The Unrelated Segments & The Tidal Waves - Where You Gonna Go (1998)

This 21-song collection should be a killer disc, highlighted not only by six classic sides from the original Unrelated Segments, which existed through 1967, but six songs from their Detroit compatriots, the Tidal Waves. Unfortunately, it also includes further tracks by the reconfigured group circa 1969, and five additional songs by Ron Stults from his early post-1969 solo career, and the latter, alas, along with the later Segments songs, detract from the overall value. The core of this CD is lean, mean garage punk with a mournful, late-teens angst and a huge amount of talent involved: hooks that guitarist Rory Mack pulls out of thin air and spins into a bluesy folk-rock proto-psychedelic web; Ron Stults' powerful singing; and Barry Von Engelen's melodic bass work, reminiscent of Chris Hillman in his days with the Byrds. This is prime garage punk, which could easily have rivaled the 13th Floor Elevators or the Beau Brummels' best work. The 15 Unrelated Segments tracks are augmented by the inclusion of six songs by the Tidal Waves, another Detroit-based band, even younger (three junior high schoolers in the lineup) than the Segments, who also recorded for S.V.R. Records. Their stuff is rawer and more sneering, less melodic but not a trace less impressive -- these boys incorporated the strongest elements of Paul Revere & the Raiders' early work ("Kicks" etc.) with the kind of hard-playing edge (especially on the guitars) that the British bands were bringing to music in 1964 -- a true, raucous, screaming punk sound with a crude, unpretentious energy, sort of the Kingsmen meet the British invasion. Their version of "Farmer John" hit number one on the charts in Detroit, and would have put them on the map nationally if S.V.R. Records had only had better distribution; it's a highlight here, but most of the rest lives up to its promise. The sound is excellent, and the notes, although crudely assembled, give a good picture of the two bands' histories. The later tracks by the Segment and Ron Stults, however, are simply loud psychedelia with a raucous metal edge and no style. They're a chore to listen to for anyone who likes the classic garage punk represented elsewhere on the CD, and that part of the disc is only rescued by some rehearsal tapes of the early band which finish off the album.