01. Dayaks - So Long, Sad Sack (Belgium)
02. the Moondogs - Trying To Make You See (Denmark)
03. Mad Comics - So Down (Sweden)
04. Paul & Johnny with the Blue Jets - I'm Free (Belgium)
05. the Scarlets - Now I Know (Holland)
06. the Leather Souls - What's The Use (Australia)
07. the Soul Agents - I'm Still Mad At You (Australia)
08. the Rythm Checkers - Long Tall Sally (Germany/France)
09. the Pieces Fit - Pieces Fit (UK)
10. Paul & Johnny with the Blue Jets - I Like It (Belgium)
11. the Robots - It's Hard To Say (Germany)
12. the Rythms - Everytime (Holland)
13. the Party Brothers - Our Love Is Gone (Germany)
14. Phase 4 - Listen To The Blues (UK)
15. Cool Stove - Big Sensation (Germany)
16. Tommy Scott - I Can Only Give You Everything (UK)
Volume Three excavates some gleaming nuggets, including a great, unknown acetate by the (British) Pieces Fit, the Scarlets' beaty harmonizing trap rattler "Now I Know," and a previously unreleased track by the (Australian) Leather Souls, whose "What's the Use" sounds like a lost Texas punker.
Also from Australia, the Soul Agents' "I'm Still Mad At You" sends a razor-edged raga guitar line snaking provocatively through your arteries on a dark current of primal throbbing drum rhythms - real dangerous sounding.
It's the Belgian boys who seem to dominate this volume though. The opening "So Long, Sad Sack" by the Dayaks is a primitive punker which combines a too-cool attitude with a truly intense delivery as the singer sneeringly gives his girl the brush-off.
The two tracks from Paul & Johnny & The Blue Jets are both top grade creative Punk R&B with chunky guitar, tough harmonies and emotionally wailing harp. (Some readers may remember "I'm Free" as the standout on the otherwise patchy Eat Sprouts comp of several years ago).
Cold Stove's "Big Sensation" may date from 1969 Germany but the crunching fuzz groove and catchy soul/mod chorus are pure `67 UK - a winner. And it's gratifying to finally have the Rhythms' rare "Everytime" available on a comp - a Dutch beat fave with a sloppy Kinks edge (especially those Dave Davies teen hooligan back-ups!) and an unexpected fuzz solo.
- Mike Stax (Originally published in Ugly Things #14)
I've put off reviewing this for months, despairing that mere words coupled with exclamation points can ever do it justice. The first two volumes of this trans-world beat/punk series were hands down the best comps (and therefore, the best albums, period) to appear in the 90's, and inspired the current spate of similarly disposed samplers (aahh, sweet alliteration, where would my writing career be without you?). They deftly mixed enchanting pop tunes with demonic punk, and more than one track offered a glorious combination of both. Diggin' #3 picks up right where its predecessors left off, and despite the absence of the incomparable Thor's Hammer, does so without missing The Beat.
An obscure single (4 known copies!) from Belgian band Dayaks opens the festivities. "So Long, Sad Sack" has a twangy surf sound, but the sneering, drawled vocals about some poor sap getting the heave ho (I think) place this squarely in '66. Also from Belgium come Paul & Johnny With The Blue Jets and both sides of their 1966 effort, "I'm Free"/"I Like It", characterized by chunky riffs with a thick helping of harmonica, and a rich rave-up in the middle. Which somehow brings us to a German combo with the rather odd name of Cool Stove. "Big Sensation" may date from the end of the decade, and start with a moody, organ-based sound, but it soon turns into thoroughly engaging power-pop. Their countrymen The Robots are also mighty impressive on the edgy, echo-laden "It's Hard To Say", which is equal parts bright pop and moody ballad; its chord structure shares much with Lincoln St. Exit's "Whatever Happened To Baby Gessus". The ever-reliable Rhythm Checkers, of German/French extraction, contribute a live, hyperkinetic version of "Long Tall Sally", while The Party Brothers round out the German contingent with "Our Love Is Gone".
Our geographical jaunt next takes us to the UK, and a previously unreleased, crude r&b track called "Pieces Fit", which is enjoyable but, without lead guitar, somewhat lacking in dynamics. Phase 4, on the other hand, made sure all instruments, including piano and tambourine, were accounted for during the recording of "Listen To The Blues", a careening, up-tempo and decidedly un-bluesy number. A chap by the name of Tommy Scott also hails from the UK with another version of the oft-covered "I Can Only Give You Everything", but we can forgive his unoriginal choice in material - the instruments merge into a megalithic wall of fuzz, and it turns out Mr. Scott penned the song for Them in the first place!
Leave it to a group from Holland to come up with the most irresistible slice of pop on Diggin' #3. "Now I Know" by The Scarlets owes much to Beatle-ish merseybeat, but their unique vocals and the glorious melody will win over the most unreconstructed of Beatle-bashers. Dutch band The Rhythms represent their country's wilder side on "Everytime" with great hoarse vocals and forceful lead guitar. Also from the Baltic area comes Mad Comics, whose name is only slightly cooler than their 1966 outing, "So Down", and The Moondogs, whose "Trying To Make You See" is a catchy, Who-like tune, propelled by a maniac drummer, and lacking only power chords and feedback to put it in the Red Squares' league. Finally, a couple of Australian combos make the cut. The Leather Souls left behind just one previously unreleased raw and, yes, ugly thing by the name of "What's The Use", while "I'm Still Mad At You" by The Soul Agents is a furious raga-punk masterpiece, and my personal Diggin' #3 fave rave.
As usual, enthusiastic liner notes provide what facts, if any, are known about the groups, most of whom are depicted on the classy black, white and gold cover. I hope I'm getting through to you here; I fear the full splendor of Diggin' For Gold #3 is beyond my pitiable powers to convey. Where the heck's Lester Bangs when he's really needed?
- Menachem Turchick (Originally published in Freakout U.S.A. #2, 1996)