Garage appropriations haven’t usually caused too many fans of the genre to take issue with old tyme hits being repurposed for new use – and usually related in drastically different musical tones than the originals. After considering the West Coast garage explosion that could be figured to have peeked by the mid ‘80s, it’s then pretty easy to undersatnd the Gories as the bridge from that decade to all of the Budget Rock stuff that cropped up during the ‘90s. In noting all of those disparate garage flouting moments, it should become rather obvious that while a great many of those bands simply wouldn’t exist without the likes of the Sonics or all the Nuggets’ bands, no one really played the same kind of music.
In its earliest iteration, the California bands injected a healthful dose of latter day psych into its garage. The Gories were beholden to that John Lee Hooker stomp and the Budge Rock bands were almost getting into punk territory. So when an act – from any of those disparate scenes – was able to come off as the genuine article, it deserves a bit of attention. That being said, the word authentic is problematic. The Gravedigger V copped some garage attitude and while it might not have sounded like it flew from the ‘60s, its music wasn’t fake.
So, understanding the music that Barry White – who eventually gigged under the name Barrence Whitfield to avoid confusion with that other, better known Barry – worked up doesn’t need to be couched in any discussion of what sounded real and what was a rip off. It’s safe to assume that Whitfield himself would rather whoop and holler on the mic than partake in that conversation.
Either way, Whitfield, who grew up in Jersey, fronted some groups while in high school, but with little success. As the story goes, a move to Boston in order to attend college, Whitfield found himself working in a used record store. To entertain himself, he’d occasionally sing along with whatever discs were spinning in the establishment. And since it was Boston, there was eventually a stray member of the Lyres around to hear Whitfield sing a bit. Suddenly the clerk was jacked into the Boston rock scene and set up a group he dubbed the Savages.
Fronting the band, which was unsurprisingly well received, Whitfield found the success that alluded him down the Eastern sea board a bit. Amidst one of the earlier garage renaissances, the band cut a few discs, toured Europe and even found spots in the States opening up for huge acts like Tina Turner. Yeah, the band was that good.
Over the course of it’s catalog there’s not too much chance for the Savages to mess up such an established sound. Everyone has a favorite, though. And it wouldn’t be difficult to pick out the band’s first self titled long player as the group’s most visceral recording. Again, though, the genre itself has almost precluded any bummers getting recorded, so hunt down the Savages before they find you.