PROMISE
Still, the band reported about their final recording session in their original incarnation in December 1986, culminating in the single “Promise” b/w “Too Many Lovers” on an Australian label, Kavern 7 Records: “Incredibly, considering the conflict within the group, ‘Promise’ turned out to be one of the [Tell-Tale] Hearts’ finest moments, highlighted by Peter [Miesner]’s amazing guitar leads and controlled feedback, and Bill [Calhoun]’s wailing harp.” The band called it quits on Valentine’s Day 1987.
The retrospective album that I own by the Tell-Tale Hearts, High Tide (Big Noses & Pizza Faces) came out in 1994 on Voxx Records, collecting 6 songs from The Tell-Tale Hearts (after being remixed to recapture their original sound); 5 from The “Now” Sound of the Tell-Tale Hearts; the 1986 single mentioned above, “Promise” b/w “Too Many Lovers”; 5 demos dating from early 1984; and 3 live performances. Nine of the songs are previously unreleased. Among the demos is a particularly welcome version of “Crackin’ Up”; “Crackin’ Up” by the Wig is listed on the cover of both the Pebbles, Volume 1 LP and the Pebbles, Volume 1 CD but is not actually included on the album.
There are some great covers on the Tell-Tale Hearts CD that run the gamut of the whole Sixties scene, among them “Just in Case You’re Wondering” (originally by the Ugly Ducklings), “Me Needing You” (the Pretty Things – the band who inspired the name of Mike Stax’s magazine, Ugly Things), “I’m Gonna Make You Mine” (the Shadows of Knight), “Satisfy You” (the Seeds), the great lead-off track, “My World Is Upside Down” (the Shames), and “Cry” (the Malibus). The band’s original songs are steeped in the same Sixties brew; my favorites include “(You’re a) Dirty Liar”, “Crawling Back to Me”, “It’s Just a Matter of Time”, “One Girl”, and “Promise”. As usual though with the UARB’s, all of their music sounds great to me.
(September 2017)
