The Trolls: Something Here Inside EDITOR'S NOTE: The Trolls from Chicago are one of the many bands that we've had a long time interest in but, unfortunately, have had difficulty in tracking down.  We recently made contact, however, with bassist Max Jordan, Jr. (and his wife Bonnie) as well as Rick (Richard) Gallagher and hope to be able to provide additional information on the group - as well as answer many of the questions raised in this feature - sometime in the near future.  In the meantime, and in lieu of our customary interview, we've decided to print this overview of the band's recordings to spark some discussion on a very talented and underrated band.    By Fogey McOldster   All right you juvenile delinquents of the past, present, and future.  Settle down and pay attention.  It's time for your horizons to be expanded well past any point of no return.  Chances are, if you're visiting this website for any reason aside from typing in the wrong address (say, for example, 70sgarbagebands.com or 60ishcornishhens.com), you have a soft spot in your heart and head for the sounds that four or five guys might have made in somebody's garage back around '65, '66, etc.  There were literally 35,427 of these bands in 1966 alone...and don't ask me to prove this.  I read a census study somewhere, or maybe I made it up.  Who cares?!   The point is...various legacies of debatable proportions were left in their wakes.  A bunch of 'em made records, a handful of which made the charts, destined to be played into the ground by close-minded oldies radio programmers from city to city.  The groups that were left behind fall into three categories: (1) those who should have left the records in the trunks of the cars they were selling them from; (2) those who had one or two or a few gems from amongst a play list of mediocrity; and (3) those who could (almost) do no wrong, leaving behind a discography that, while not completely perfect, is inspiring to say the least. Of course, the latter groups of groups are few and far between.  Most of them have been well comped and meticulously documented...but not all.  In a last ditch attempt to right this wrong, let's talk about the Trolls.   Hailing from Chicago, these guys released five singles from 1966 to 1968.  Then, after a name change to Troll, they released an album and a single...and then disappeared.  Not much information seems to exist about them except for a painfully brief discography, a small article written about them years ago, and a list of names:   Richard Clark - organ, vocals  Richard Gallagher - guitar, vocals  Max Jordan, Jr. - bass, vocals  Ken Cortese (aka Ken Apples) - drums  The best we can do right now is run down the list of records and tell you what you're missing, so here goes (release dates are an educated guess based on the chart entry date of singles with similar numbers):   ABC 10823 Every Day And Every Night / Are You The One (released circa August '66) Released in 1966 on a major label (not bad for a first try!), "Every Day" actually broke into the national charts, making it all the way to #96 for one week in October 1966.  This may not sound too impressive today, but I'm bettin' back then the boys were jumping up and down with glee to see their Freshman Forty Five get some national airplay.  For a little rock group from Chicago, this ain't bad at all.  The fact that it made the charts may explain why this is the easiest record of theirs to find, and why most copies are well played.  The fact that they never saw any chart action ever again saddens me beyond repair. As for the music, the A-side is a classic tale of woe from a musician who has girls (one in particular in this case) following him...well, every day and every night.  While it may be a bit farfetched to feel empathy for this guy, the tune itself is so ding danged catchy that you just love to hear about his problems over and over again.  The quality of the arrangement and the overall sound of the record show that this was recorded in a fairly professional setting.  Great guitar solo, and the bass player shows a lot of dexterity on this track (and on many of their other singles as well...this guy was good!)   "Are You The One" is a great B-side, and definitely not a throwaway track.  Here we find a guy (perhaps the overworked fella from the A-side?) asking girls if they are the one true love he desperately needs.  Nice jangly guitar, excellent bass work, and a great minor key tune overall.  Actually, this one sounds like a track you might find on an early Beatles album.  Overall, a great debut!   ABC 10884 Something Here Inside / Laughing All The Way  (released. circa December '66) The Trolls' second release is a double-sided, shamelessly catchy, one-two punch of what made pop music so great in 1966.  The fact that neither of these tracks made the charts nationally is one of rock music history's many injustices.   "Something Here Inside" features a great upbeat arrangement with what sounds like (of all things) chimes, plus the usual great guitar and bass work.  