Live 'N Wild is a live album released in 1966 by The Savages, a garage rock band from Bermuda, which was recorded live at the Hub, a nightclub at the Princess Hotel in their native country. Consisting of mostly self-composed songs, the album is considered a seminal work in the garage rock genre, and features the song, "The World Ain't Round It's Square," which has come to be regarded as a classic '60s anthem of youthful defiance.
| Live 'n wild | |
|---|---|
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| Live album by | |
| Released | 1966 |
| Recorded | February 6, 1966 |
| Genre | |
| Label | Duane |
| Producer | Eddie DeMello |
History
editBackground
editThe Savages were formed in 1965 by Paul Muggleton and Jimmy O'Connor, both guitarists.[1][2] They would often watch fellow Bermudan band, the Gents, play at nightclubs and decided to form a band of their own. They recruited Bobby Zuill, on bass, and Howie Rego, on drums.[1] Muggleton usually sang lead vocals, but Zuill handled vocals on certain numbers.[3] The band played teen functions and eventually were able to gain a residence at the Hub, a nightclub at the Princess Hotel, sometimes doing as many a three gigs a day, often for American college students on vacation.[3][1]
They signed a recording contract with the Duane label, which also housed the Gents, run by Eddie DeMello, who would also manage the band and produce their material.[1] The group had previously done mostly covers of other artists' songs, until they were asked by the label to cut a full album of material, which necessitated the urge to come up with a batch of original songs.[1]
Recording and release
editOn February 6, 1966, the band were recorded during a live performance in front of about 150 patrons at the Hub, a nightclub at the Princess Hotel, which featured the band doing self-composed songs such as "Poor Man's Son," Man on the Moon," "Quiet Town," and the ventful "The World Ain't Round It's Square," sung in a scowling voice by Bobby Zuill.[3][1][2] According to Rob Zuill, "...we were so scared that we played everything too fast…" The album also would contain three cover songs from the performance, which would include a version of the Icelandic song, "Ertu Med" which would also be recorded in a very different manner by Thor's Hammer later in 1966.[1] One of Savages' original songs recorded this night, "No No No," would be covered by Connecticut band The Instincts.[1] The resulting album taken from the show, Live 'n Wild, was a surprisingly diverse collection, containing a balance of rock & roll songs and ballads.[3][1] Four songs would appear as A and B sides on singles, including "The World Ain't Round It's Square."[1]
The album was released in 1966. The band's manager set up a tour of the West Indies for the band and arranged for them to go to New York to play and record.[1] While in New York, they recorded a single, featuring "Roses are Red," which would be released on the Duane label, later in 1966.[1] However, just as they were beginning to establish themselves in New York, the members got involved in a life-threatening incident, provoked by two members of the band.[1] As a result of hard feelings created by the incident, the band broke up before the end of the year.[1]
Critical reception
editThe album is considered to be a seminal work by garage rock enthusiasts and collectors and is sometimes cited as one of the finest live albums in the genre.[1][2] According to Allmusic, the album " stands as one of the best '60s full-length garage platters."[3] The song, "The World Ain't Round It's Square," included on the album, has been mentioned as a classic anthem of anger and defiance.[1][2][4][nb 1] Yet, the album shows the band to be versatile and adept at writing ballads as well as rocking songs.[1][2]
Discography and track information
editThe album
edit- Live 'n Wild (Duane ELP 1047, rel. 1966)
Side 1
edit- "Intro"
- "Poor Man's Son"
- "She's Gone"
- "Gone to the Moon"
- "Quiet Town"
- "Oh My Soul"
- "Broadway"
Side 2
edit- "Nobody But You"
- "Ertu Med" ("He's a Man")
- "I Believe"
- "The World Ain't Round It's Square"
- "We've Got to Get Out of This Place"
- "No No No"
- "Theme"
Singles
edit- No No No / She's Gone (Duane 1043, rel. 1966)
- Roses Are Red My Love / Quiet Town (Duane 1049, rel. 1966)
- The World Ain't Round It's Square / You're on My Mind (Duane 1054, rel. 1966)
Notes
edit- ^ In Mike Markesich's Teenbeat Mayhem, according to the polling of a handful of preeminent garage rock writers, collectors, and experts, the song is rated as a ten out of ten, and ranked at number 4 in the list of the 1000 greatest garage rock records, placing it in the top five of all time, according to that poll.[5]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Bishop, Chris. "The Savages – Live 'n' Wild." Garage Hangover. November 14, 2006 (updated January 26, 2007) http://www.garagehangover.com/savages/
- ^ a b c d e "The Savages – Live 'n Wild (Crude 60s Garage Bermuda 1966)." Psychedelic Rock 'n' Roll. https://web.archive.org/web/20150610085836/http://psychedelic-rocknroll.blogspot.com/2009/12/savages-live-n-wild-bermuda-duane-1966.html
- ^ a b c d e Unterberger, Richie. "The Savages: Artist Profile." Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-savages-mn0001217264/biography
- ^ Markesich 2012, pp. 209, 387.
- ^ Markesich 2012, p. 387.
Works cited
edit- Markesich, Mike (2012). TeenBeat Mayhem!: Commemorating America's Forgotten Musical Heritage : Those Teenage Rock & Roll Combos of the Swingin' 1960s. Priceless Info Press. ISBN 978-0-9856482-5-1. Retrieved 4 November 2021.