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THEE MIDNIGHTERS
Greatest (Thump Records, Inc.)
Reviewed by Alan Wright
Thee Midnighters were a seven-piece Chicano band from L.A. who scored a minor hit in 1965 with their cool instro "Whittier Blvd.," and also their cover of "Land of 1000 Dances," which was also a hit for fellow Chicanos Cannibal and the Headhunters, whom they also backed up at live shows on many occasions. Because they had a horn section (who also doubled on extra keyboards and percussives), Thee Midnighters were adept at playing outright rockers as well as soulful ballads. Truth be told, I found this collection, which focuses on the band's entire lifespan, 1965-69, a little heavy on the ballads, a few of which are just too wimpy. The more minor key and somber tunes like "Brother Where Are You? " and "Are You Angry?" are cool, but things like "Dreaming Casually" and "It'll Never Be Over For Me" are things I'd likely skip on further listenings. The very soulful but slow bluesy number "The Town I Live In" is, however, extremely cool.
But, they were also great at rockers, and when they rocked they really rocked! Besides the aforementioned hits, there are incredible fuzzed-out stompers like "Love Special Delivery," a cool horn-powered cover of "Empty Heart," and the skull-crushing "Never Had It So Bad." They also do a great version of "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love." Also cool are "Jump, Jive And Harmonize" - a stand out of the Teenage Shutdown volume of the same name - and "Welcome Home Darling," replete with a great scream followed by a killer guitar break. The CD does end on a note of affirmation; there's no mistaking their ethnicity and pride in such with the kinda funky but cool "Chicano Power." Like I said, a little too ballad-heavy, and personally I would've replaced a couple of those at least with more rockin' tunes like "I Found A Peanut" and "Dragon Fly." On the other hand, Thee Midnighters records are incredibly scarce, so this is certainly worth picking up. Considering a lot of this was apparently taken from vinyl and "cleaned up" (which can sometimes be a bad thing, as what is "cleaned up" is the warmth of the vinyl), since the masters are nowhere to be found, the sound is really warm, and really good.
[Pick this up at www.thumprecords.com.]
© 2003 - Alan Wright