Friday, February 17, 2012

Artist: The Five Man Electrical Band, Album: Sweet Paradise, Song: Money Back Guarantee

"You can take it on the highway, check the tires.  Leave it in the driveway and check out the wires.  If that ain't just what your heart desires, I'll tell you what I'm going to do.  Take it on a ten day trial and if you don't like what you see.  Just bring it on back in a while, get your money back guarantee."  The Five Man Electrical Band were a rock band from Ottawa, Ontario.  They were originally called, The Staccatos, and were playing clubs on the Yorkville club circuit during the mid sixties before migrating to L.A. to record for Capital Records.  After some less than stellar single performance, the band decided to re-name themselves after the name of their last Staccatos album, The Five Man Electrical Band.  They returned to L.A., landed a deal with MGM and released their debut, Goodbyes And Butterflies, in 1971. They had a monster hit with the anti-establishment song, Signs, which broke the top ten in both Canada and the U.S..  From that point forward, the band toured relentlessly and when there was time, a new album was hastily released.  They carried on this way until 1973 and by then, most of the members were burned out or had quit.  The band toured with the Allman Brothers, Rare Earth, Sly & The Family Stone as well as Edgar Winter.  They penned some of the catchiest psychedelic songs to ever come out of this country and perhaps even the strangest.  Tunes like the aforementioned Signs, Absolutely Right, I'm A Stranger Here, Werewolf and this tune, Money Back Guarantee.  The band recorded 3 albums between 1971 and 1973 and Sweet Paradise was their last one.  It wasn't as commercially successful as their previous albums but it still was a strong release from a great band.  Money Back Guarantee is an old time rock and roll tune from that release and it was the lead single back in 1972.  You can check it out on You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ul-Iz4-Laso&feature=fvwrel).  The band was made up of Les Emmerson, Brian Rading, Ted Gerow and two drumming brothers Rick and Mike Belanger.  The band has reformed in recent years and still plays the odd show.  You can follow them at http://www.fivemanelectricalband.ca/.  While the album, Sweet Paradise, is long out of print, the band's music has been remastered and re-released on a couple of compilations.  Absolutely Right: The Best Of The Five Man Electrical Band along with the 20th Century Masters Millennium Collection: The Best Of The Five Man Electrical Band, both include this track and are both available from Itunes.  Thanks for reading and enjoy!