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.