The Doughboys - Running For Covers

The Doughboys formed in 1964, called it quits in 1968, and came back to stay in 2000. The New Jersey quartet has been releasing albums on a regular basis, still specializing in vintage garage rock. On the recently released Running For Covers, The Doughboys revisit a few of their own early hits and reinvent some by their mid-1960s contemporaries. The album is a blast, as band members Myke Scavone, Richie Heyman, Mike Caruso, and Gar Francis apply guitar-driven muscle to pop, soul, and blues material.

That approach is particularly successful on Neil Diamond’s “Solitary Man,” which retains the romantic angst of the original while clearly making it The Doughboys’ own. “96 Tears” by ? And The Mysterians was already unique, so it makes sense that the new version here remains faithful to the original. The Doughboys are adept at handling songs by the major acts—a thundering take on The Rolling Stones’ “Play With Fire” and a spacey rendition of “It’s All Too Much” by The Beatles—and also succeed with more obscure artists.

Other highlights include a garage/roots rock take on The Band’s “The Shape I’m In” and the rollicking bluegrass of Herman’s Hermits’ “My Reservation’s Been Confirmed.” The classic blues number “Your Mind Is On Vacation” and the jazz standard “Moanin’” benefit from some spirited harmonica playing. The Doughboys’ own “Rhoda Mendelbaum” remains one of the most oddly named songs in rock but still packs the garage rock sting of the original.