Tayles - Who Are These Guys 1972



 One and only album by Madison, Wisconsin USA band. Orig. from the mastertapes, including

also 2 tracks that that we banned from the radio. Strong influenced by "Grateful Dead" some

part is R&B bar blues, some experimental guitar work, feat. some pretty frantic and

melodramatic guitar sound. "Who are these guys?" may be a legitimate question when it

comes to the quasi-psychedelic obscurity Tayles, but their one slice of rock, aptly enough

titled Who Are These Guys?, is freewheeling and fun while maintaining some of the

underlying menace that characterized the genre. That is not to say that the album

necessarily belongs to the highest level of early-'70s psych -- it is, in fact, much closer to

straight pop -- but the band's music was singular enough to deserve its regional popularity

and its album good enough to have deserved a more widespread audience than it gained

upon its release in 1972. Add to that the fact that the album was recorded entirely live and

Who Are These Guys? shows the band to be talented, inventive musicians who were capable

of writing solid, commercially ready songs that, nevertheless, passed by unheard outside

the local area in their heyday. The Gear Fab reissue opens with each side of the 1971

double-gatefold Tayles single. Two of the songs, "Funny Paper Sam" and "It's High Time"

were deemed too risque for the AM radio censors but are actually a lulling pop song and a

demented, slightly off-kilter rave-up, respectively, while the other two songs are also strong,

including the good-time rock of "Bizarro Ben," somewhat of a signature song for the band

and the only tune that shows up as part of the live set. From the beginning of the live album,

Tayles displays its proficiency. The short, beautiful, flute-led "Introduction" segues into a

"Bizarro Ben" that is more raucous than the studio version. From there, the band tears into

an assortment of bassist Jeremy Wilson and guitarist Bob Schmidtke originals. There are

recognizable influences in the music, but, for the most part, the band does not betray too

significant of a debt to any of their more well-known contemporaries. They also have no

problem investing their music with humorous, poppy, soulful, even schmaltzy elements, and

all with interesting results. They can keep it short and sweet, as on "Did It," rip through

quick, idiosyncratic blues ("Life on Other Planets Shuffle" and "Apocalypse Blues"), or let

loose with some extended instrumental sections, as in "Black Widow Spider" and "Guitar."

None of it will make a listener re-evaluate the state of rock music, but it offers at least a

couple fun listens. ~ GREEN BRAIN



Artist       : Tayles
Album        : Who Are These Guys?
Genre        : Psychedelic Rock
Year         : 1972
Songs       : 14
Playtime     : 00:57:10
Size         : 104,75 MB
Codec        : MPEG 1 Layer III / Lame 3.92 / 256 kbps
Tracks
001. Bizarro Ben (04:54)
002. She Made Me That Way (03:24)
003. Funny Paper Sam (05:22)
004. It's High Time (02:24)
005. Introduction (01:01)
006. Bizarro Ben (06:25)
007. Did It (03:13)
008. Baby Doughdough (03:28)
009. Black Widow Spider (04:59)
010. Life On Other Planets Shuffle (01:30)
011. Angry With My Friend (06:26)
012. Master Of The Arts (03:29)
013. Apocalypse Blues (03:02)
014. Guitar (07:27)



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