As the title suggests, the song is about good ol' head over heels love, that feeling known as "Something Here Inside".  One thing that sticks out on most of the Trolls' material (especially here) is the vocal harmonies, which are really arranged very well.  The vocal work on this song, not to mention everything else, makes for a wonderful side.  If this hasn't been comped yet, it needs to be!   "Laughing All The Way" is another upbeat track, with the Trolls' trademark jangly guitar and great walking bass lines.  Actually, I should say that the drums are great, too.  This was a very polished band!  This time around, we've got a guy telling his girl not to be sad because they're breaking up.  If she looks to the future, she'll eventually see that he isn't the boy for her, and when she looks back after she meets Mr. Right, she'll be "Laughing All The Way".  Don't you just love a happy ending?   Neither of these sides features a guitar solo, perhaps showing a desire to keep the songs more straightforward and radio friendly.  The fact that programmers didn't jump on either of these tracks (maybe they weren't given enough payola...who knows?) is a sad mystery. ABC 10916 There Was A Time / They Don't Know  (released circa April '67) Before the much loved (or hated, depending on who you ask) Summer of Love kicked in, our boys of mystery released their third single, another double sided whammy of upbeat, toe tapping, catchy as can be tunes that should have been worn to gray grooves by radio station needles all over the country.  As you can probably guess, this was yet another one destined for the cutout bins.  Those who paid 19 cents or whatever for it were blessed with greatness, whether they knew it or not at the time.   "There Was A Time" is the age-old saga of the boy doing his girl wrong and is now full of regret for losing her.  Guilt, shame, loneliness, heartache, and despair... it's amazing that a song about such sorrow and hindsight could be so catchy!  Upbeat to the point of making you feel ashamed for bobbing your head along while you listen, there's plenty of the tight band sound (with some nice percussion flourishes as well...who arranged this stuff?!) and harmonies soaring all over the place.  If you ever meet a radio program director from '67, ask 'em if they ever programmed this song.  When they say no (and you know they will), smack 'em with a wet herring.   "They Don't Know" is the other age-old saga of boy and girl in love even though everybody tells the boy that the girl is not good enough for him.  Critics be hanged, he's gonna love her and not try to live up to the standards of everybody else.  "They don't know about the love burnin' in my soul", and if he listens to them, he'll give up the perfect girl only to realize later (along with everybody else, when it's too late) that she was the right one for him all along.  Yet again, we've got an upbeat song with a no-apologies catchy hook performed by a tight band.  The harmonies are wonderful, and there's even a bit of keyboard thrown in as well.  By this point, it almost seems like they can do no wrong...   ABC 10952 Baby, What You Ain't Got (I Ain't In Need) / Who Was That Boy (released circa June '67) Most garage band fans tend to see the whole late '60s psychedelic scene as a major blow to the quality of pop singles.  Granted, a lot of that stuff sounds more dated than other music from the '60s, and a good chunk of it doesn't hold up as well.  That being said, this single is definitely (for better or worse) a product of its time.  The shamelessly pop sound is put on the shelf for the time being, with mixed results.   "Baby, What You Ain't Got (I Ain't In Need)" features more of a rougher fuzz guitar kind of sound, with vocals that feature harmony, yet not in the same ear pleasing way of their earlier singles.  The arrangement is a bit more complex, with an interesting bridge and a brief keyboard solo (which is unusual for a Trolls' record).  Perhaps the song's subject (featuring the well-known baby-I-don't-need-you bit) is why they went for the harsher, edgier sound.  If you listen closely, you can hear some of the classic Trolls' sound, but it really doesn't stick out like before.   "Who Was That Boy" is another odd one, with the boy asking his girl who she's been talking to behind his back.  Again, the harmonies are there, but the vocals are almost all sung in falsetto.  Granted, there are some impressive vocal combinations, along with yet another keyboard solo in a stripped down setting, and the arrangement is interesting.  However, this single just isn't as pleasing.  It's not a bad record, and repeated listening bring out more positive aspects that don't jump out at you at first, but it definitely ain't a good starting point to get a feel for their music. USA 905 I Got To Have You / Don't Come Around  (released circa '68) It would appear that the Trolls were dropped from ABC Records after their last three singles were unable to stir up any chart action.  Luckily, USA Records in Chicago signed them on for a single, with great results.  The Trolls hadn't forsaken pop music after all!   "I Got To Have You" finds the boys with an even more polished sound, complete with organ, strings (real or simulated...it's hard to tell), and horns. Actually, it sounds very much like a Buckinghams record (who, by the way, were also from Chicago and originally started out on USA as well), and despite what you think, this is not a bad thing.  After their last 45, this is a welcome return to straight up, no holds barred pop single catchiness.  In this tune we have a guy who simply must have the girl in question.  Everything is gonna go his way, including getting the girl.  Even the most cynical soul has got to feel a little bit upbeat while hearing this song.  The performance is top notch and once again, the Trolls show they know how to arrange and perform a great tune.   "Don't Come Around" is great for a B-side.  This means that it ain't strong enough to fight the competition for airplay on its own, but if you bounced into your neighborhood record store back then, bought this single, dug the A-side and flipped it over, you'd be happy with the bang for your buck here.  It's catchy, especially for a stay-away-girl kind of song.  The lyrics are perhaps lacking a bit in subtlety, but the band sounds great, and the vocals (with top notch harmonies, natch) really make this a great little tune.  Those of you who lived in Chicago in '68 should feel ashamed for passing up this single.  Judging by how hard it is to find, I'm not really sure if it was available anywhere else.   Pay attention, kids, because this is where keeping track of what's going on in both the Trolls' history and their music requires a little more effort on your part.  The progression of 1968 brought about a name change to Troll (probably an attempt to make themselves sound more grown-up and album oriented, which is understandable for the time but a heartbreaker nonetheless) and a label change to Smash Records.  This resulted in their first (and last) album.   Smash SRS-67114 Animated Music (released very late '68 or early '69) Track listing:  Satin City News / Mr. Abernaty / Fritz And Sweeney / Everybody's Child / Solitude / I've Only Myself To Blame / Professor Pott's Pornographic Projector / Have You Seen The Queen / Mourning Of The Day / A Winter's Song / Werewolf And Witchbreath   Well, while it may appear that we definitely ain't in Kansas anymore, at least some of the surroundings are vaguely familiar.  As a whole, the LP is well performed and arranged, although the only recognizable Troll(s) traits would be the harmonies, which are top notch as always, and the excellence of the performances themselves.  The band stretches out quite a bit with the subject matter (Boy-meets-girl songs? Ha - That's for the teenyboppers!), as a glance at the titles will show.  The jangly guitar sound that was all the rage in 1966 is now replaced by the fuzz guitar sound that you would find on an early Spirit album (especially on "Everybody's Child" and "Mourning Of The Day").  Lots of horns, strings, and special effects are spread throughout the LP.  Sometimes they work, other times they don't.  Of course, this could be said for any rock album of the time.  It holds up better than, say, an Iron Butterfly album (no offense meant, this is strictly from a singles-minded point of view), but there are points during the album when you might find yourself wondering why the times they had to be a-changin'. One single (Smash 2208) was pulled from the album and most likely released in the early part of '69, pairing "Satin City News" with "Professor Pott's Pornographic Projector".  It would appear that the A-side was the only track seen by the label suits as radio friendly, and they might have been right.  "Satin City News" is pretty straightforward rock which could have done okay on the charts...but didn't.  The single and the album disappeared without a trace, making Animated Music quite a collectible nowadays, although it seems that fans of late '60s psych-rock are the ones seeking this one with little or no regard for their earlier stuff.   If you're a pop purist, this album will not please you.  If you love the Troll(s) for their foundation of harmonies and ear-pleasing tunes, you'll find lots of nifty little surprises here, tucked away like hidden Easter eggs.  You just have to keep your eyes and ears open.   Here's another way to look at it: Smash released the Left Banke's second album (The Left Banke Too, Smash SRS-67113) in November 1968, right before the Troll LP.  Left Banke fans can listen to the Left Banke Too album and find sparks of the beauty that graced their first album ("Walk Away Renee" or "Pretty Ballerina") and earlier singles, but it still isn't the same and not a good starting point for those wanting to take 'em for a test drive.  The same can be said for the Trolls.  When they were unabashedly singles-oriented, the results were almost always top notch and easily revisited.  The vibes that you got from most of their 45s were just downright groovy and magical.  The album doesn't always come across that way.  