Comets - Mercy, Mercy (CD) - Hoax Or The Real McCoy? - #282

 Comets - Mercy, Mercy (CD) - Hoax Or The Real McCoy?

I got this CD recently and it all looks like a hoax to me. Collectables wouldn't be the first ones to try and drum up support for a non-existent band, apparently lost in time and then thirty years later a stack of tracks were found for an abandonded LP project. Well, queue up, Collectables, you're not the first ones.

For a start, the information is extremely thin on the ground. Whatever is available on the www seems to be copied from another source, that has in turn been copied from somewhere else and so the story ends. Apparently six kids got together in 1963 at Hill Junior High School in Winston-Salem, Carolina and formed a "musical group" and called their outfit Comets. This isn't Bill Haley's Comets. Just saying.

The members were:

Tim Pepper - Bass (age 14)

Mike Russel - Vocals (age 14)

Joe Stonestreet - Sax (age 14)

Alan Denny - Guitar & Keyboards (age 12)

Mike Hall - Drums (age 10)

Buddy Hobgood - Lead Guitar (age 12)

This fabricated story is also unclear about the "members" ages, as to when the stated years were relevant. Was it in 1963 or at the time of recording (1966). Usually the latter is claimed. But this is already the first benchmark and I honestly doubt that kids between the age of 10 to 14 can produce such a record (or between 13 to 17). This is much too professional and proficient.

These musicians know their trade, there's not a false tone in sight (at least as much as I can tell). Just too sophisticated. This is considering the 1963 date or the 1966 one, it doesn't matter. And the singer's voice is not that of a 14-year old (or 17). This is the voice of a late 20s or even a decade later singer. And the guy is schooled in Soul, Blues and knows exactly what he's doing. It seems like Collectables couldn't even get a fake story straight. The recordings were apparently made for Justice Recording Co, which seems to have been a contract label for everyone in need of a vinyl or tape release.

The tracklist:

1 Mercy, Mercy - Written-By – Covay, Miller

2 What You've Done - Written-By – Denny, Russell

3 The Last Time - Written-By – Jagger-Richards

4 Hi Heel Sneakers - Written-By – Higgenbotham

5 Johnny B. Good - Written-By – Chuck Berry

6 In The Midnight Hour - Written-By – Cropper, Pickett

7 Mr. Pitiful - Written-By – Redding, Cropper

8 Someday You'll See - Written-By – Denny, Russell

9 Memphis - Written-By – Chuck Berry

10 Do You Remember? - Written-By – Denny, Russell

11 I Got You (I Feel Good) - Written-By – James Brown

12 Talking 'Bout You - Written-By – Chuck Berry

The CD (it was released in 1997 - Collectables – COL-0620) is mostly made up of covers (as is to be expected considering the time it was supposed to be recorded and the place all this happened, or so they said. The one thing (amongst many others) that bothers me the most, is the three original songs on offer here. In itself, that wouldn't be cause for suspicion, but it all falls somehow into place. As mentioned above, there's not a whole lot that can be found on the internet. The whole three sentences turned over and over again. If one tries to find traces of the members, you're dead in the water. I did have some luck with AI, but there's no way I can establish accuracy.

The description of their music goes from Garage to Rock to Funk and Soul. A big chunk is actually Soul. As a CD, this works quite well. I even doubt that this was recorded in 1966, by whomever. I'd go for 90s date but I'm still baffled at the reasoning behind this. There's not much money to be made, except when you try to establich your credentials to the next step. And don't let yourself be fooled into the 1966 date because of some imperfections in the sound. This can all be reproduced nowadays.

If it doesn't matter to you wether the band was hiding in a chicken shack or took the world by storm, I can recommend this CD. In the end this is fun, well played and at least yours truly can't find a fault with it. Except that I want to get to the bottom of the story. If anyone reading this has listened to the 12 songs or has further information, please leave a message below. Thanks a bunch.

Cheers

Roland