VA - We're Gonna Change the World! The 60's Chicago Garage Sound of Quill Productions (2009)

Chicago was a great place to be if you were a member of a rock & roll combo in the mid-'60s -- there were plenty of teen clubs, radio stations were happy to play local product, and several Windy City labels were ready and willing to take hometown acts into the studio and get their music into stores. Dunwich Records and USA Records were the biggest labels in Chicago and both scored a handful of national hits, but they were far from the only game in town, and Peter Wright, a successful record promo man who went on to manage the New Colony Six, ran one of the city's most interesting small labels, Quill Records, which released top-notch sides on a number of fine groups and licensed a few of his masters to larger labels out of town. While Quill only lasted a bit less than two years (from 1966 to 1967), their output was impressive stuff from an eclectic variety of acts, and the great reissue label Sundazed, only a few months after releasing a definitive two-disc overview of the USA Records catalog (2131 South Michigan Avenue: 60's Garage and Psychedelia from U.S.A. and Destination Records), have unearthed 19 highlights from Quill's archives on We're Gonna Change the World! The 60's Chicago Garage Sound of Quill Productions. Many of Quill's acts followed the trends of the major British acts of the day, but hardly all of them; the Exterminators deliver a screed against long hair and take an "America first" position on rock with the over the top "Declaration of Independence '65," "Hot Pastrami" by the Don Caron Orchestra is a high-powered instrumental dominated by honking saxophones and fuzzy guitars, and "I'm Going to Change the World" by the Commons Ltd. suggests the psychedelic revolution that was lurking around the corner while still maintaining a high degree of sneer and swagger. And even the acts that were looking to the U.K. for inspiration were turning their eyes to unusual places; the Delights were clearly obsessed with the Zombies, so much so that their original tune "Every Minute, Every Hour, Every Moment" mimics their style just as well as their cover of "Just Out of Reach," and the Skunks, who true to their name bleached stripes into their hair, also leaned to the moody side of British pop with "Don't Ask Why" and a fine cover of the Beatles' "It's Only Love" (though "Do the Duck" is a raw and fuzzy celebration of some would-be dance craze). But whether they were embracing an introspective approach or raving up on some tough R&B-influenced sounds, every track on this collection sounds taut, well-crafted, and full of life. Bob Irwin's remastering is excellent, and the liner notes by Jeff Jarema tell the story behind the label and the bands very well indeed; Sundazed has been giving the Chicago garage rock scene plenty of attention as of late, and We're Gonna Change the World! proves the music more than merits the coverage.