TRACKS 69/74 Rare DARTMOUTH COLLEGE BAND 3 lp Box Set

$

706

ULTRA RARE RECORD SET FROM THIS DARTMOUTH COLLEGE ORIGINATED BAND!

  "TRACKS 69/74"

- Original 24 Track, 3 lp Box Set - No label Listed. Records marked: SBT - 1

    * Artist: Tracks
    * Rating: ***
    * Release Date: 1974
    * Total Time: (un-timed - 3 full length lps)
    * Genre: Rock
    * Notes: Box set with 12 page book including lyrics and personnel/ recording information.   LPs are in very good visible condition (probably unplayed) with at most a few minor scuffs, box is a little soiled and rubbed but still in good vintage condition with some bubbling to front and back slick. Book is very good with one or two minor spots.

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Some Google info:
In 1968, the Night Watchmen (originally called The Embryos) combined with the Dartmouth jam band Ham Sandwich. After Logan and Calvert left the group, Pinkston and Wilkes recruited Peter Wonson (class of'68) and Ned Berndt ('72), along with Hanover residents Ken Aldrich and Skip Truman. They formed Tracks, which went on to record original material and become a "superpopular" headliner in the New England music scene, says Logan.

(more:)
Rock & Roll on campus 1966-
First, in the Fall of 1966, we were the Embryos ("Not a Fetus Can Beat Us" - I'm not making this up) because Steve Calvert always wanted a band with that name. We came back in the Fall of 67 with a seriousness of purpose and a new focus. Also a new name: The Night Watchmen.
And our fearless bassist showed up with a 1956 Cadillac hearse! We wuz in heaven.

Mostly we continued to play fraternity and high school parties, for dancing and entertainment. Also to make some money. The alternative for some of us would be working in the DDA (Dartmouth Dining Association) serving food to our classmates. Nothing wrong with that, but playing music was a lot better.
The band became more creative in our arrangements, although not yet ready to write original tunes. By the Winter and Spring, we began to think of staying together for the summer, and began auditions in New York City, upstate New York, and other places. We also enjoyed the friendly competition with other bands on campus, and getting to know some of the local guys who played: musicians like Ken Aldrich and Skip Truman.

The spring and summer of 68 was playing in the Aerodrome in Albany, New York, the Hampton Manor upstate, and the Cafe Bizarre in Greenwich Village.

There is more to the story of this band, and Tracks band that arose from it. I wanted to get a post going on the new blog, and look forward to sharing/reading from those I know and those I hope to get to know.

Peter Logan (drummer)

Review (of 1991 CD compilation):

Not to be confused with Bowie guitarist Earl Slick's 1972 group on Capitol Records or a late-'70s Boston punk band fronted by Lori Doll, this Tracks reigned between 1969 and 1974 and had the distinction of being produced by Wayne Wadhams, lead singer of the Fifth Estate (which hit with "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" in 1967). Along with a unique version of Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower," this ensemble comes up with a real sleeper in the tune "Pawnbroker" -- a strong, methodical ballad featuring great vocals and interplay from the guitar and keyboard that put it in a league with the legendary Modern Lovers. "Bottleneck" is another excellent track, recorded by producer Wadhams at the prestigious Orson Welles Film School outside of Harvard Square where Willie "Loco" Alexander and Walter Powers created their post-Velvet Underground tapes in 1974. Wadhams' March 1991 liner notes on this treasure help put things in perspective, though the four-page booklet and highly informative back cover are all the press record collectors are likely to find on a band that hardly got the attention of the aforementioned Modern Lovers or, for that matter, Aerosmith, the Sidewinders, Moulty & the Barbarians, Seatrain, or Barry & the Remains. "Expecting to Find You Gone" and "Whistling in the Dark Together" sound like the kind of music the Rowan Brothers were trying to make for Clive Davis in 1972, Peter Rowan emerging from Seatrain and Earth Opera during the time this Tracks was making noise. The band was perhaps a bit too progressive to grab the underground chic enjoyed by Andy Paley's Sidewinders or Jonathan Richman's musings -- and with "Mexican Bird" not being a hit single, there would be no resurgence like the Barbarians' track "Moulty" received on the Nuggets collection (come to think of it, Tracks' producer did have a hit, yet never got that all important Nuggets stamp of approval). A song like "Lethargy" would have most likely remained forever in obscurity without this Boston Skyline compilation bringing it and other selections back into circulation. The Very Best of Tracks is not your typical artifact from the days before New England's new wave movement, but it is quite a find.