Dirty Water

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1966 studio album by the Standells

Dirty Water is the first studio album by the American rock band the Standells, released in June 1966.[2]

Background

The majority of the album was recorded in the midst of touring in a two-day session on April 4–5, 1966 at Audio Recording in Seattle, Washington.[3] The album title is taken from the song of the same name. The single "Dirty Water" and its B-side "Rari" were recorded on March 5, 1965, at Western Recorders in Hollywood, California.[3]

The song "Dirty Water" was written by the album`s producer, Ed Cobb. Its Boston and Charles River references are reportedly based on an experience that Cobb and his girlfriend had with a mugger in Boston in the mid-1960s.[4] As for the Standells band members, they were from Southern California and had never been to Boston before recording the song.[5]

Prior to this album, The Standells had only released three singles and a live album: The Standells in Person at P.J.`s (1964). Dirty Water would become the band`s best-selling LP, peaking at #52 on the Billboard charts, and #39 in the Cashbox listings. The "Dirty Water" single fared much better, peaking at #11 in Billboard and #8 in Cashbox.

Track listing

Original Vinyl LP[6]

Side one

1. "Medication" (Minette Alton, Ben DiTosti) – 2:27
2. "Little Sally Tease" (Jim Valley) – 2:35
3. "There`s a Storm Coming" (Ed Cobb) – 2:43
4. "19th Nervous Breakdown" (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) – 3:55
5. "Dirty Water" (Ed Cobb) – 2:48

Side two

1. "Pride and Devotion" (Larry Tamblyn) – 2:15
2. "Sometimes Good Guys Don`t Wear White" (Ed Cobb) – 2:37
3. "Hey Joe, Where You Gonna Go?" (Chester Powers)* – 2:10
4. "Why Did You Hurt Me?" (Dick Dodd, Tony Valentino) – 2:30
5. "Rari" (Ed Cobb) – 3:18

CD Version

A CD version of the album, released in 1994, deletes "Sometimes Good Guys Don`t Wear White" (as it was also included on the band`s follow-up album), and adds six more songs:[7]

10. "Batman" (Neal Hefti) – 3:04

11. "It`s All in Your Mind" (Ed Cobb) – 2:38

12. "Love Me" (Dick Dodd, Tony Valentino) – 2:45

13. "Medication" [Instrumental] (Minette Alton, Ben DiTosti) – 2:43

14. "Poor Man`s Prison" (Keith Colley, Knox Henderson) – 2:23

15. "Take a Ride" – 2:08

The CD version also features the full-length recording of "Rari", running 5:32. It was edited for the original vinyl LP.[8]

*The CD correctly credits the song "Hey Joe" to songwriter Billy Roberts. It was attributed to Chester Powers on the original LP.

Personnel

The Standells

• Tony Valentino - guitar, harmonica
• Larry Tamblyn - keyboards, backing vocals
• Gary Lane - bass
• Dick Dodd - drums, lead vocals

Charts

Album

Singles