Mouse & The Traps
The Fraternity Years
1997
Ripped @ 192
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Biography by Richie Unterberger
This Tyler, TX, group from the mid-'60s is most known for their uncanny imitation of Highway 61-era Dylan, "A Public Execution." Featured on the Nuggets compilation, it is to Dylan what the Knickerbockers' "Lies" is to the Beatles: one of the few rip-offs so utterly accurate that it could easily fool listeners into mistaking it for the original article. Spearheaded by singer/songwriter Ronnie Weiss, the group actually recorded quite a few decent singles between 1965 and 1969 without approaching any sort of national recognition. "Mouse" never got as explicitly Dylanesque again, but there's no doubt that Weiss often recalled a non-atonal Dylan with his nasal delivery, and several of their singles were a much more melodic, pop-oriented extension of Dylan's mid-'60s sound. Recording almost exclusively original material, they were one of the better regional groups of the time, and also waxed some capable Texas punk-psychedelia and good-time pop/rockers.
This Tyler, TX, group from the mid-'60s is most known for their uncanny imitation of Highway 61-era Dylan, "A Public Execution." Featured on the Nuggets compilation, it is to Dylan what the Knickerbockers' "Lies" is to the Beatles: one of the few rip-offs so utterly accurate that it could easily fool listeners into mistaking it for the original article. Spearheaded by singer/songwriter Ronnie Weiss, the group actually recorded quite a few decent singles between 1965 and 1969 without approaching any sort of national recognition. "Mouse" never got as explicitly Dylanesque again, but there's no doubt that Weiss often recalled a non-atonal Dylan with his nasal delivery, and several of their singles were a much more melodic, pop-oriented extension of Dylan's mid-'60s sound. Recording almost exclusively original material, they were one of the better regional groups of the time, and also waxed some capable Texas punk-psychedelia and good-time pop/rockers.
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Review by Richie Unterberger
Fraternity Years is the first Mouse & the Traps compilation of a truly official nature, taken right from the master tapes. The 25 tracks do miss a few of their least essential cuts, like the awful country novelty "Would You Believe," their mediocre final single for Bell, and the "Psychotic Reaction" single they recorded under the pseudonym of Positively 13 O'Clock. But everything else is here, with the neat bonuses of a 1967 single credited to another pseudonym (Chris St. John) and seven interesting, previously unreleased sides, including the moving folk-rock-protest number "Nobody Cares" and a you-gotta-hear-it-to-believe-it cover of "You Are My Sunshine" (set to the arrangement of James Brown's "I Got You"!). The lengthy liner notes present the best history of the group ever written, capping an excellent reissue of a fine band who were probably too chameleon-like to find their niche in the national market.
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Fraternity Years is the first Mouse & the Traps compilation of a truly official nature, taken right from the master tapes. The 25 tracks do miss a few of their least essential cuts, like the awful country novelty "Would You Believe," their mediocre final single for Bell, and the "Psychotic Reaction" single they recorded under the pseudonym of Positively 13 O'Clock. But everything else is here, with the neat bonuses of a 1967 single credited to another pseudonym (Chris St. John) and seven interesting, previously unreleased sides, including the moving folk-rock-protest number "Nobody Cares" and a you-gotta-hear-it-to-believe-it cover of "You Are My Sunshine" (set to the arrangement of James Brown's "I Got You"!). The lengthy liner notes present the best history of the group ever written, capping an excellent reissue of a fine band who were probably too chameleon-like to find their niche in the national market.
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Tracklist:
1 A Public Execution
2 Maid of Sugar, Maid of Spice
3 Nobody Cares
4 Cryin' Inside
5 I'm a Man
6 Lie, Beg, Borrow and Steal
7 I've Got Her Love
8 I Am the One
9 Like I Know You Do
10 Sometimes You Just Can't Win
11 All for You
12 Do the Best You Can
13 Look at the Sun
14 You Don't Love Me (You Don't Care)
15 Promises, Promises
16 I Satisfy
17 Requiem for Sarah
18 L.O.V.E. Love
19 Ya Ya
20 Good Times
21 Hand in Hand
22 You Are My Sunshine
23 I Wonder Where the Birds Fly
24 Mohair Sam
25 As Far as the Sea
1 A Public Execution
2 Maid of Sugar, Maid of Spice
3 Nobody Cares
4 Cryin' Inside
5 I'm a Man
6 Lie, Beg, Borrow and Steal
7 I've Got Her Love
8 I Am the One
9 Like I Know You Do
10 Sometimes You Just Can't Win
11 All for You
12 Do the Best You Can
13 Look at the Sun
14 You Don't Love Me (You Don't Care)
15 Promises, Promises
16 I Satisfy
17 Requiem for Sarah
18 L.O.V.E. Love
19 Ya Ya
20 Good Times
21 Hand in Hand
22 You Are My Sunshine
23 I Wonder Where the Birds Fly
24 Mohair Sam
25 As Far as the Sea
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