‘60s Are A-1 for 7 Deadly 5 : 7 Deadly 5: “The Hallmark of Flavor” Velvetone ***

Flavorful pop derived from many classic ‘60s sources is the hallmark of 7 Deadly 5, a Los Angeles-based trio (plus alternating drummers) whose key songwriters came up through the Orange County alternative rock scene of the 1980s.

Danny McGough, who plays keyboards and sings most of the lead vocals, was an unofficial member of the Pontiac Brothers for their superb string of releases, and guitarist Max Ferguson played in Eddie and the Subtitles. Together with bassist Ilene Markell, a transplant from Memphis, Tenn., they have cooked up a debut CD full of delicious pure-pop moments and marked by persistent wit.

The record opens with “Tell Me, Mr. Nelson,” a slamming, roughshod-riding shot of desperado country punk a la Green On Red. No sooner has it careened to an end than McGough (pronounced Magoo, like the cartoon character) leads the band into “Filtered Head,” a song of betrayal modeled on the grand tradition of The Band. Organ and piano surge together, and McGough’s high, pinched singing sounds like a combination of Rick Danko and Richard Manuel. He manages to be simultaneously plaintive, vitriolic and funny as he serves up such rhymes as “I think it’s time, you know, that you and me dug up the hatchet/How about I get to throw, and you get to catch it?”

“(I Think You Got Your) Monks Mixed Up” exemplifies the band’s multitiered wit and its assured pop savvy. The song is about a fellow whose amorous intentions are blunted by his love-object’s religiosity; 7 Deadly 5 has him take out his frustrations in an irreverent bridge section that pokes fun at the religious raptures and courtroom trials of George Harrison (whose hit, “My Sweet Lord,” was found, in a plagiarism case, to have inadvertently copied the Chiffons’ “He’s So Fine”).

Your sweet lord, he’s so fine,

He’s better than mine.

But he’s always acting so cross

Who died and elected himself boss?

The Beatles get a more respectful stylistic tribute on “Tired,” while Bob Dylan is the core influence on several tracks, notably “Purple Johnny Haze,” which quotes Hendrix lyrically while musically patterning itself after the rumbling blues of Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited” period.

It’s all good, catchy fun, with enough bite, humor and quirky band personality to make 7 Deadly 5 anything but a rote recycler of the past.

Also worth noting are the three band members’ contributions as part of the idiosyncratic studio band for Neil Smythe’s recent CD, “Refrains.”

Available from Velvetone Records, 3621 Eagle Rock Blvd., 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90065.

7 Deadly 5 plays Jan. 24 at 11:30 p.m. at Jack’s Sugar Shack, 1707 Vine St., Los Angeles. (213) 466-7005.