The Palace Guard were a teenage rock band from Los Angeles, California who are best remembered for two things -- their 1966 single "Falling Sugar," which was a regional hit and has popped up on numerous garage rock compilations, and their drummer,
Emitt Rhodes, who became a cult hero on the basis of his later work with
the Merry-Go-Round and as a solo act.
The Palace Guard managed to typify a certain kind of pop-leaning garage band that was extremely common in the mid-'60s while also sounding a cut or two above the standards of their peers -- they could deliver strong if scrappy harmonies, pen engaging melodies, and wisely choose good tunes from other writers -- and their guitars could hit a sweet spot between fuzz and jangle that allowed them to sound both sweet and tough.
The Palace Guard released six singles during their short career, including one in which they backed up vocalist
Don Grady (better known for playing Robbie Douglas on the long-running sitcom My Three Sons), and their entire discography is collected on 2021's
All Night Long: An Anthology 1965-1967. On the earliest sides like "All Night Long," they sound like the high-spirited teenagers they were (the song was about not getting to make out with your girlfriend), but by the time they cut "Falling Sugar," they had learned a few tricks and were more confident and capable in the studio. Their final 45, "Calliope" b/w "Greed," found their pop sensibilities giving way to the early rumblings of psychedelia, and they managed to call it a day before they could make their full-on acid freakout concept album, which is probably just as well. On the two tunes with
Grady, "Little People" b/w "Summertime Game," they sound more than just professional and the vocalist fares better than the average actor turned crooner. At just a shade over 30 minutes,
All Night Long: An Anthology 1965-1967 shows
the Palace Guard's career was a matter of quality, not quantity, but what they left behind is good fun for fans of '60s pop and garage rock, and if their legacy isn't especially deep, it appears they had a ball while it lasted. ~ Mark Deming
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