Garage Pop/Psychedelic Pop: Teddy And The Pandas - Basic Magnetism 1969 (2002 Tower Records) Flac & mp3

Teddy and the Pandas were an American garage rock band formed in 1963 as the Sensations in Beverly, Massachusetts. The band originally consisted of Al Lawrence on vocals, Billy Corelle on bass guitar, Ralph Cooper on drums, Joe Daly on lead guitar, and Dick Winters on saxophone. Shortly thereafter, the group added Dick Guerrette on keyboards, and guitarist William "Teddy" Dewart, while Winters moved on. In 1964, Jerry Labrecque replaced drummer Ralph Cooper, finalizing the line-up that was to become known as Teddy and The Pandas.
Teddy and the Pandas released five singles from 1966 to 1968, in addition to one album. During their heyday, Teddy and the Pandas toured with The Beach Boys, The Dave Clark Five, The Lovin' Spoonful, and Paul Revere & The Raiders, and were also part of Gene Pitney's 1966 tour. In addition to their appearance on Where the Action Is, the band performed on Cleveland's Upbeat TV television program.
Excluding a handful of appearances on 1980s compilation albums, the music of Teddy and the Pandas has generally been unavailable since the group's disbanding in 1969.(wiki)

Boston garage combo Teddy and the Pandas formed in early 1964, originally comprising guitarist Teddy Dewart (the group's nominal leader), singer Al Lawrence, rhythm guitarist Joe Daley, bassist Billy "Sonny" Corelle, keyboardist Dickie Guerrette, and drummer Jerry LaBrecque. Daley left the lineup soon after its inception, but the remaining members were far more serious about the endeavor -- steady gigging in North Shore communities like Danvers, Gloucester, and Manchester quickly established Teddy and the Pandas as a teen favorite, and in fact they grew so popular that they even formed their own corporation and hired legal representation, accountants, and a PR consultant. They also traveled with a four-man road crew. In late 1965, the band entered Ace Recording Studios to cut their debut single, the Dewart-penned "Once Upon a Time" -- issued on the local Coristine label. In the spring of 1966 the single reached the Top Ten on Boston radio stations WMEX and WBZ, its unique sound due largely to Guerrette's snap decision to abandon his keyboard in favor of a harpsichord left in the studio by members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. "Once Upon a Time" was such a hit throughout the northeast that the Musicor label signed to re-release the single nationally, although it stalled at number 134 on the Billboard charts. Session vocalist Toni Wine and guitar ace Hugh McCracken lent their skills to Teddy and the Pandas' second Musicor effort, "We Can't Go on This Way" -- another local smash, it fell just shy of the national Hot 100. The band spent the fall of 1966 on a six-week tour in support of Musicor superstar Gene Pitney, also appearing on the Dick Clark television series Where the Action Is.

Teddy and the Pandas' third Musicor single "Searchin' for the Good Times" was also their last -- its label-mandated psychedelic trappings were a poor fit with the band's raw, energetic sound, and the record went nowhere. The group then landed at Capitol's Tower affiliate, but their lone full-length, 1967's Basic Magnetism, likewise suffered from a forced psychedelic sound. By the time the album was released, Dewart had left the band to attend college, and Paul Rivers was tapped to assume lead guitar duties before Teddy and the Pandas called it quits a few months later. The classic five-member lineup reunited for the first time on October 7, 1983 in Danvers, Massachusetts, and 15 years later they began work on their first new recordings in over three decades -- 2002 also saw the release of Rarities and Forgotten Gems, a collection of previously unreleased demos and alternate versions from Teddy and the Pandas' heyday.  (allmusic)

Mark a very friendly guy from the area of the band contributed this fine album to the blog.  Thanks a lot for this, Mark !
On the disc are all four singles by the band, two songs from acetates and the complete album. 20 songs all in all. And here are some real great songs on the disc. And in my opinion the album don't suffered from a ''forced psychedelic sound''. Sure it's a different sound but nevertheless the album is a very good one. Just my two cents. I hope you enjoy

Have fun
               Frank         Flac p1  &  Flac p2          mp3@320