Basil & The Baroques, "It's No Use" c/w "We'll Meet Again," Dore 745 (rel.10/1965)

 

What little is known about today’s group could fill the cover of a matchbook. Basil and The Baroques were started by two law students at Stanford University who were smitten with the sound of The Byrds. Bruce Miller, John Cahners, John Hartnett and Roger Brennan comprised the band, who played on LA’s Sunset Strip in 1965 and made one single—with two Byrds covers—and then threw in the towel.

Their lone single was issued on Dore (pronounced ‘Dorrie’), a label best-known for the #1 hit of 1958, “To Know Him is to Love Him” by The Teddy Bears, the first production and song of Phil Spector. Dore also had some early sides by Jan & Dean and, later on, a slew of super-rare Northern Soul, garage and hard rock platters by go-nowhere performers. Today’s disc falls in that latter category and, while it breaks zero new ground, it’s a good time capsule of LA ’65.

The group chose a deep cut from The Byrds’ debut LP, Mr. Tambourine Man. “It’s No Use” was among the songs the group created prior to their signing with Columbia Records. This was one of a few collaborations of Gene Clark and Roger McGuinn. Lead singer Clark dominated the group’s repertoire with his excellent, pensive Beatle-esque and country-tinged songs; this led to a schism, as Clark became wealthy from all his songwriting royalties while the other Byrds had to scrimp and economize. It led to Clark being edged out of the group due to constant bullying by David Crosby (rock’s #1 asshat) and Roger McGuinn, whose cruel dispassionate personality clashed with Clark’s heart-on-sleeve approach to life. They succeeded in rattling Clark, breaking his will and forcing him out of the group, after which The Byrds cease to interest me. Clark never recovered from this betrayal and rejection; he continued to make memorable music, but never with an iota of the success he enjoyed in 1965 and ’66. He struggled with substance abuse issues to his end of days and has become much more a cult hero than the other Byrds were ever, or will ever be.

“It’s No Use” is a tight, urgent minor-keyed rocker that Basil and group replicate to the letter. It’s eerie how close they come to the Byrds' original. No electric 12-string guitar for The Baroques; they make do with regular six-stringers. Their drummer is far better than The Byrds’ Michael Clarke and their two-part harmonies conflate the bigger group’s three voice arrangements. There’s a real do-or-die feeling to this side, which shows the band tight as an Army cot and suggests they had a solid live act. Too bad they couldn’t come up with their own material!

The Byrds’ version of the WWII-era ballad “We’ll Meet Again” is sung with tongue-in-cheek insolence and serves as the closer for their first LP. Basil & Co. treat it with more decorum; they keep some of the bigger group’s put-on (over-precise diction) but add a little British accent to the mix and sound like Chad and Jeremy in sunshine pop-land. The nimble band keeps this on its toes, and the damned thing fades out in mid-bridge, as if all parties involved were embarrassed by it all.

While this single is a lost opportunity, its rarity and oddness make it suitable for Saturday transmission. And this, friends, is all we have. Today is the Record Hawk show in Portland, and I will bring home a bunch of great new finds which I’ll share with you as soon as time permits.

Tomorrow: Soulful Sunday supreme with Bobby Parker’s killer 1961 V-Tone single. Two spectacular sides that inspired the British invaders and remains a masterpiece of its kind!