Moods: Live At Turner Hall
Apart from everything else, the great state of Texas produced a number of cool club band LPs in the 1960s. Kenny & The Kasuals’ “Impact” is familiar to many, and the Jades from Dallas cut two enjoyable albums in a similar style. The Moods, from Luling, didn’t release this until 1969, but for all practical purposes it sounds like a garage/teenbeat-era title from ’66 or so. “Live At Turner Hall” is, as far as I can tell, a genuine live recording, and it’s an album that is easy to like. As with any 60s club band there is a wild mix of styles, making sure that beer-drinkers from all walks of life feel they got their money’s worth. We get lounge ballads, 50s r’n’b, ‘the new English sound’ (a really fast “Gloria”), tex-mex, country, Top 40, and other delights — even a Tex-Mex/country hybrid on the fun, organ-led version of “Folsom Prison Blues”. The band is tight and the mood is upbeat and energetic, with good use of sax on many tunes. A confidently rocking version of “Suzie-Q” is a high-point, and they even get into some heavy wah-wah guitar on “Hey Joe” (based on Hendrix, not the Leaves). Clocking in at not less than 44 minutes, a splendid Saturday Night is guaranteed for all, even if it may not change anyone’s life. A copy of this LP recently sold for a whopping $700 on eBay, but that must have been due to unusual sunspot activity or something. Still, it’s a hard to find title, with a cool sleeve as a bonus. Amazingly, the Moods are still going.
2 Comments
interesting group somewhat like the moods out of england today but not as bluesy
do not google the moods you will get the wrong ones youtube them try the moods or wearethemoodstv or the moods oxygen