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The Amen
Carnivals and Cotton Candy / Peter Zeus - 7"
Algoma - 1967
Michael Panontin
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Weekly regulars at the local Teen Centre, Sault Ste. Marie-based the Amen spent 1966 toiling about northern Ontario, venturing as far as Lakehead University in Thunder Bay as well as to such teeming pop meccas as Nipigon and Espanola, before unsurprisingly setting off for the burgeoning Yorkville scene in Toronto to record their sole 7". The spectre of Roger McGuinn and the Turtles seems to loom large over 'Carnivals and Cotton Candy', which channels jangly guitar and a staccato drum roll into a rather fetching slice of romantic garage pop. 'Peter Zeus', on the reverse, is even better, with some handsome harmonies and cool guitar hooks.
Armed with their debut wax and no doubt beaming with pride, these proverbial hicks from the sticks returned to the Soo to headline at the local Sault Memorial Gardens in the summer of 1967, no doubt to legions of adoring admirers. The band seemed to be hitting their stride on the Toronto coffee house circuit, eventually scoring a backup slot for a young Guess Who at the Princess Theatre in September, but alas were ultimately never to be heard from again.
(Lots of fun stuff about the Amen at garagehangover.com.)
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