The Haunted: The Haunted (clear vinyl) [RETURN TO VINYL]

Why you'll love it

This clear vinyl reissue brings back the long-gone 1967 album by one of Quebec's wildest 1960s bands. "1-2-5" made the Canadian top 30, and the record pairs raw, fuzzy garage rock with a folk and blues-leaning second side.

This edition

• Clear vinyl
• Limited edition

About the album

In 1965, a Montreal band led by guitarist Jurgen Peter won a Battle of the Bands at the Montreal Forum, beating David Clayton-Thomas and the Shays. First prize was studio time, paid for by Quality Records, and the song they cut became "1-2-5," a snarling garage single that climbed to No. 23 in Canada and got picked up in the US too.

By the time the band put this album out on Trans-World in 1967, Al Birmingham was on lead guitar and Bob Burgess was singing. Side A is all fuzz and swagger, with "1-2-5," "Shake," "Horror Show" and "Untie Me"; side B goes folkier and bluesier, through "Searching for My Baby" and "A Message to Pretty" to a rattling "St-Louis Blues." Drummer Peter Symes later said they were the most sought-after, best-paid band in Canada for years, and you can hear why.

The Haunted kept packing Canadian clubs until 1971, and their last single was a French-language take on "Purple Haze." The band's first single misspelled them as The Hunted, which is the sort of thing that would make anyone want to haunt a pressing plant.

Also at Kops: more The Haunted on vinyl · browse CDN Pop / Rock

Tracklist

Listen

On Return to Analog, a reissue of the 1967 album.