Most of the material on this LP dates from
Faine's 1966 days as a member of
The Rustics, including their sole single ("Look at Me"/"Can't Get You out of My Heart") and seven rather crude demos from the same time. The band stalked the same reheated British Invasion territory that was being explored by most other garage groups of the era, sounding at times like a very raw and basic
Zombies. With below-average (though not unlistenable) fidelity and clumsy execution,
The Rustics actually rank below the norm of such groups; the songwriting is unimpressive, the material by and large unmemorable. Of more interest are the late-1967 demos of two cuts from Introspection ("I Lived Tomorrow Yesterday" and "Cold Winter Sun"), a demo of "It Ain't True," the best song of his "garage" era; and the previously unreleased "USA Now," a gentle early-1969 protest song that would have fit in on Introspection. Still, this can only be recommended to serious collectors.