Betty - Handful '1971 / 2024

Tracks list

Tracklist:

1. Boogie With You (02:52)
2. Blind With Shame (02:59)
3. Just For Fun (04:00)
4. High Rollin On the Freeway (03:32)
5. River Bummin (03:33)
6. Handful (Of Love) (03:19)
7. Thank You (04:08)
8. Learn How To Boogie (03:28)
9. Harley Perdoo (03:23)
10. Lights Gonna Shine (03:06)



 moreBETTY Handful 1971

"Thank you for being what you really are"... key words from this impossibly rare
1971 private pressing LP.
BETTY lays down who they really are straight upon "Handful" like a breathing
snapshot in time. The performances and mix sound like they were done on the fly,
which in the private pressing tradition means the artists are captured
unfiltered with diamond-in-the-rough vitality. Their influences are seamlessly
integrated into a personality filled biker rock roadhouse attack with discreet
echoes of Canned Heat, Steppenwolf, the Doors, even throwing an early '60s UK
beat rock curveball at one point. They are pro at communicating but not slick
enough to compromise their own reality by aping their influences. The musical
elements here will be familiar but the band's audacious attitude fire this baby
up with undiluted excitement. The music feels like real life captured out in the
wild rather than created in the studio.

BETTY was a working band out of LA gigging primarily around Pasadena at the
time. An early biker rock vibe dominates, post '60s west coast moves moderate
the more typical hard-drinking-woman-trouble-raising-hell scenarios the genre
usually exemplifies. Most of the songs are about women... though they may be a
"handful" to deal with mentally, the eye-popping "handful" pictured n the LP
sleeve is the ultimate bottom line. Treat 'em right, get down all night. There's
a genuine sense of appreciation for the ladies here, little in the way of macho
posturing. The guitars keep it tough and the singer's preposterously ragged
confidence hits the bullseye from left field continually. Anthon Davis may be a
bit over the top but it really works. Character to spare.

BETTY were main songwriter Anthon Davis on guitar and lead vocals on tracks #1 -
#9, Mike McMahon on guitar and backing vocals, Kerry Kanbara on bass and backing
vocals, Al Rodriguez on drums and backing vocals. Tom Jordan guests on keyboards
and Lee Marks guests on backing vocals. McMahon and Marks also helped with the
writing on several tracks.

Only 200 copies of "Handful" were custom pressed by Thin Man Records in 1971
made to sell at live shows. BETTY unleashed an uncompromising serendipitously
emergent killer here where these real guys get in your head as they really
are... or were, ripping it up at dive bar remnants of Wild West saloons before
hitting the highway. A perfect triple bill would have been these guys, Bear
Mountain Band and the Estes Brothers!

SIDE ONE:

BOOGIE WITH YOU a kicks in with a tuff Deadish shuffle and an outsider misfit
vocal approach akin to Ray Harlowe and Gyp Fox in attitude. A tough fuzz guitar
riff backbones the groove while Wild West saloon piano throws some bar band in
the twilight zone action into the atmosphere. A brief recurring Doorsy flash
happens when the lyric goes "you're the best woman that I've ever seen, or at
least that I've had". The title says succinctly what is on the singer's mind.

BLIND WITH SHAME is curveball number one, an unexpected gear shift into dead
ringer early '60s UK beat rock vocal harmonies crossed with funkier street rock
blues moves. The lead vocal is wonderfully crude and effective. Thick fuzz
guitar break contrasts nicely with the retro beat rock flashback. An odd duck
that walks just fine.

JUST FOR FUN is a stone killer, stalking dark and dangerous groove, garage
intensity, a distant flash and on Foxy Lady with some Blue Cheer sludge. There
is a terrific extended guitar solo that is relaxed and acidic, this takes the
band into a psychedelic zone. The singer found out the chick he's been getting
it on with has another main dude and she's just playing around... he really digs
her but he is bummed! He loses but we won, this track is a classic.

HIGH ROLLIN-N-THE-FREEWAY is earlier rock and roll gone sideways enough that it
doesn't come across as terminal oldies retro, it just makes for a glorious mess
with a wacko mix, buried drums and detached roots Travelers Aid style vocal
phrasing. High rollin' on the freeway equals high rollin' on the lady! Long free
is the general message and the track includes an out of left field wah-wah
guitar break as a bonus quirk. Familiar but original sounds in these guys hands.

RIVER BUMMIN grabs immediately as a straight up primitive sieze-the-day minimal
Americana chill rocker but also hints at something coming from way further out.
Uncanny slip between the cracks Travelers Aid vibe again. Uses basic two chord
structure to good effect. It's a maverick blast of basic primal guitar sound
with more Wild West piano moves that gets far out during the break. The attitude
here makes the personal need to keep moving resonate universally. This track is
unusual enough to transcend genre. Lee Marks did this song in a very different
version on the rare folk country freak California LP by Good Dog Banned
privately issued in 1973.

SIDE TWO:

HANDFUL (OF LOVE) is messed up just right, so basic it's outrageous, reaching
into Maximillian levels of proto heavy rock absurdity. Primal sinister
on-the-prowl riff unfolds as the central message of the LP is unleashed in a
tribal way... take a chance, get yourself a handful of love, you want it, you
need it! Brilliant back up vocal arrangement using the song title as the singer
goes deep into it. Tuff lead break, ominous organ, as far as I'm concerned this
heavy track plus that delicious sleeve photo makes this a naturally occurring
concept album, says it all.

THANK YOU has a remarkably primitive mix with gushy organ, buried drums,
disorienting vocal harmonies, fuzz grunge and freaky wah-wah action. It's
another song expressing appreciation for his lady. Swirling circular chord
change pattern creates a cumulative trance vibe by the end. Plain spoken and
heartfelt with even a bit of vulnerability on display.

LEARN HOW TO BOOGIE uses a straight up classic boogie groove, as always the
vocals are raw and real to the point of caricature at times in a good get-down
fun way. Singer laments that he can't dance, sees a little girl, takes a chance
and thusly is glad he learned how to boogie. A glimpse into a simpler world.
Canned Heat adjacent vibe with some gnarly Henry Vestine moves during the guitar
break No doubt they jammed this one out live!

HARLEY PERDOO adds to the subtle biker flavor underlying the action through the
whole LP. Another menacing stalker riff with tough guitar and ominous organ.
Harley Perdoo is a character who seems like he escaped from a Dennis The Fox
song. Harley is bad news, he needs to feel some pain, no ladies in sight on this
track. Remarkably unhinged guitar break goes sideways into almost arty noise
territory, almost off the tracks but more interesting because of it's misfire
qualities. One of those terrific quirks you find on private pressing LPs that
would have been removed as "incorrect" as soon as these guys got further up the
food chain.

LIGHTS GONNA SHINE is curveball number two. Another reason music sounds
naturally more personal in the rule free zone of private pressings... you can
have nine hard rocking apples in a row and one peculiar orange to wrap things
up. Anthon Davis hands the mic over to Mike McMahon and the music mellows with
acoustic guitar, delicate lounge prog drama and an off the wall haphazard
singer-songwriter vocal style that I struggle to describe, far out enough I hope
there is some whole LP out there that sounds messed up but compelling like this
track. Funny way to end the ride but it works! 



Betty - Handful.rar - 417.1 MB

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