The Gestures, "Don't Mess Around" c/w "Candlelight," Soma 1426 (rel. 2/1965)

The Gestures were among the first American rock groups to absorb and reflect the influence of the British bands who took the nation by storm in 1964. Before that year was out, this Minnesota group had a chart hit with “Run, Run, Run,” a song member Dale Menten penned before the Beatles became America’s all-consuming passion.

The urgency and intensity of “Run, Run, Run” set the tone for many home-grown recordings that followed. The nightmarish tendencies of pre-Beatle performers like Del Shannon or Lou Christie inform the song, but the faster pace and more aggressive vocal harmonies grab at the excitement and appeal of the early Beatles songs that were everywhere in the early months of ’64.

The group had made a demo of the song, which they gave to a local DJ. It got airplay, positive response and it attracted the attention of Jim Madison, who ran Kay Bank Studios in Minneapolis. The group recorded four songs for Madison in August 1964. “Run…” was issued on Soma Records—a hotbed of Midwestern teen music (plus too many polka records)—and reached #44 on the Billboard Hot 100. In some cities it went top five. The single is one I often encounter in the wild. Their follow-up record, which turned up in a seller’s bins at the Olympia Record Fair last Sunday, was the first copy I’d ever seen in person.

It was readied for release at the start of 1965 and had plenty of promise. Alas, its two sides were so good that neither emerged as the obvious hit. Deejays were confounded, and had the label stressed one side as their suggested A, the single may have done better. The poor record floundered, despite its regional popularity. Its failure led to the demise of The Gestures, which was a pity. In Dale Menten, the group had a young songwriter who got the Beatles’ approach and could create appealing, haunting songs in that vein that didn’t sound like copycats. Uruguayan group Los Shakers achieved this same result, albeit with ESL lyrics and enunciation. Both group’s recordings sound like alternate-universe Beatles records from the Hard Day’s Night era. (The group’s 1964 recordings were their most influential and are often referenced when a songwriter wants to get That Beatle Sound ©®^TM. Let’s hear this sucker!

“Don’t Mess Around” jumps forward to the Beatles’ Rubber Soul album of late 1965. It’s easy to imagine a John Lennon lead vocal on this track. Its tempo changes are ambitious and work to the song’s advantage. It’s one moody mother, from its cool minor-key vibe to the twangy, emotional guitar solo. Solid backup vox by the other Gestures frame Menten’s emphatic lead. The record ends in a cold stop: most effective for this declaration to an errant lover to straighten up and fly right.  Bam!

The Cash Box reviewer's distraction (and the editor's obliviousness) are on display here.

“Candlelight” draws its inspiration from Chuck Berry’s “Almost Grown,” but pushes that classic through the garage grinder. The r&b-flavored rocker, with more gr8 guitar work by Gus Dewey, has Menten’s voice double-tracked and Lennon-nasal. Again, multiple tempos bring a freshness to the band’s sound. I’m grateful there is no cheesy organ (as unfortunate a staple of garage bands as attempted Mick Jagger-style vocals) and I love the surprise ending; that little coda is most effective and a bit touching. 

IMHO, “Don’t Mess Around” has the radio hit sound, while “Candlelight” is a respectable B: evidence the group could get harder-edged and more rootsy if needed. Both sides paint a formidable picture of a powerful group who deserved a longer run. As said, the failure of this single caused The Gestures to make that unfortunate grand gesture and call it a day.

The group made just enough recordings to fill out an LP, which Sundazed Records reissued their compilation in 2023 on vinyl and compact disc. There are some great deep cuts on that 18-track album: give it a go!

Tomorrow: Link Wray and his Ray Men go the garage route (heck, they invented the style) with a rare 1965 platter for Diamond Records.