The Mojo Men - Whys Ain't Supossed To Be (1965-1966)

Mp3\114Mb

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Jimmy Alaimo - bass and vocals
- Paul Curcio - guitar and vocals
Don Metchick - keyboards and vocals
 Dennis DeCarr - drums and vocals

One of the earliest San Francisco rock bands, the Mojo Men had local hits on the Autumn label with "Dance With Me," "She's My Baby," and a cover of the Rolling Stones' "Off the Hook" in the mid-'60s. Their early sides displayed a raunchy but thin approach taken from the mold of British Invasion groups like the Stones and Them. In 1966, after female drummer Jan Errico joined from the San Francisco folk-rock group the Vejtables, they moved to Reprise and pursued folky psychedelic pop directions, and had a Top 40 hit with a Baroque arrangement of Buffalo Springfield's "Sit Down I Think I Love You" in 1967. In their later days, they developed more intricate arrangements and harmonies that reflected the influence of the Mamas & the Papas and Jefferson Airplane, although they weren't in the same league as those groups. Their many singles never fully displayed the band's considerable songwriting and vocal talents, and after changing their name to the Mojo and finally just Mojo, they disbanded in the late '60s.

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This 21-track disc covers the Mojo Men's first incarnation, when they were a pop-garage group, not the pop-folk-rock act they would evolve into when Jan Errico joined. "She's My Baby" and "Dance With Me" made some noise regionally, "Dance With Me" making the middle of the national charts, but Autumn Records folded before the group got the chance to do any albums. Assembled from a handful of Autumn 45s and many previously unissued recordings, this could be considered the Mojo Men's lost album. But it's really not worth getting excited about, even if you're a garage fan. The thumping, monotonous drums and rinky-dink organ patterns can grate, and worse, the material is often so thin as to be puerile. Juvenile lyrics are a mainstay of many garage recordings, but the Mojo Men's compositions could be downright annoying. Their emulations of the Rolling Stones, Kinks, and Animals were pale, though some promise could be heard in a few moodier, folk-rock influenced cuts.

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1. The Mojo Men - Oh Misery (2:13)
2. The Mojo Men - Lost Love (2:09)
3. The Mojo Men - Why Can't You Stay (2:27)
4. The Mojo Men - Girl Won't You Go On Home (1:43)
5. The Mojo Men - Cry Baby (2:43)
6. The Mojo Men - Everything I Need (2:47)
7. The Mojo Men - She Goes With Me (1:52)
8. The Mojo Men - Free As A Bird (2:24)
9. The Mojo Men - Loneliest Boy In Town (3:06)
10. The Mojo Men - Fire In My Heart (2:34)
11. The Mojo Men - Something Bad (2:14)
12. The Mojo Men - She's My Baby (3:35)
13. The Mojo Men - My Woman's Head (3:55)
14. The Mojo Men - The New Breed (3:37)
15. The Mojo Men - Dance With Me (2:41)
16. The Mojo Men - Off The Hook (2:45)
17. The Mojo Men - Why (2:20)
18. The Mojo Men - Fire In My Heart (2:53)
19. The Mojo Men - As I Get Older (3:13)
20. The Mojo Men - WMEX Radio Spot - Mojo Men Day! (0:58)
21. The Mojo Men - Mama's Little Baby (2:29)

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