Hermann's Corner - The Dirty Wurds(Why)

A: So Hermann.. I've heard you've been vacating down south for a while now. How is the weather?

H: Thanks for asking Anders, the weather in Rio is sunny as always.

A: Anything new?

H: I'm hungry.

A: Uh.. sure. But Hermann, don't you have a song for for us today?

H: Well how about The Dirty Wurds, and their killer(and I should know what a killer is) a-side "Why". I think you first of all should listen to the song, as this is one of the crudest and most mental song you'll ever hear.

"Why"/"Takin' My Blues Away", 1965

Chicago, Illinois, Marina 502

re-released on: Pebbles #5

The line-up of The Dirty Wurds had a lot of changes in the bass and drums department. On the "Why" single however this was the line-up:

Mick Mackles - Vocals
Justin Pomeroy - Rhytm Guitar
Mike Peterson - Lead Guitar
Jim(James) Savage - Bass
Mark Bringman - Drums

Here's the lyrics.. As you can see nothing special. That was probably why the Dirty Wurds decided to spice things up a little, and made the songwriter(not a member of the band) seem like a mental case, with this neurotic way of singing these rather dull lyrics. Rumours says also that the songwriter was displeased after hearing that his song - thought of being a tender love-ballad - would end up like this. Well, I'm not. This is as good 60's punk as it gets.



Why, baby

(Why) I need your lovin'
(Why) I need you very much
(Why) I need your tender touch
(Why) I love you very much

And I say (why, why, why, why, why)

(Why) I want you near me
(Why) I want you very much
(Why) I wanna have you near me
(Why) I need you very much

And I say (why, why, why, why, why)

You notice that all the time I cry
And baby, I want you near me so I wont cry
So tell me, baby, why won't you come near me
You know I love you, baby, you know I really do

(why, why, why, why, why)

(Why) I need your lovin'
(Why) I need you very much
(Why) I need your tender touch
(Why) I love you very much

And I say (why, why, why, why, why)

Oh baby, I want you near me
Oh, why wont you come back
I wanna know, baby
Why wont you come back to me, baby
Why, why, why, why

The Spiders

Vincent Furnier(Alice Cooper) - Vocals
Glen Buxton - Lead Guitar
Michael Bruce - Rhythm guitar
Dennis Dunaway - Bass
John Speer - Drums

Vincent is by now a rather well known Detroit'er, while the rest of the Spiders came from Phoenix, Arizona where also the band was located around 1965.
That year the original version of "Don't Blow Your Mind" was recorded for the Mascot label(Santa Cruz SCR 10,003) and pressed in a run of 500 copies, with the swinging "No Price Tag" as a b-side.

The a-side is some of the crudest fuzz-punk tracks ever recorded in 1965(released later in 1966), with Vincent spitting out the lyrics with a voice sounding like it's had razorblades for breakfast, and a guitar with a fuzz-pedal stepped to the max for a extra primitive and rough effect.

The single has become a rather sought after collectors item, probably because the band used to toss copies to the audience from the stage, with the result often being that the now so rare copies would be stamped in pieces. How many copies that is left by now is still unclear.

 

 

 

An alternative version of "Don't Blow Your Mind" was recorded in 1966, and released for the first time on a 7" from Sundazed records. 

 

A bootleg EP "Battle Of The Bands" with "No Price Tag" and "Don't Blow Your Mind" by "The Spiders" on the a-side, and the great psychedelic tracks "Wonder Who's Loving Her Now"(a-side, released 1967) and "Lay Down And Die, Goodbye"(b-side) by The Nazz on b-side was released, probably in the 80's.

The Nazz kept the same line-up as The Spiders, except for Neil Smith taking over the drums for John Speer. The band would also re-localize to Los Angeles. Later  The Nazz would be known as The Alice Cooper band.  

 

A version of "Don't Blow Your Mind" was performed live in Toronto, 1969, by Alice Cooper, with new lyrics, better known as "Freak Out Song" on several bootlegs.