Rolling around... back soon...

Addicting

The Victims 'Television Addict/(I'm) Flipped Out Over You' 7" (1977)
This has been blogged plenty, but what the hell, maybe you don't already have it. The pinnacle of Aussie punk and one of my top favorites, I found this years ago in a Portland hippy shop for 1 unbelievable dollar. Both songs are flippin' great!

Cruncher!

Pebbles Volume 15: The Continent Lashes Back! The Netherlands 1965-1968
Holland is coming soon. I can feel it! 16 "klassiek" tracks will take you there too! And the liner notes agree: There were some fantastic Dutch bands whose recorded efforts could easily stand up to the most revered UK and US garage ikons. (You'll hear) pop, primitive R & B, Blues, along with some unclassifiable aberrations bordering psychedelic, modbeat, and just plain inspired uglitude... Holland was happening!

Buzz the jerk

The Pretty Things 'Get The Picture?' (1965)
The second Pretty Things is another dose of wholesome R & B snarl. Listen for yourself if you don't believe me.

Proud scum

AK•79 (1979, 1993)
A vast document of the late 70's New Zealand punk and powerpop scene. Some unmistakable hits here (Scavengers, Marching Girls and Toy Love are my faves), some a little tired after all these years. This CD is an expanded version of the original LP and is well annotated here.

Cool, trash

The Kingsmen 'The Best Of The Kingsmen' (1985)
The Kingsmen, a teen combo that began their reign banging out truly basic three-chord tunes steeped in the strong R & B elements on the Pacific Northwest's school of rock 'n roll, may for all eternity be pegged as the prime example of that wonderfully crude, supremely sloppy, sixties garage band sound that many of us still hold near and dear. That's one hell of a high honor. - from the liner notes

Buzz, buzz, bzzzzzz

The Cramps 'Human Fly/Domino' and 'Surfin' Bird/The Way I Walk' 7"s (1978)
First two Cramps singles are absolute schlock classics!
In the spring of 1976, The CRAMPS began to fester in a NYC apartment. Without fresh air or natural light, the group developed its uniquely mutant strain of rock’n’roll aided only by the sickly blue rays of late night TV. While the jackhammer rhythms of punk were proliferating in NYC, The CRAMPS dove into the deepest recesses of the rock’n’roll psyche for the most primal of all rhythmic impulses -- rockabilly -- the sound of southern culture falling apart in a blaze of shudders and hiccups. As late night sci-fi reruns colored the room, The CRAMPS also picked and chose amongst the psychotic debris of previous rock eras - instrumental rock, surf, psychedelia, and sixties punk. And then they added the junkiest element of all -- themselves. - J. H. Sasfy, Professor of Rockology, from the liner notes of 'Gravest Hits'

Roach trap

The Gories 'You Little Nothing' 7" (1995)
"You Little Nothing” was recorded at Garageland studios shortly before the Gories recorded their debut album. Cool lo-fi bluesy garage sounds. “Casting My Spell” is a Johnny Otis song they recorded for their 'Outta Here' LP but was rejected. “Charm Bag” is an alternate mix originally done for their first LP. - Get Hip

