The Troyes were formed in Battle Creek in 1965 by Fred Dummer on lead guitar, Jerry Younglove on rhythm guitar, Brad Keagle on bass, Lee Koteles on organ and lead vocals, and Bill Hirakis on drums, and as the members couldn't agree on a name they picked one that didn't mean anything at all. Before they reached the recording studio, Keagle left and was replaced by Gary Linke on rhythm guitar, with Younglove moving to bass, and this line-up cut two songs for release as a single on Phalanx Records. 'Why'/'Rainbow Chaser' came out on Phalanx in 1966, and climbed to number 3 in the local top 40 of September, but by the time that single was released the band had signed to a new label started by a friend of Koteles' mother, who wanted to start a record label, and so he formed Space Records. The label owner, Ray Anthony, believed in the band, and paid for studio sessions so that they could record their own material, with the aim of releasing an album by the group. Eight songs were recorded at United Sound Studios in December 1966, with a further six tracks laid down in June 1967. Two of these later recordings were released as the band's second single 'Love Comes, Love Dies'/'Help Me Find Myself' on Space Records, but it didn't match the success of their first single. At their peak The Troyes were producing a mix of far-out psychedelic rock, unhinged fuzz and garage, and moody haunting sounds, but by 1968 the were moving towards a heavier sound with their final recording 'Corn Flake', which was so named because they hailed from the home of the Kelloggs empire. They were certainly one of the Cereal City's finest exports, who should have been bigger, as for an obscure band they were a really excellent garage/beat group, and as we know exactly which songs were recorded for their proposed album, it's fairly easy to reconstruct what it would have sounded like had Space Records been able to release it in 1967 as they'd planned.
Track listing
01 Help Me Find Myself
02 Why
03 I Don't Need You
04 Rainbow Chaser
05 Mari
06 Tomorrow
07 Someday You'll See My Side
08 Love Comes Love Dies
09 I Know Different
10 The Good Night
11 Morning Of The Rain
12 I'm Gone
13 Blanket Of My Love
14 Turn Around
15 Jezebel
