VARIOUS - Blow My Mind! - The Doré, Era, Mira Punk & Psych Legacy (2024 Reissue) - 2LP - Vinyl

2LP - Black Vinyl. Now available on vinyl for the first time.  

Three of the quirkier imprints from Hollywood’s heyday in the mid-1960s were the record labels Doré, Era and Mira. Like most seasoned indie producers in that epoch, their owners Lew Bedell, Herb Newman and Randy Wood struggled to get to grips with the onslaught of rock’n’roll activity that followed in the wake of the British Invasion. But amongst each company’s catalogue of R&B, pop schlock and novelty discs were a number of outstanding garage and proto-psych 45s that today are sought-after collectors’ items.

“Blow My Mind!: The Doré-Era-Mira Punk & Psych Legacy” collects together the best of this venerated repertoire in a power-packed set that also constitutes the first official reissue for many oft-bootlegged titles. Cuts like ‘The Thief’, ‘Slander’ and ‘I’ll Blow My Mind’ would be expensive to acquire in their original, minutely-pressed incarnation. Here, with top-notch sound and extensive annotation, these totemic garage rock items shine brighter than ever.

There is the expected quota of attitude-laden classics such as ‘My Baby’s Barefoot’, ‘Just Wanna Be Myself’ and the incredibly snotty ‘So What!!’, along with less heralded gems by bands such as South Hampton Story, The Puddin’ Heads, Yesterday’s Tomorrow and The Search. An unexpected bonus is a superb unreleased cut by ‘Hey Joe’ hitmakers The Leaves, along with off-beat garage-psych titles by Simon T Stokes, The Outlaw Blues and The Wrench.

“Blow My Mind!” is the natural sequel to the recent, well-received collection “Lost Innocence” and is an essential purchase for the dedicated garage head. Compiled by genre expert Alec Palao and originally released by Big Beat/ACE on CD only a few years back, it is now available on vinyl for the first time.

Tracklist: 

Side A
1. My Babys Barefoot – The Syndicate
2. Do Me A Favor – The Leaves
3. Gotta Hold On – The No-nâ-mee’s
4. The Thief – The Motion
5. So What!! – The Lyrics
6. Leave Me Behind – South Hampton Story

Side B
1. Big City Blues – Simon T Stokes
2. The Other Half – Yesterday’s Tomorrow
3. Worryin’ Kid – The Regents
4. She Touched My Soul – John Winfield Jr.
5. Slander – Ty Wagner
6. Now You Say We’re Through – The Puddin’ Heads

Side C
1. They Can’t Hurt Me – The Lyrics
2. I’ll Blow My Mind – Spencer’s Van Dykes
3. I’m Gonna Dance – The Decades
4. The Day Is Hard – The Wrench
5. Climate – The Search
6. Just Wanna Be Myself – The No-nâ-mee’s

Side D
1. Non-stop Blues – The Outlaw Blues
2. Shame – The Front Page & Her
3. Forget Me Girl – The Bees
4. She’s Gone – The Tormentors
5. It’s No Use – Basil & The Baroques
6. To Make A Lie – Unknown Ar