This cross-continental 7” finds pop behemoth Gary Pig Gold fronting a pair of the finest combos on the underground scene, one on either American coast. The A-side captures the combined superpowers of Gary and The Masticators on Gold’s neo-hodad classic, “Permanent Vacation”, a new “Summertime Blues” that has sand in its shoes and a tube-riding surfer’s daydreaming disposition. Jan & Dean harmonies and flawless bubblegum vocals lap up against a sunny Californian mood before the tune drifts out to sea and fades over the horizon in perfect “Twist & Shout” mode.
The flip side falls under the guise of Gary and The Greep Weeds and finds Gold tearning up with powerfully mood-popping fellow New Jerseysites, the mighty Greep Weeds, for a be-tartaned run through the Bay City Rollers’ “Rock And Roll Love Letter”. Tube-sock cool with cascading “Can’t Explain” harmonies, the song actually blows the original into oblivion. Perfect for rollerskating off into that eternal 70’s Saturday night.
AMG All Music guide – USA
This is a great little 7 inch that won’t blow your mind or anything but is a lot of fun. Both songs feature the vocal talents of Ghost Rocket’s Gary Pig Gold, backed by two different bands, The Masticators and The Grip Weeds respectively. “Permanent Vacation” is a sunny, upbeat song with some suitable beach atmospherics and Beach Boys style backing vocals while “Rock And Roll Love Letter”, a cover of The Bay City Roller track, is Rubinoos-styled bubblegum pop.
Pop On Top – USA
This is a fun split single of pop music, one side by Gary and The Masticators, the other by Gary and The Grip Weeds. The Gary of both sides is none other than our Gary “Pig” Gold, that champion of bubblegum and all things pop, who turns out to be a pretty fine performer of same. The Masticators are a known commodity to me, so I’m not at all surprised to enjoy “Permanent Vacation”, a surf and sand popper from the pen of the “Pig” himself. The song sticks in your head, forces your hands to clap in time, sends you running for your beach towel, lest you left behind. I’m not familiar with The Grip Weeds, but “Rock And Roll Love Letter”, while not as catchy as “Permanent Vacation” is still some fine pop, well played and, most important, fun-filled to the last chords.
DJ Johnson – USA
In case of you didn’t know, Twist & Shake’s very own GARY PIG GOLD is a hotshot musician. His band, The Ghost Rockets, have been understandably likened to a crackerjack combination of The Banana Spits and The Flying Burito Brothers, a musical marriage that is indeed rare. But what we have sitting right here is a vinyl single featuring a couple of other bands the prolific Gary has performed in. The first side of the disc, “Permanent Vacation”, was recorded by Gary and The Masticators. This euphoric stick of Beach Boys play volleyball with the Raspberries pop and roll was inked by Gary way back in 1977, but nevetheless there’s an ageless quality to it. The flipside of this swinging single is credited to Gary and The Grip Weeds, and is a frightfully explosive cover of The Bay City Rollers’ “Rock And Roll Love Letter”, which is slammed out with such forceful dynamics that it would definitely make The Nazz scratch their heads and wonder if it was a long forgotten outtake of theirs. You won’t find a better single than this baby!