The Grodes

Let's Talk About Girls compiles tracks from the two leading Tucson bands from 1964 to 1968, the Grodes and the Dearly Beloved. These groups were rivals in their time; the Grodes could be considered the Stones to the Dearly Beloved's Beatles. Both bands are versatile enough to appeal to pop and punk fans, but in general, the Grodes had a harder rock edge, while the Dearly Beloved had stronger vocal harmonies. There are, however, exceptions in both cases. The title track, the Grodes original "Let's Talk About Girls," was released as the only record by the Tongues of Truth, a spontaneous joke-name change given by the band's manager, DJ Dan Gates. For years, the Tongues were thought to be an alias of San Jose's Chocolate Watchband, who also covered that song. The Dearly Beloved nearly broke nationally on the strength of their single "Peep Peep Pop Pop," which led to a contract with Columbia Records. After an album's worth of recording sat on a shelf, the band sued to get out of the contract but broke up soon after. Several of the unreleased Columbia sessions tracks finally see the light of day here. ~ Jim Powers, All Music Guide