The Satyrs – Don’t Be Surprised (2023) [FLAC 24bit/44,1kHz]

The Satyrs - Don't Be Surprised (2023) [FLAC 24bit/44,1kHz] Download

Unfiltered North Carolina ‘60s garage rock from Asheville teen stompers The Satyrs! This LP features previously unissued tracks and their lone 1965 single – all bookended by two savage versions of the title track!

The contents of this “lost” tape have since been restored and are included on this LP along with the Satyrs’ 1965 originals. Two versions of “Don’t Be Surprised,” the Mark V and the Wal-Mor version, bookend this artifact of true North Carolina garage.

In their brief, explosive appearance on the garage rock scene, the Satyrs provide a look into Southern ‘60s rock and the rippling effects of rock ‘n’ roll in mid-century America. Tenacious in their desire to be a part of the rock ‘n’ roll revolution, the Satyrs successfully captured the essence of a ’60s teenager’s ephemeral desire to step into limelight, even for a brief moment.In the 1960s, it seems every city and town in America had at least one band of teenagers armed with cheap electric guitars and the will to make them wail, and in the 21st century, folks are still rediscovering little-known but worthy bands who recorded for local labels in that fertile era. While Asheville, North Carolina was not a serious rock & roll town in 1964, it did produce the Satyrs, four high school buddies who formed a combo to play dances and teen clubs, and they were good enough to attract the attention of some guys at a hi-fi shop keen to put out records. The Satyrs’ barely distributed debut single, “Don’t Be Surprised” b/w “Blue Blue World,” came out of an after-hours session at High Fidelity Sales in Asheville, but when a garage rock collector found a copy at a junk shop in 2008 and flipped for it, it kicked off a search to find the former teenage rockers, and when someone interviewed Satyrs’ bassist Bucky Hanks in 2012, they learned that the band had recorded a bunch of stuff at the more professional Mark V Studios in Greenville, South Carolina that never saw release. Almost six decades after their first single came out, the Satyrs finally made it to LP, and 2023’s Don’t Be Surprised collects their sole 45 along with eight previously unheard tracks from their Mark V sessions. The initial recordings of “Don’t Be Surprised” and “Blue Blue World” sound like what they are: a band being recorded live in a retail space by people with no experience in production or engineering, but the A-side has a scrappy energy that would be the envy of most teen bands of their day, the flip is admirably moody and well executed, and both tunes show the Satyrs were promising songwriters and capable musicians. The Mark V recordings boast a lot more clarity and polish, though they still have a lively, natural feel, and the jangly folk-rock of “It Won’t Be Long” (an original, not the Beatles’ song), the tough harmonica-fueled R&B of “Ticky Tacky,” and the soulful strut of “Get Out of That Rut” are the work of a band who should have been destined for bigger things. Guitarist and vocalist Jeff Phillips, lead guitarist Rick Haynie, bassist and vocalist Hanks, and drummer Bruce Smith all had impressive instrumental skills, Hanks and Phillips were songwriters with great promise, and they were fine singers, individually and collectively. Life got in the way for the Satyrs (mostly in the form of the military draft) and they split after a memorable two years together. Don’t Be Surprised shows what a shame that was — they were more talented and sophisticated than the typical high school combo of the mid-’60s, and this should please nearly anyone interested in ’60s garage-related sounds. – Mark Deming

Tracklist:

01. The Satyrs – Don’t Be Surprised (02:25)
02. The Satyrs – Get Out Of That Rut (03:03)
03. The Satyrs – It Won’t Be Long (03:02)
04. The Satyrs – Ticky Tacky (02:31)
05. The Satyrs – Try Not To Cry (02:12)
06. The Satyrs – To Be With You (03:02)
07. The Satyrs – I Walk The Line (02:17)
08. The Satyrs – The Shortest Road To You (01:42)
09. The Satyrs – Blue Blue World (03:30)
10. The Satyrs – Don’t Be Surprised (45 Version) (02:21)

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