History:

Winky and The Ramses were a Garage Rock / R&B outfit that was supposedly based out of Long Island, New York. Not much is known about the group's history. It is unknown how they were formed or exactly when and where. Known members of the band include Winky on lead vocals, Mike Stone on guitar and vocals, and Tom Fiske on drums. The outfit recorded one extremely rare album on the private vanity label Eclipse. The album was pressed on a 10 inch, which also adds to the group's mystique. 

Review:

Play It Safe!!! (1966, Eclipse)

Rating: 6/10

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This album is extremely short. It consists of eight tracks, two of which are instrumentals. One of the two instrumentals is a four minute drum solo (break enthusiasits rejoice). The album, like the title, plays it safe and goes with covers of huge hits performed in a very contemporary R&B garage rock direction. The band's sound consists of the standard drums, bass, and guitar setup accompanied by a faint electric piano here or there. Very poor production on this album led to some great loud drums which carry the album along with Mike Stone's good guitar work. Winky isn't neccesarily the best rock singer but he does well on soul and R&B tracks like "Monkey Time" and "One, Two, Three". The album is a fine listen save for the long drum solo at the end. I'd really like to know more about these guys.