Arachnid rock

Spiders 'Why Don't You Love Me' EP 7" (1998)
Before Vincent Furnier realized he was Alice Cooper he sang lead with the Spiders, recording two rare singles of hard-charging mid-60's R 'n B perfection!
From wikipedia: In 1964, Furnier was eager to take part in the local annual Letterman's talent show and gathered fellow cross-country teammates from the school to form a group for the show. They named themselves The Earwigs, and as they didn't know how to play any instruments at the time, they dressed up like The Beatles and mimed their performance to Beatles songs. As a result of winning the talent show and loving the experience of being onstage, the group immediately proceeded to learn how to play instruments they acquired from a local pawn shop and soon renamed themselves The Spiders: Furnier on vocals and harmonica, Glen Buxton - lead guitar, John Tatum - rhythm guitar, Dennis Dunaway - bass guitar, and John Speer - drums. Musically, the group were inspired by artists such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin, The Who, The Kinks, Pink Floyd, and The Yardbirds.
By 1965 The Spiders, still in school, performed regularly around the Phoenix area with a huge black spider's web as their backdrop, the group's first stage prop. That year they also recorded their first single "Why Don't You Love Me", originally performed by The Blackwells, with Furnier learning the harmonica for the song.
In 1966, the members of The Spiders graduated from Cortez High School. With North High School footballer Michael Bruce soon replacing John Tatum on rhythm guitar, the band then scored a local #1 radio hit with "Don't Blow Your Mind", an original composition from their second single release.
By 1967 the band had begun to make regular roadtrips to Los Angeles, California to play shows. They soon renamed themselves The Nazz and released the single "Wonder Who's Lovin' Her Now", backed with future Alice Cooper track "Lay Down And Die, Goodbye". Shortly thereafter, drummer John Speer was replaced by Neal Smith. By the end of the year the band had relocated to Los Angeles permanently.
In 1968, upon learning that Todd Rundgren also had a band called Nazz, the band were again in need of another stage name. Furnier recognized that the group needed a gimmick to succeed, and that other bands were not exploiting the showmanship potential of the stage. He subsequently chose the band's name to be Alice Cooper and adopted this stage name as his own.

Get the message now!

The Weirdos 'Destroy All Music' EP 7" (1977)
Demolish your stereo with this first release from LA's finest punkers!
Anyone have 'Adulthood' single to share?

Nice

The A-Lines 'You Can Touch' (2005)
trakMARX - How would you describe The A-Lines sound to someone who'd never heard the group?

Julie - Belgium, Seattle, Kleenex, Lady Punk with an English twist.

Delia - Primal, basic, sheer, full frontal, thin & sharp, spikey, sweet, subtle yet obvious – basically your all girl Punk group.

So mystifying

The Kinks 'You Really Got Me' (1964)
It's been said that Dave Davies created the distorted guitar sound for "You Really Got Me" by slicing his amp cone with a razor blade, and it's rumoured that the song's solo work was done by Jimmy Page (Page denies doing the solo). Despite being one of the finest rock songs ever, it's just one of several terrific songs on the Kinks debut album, a slam-bang trip of rhythm and blues proportion. These rips come from a 1988 vinyl reissue on Rhino which used the American cover, but the original UK tracklist.

Don't be afraid to pogo!

The Gears 'Rockin' At Ground Zero' (1980)
Ahhh, Southern California... sun, surf, girls, abusive cops and dope... On their one and only LP, The Gears played on all these themes over tuneful rock-a-billy infused punk. Extremely catchy and good till the last chord!

Please make a wish...

The Fastbacks 'It's Your Birthday/You Can't Be Happy' 7" (1981)
First single from Seattle-punker-in-residence Kurt Bloch along with Kim Warnick, Lulu Gargiulo and the somewhat known Duff McKagen. Pop punk at it's finest, you can be happy!

Comes in colors

Love 'Da Capo' (1967)
For their sophomore release, Love expanded to a septet and put together a well-crafted album of pop psyche with a few stabs at proto-punk in the mix. The power of "Seven & Seven Is" can not be underestimated. Side 2's 19 minute "Revelation" is an epic journey of Arthur Lee wails, guitar freakouts, harmonica, sax and drum soloing which can be equally inspiring and exhausting.

