Listen: A Public Execution / Mouse A Public Execution.mp3

I think it was Lenny Kaye who said something about Mouse doing Bob Dylan better than Bob Dylan. But in local towns across American during ’65 – ’66, all the garage bands mimicked some favorite. Occasionally it would be so good, you didn’t care. Such was the case with this first Mouse single, which became a real cult record even then. The three singles that followed came out as Mouse & The Traps and were all over the place musically. But the biggest success, reaching #122 in Feb ’66, was indeed the debut, ‘A Public Execution’. Actually the local Ohio label that issued it, Fraternity, was always of interest. Pressed on shiny, thick vinyl with a standard orange or more common, maroon label; their releases had a collector’s feel from the get go. A favorite from them that almost took off nationally, 2 Of Club’s ‘Walk Tall’, was a super girl group track that I’ll post soon. Meanwhile their biggest seller was Lonnie Mack, and who can hate that idea.