Gary Walker & The Rain Album No. 1

Pasadena-born drummer Gary Lees got his start in pioneering garage-rock band, The Standells, which he joined in late 1962. After touring the UK with PJ Proby, Lees joined The Walker Brothers as Gary Walker in late 1964, the trio enjoying tremendous success in the UK in the mid-60s, before the pressures of fame and internal tensions split the group. For his debut solo album, Gary put together a tight and inventive backing band with Liverpool-born guitarist Joey Molland, who would later join Badfinger, bassist John Lawson and singer Paul Crane, who had been in Decca signees, The Crying Shame. Reputedly the first album recorded in ‘3D,’ it was issued only in Japan, where The Walker Brothers had a strong following and there is a clear Beatles influence in places, as heard in opener ‘Magazine Woman,’ with its echoes of the Fab 4’s ‘Taxman,’ and the harpsichord on ‘The Sun Shines’ reminds of the melodic psych of Revolver. Elsewhere, the band plays hard and heavy, aiming for a much tougher sound than anything The Walkers Brothers made their name from, as heard in their distorted take of The Drifters’ ‘If You Don’t Come Back.’ This reissue includes rare single ‘Cutie Morning Moon,’ written and produced by Scott Walker and backed by Japanese garage band The Carnabeats, as well as swansong single, ‘Come In You’ll Get Pneumonia.’