The Sons of Adam Saturday's Sons: The Complete Recordings 1964-1966 2LP

The Sons Of Adam - a lean, mean rock 'n' roll machine from the Hollywood rock scene of the mid-1960s - quite literally blew the competition off the stage. Led by influential lead guitarist Randy Holden (Other Half / Blue Cheer), the Sons boasted an affable frontman in Jac Ttanna (Genesis) and an incomparable rhythm section in Mike Port and Michael Stuart-Ware (Love). Schooled in surf, emboldened by the British Invasion, the band had a fearsome reputation as a live act.

In this unprecedented anthology, Saturday's Sons features a previously unreleased 1966 full concert performance from San Francisco's famed Avalon Ballroom, a recording so powerfully dynamic that few listeners will doubt the band's masterful live presence. The quartet enjoyed a brief but incandescent three-year career which is fully documented on this compilation with rare 45s, studio outtakes and demo recordings, including fiery surf material from their early incarnation The Fender IV, and the legendary single "Feathered Fish," donated to the band by Love's Arthur Lee.

The story of the Sons Of Adam's unfulfilled reach for the brass ring is detailed in a definitive 15,000 word essay on the group written by compilation producer Alec Palao, presented here in a full-color booklet with many rare and previously unseen images, and housed in a deluxe gatefold 2LP set.

Despite their brief existence, quick stylistic change-ups, and the creative differences that ultimately ended them, the Sons of Adam were one of countless acts making exciting music in the shadows of bigger bands associated with '60s freak rock and the Summer of Love. Saturday's Sons sheds light on just how strong a sound they had going as they hurtled through those years, and presents the full picture of a band that previously existed as an easy-to-overlook footnote.