Rock Shop - Mr Lee's Swingin Affair Presents (Reissue) (1968/2006)

Hailing from Monterey in northern California, Rock Shop became one of the most popular bands in the area, playing regularly at Mr Lee's Swingin' Affair nightclub in West Covina to packed houses. The band's one and only album, released on the Lee-Mo label, took it's name from the nightclub, and featured 12 self-penned tracks of fuzz-led blues and psych, as well as boasting a spoof cover depicting the band as the next Beatles and hairdresser-cum-rock promoter Mr Lee as God! Despite enjoying a minor level of success including supporting both the Shirelles and Big Joe Turner, the band decided to call it a day in 1969, leaving this lone recording as their epitaph. Although most of the band members departed the music scene, leader Alan Clark went on to work with the likes of Mary Wells, Bobby Day, Al Wilson and Big Joe Turner, as well as enjoying a lengthy stint in Gene Vincent's Blue Caps. This extremely rare album has a strong mix of late '60s sounds that, given the high musical standard and excellent recording quality, still stand up amazingly well today