Litter, The - $100 Fine - New LP

How do you top The Litter's godlike ’67 longplayer, Distortions? Well, you don’t. But leave it to The Litter to deliver the equally essential (not to mention hopelessly rare) ’68 follow-up, $100 Fine. From the ultra-explosive album opener, “Mindbreaker” (where the Distortions sound now takes on Blue Cheer-like heaviosity) to the LP’s epic finale; a nine-minute, ambitiously retooled “She’s Not There,” $100 Fine ranks as one of its era’s masterpieces.In a tradition established on Distortions, The Litter again prove they were the most totally inspired – no, make that totally English-inspired – cover band to invade a US recording studio. $100 Fine includes exceptional covers of Jeff Beck (“Tally Man”), newcomers Procol Harum (“Kaleidoscope”), and last but certainly most obscure, a cover of “Here I Go Again” by Eire Apparent. But what separates $100 Fine from its predecessor is the emergence of original material; from the ‘Fresh Cream’-style harmonica wailer “Blues One” to heavier psychedelic fare like “(Under the Screaming Double) Eagle.” For further enticement, we should mention everything is drenched in double-tracked, screaming fuzz from Midwest guitar legend Tom “Zip” Caplan. Unfairly rare but now rescued by Sundazed…and sounding exactly like it should. PLAY LOUD!!!! PLAY EVEN LOUDER!!!!

Minneapolis was their home turf. But in the decades that followed, appreciation for Distortions swelled to tidal wave proportions among fans of amped-up, ramped-up, balls-to-the-wall rock 'n' roll. Headlined by two red-hot, stone-cold killers, "Action Woman" and "Soul Searchin'"--both penned by producer Warren Kendrick--Distortions is arguably the greatest private-press garage band album of the era.