History:

Winky and The Ramses were a garage rock / R&B outfit that was most likely based out of Ithaca, New York. Not much is known about the group's history. It is likely that this group consisted of students or former students of nearby Cornell University.

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. The album, titled "Play It Safe!!!" was recorded in January of 1966 and released the same year. Only a few copies have been found so it was most likely a very limited pressing. The album features mostly soul material performed in a raw garagey fashion. The group performed two instrumentals alongside covers of The Rolling Stones, Major Lance, and The Righteous Brothers. 

It's unclear who contributed backing vocals, bass guitar, tambourine, or electric piano on the album. The band was recently featured in an episode of the In The Past: Garage Rock Podcast. If you have any information about the band please reach out!

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.