BOOTS Here Are 1966 GERMAN FREAKBEAT PUNK PSYCH LP HEAR

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31

WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS…

THE BOOTS "Here Are the Boots"

Later reissue of 1966 LP on the German TELEFUNKEN label, STEREO 66.21960

Cover:  EXCELLENT

Vinyl:  Clean, plays EXCELLENT

Maybe it was the stodgy, bloated excesses of the Krautrock movement, or maybe it was the metronomic repetitive rhythms of bands like Krautrock, Guru Guru and Tangerine Dream, but I’ve always found German rock music to be too refined, too planned-out, and too polite to be REAL rock music.  I mean, when was the last time the Deutsches Bundesrepublik produced an artist as crazed or inspiring as Syd Barrett, or Brian Wilson, or even Lady GaGa?  And no, the anti-piracy antics of Lars Ulrich don’t count. 

Well, it wasn’t always that way in the land of Bratwurst – back in 1966, at the height of the British invasion, a downright INCENDIARY band was blazing across Germany, taking their cues from the legendary blues punkers like the Pretty Things, the Yardbirds and Van Morrison’s Them, while also beating Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page to the punch in terms of live guitar pyrotechnics.  They were the Boots, and they weren’t made for walking.  For a scant three years between 1965 and 1967, they created some of the most exciting, raucous and thrashing blues punkers this polite nation would ever hear.  Both of their full-length albums – Beat With the Boots (1965) and Here Are the Boots (1966) show how devastatingly powerful they could be, years before Klaus Meine ever even picked up a microphone.  Singer Werner Krabbe shouted and screamed the blues like he’d been raised by Mick and Van for years, while guitarist Jurg Schulte-Eckel was an absolute WILD MAN on the ax, heavy on the Pete Townshend power chords and not afraid to fire up the fuzz box whenever the mood overtook him, and it overtook him often.  He was the Teutonic equivalent of Townshend in his mod days, or Eddie Philips, guitarist for freakbeat legends the Creation.  Jurg was also famous in the German live club scene for playing his guitar with screwdrivers and beer bottles on stage, wrenching unheard sounds of the electric guitar a few years before Jimi got all the credit.  But then again, it’s easier to remember a name like Jimi Hendrix than Jurg Schulte-Eckel.

 All of the Boots’ material is essential to ANYONE into the early R&B garage scene of the mid-60’s, but their crowning achievement had to be their second album, Here Are the Boots.  All the songs are divided into categories based on their styles – “shake”, “stomp”, “boogie” and “hully gully”, with a few “slow”s thrown in – but not many, because these Boots weren’t made for that kind of walkin’.  They turned Van Morrison’s “Baby Please Don’t Go” into an even more frenetic, RAWER slab of electric mayhem, throbbing on a steam train bassline while a wheezing harmonica seems unable to keep up.  A young Ted Nugent must’ve been listening, unless it’s sheer coincidence that his Amboy Dukes’ version should sound MUCH closer to the Boots rendition than the original Them release.  Elsewhere, the band RIP into the beat punker “Mama, Keep Your Big Mouth Shut” with as much reckless abandon as you’d expect, with Jurg providing some KILLER shiver guitar throughout.  The Small Faces’ “Whatcha Gonna Do About It” is turned into a Nuggets garage punker that the Ugly Ducklings would’ve been proud to record, with SLASHING guitar work, burping organ and a drummer who rides the cymbals like Paris Hilton on a date with a drumkit.  Some whooping and diving John Entwistle bass gives it a cool Who/Creation vibe. 

