In late 1965 the Standells hooked up with producer Ed Cobb and struck a deal with Tower Records. At this point they had already been a band for a few years, released several singles, a live album, and made some television/film appearances, but they were still a few months away from having a big hit with 'Dirty Water'. That track is OK, but the commercial appeal doesn't really do anything for me. I need to dig in a little deeper to get my fix if you know what I mean.
The Standells debut studio album on Tower showed up in the summer of 1966 as the 'Dirty Water' single saw a slow but steady rise in the pop charts. You don't have to dig in very far to find 'Medication', one of my all time fave garage numbers. It's the lead off track on the LP! This choice cut receives seldom mention so all the better to highlight it here.
The song starts off abruptly with a cool-as-fuck hazy vibrato fuzz guitar accompanied by droning organ notes and a killer bass riff. Enter some laid back vocals from Dick Dodd and you have THEE sound. The songwriting credits go to Minette Alton and Ben DiTosti whose origins are unknown to me.
The other notable rendition of 'Medication' was recorded by The Chocolate Watchband for their 1968 LP The Inner Mystique. The backing track is alright, but I find Don Bennetts vocals to be cringeworthy at best. Standells all the way...
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