Mother superior punks

The Nuns (1980)
Inspired by KBD Records posting the first Nuns 7", here I offer their debut LP: a combination of sultry vocalist Jennifer Miro walkin' the beat and savage trash punk. This has always been one of my favorite punk records for this very reason. Some slightly confusing info from Posh Boy:
The Nuns album was Robbie Fields' first breakthrough as a studio producer. The Nuns were the first established group to enlist Robbie's aid. In late 1977, the group was huge in San Francisco, selling out 2 shows a night at the Mabuhay Gardens. Courted by major labels, they spent months in the studio doing demos for CBS; the group soon broke up having released only the rawest material, poorly recorded. 2 of The Nuns, the 2 Jeff's came to Los Angeles and worked with Robbie on their new group 391 who appeared on the ill fated Siren l.p. (PBS 103). But impressed with Robbie's ability to actually get things done, they persuaded ex-Nun Jennifer Miro to re-unite just to record this album. Fields persuaded the studio owner to advance 5 days of recording time. The group knew their material inside and out and recorded the album in just 20 hours in May 1980, despite Robbie firing the ambitious engineer Glenn Feit after the drum tracks were already laid down. Robbie called in David Hines who had worked just one session previously with him and Hines not only held things together in the booth but mixed the album in just 6 hours one Saturday morning to allow Robbie to skip town and pursuing creditors and fly off to London.
Arriving in London, Fields found the Top of The Pops TV show to be on strike and the music industry paralyzed. Within 3 months, Fields had decided to call it quits and settle in England as a turf correspondent. He returned to Los Angeles in August 1980 and quickly licensed The Nuns album to Bomp but kept the cassette rights (PBC 105). Within days, however, Fields discovered that that summer punk rock had taken over the Orange County, California beaches. There was an incredible demand for 1979's Beach Blvd. album and Fields was back in business, based upon Bomp's assumption of a large pressing plant bill. Later, when money began rolling in from renewed record sales and the pressing bill remained unpaid, Fields was to take back the rights to The Nuns album. But by that time, in early 1981, the Nuns were already passe and the O.C. scene was in full throttle.
Despite having co-written most of the band's material and remaining a close friend of Jeff Olener, Alejandro was not interested in re-uniting for the recording of the album.
Bassist Mike Varney had gone his separate way, too, and had already been replaced in the group by Jennifer's then boyfriend Pat Ryan. Ryan was to play all the guitar parts in the studio. Escovedo's role was acknowledged in the credits, without Posh Boy's realizing that he was infringing on Escovedo's rights; Escovedo never took action and moved to Austin, Texas, and made a lateral move from New York-style punk-rock to Tejano country-rock. Varney became hugely successful for a while in the 80's as a heavy metal guru.
The Nuns might still be around, but in a bit more decadent form.

Another day

The Muffs (1993)
After the Pandoras went through their hard-rock phase and eventually split up, Kim Shattuck and Melanie Vammen teamed up with bassist Ronnie Barnett and drummer (ex-Vains, from Seattle) Criss Crass. After a few indie singles they were scooped up by Warners in the post-Nirvana feeding frenzy. Their debut album is a mix of pop, punk and ballads with even a couple dashes of hardcore madness. Melanie and Criss left the band after this record, Kim and Ronnie shacked up with drummer Roy McDonald and made several more records. They may or may not be together these days, but they do have a website.

The way it's gonna be

The Pandoras 'Stop Pretending' (1986)
In the mid 1980's this hot little number was stuck on my turntable for a long time and it felt alright!

The unashamedly '60s-obsessed Pandoras (led by singer/writer/guitarist Paula Pierce) were revivalists in the best sense of the word, recapturing the gleeful amateurism of vintage garage-punk-pop while adding their own cheerfully slutty persona to the mix.
Pierce ditched the rest of the band soon after (their) debut LP (though the other three original members continued performing under the Pandoras name for a while) and recorded 'Stop Pretending' with a new lineup. While maintaining the '60s fixation and playing up the brash-hussy stance, 'Stop Pretending' features stronger playing and a harder-rocking edge (there's no reason why "In and Out of My Life (In a Day)" shouldn't have been a hit), suggesting that the Pandoras aren't as hopelessly mired in historical fetishism as one might assume. - Trouser Press

Sect appeal

The Downliners Sect 'The Definitive Downliners Sect Singles A's & B's' (1994)
More singles from those dastardly Downliners, this time of 60's vintage. Listening to these (count 'em, 29 tracks) will surely turn you into a Sect maniac!

Take a quaalude now

Me Want Breakfast: The Dangerhouse Collection (1987)
When I bought this, I thought it was the real deal: finally a reissue compilation of singles and 'Yes L.A.' tracks from one of the finest late 70's punk labels, Dangerhouse Records. I found out later it was a bootleg (explains the somewhat sub-par fidelity), but I'm still happy just to have some of the rare tracks missing from my 7" bins. For this hdvns version I used the original 7"s whenever possible. Read the Dangerhouse story on break my face.

