| The Sound Specials were a Dutch beatgroup from Tilburg. They had two more commercial 45's out on Benny Vreden Produkties. Both "What do I say" and "I wasn't satified" (the latter has been comped on HISTORY OF DUTCH MUSIC #1 and BEAT EXPRESS #1 - BRABANT) are OK-ish, but I prefer their CNR "Beat From Holland" release from 1966. Off course, it's far from a killer 45 and you'll surely have heard better Nederbiet platters in your lifetime, but this one's really typical for the Dutch beat sound in those days. Listening to bands such as The Outsiders, Q'65, Peter & The Blizzards etc. you might think that ALL Dutch combos were long-haired wild-eyed teenage lunatics, but the opposite was true. Just take a look at this picture sleeve! These guys tried their best to be mother-in-law's favourite! The majority of the Dutch 60's groups looked like The Sound Specials. Most beatgroups sticked to cover versions and never bothered to go for some own compositions, except when they were pushed by record companies to do so. In many cases it resulted in jangly, low-key, mersey-styled or more pop-orientated beat songs - slightly wimpy, often with accented vocals, almost always CHARMING at least. The Alligators, The Caps, Cheese Town Jewels, early Honestmen, Bumble Bees etc....there was an endless stream of likewise sounding groups. The Sound Specials CNR 45 (their rarest by far!) has been - sadly neglected - lurking in my boxes for many years. It takes some spins to appreciate this 2-SIDER, but then we have a disc that gets a solid "7-out-of-10" in my book! |
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