But just when you’ve got the Boots pegged as Germany’s answer to the Pretty Things at their wildest, they throw something completely unexpected at you – like “Enchanted Sea.”  It’s listed as “blues” on the album cover, but this extended foray into trippy psychedelia is about as close to the blues as Pink Floyd’s sound was to the music of Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.  And that’s not just a random comparison either – with its slow, nervous organ, shivering surf guitar and ominous, otherworldly rolling drums, “Enchanted Sea” sounds like the inspiration for “A Saucerful of Secrets.”   To think that this was recorded in 1966 is remarkable – to think that this was recorded in GERMANY in 1966 is nearly enough to singlehandedly make up for Peter Schilling and Falco two decades later.  Nearly.  Make no mistake, the Boots were ahead of their time, and Here Are the Boots provides more shakin’, stompin’, boogie-in’ and hully-gullyin’ than the original NUGGETS double album.  But the spirit and the inspiration is exactly the same.

 HEAR IT!

The less exciting stuff

Media mail shipping with delivery confirmation starts at $4.00 in the US, with each additional record only $1 additional shipping.  ALL DOMESTIC ORDERS REQUIRE DELIVERY CONFIRMATION, WHICH IS AN EXTRA 75 CENTS.  Air mail shipping to Canada starts at $10 US, each additional record $2 shipping.  Air mail shipping everywhere else in the world starts at $16 US, with each additional record only $3 shipping.  ALL FOREIGN ORDERS REQUIRE CERTIFICATE OF SHIPMENT, WHICH IS AN EXTRA $1.10.  I accept payments through Paypal. 

I try to grade as best as I can, and I list as many blemishes/imperfections I can find (writing, ringwear, scuff marks, etc.) – Also, please note that I DO listen to these albums – I may not listen to every track, but my grades are based on LISTENING, not just looking at it, since chances are you’ll be listening to the record you buy, not just looking at it.  Most of the albums I sell are the ones I’ve enjoyed for years – and I treat my records with kid gloves.  But sounds speak louder than words, so check out the sound clips below – they’re from the actual record you’re bidding on. 

SHIPPING AND PACKAGING

Listen, I buy a bunch of records too (when I’m not getting outbid at the last second, which is more often than not) – and I know what it’s like to get a rare, one-of-a-kind album packaged dangerously in a flimsy bubblewrap package.  I hate that too.  So rest assured, I ALWAYS package albums with stiff cardboard reinforcements, same for 45s.  And yes, the records are removed from the sleeves (for albums).  I ship out once a week, every Friday, because I have a regular day job.  But I’d be willing to give that up if you’d all be so kind as to bid my items up to stupidly high amounts. 

And finally, I include delivery confirmation on all shipments inside the US.  This is my proof of shipment, and also helps us to track your package if it doesn’t arrive when it should.  I will email you within 2 days of shipment and give you the confirmation number at that time.  Insurance is always optional, but for larger orders, it’s highly recommended.   I DO NOW REQUIRE THAT ALL FOREIGN BUYERS PAY AN ADDITIONAL $1.10 FOR PROOF OF SHIPMENT.  IT'S A NOMINAL FEE AND THE CHEAPEST WAY FOR ME TO PROVE THAT I ACTUALLY SHIPPED YOUR PACKAGE AND DIDN'T JUST POCKET YOUR MONEY AND SKIP TOWN.  For more security and international tracking, you may request GLOBAL PRIORITY MAIL - but bear in mind the cost of this service is upwards of $30.  For expensive items, however, it may be well worth it.  Unfortunately, there isn’t a cost-effective way of tracking parcels to foreign countries yet, and shipping times vary depending on your country’s postal system.   Italy in particular seems to be really bad at delivering packages quickly, or delivering packages at all, now that you mention it.  I will always email you when your package ships, but once it’s on its way, please don’t ask me when it will arrive because I don’t know.  If the world’s postal systems can ever agree on a universal tracking system that’s affordable, I’ll be the first to use it.

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN…

I will always leave positive feedback for successful transactions, and would appreciate the same in return.  All I ask of you is the following – please pay for your items within 14 days of the close of auction.  Compared to other sellers, that’s a generous amount of time, so if you don’t pay within 2 weeks, then I have to assume something’s wrong.  You’ll get an Ebay payment reminder at that point, and possibly a decapitated horse head in your bed.  If, after 30 days, you still haven’t forked up the cash, I’ll relist the item and yell at you if I ever see you in town.