line up 1 (1966)

- Johnny Boggs -- keyboards 

- Dave Clelland -- drums, percussion

- Tom Cordle -- bass 

- Bob Hey -- lead guitar 

- Patsy Stevens (aka Patsy Stevens Clelland) -- vocals 

  line up 2 (1966-68)

NEW - Dexter Bell  (RIP 1968) -- lead guitar (replaced Bob Hey)

- Johnny Boggs -- keyboards

- Dave Clelland -- drums, percussion

- Tom Cordle -- bass 

- Patsy Stevens (aka Patsy Stevens Clelland) -- vocals 

- Daze End

- Johnny Boggs (solo efforts)

- The Ramrods (Johnny Boggs, Dave Clelland, Bob Hey 

  and Patsy Stevens)

- The Stevens Express (Patsy Stevens)

Genre: garage

Rating: *** (3 stars)

Title:  Shout

Company: Phalanx

Catalog: LP-PH-001

Year: 1966

Country/State: Kalamazoo, Michigan

Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+

Comments: minor aging

Available: 1

Catalog ID: 4918

Price: $200.00

From 1961 until 1966 keyboardist Johnny Boggs, drummer Dave Clelland, bassist Tom Cordle and lead guitarist Bob Hey were members of The Ramrods.  In early 1966 they added singer Patsy Stevens to the line-up and then split with Ramrods founder Tom Carter, forming The Soundsations.

Following the split the group was hired as the house band by Kalamazoo's Colony Room (a great looking place to play judging by the album cover photo).  Guitarist Hey was quickly lost to the draft, with Dexter Bell stepping in as a replacement.  The group was subsequently approached by the local Phalanx label with an offer to record one of their live shows.  

Produced by CAP Studios, 1966's "Soundsations" was apparently intended to capture the band's in-concert excitement.  If that was one of the goals, then the results were a mixed success.  In spite of some lame audience sound effects, nothing here sounded live, nor particularly exciting. Featuring a mix of then-popular pop and soul hits the album deserved a 'D' for creativity, though the inclusion of one Boggs-penned original ('Moody Love') saved it from an 'F'.  In case you were wondering, the bluesy organ-propelled original was also the album's highpoint.  Perhaps because they were so bad, the band's haphazard readings of 'When a Man Loves a Woman' (I could read Dr. Seuss' "Green Eggs and Ham" with more feeling), an equally inept 'Midnight Hour' and a seemingly endless 'Shout' (with a particularly disturbing drum solo) were fascinating in the same way a bad traffic accident captures one's attention.  By no stretch of the imagination was this great music, but the band's misplaced enthusiasm helped compensate for the absence of originality and the rather flat production.  The other saving grace came in the form of guest vocalist Patsy Stevens.  While she wasn't even shown on the album cover, Steven's handled lead vocals on several tracks and her performances on 'What Now My Love' and 'Just You' provided two of the LP highlights.   Reportedly 1,000 copies were pressed with the majority being sold at club performances.

Following the album's release the group undertook a series of regional tours, but the lack of commercial success led to internal frustrations, with the band calling it quits after Boggs and Cordle got into a nasty fight during a performances in Green Bay, Wisconsin.  

"Shout" track listing:
(side 1)

1.) Double Shot

2.) Unchained Melody   (Alex North - Hy Zaret) - 3:51   rating: **** stars

Goodness knows how many times this rock classic's been covered and while The Soundsations' version is little more than an obscurity, I've always loved their version.  The combination of Boggs' churchy Hammond B3 opening and Stevens' innocent vocal made it one of the album highlights..  

3.) Johnny B Goode

4.) What Now My Love  (Gilbert Becaud - Pierre Delanoe) -   rating: *** stars

With Boggs and Stevens sharing the lead vocals (echos of Sonny and Share), these guys took a sappy ballad and made it enjoyable.  Once again Boggs' Hammond B3 made all the difference in the workd.

5.) When a Man Loves a Woman

6.) Midnight Hour

(side 2)
1.) Moody Love   (Johnny Boggs) - 5:28   rating: **** stars

Easily the album's stand out performance, the Boggs-penned original 'Moody Love' turned in a raw,organ-powered  blues-rocker that would have put Eric Burdon and the Animals to shame.  Bob Hey's raw guitar solos were simply icing on the cake. 

2.) I Can't Help Myself   (Brian Holland - Lamont Dozier 0 Eddie Holland) - 2:44   rating: *** stars

Stevens really did have an impressive voice and while their extended cover of The Four Tops'  'I Can't Help Myself' didn't stray far from the original arrangement, it gave her a chance to show off those chops.

3.) Just You - 3:41

4.) Shout - 5:06

Bell was subsequently drafted into the Army and sent to Vietnam.  In-country for less than a month, PFC Bell died in a September 1968 mortar attack.

Boggs has apparently recorded several country albums.

Drummer Dave Clelland  and singer Patsy Stevens married and started a family.  Stevens continued to work in music, winning some recognition for her work in Christian and Gospel genres.  Stevens also supposedly reappeared with an album credited to "The Stevens Express".  Anyone ever  heard a copy?