THE YOUNG SOULS (Marlboro, MA)

The Young Souls hailed from west-of-Boston suburb Marlboro, Mass., and their lone 45 redefines the boundaries of low fidelity (i.e., they might as well have shared studio time with The Modds and Randy Alvey & The Green Fuz). But what a tune! “You're Gonna Need Love” ranks up there in the upper echelon of moody New England garage, complete with a searing fuzz guitar break. We tracked down songwriter Ken LaBossiere a few years back, and here in his own words are the recollections of his high school band The Young Souls:

In 1968, Ken LaBossiere (vocals, guitar) Noel Evers (vocals, guitar) Jim LaPlante (drums) Mickey Grasso (lead guitar) and Mike Olarey (bass) started the Young Souls, playing parties, rehearsing and doing whatever we could. It seemed to die off for us and we weren’t doing much.

I wrote the song “It’s A Beautiful World” and played it for Noel and my guitar teacher, Ken Carlson, who had a small recording studio in Shrewsbury, Mass. [Editor's note: Carlson released 45s on his own C.A.V.U. (Ceiling And Visibility Unlimited) label — a military term meaning perfect flying conditions. Ironic, as the sound quality on these releases was anything but!] He said we could put it on vinyl, so we teamed back up, pooled our money — all $180 dollars — and recorded it. (Never really satisfied with the quality but it was a very small studio.) It did get some air time.

We went on to play summer happenings and a battle of the bands and did very well, and had a great time doing the whole project. Most of us ended up in some branch of the military and that was it.

For me, like the others, it was a great experience, something I can keep with me forever. I’m sure the other four feel the same.

— Ken LaBossiere, January 2014

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THE YOUNG SOULS
You're Gonna Need Love / It's A Beautiful World
C.A.V.U. (21867/68)
May 1968