The Remains were a British Invasion-influenced four-piece from Boston who seemingly got the break of a lifetime when they were hired to open for The Beatles on the band’s final trek across America in the summer of 1966 (they played their own set and backed two other acts on the bill, and lead singer/guitarist Barry Tashian jokes they played on stage longer than the Fabs). But the band broke up immediately after the tour and before their selftitled album was released, seemingly condemning it to languish in cult obscurity.
Amazingly, interest in The Remains never fully died out, and the band reformed and released a second album in 2003. Now here comes the long-awaited reissue of the original 10-song album, supplemented with a generous 10 bonus tracks. The sound is too clean to be garage rock (though the fuzzy Once Before comes close), and the band members themselves say the record isn’t totally representative of their live act. You still get a tantalising feel of it in the lively original You Got A Hard Time Coming with its stinging guitar, and they acquit themselves admirably on covers such as Diddy Wah Diddy and I’m Talking About You. A fun, fresh rediscovery.
