The Complete Challenge Recordings [CD] (ONLINE ORDER ONLY)

FOUR DISCS, EIGHTY TRACKS, from a band that had one hit record! The Challenge Recordings 4 Compact Disc Boxed Set including a 40 Page Booklet! When Lies exploded from AM radio speakers everywhere in 1965, listeners were caught off-guard. Who was this band that had captured Beatles zeitgeist and repatriated it into a charging slice of American proto-punk? Featuring an amazing vocal performance from Buddy Randell, The Knickerbockers Lies peaked at #20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at #1 in the hearts of new fans around the world. Thanks to its inclusion in Lenny Kayes essential Nuggets compilation, it continues to amaze and inspire subsequent generations of garage maestros everywhere. Brothers Beau and John Charles, from Bergenfield, NJ, formed The Knickerbockers in 1962. Taking their name from Knickerbocker Road in nearby Tenafly, NJ, the band went through various lineups until vocalist/saxophonist Randell joined in 1964. Along with drummer Jimmy Walker, this is the quartet singer/songwriter Jerry Fuller (Travelin Man, Young Girl, Lady Willpower) caught at Albany, NY nightspot, the University Twist Palace. Fuller signed them to Los Angeles indie label Challenge and they recorded three albums for the label, full of self-penned classics along with carefully selected covers. The LPs showcased the versatility of the group, forged in the live Northeast club scene. It was no accident that The Knickerbockers were chosen as the very first Sundazed Music artists in 1989. Now, 26 years later, Sundazed returns with the definitive boxed set on this vital American band. The collection includes tracks from the breadth of the bands career, from their bar band beginnings to their forays into psychedelia. The rockers, the ballads, the breath-taking vocal ensemble numbers: theyre all here. It charts the incredible evolution of the band in just three short years, painting a full portrait of the bands wide-ranging talents. Beyond the Challenge LP tracks and singles, the box includes material NEVER before released! Recently-discovered demos in the 4-Star Publishing vaults plus Beau Charles personal acetates yielded a treasure trove of unheard recordings. Beau and John Charles, along with Jimmy Walker, were heavily involved in the creation of this release. The Charles brothers provided two scrapbooks kept by their late mom chronicling the band, much of which is reproduced in the lavish set booklet. For the booklet, master rock writer David Fricke penned the introductory essay and intrepid American music historian Dominic Priore contributed extensive liner notes. Eighty tracks from a band with exactly one hit single? Thats precisely what Sundazed does! Meticulously mastered from the original analog master tapes and acetates, the entire set is produced in glorious mono, including previously unheard mono mixes. Taken together, the discs and notes provide a portal back to when a three-minute single could change the world, if only temporarily. Take a step

• Format Detail: CD Box Set
• Format: CD
• Genre: Rock