Nuggets: Lies by The Knickerbockers

Before he became Patti Smith’s lead guitarist, Lenny Kaye compiled the two-album set, Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era. Released in 1972, the two-LP set covered American garage rock and psychedelia from the years from 1965-1968 and was a major influence on punk rock. Rhino Records reissued an expanded version of the set in 1998, with 118 tracks in total. I’m profiling and rating each of these 118 tracks, working backwards.

Track 4: Lies by The Knickerbockers
From: Bergenfield, New Jersey
Aphoristical Rating: 8/10

LIES - The Knickerbockers [2:40]
(Buddy Randell/Beau Charles)
Personnel/BUDDY RANDELL: vocals, sax * BEAU CHARLES: guitar, vocals * JOHN CHARLES: bass, vocals * JIMMY WALKER: drums, vocals
Produced by JERRY FULLER
Recorded in Hollywood, CA
Challenge single #59321 (11/65); Pop #20

The Beatles were a formative influence for many bands on Nuggets. But it’s more explicit for The Knickerbockers than most. Beau and John Charles were brothers, originally with the last name Cecchino, who formed a band in 1962. Buddy Randell joined in 1964 – he’d previously played with the Royal Teens, famous for 1958’s ‘Short Shorts’.

‘Lies’ was the band’s third single, released in 1965. Randell’s uncanny vocal similarity to John Lennon and the group harmonies meant that ‘Lies’ was often used to fool people into believing it was a long-lost Beatles track.

“We desperately tried to write something that sounded like the British Invasion. We wrote ‘Lies’ in less than one half hour. We demo-ed it in New York.”

Beau Charles

‘Lies’ was finished at Leon Russell’s home studio, where vocals and lead guitar were added to the original recording made at Sunset Sound. The lead guitar part utilised a beat-up Fender amp, providing an edgy sound.

It’s a fun Beatles imitation – it could have come from the Hard Day’s Night era. It wouldn’t be a standout in The Beatles’ catalogue, but it’s a deserved hit, energetic and tuneful. It’s widely covered, with versions by Nancy Sinatra, Styx, and Linda Ronstadt.

The Knickerbockers’ career faded as their chart placements fell. They were also hampered by poor distribution from their label. Drummer Jimmy Walker left in 1968 to replace Bill Medley in The Righteous Brothers.

They made two albums in the 1960s but barely boasted any originals, padded out with covers from The Zombies and The Kinks. The Charles brothers later started a country-rock band named Lodi (wonder where they got that name from?), but they split in 1972 after one album.

Read More

• Nuggets Song by Song
• 1960s Album Reviews

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