Galaxies

From Sao Paolo, Brazil, the Galaxies issued a rare album on the Brazilian Som Maior label in 1968. Strictly speaking, it might not be correct to call them a Brazilian group: they were based there, but featured an English guitarist-singer (David Charles Odams) and an American singer (Jocelyn Ann Odams, who also played maracas), as well as Brazilian members. Like many '60s rock records cut by bands from non-English-speaking countries, particularly ones from South America, the LP was crudely recorded and performed, and heavy on clumsy covers of American and British rock songs. However, the untutored innocent energy of the eight tracks -- including a couple of originals in addition to covers of songs by (or popularized by) Donovan, Love, the Yardbirds, Keith, and Nancy Sinatra -- is appealing. Highlights include the reasonably tough fuzz guitar-laden original "Hey!!!" and the weird cover of Love's "Orange Skies," sung in an indefinably Transatlantic accent by Jocelyn Ann Odams. The album was reissued in 2002 in Italy on Misty Lane.
© Richie Unterberger /TiVo