Carl and the Passions – "So Tough" John penned liner notes for the 2000 CD reissue, writing: 'This is an album which I have loved for a long time... "Carl and the Passions: So Tough" has moments of breathtaking genius and experimentation. When this record was released, I remember how different and fresh it sounded. It still does'. English Britpop band Saint Etienne used the title "So Tough" for their 1993 album as an homage to the Beach Boys. Likewise, they also named their compilation of the same year, "You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone", after the Beach Boys song. Track notes per 2000
The Shags (Connecticut band) West Haven, Connecticut in the summer of 1963 by schoolmates Tom Violante (real name Tom Roberts) and Carl Augusto (real name Carl Donnel). Like most members of their generation, the future members of the Shags had grown up listening to rock & roll. Augusto, had played lead guitar (and sometimes sang) and another future member of the Shags, Johnny Tangredi, played drums in a local, mostly instrumental surf rock band called the Deltons. But, sensing the rapidly approaching British invasion, and now highly under its influence, Augusto and Violante wanted to form a new band that would reflect what they