THE EYES OF DAWN TIME TO BE GOING CANADIAN GARAGE ROCK SIR JOHN A.

$

261

You are bidding on THE EYES OF DAWN TIME TO BE GOING / IGNORANCE AND HARDSHIP.

This is on Sir John A. RG1018 Canadian issue.

Visually shellac is near mint – collector piece.

Listen to this tune at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G86gQP7Vh7A

BIO:

Formed in Ottawa in 1966, the five-piece Eyes of Dawn won a Big 9 battle of the bands contest across the river in Hull, Quebec, leading to a six-month stint as the house band at the La Petite Souris coffee house. The regular sell-out crowds grabbed the ear of DJ John Pozer, who signed them up to his short-lived but prolific Sir John A label. With labelmate Don Norman arranging and Ron Greene producing, the band were off to Montreal to record what would be the indie imprint's fourth release.

The Eyes of Dawn's debut single, a cover of the Fortunes' 'Time to Be Going', which came backed with their own 'Ignorance and Hardship', hit the shops in January 1967 and allegedly climbed the charts to the #12 spot locally by April 1st. The Fortunes' track is the better of the two here, pairing some Liverpudlian guitar licks with the band's amateurish, though charming, harmonies. Over on the backside the rather lame 'Ignorance and Hardship' unfortunately finds the lads a little anemic in the songwriting department. With purportedly only 300 copies stamped, this will be a tough one to track down, but amazingly it can still be had for under $200. What's more, by March of that year, the guys had found fortunes of their own, getting themselves on the bill at the infamous Eric Burdon and the Animals gig at the Ottawa Coliseum, where Burdon et al refused to perform until they were paid, sparking a riot that would put the kibosh on any future rock and roll at that venue. A second single in December - this one wisely stuck to covers - also met with some success, but by 1968 the Eyes of Dawn were ready for the history books.

(All you garage/pop obsessives - admit it, that's why you're here, isn't it - can find these two tracks on the 1996 CD, Ottawa Rocks - The Sir John A Years on Bullseye.)

After the modest success of their debut seven-inch 'Time to Be Going', which had seen some local chart action earlier in the year, the Eyes of Dawn lost their lead singer Wayne McQuaid to fellow labelmates Those Naughty Boys, and had to regroup somewhat. As well, their big moment in the sun, a back-up slot for Eric Burdon and the Animals at the Ottawa Coliseum, ended in infamy when the Animals balked at playing until they were paid, and the crowd erupted in violence.

On their second and final single, released in December of 1967, the guys wisely stuck to covers, updating Procol Harum's 'Kaleidoscope' on the b-side, and tarting up Dusty Springfield's wonderful 1966 ditty 'Little by Little' over on the topside. On 'Kaleidoscope', what is originally a fierce proto-psych stormer becomes a lithe pop song in the boys' hands, with the Hammond organ toned down a notch and Gary Booker's usually throaty bellows replaced here by the Eyes' almost Byrds-like harmonies and AM-friendly backing cries of "doooo do do doo". Turn the record over and Dusty's hook-filled classic is of course joyous and upbeat, reaching the #9 position with the added heft of distribution by RCA...though really, how could you mess up a song as lovely as this?

Buyer pays $5  shipped to the US by airmail. Overseas is $10.00

If bidding reaches over $200, then there will be an additional cost for a tracking number ( apx. $13 for the US and $25 overseas)  

Check my other auctions during the next few weeks for more rare, obscure , psych, punk Canadian garage punk psych rock 45 rpm. 

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