« Back to Top Level | Various Artists

Various Artists - It's A Kave-In! (Kustom 65)

Track listing:
  1. Claudette Jones - Peter & The Silhouettes 2:07
  2. I'm So Small - The Crests 1:55
  3. What's The Use - The Leather Souls 2:22
  4. I Love You So Much - Jimmy Wayne 3:00
  5. But Why - The Marksmen 1:57
  6. I'll Wait & See - The Down & Out 3:12
  7. Familiar Faces & Forgotten Dreams - The Frantics 1:33
  8. You're Just My Kind - The Cult 1:50
  9. Come Back Now - The Livin' End 2:45
  10. Rain - The Leprechauns 2:00
  11. Social Cell - The Tol-Puddle Martyrs 2:18
  12. Time Will Come - The Tol-Puddle Martyrs 3:02
  13. Mary Mary - Sunday 2:41
  14. I'm Lonely - Tikki's 2:11
  15. Moonshine - The Marksmen 2:51
  16. You'll Come Back Again - The Outcasts 1:46
  17. Lost My Soul - Jimmy Wayne 2:08
  18. Sometimes - The Down & Out 2:25
  19. Big Deal - The Town Criers 2:16
  20. No, No, No - The Gemini Five 2:08
  21. Muggsie - The M.I.5. 2:14
  22. Come On Baby - The Templars 2:40
  23. Dawn - Sunday 3:31
  24. You Can't Come 'round Anymore - The Lincolns 2:15
  25. Big Boat Up The River - Johnny K 2:48
  26. Mama Keep Your Big Mouth Shut - The Town Criers 2:50
  27. Loose From My Mind - The Rockin' Rogues 2:11
  28. Choose Who I Like - Mort & The Mobees 2:15
  29. All I Do Is Cry - The Creatures 2:53

Notes

Great reissue of legendary collection, 29 of the most obscure tracks to come out of Australia between ‘64-’67

It's A Kave-In!

Back in the mid-'80s, I met a vacationing Australian here in the States named Dean Mittelhauser. Dean was thee authority when it came to `60s rock from down under and issued a great fanzine called Livin' End that educated collectors and fans on the `60s scene downunder. When Dean decided to release a compilation of his best Australian obscurities, It's a Kave In, it turned out to be one of the best Aussie `60s comps to ever surface. Dean passed away in 1996, but his work will continue to inspire fans in the years to come.

Now on CD comes Dean's It's a Kave In with several extra bonus tracks making for one ace comp. Peter & the Silhouettes open the comp with "Claudette Jones" which was never actually released as a 45, but only included in an obscure independent compilation called The Scene from Northern Victoria. The Crests follow with one of the most inept tracks, "I'm So Small". Twisted guitar and offkey vocals deliver the exploits of these creeps wishing they were tall. The Leather Souls (great name!) come next with one of the best tracks from Australia, "What's the Use", a fuzz driven punker with an "Empty Heart" bassline. Also included is one of my fave two siders, The Tol-Puddle Martyrs (`nuther great name), a boss freakbeat track with brilliant Mark Lindsay-esque vocals and a kickass guitar solo. Among the 10 or so extra bonus tracks, the most unusual is the Templars' "Come On Baby", a hip number sung half in Greek and half in English. Apparently they were from Melbourne which is known to have the largest Greek population outside of Athens.

A few of the tracks from the original comp were left off, such as those by the Tom Thumb, but I'm assuming that is because they have appeared on more recent compilations that are still readily available. Overall, if you missed the original LP the first time around, don't blow it this time out. This was and is one of the best Australian comps around.

- Tony Sanchez (Originally published in Ugly Things #17, 1999)