Thee Midniters are generally acknowledged to be the most fearsomely rockin' Chicano band to come out of the fabled East L.A. scene of the mid-'60s. Although their chart success was limited to their version of "Land of a Thousand Dances" (an extended live take of which is among the tracks included here) and they were beaten to the punch on that one by fellow scenesters
Cannibal & the Headhunters -- the latter's version charted a month earlier and rose higher -- the rest of
Thee Midniters' output leaves no doubt that they were the more ferocious band. A few fine collections of the group's limited output on such labels as Whittier and Chattahoochee have previously found their way to market, but Norton typically ups the ante with the most comprehensive set yet, accompanied by exhaustive liner notes by Domenic Priore and a slew of great vintage photos. Although
Thee Midniters were known primarily for their sizzling covers of then-current rock & roll and R&B hits, the majority of the tracks here are originals, written by various combinations of bandmembers. The originals (especially "Whittier Blvd." and its cousin, "Down Whittier Blvd.") and covers both show a heavy allegiance to funky soul of the Stax and Motown varieties (great covers of
the Contours' "Do You Love Me" and
Barrett Strong's "Money"), as well as happening bands like
the Rolling Stones ("Empty Heart") and
Them ("Gloria"). On both "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" (
Stones via
Solomon Burke) and their insane blast-out on the
Mitch Ryder medley of "Devil with a Blue Dress/Good Golly Miss Molly,"
Thee Midniters are simply on fire. On occasion, the group showed a tendency to veer off into what would soon morph into psychedelia, but most of these 19 tracks, cranked to the max with blessed distortion, are unscathed, gritty rock & roll. ~ Jeff Tamarkin