Monday, March 12

March 12, 2018 - The Lee Kings - On My Way (1966)


Somewhere in 1963, the Beatles fired the first shot that announced the British Invasion. By 1966, the phenomenon had swept into every corner of the world, and talented new bands from England kept coming. I ask, who was the teen Paul Revere of this story? Possibly the scion (love that word) of some New York entertainment industry mogul (love that word as well, makes me think of molehill, of which my yard at the moment has...a few), or the hip American cousin of some enlightened British teen who knew it was just a matter of time. Then how quickly the world did fall.

Sweden's teens fell well. They formed their share of garage bands; with all those Volvos and Saabs it was only natural, right? They ingested the songs of their heroic conquerors and made their only goal the western shore? own recordings, many of which, though imitative, still stood on their own merit.

The Lee Kings released a song called On My Way, which appears on the compilation Searchin for Shakes: Swedish Beat 1965-1968. For this song, the Who is the influence of choice. The song begins with a My Generation riff, then into Kids Are Alright harmonies on the opening verse (though smoother and with a cool reverb freight train effect), a Substitute solo vocal starting at 0:40, then My Generation instrumental craziness at 1:30 (but crazier, more like what The Who did live), then, I don't know, a false ending Magic Bus kind of thing.

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