ROCK Sex: "Time Has Come Today" - Chambers Brothers > Angry Samoans > Ramones > Joan Jett

ROCK Sex says 'there are things to realize'.

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"Time Has Come Today" was a shock, as much as when Dylan went electric.

The Chambers Brothers had made a name for themselves on the Folk and Gospel circuit. But when they plugged in and rocked out on this harsh, rebellious, and political single, it chimed in a new day.

Garage Rock was just underground or local 45s then, mostly unplayed on the air, fuzzy riffs but usually just sniping about a girlfriend. Adult anger with teen concerns. This song was something more. Beyond the snarly licks, it had a political conscience, really brazen echo, and was made by a predominantly black band. This song was as much a direct hinge into the rise of Psychedelia as any Garage song can be.

And a gateway for all the black psychedelic bands that still consistantly get written out of the NUGGETS canon.

THE CHAMBERS BROTHERS -"Time Has Come Today" (1966)



At its heart Punk was an extension of '60s Garage Rock, protest songs, and activist lifestyle, though it rarely admitted it at the time. Here's L.A. band ANGRY SAMOANS doing one of the first flashforwards of this ageless song, satirizing the consumer zombies of the Reagan era:

ANGRY SAMOANS -"Time Has Come Today" (1982)



More known is this great version by RAMONES, preaching to the new congregation.

RAMONES -"Time Has Come Today" (1983)



As women vie with the black contingent for the most underappreciated in the Garage Rock realm, here's heir JOAN JETT telling us what time it is.

JOAN JETT -"Time Has Come Today" (1990)



More than its sound, it's the lyrics of "Time Has Come Today" that keep it timeless. Here are recent updates by Willy Deville, Steve Earle and Sheryl Crow, The Lords Of Altamont, Bootsy Collins, Pearl Jam, and The Hunns.



"Now the time has come (Time)
There's no place to run (Time)
I might get burned up by the sun (Time)
But I had my fun (Time)
I've been loved and put aside (Time)
I've been crushed by tumbling tide (Time)

And my soul has been psychedelicized (Time)"


© Tym Stevens

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See Also:

• HERE IN PURPLE VELVET NOW: The Psychedelic Revolution, with 2 Music Players!

• MY SOUL HAS BEEN PSYCHEDELICIZED: The Afro-delic Dimension of Psychedelia, with 2 Music Players!

• THE RUNAWAYS, And Why Women Of Rock Are Essential!

• "Bad Reputation" - Joan Jett > Peaches


• The Real History of Rock and Soul!: The Music Player Checklist

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