Some of the tracks ("Mourning Of The Day" and "Werewolf And Witchbreath" come to mind) are as different as 33 and 78 from the early stuff, leaving a really bad aura around your ears.  Listen to this album and then put on one of the really upbeat happy ABC singles, and you'll see what I mean.   Well, that's it for now.  Nothing else that we know of was released by these guys.  There are other 45s out there by groups called the Trolls, but it appears that none of them are by the Chicago wonderboys I've been ramblin' on about for so long.  To add to the confusion, there is a 45 on the USA label (#892, "I Can't Remember" backed with "Don't Come Around") by the Carnival Of Sound, which supposedly has a connection to the Trolls.  One story suggests that this particular "Don't Come Around" is the same track that appeared on the flip side of the Trolls' USA 45.  Since we don't have a copy of the Carnival 45 to refer to, we're not sure if this is true.  The writing credits on the Trolls'  "Don't Come Around" show K. Apples and R. Gallagher as the composers.  Granted, I ain't no Matlock, but that little clue alone makes me think that it is indeed a Trolls track, not to mention that it sounds like 'em.  If anybody out there has any info on what the dang deal is here (or if you have a copy or two of the Carnival single that you wish to give away, all in the name of important life-changing and completely selfless research), please contact us.   As if that ain't enough rumor mongering (if that wasn't a word before, it is now, so don't get smart!), word has it that the Trolls also recorded two tracks for Utica Club Carbonation Beer (under the well thought out name the Utica Club Carbonation Beer Band).  One has a vocal singing the praises of Utica (has anybody ever heard of this stuff?), the other an instrumental of the same song. The tunes are very much a product of the time, and quite catchy for a commercial. I'm willing to allow that they sold out at one time (and I would love to hear a Coke commercial from the sixties by the Trolls!), and while the tracks may not sound exactly like the Trolls, it has been confirmed that they did do these tracks, probably around the time they were changing from the Trolls to Troll.  Chances are they didn't write the music, which may explain why the Utica stuff is a little different.   By now, you should be puttin' on your hat and coat and getting ready to head down to your local record shop to indulge in this ear candy you've been reading about...but wait!  It's not going to be as easy as you think.  Some of their songs have been comped (perhaps most notably, "Every Day And Every Night" appeared on one of the Pebbles Chicago comps) and the Troll album was reissued with dubious legality in 2004.  Unfortunately, as of this writing, nobody has bothered to comprehensively or legally (meaning reissue the 45s from a master tape) document the Trolls story.  Take my word for it...they deserve it in a big bad way.  If, for some strange reason, you happen to know somebody that was a member of the Trolls (especially Richard Clark, who wrote a lot of this great stuff), please contact this website and let us talk to them.  If there is any unreleased stuff in the vault (especially from the ABC days, and I pray that there is), it needs to be unearthed as well.   Attention Bob Irwin at Sundazed...please find these master tapes!   In the meantime, do yourself a favor and search around.  Check your garage comps and see if a Trolls track is hidden away somewhere, or see if you can dig up one of their 45s without mortgaging a house or two.  Be amazed at how truly incredible these guys were.  Be outraged at how their records were ignored at the time.  Be hopeful that someday soon we will find out more about the Trolls and maybe, just maybe, see them get the reissue treatment that they deserve and the world needs.  Personally, I'll gladly nominate whoever ends up doing this for the Nobel Peace Prize.   Finally, here are a couple of mysteries to share with those of you who made it this far.  An article was written years ago about the Trolls by Jeff Lind as part of an ongoing history of Chicago Rock.  It mentioned that Ken Cortese (Apples) died in the same plane crash as Jim Croce in September 1973.  Max Jordan and Richard Gallagher supposedly became Jehovah's Witness ministers.  No other information is offered up on anybody else.  Finding out about Cortese's all-too-early demise is a sobering reminder of our mortality.  It may be too late to get his story, but hopefully that's not the case for the other band members.  So, here's my final plea: If you know any of these guys (or if you happen to be a former Troll yourself), please contact this website.  We want to hear more about the Trolls' legacy.  Otherwise, get crackin' and check this stuff out for yourself!  Keep checking back here at 60sgaragebands.com.  Hopefully someday we will have more information to share with the world about the Trolls.   Many thanks to Mike Dugo and especially Clark Besch for their invaluable help with this article. Photo Courtesy Claire Rodden