Pacific Northwest Pandora's Box＜Blue Vinyl＞

Garland Records was a small label based in Salem, Oregon in the mid-60s that released a number of garage rock singles much loved by fans of the teenage snarl of the era. However, times changed and Garland changed with them, and as hard rock and what would become prog took over the spotlight by the dawn of the 70s, the label and their house producer and engineer Gary Nieland committed to tape a small army of Pacific Northwest acts with Marshall amps and plentiful hair. Garland Records: Pacific Northwest Pandoras Box resurrects 12 tracks from Nielands archives, some of which were unreleased at the time, and not entirely unlike the grunge scene that exploded a couple decades later, this is hard rock with the stylistic bend that comes with too much coffee, too much beer (and other recreational substances), and many months spent inside due to bad weather. The highlight band here is Eclipse, represented with four songs; wearing glam rock attire and face paint, Eclipse were clearly inspired by Kiss, but their sleazy swagger hits harder (someone in this band had been listening to early Blue Cheer), and their music has a personality of its own thats fine fist-pumping fun. High Voltage, another band who resemble early Kiss, sound tight and energetic on the passionate but downbeat Dont Want to Be Alone. Messick, who get two tracks here, were playing moody psych-folk with a dash of heaviness that steps forward when the electric guitar kicks in on Day Dreams II. Loyal Oppositions Thors Hammer is an honestly weird bit of lo-fi semi-prog with a falsetto vocalist who presumably spent too much time listening to Pavlovs Dog. The Zero End bridge the gap between garage and hard rock with their cover of Hey Joe that sounds like the Leaves 1965 recording until a trippy organ and buzzy guitar solo appear at the midway point. The Other Sides Stone Mountain is an easygoing psych-folk number that recalls American Beauty-era Grateful Dead, a neat trick since they broke up a year before that album came out. And White Feathers cover of Purple Haze manages to sound endearing and clumsy at the same time, living in the sweet spot where enthusiasm outstrips confidence. Christopher Eddys liner notes tell us all there is to know about most of these acts (which, sadly, isnt usually much), and the remastering makes the most of these aging tapes. Pacific Northwest Pandoras Box is uneven, with as many misses as bulls-eyes, but the best stuff here is well worth exploring for listeners into the early innings of hard rock. ~ Mark Deming