of
"Outta Reach" ends with phrasing ripped straight off the end of
"White Rabbit." Sure this CD is interesting as a rare example of women performing in this style during this era, but on its own terms the music just isn't special. ~ Richie Unterberger