No need to worry

The Golden Earrings 'Just Earrings' (1965)
The debut album from these Dutchmen (who later brought you such hits as "Radar Love" and sadly "Twilight Zone") is a real mid-60's rave-up affair. Quality songs echo the Brit sounds of the time, but with enough originality to really stand out from that crowd. They are still performing today and therefore have the dubious honor of being the oldest rock band in the world having started out in 1961 (one year ahead of the Rolling Stones). Don't stay away!

Sell your soul in a coffee bar...

Downliners Sect 'Showbiz/Killing me' (1977)
After the demise of the 60's Sect, original members Don Craine and Keith Grant assembled a new group in the mid-70's playing a mix of pub and punk rawk. They recorded this single as well as an album for the infamous Raw Records. Raw had no money to put out the album, but it was eventually released in Germany. They are still recording and playing today. Read their story here.

Let yourself go

The Music Explosion 'Little Bit O' Soul: The Very Best Of The Music Explosion' (1986)
The liner notes say this could be the lost 2nd album by Ohio's Music Explosion. In fact it contains a few tracks from their 1967 LP plus plenty of additional single cuts including their 1st, "Little Black Egg", later covered by another Ohio obscurity, The Pagans. Side one is garagey, while side two leans more towards soul/R & B with a nod towards the bubblegum that it's producers (Jeffrey Katz and Jerry Kasenetz) were famous for. Singer Jamie Lyons continued after the group disbanded, and I've included the bonus soul struttin' flexi that came with this LP. Here is what you want.

Sweet acid

Acid Dreams Epitaph - 75 Minutes of Green Fuz (1996)
The sequel to 'Acid Dreams Testament' (see here) is a similar disc loaded with more freaky psyche/garage punk from '64 thru '69. Go ahead and take a trip, you'll have no reason to complain.

(Goddamn!)

Blacktop 'I Got A Baaad Feelin' About This' (1995)
A remarkably prophetic title for the first and only album from Blacktop. Formed as a collaboration between former Gories leader Mick Collins and Fireworks frontal lobe Darin Lin Wood, the band staggered through sessions for one album, a U.S. tour, and a second session that resulted in a few singles before personal conflicts and chemical dependence issues caused the band to collapse after little more than a year. It's hard to imagine Blacktop having an especially long shelf life, given the often scattershot recording habits of the principals and the band's dark, swampy monochromic sound, but they sure blazed bright during their short existence. The blues-shot noise of Collins' primitive guitar work and scruffy vocals find a superb counterpoint in Wood's rockabilly-from-hell guitar runs, and the subsonic bass of Alex Cuervo and minimalist percussion thump of Janet Walker pushes the songs forward with muscular assurance while keeping the proceedings suitably creepy. Unlike the frantic high-treble twist of the Gories, Blacktop oozes a dark menace on these sides, and this stuff ranks with the least wholesome party music ever committed to tape. - Mark Deming, All Music Guide

I know wot I want

The Bears 'On Me/Wot's Up Mate' and 'Insane/Decsisions' 7"s (1977, 1978)
If you think all Watford (England) has for it is Elton John and the Gap and of course Wire then think again. Formed by ex-Wire guitarist George Gill, The Bears were one of the first bands on the emerging Watford punk scene in the Christmas of 1976. Originally a wacky punk band called Smarter & The Average Bears they sang about dodgems and other zany things. In mid 1978 (they) released their debut single gaining a record of the week in Sounds. In November 1978 they released arguably their best single 'Insane' on Good Vibrations records and that was it... read more at punk77
Insane cover from punkrockpicsleeves.

We're the party

Night Kings 'Increasing Our High' (1992)
After the demise of Seattle's Nights and Days, Rob Vasquez fired up a new trio of talented bums. A little less mod, a little more trash garage punk, perhaps high as kites. If you have any problems, go see the complaints dept for more info. Why not buy this (cheap!)?

Motherfunker!

James Brown 'Sho Is Funky Down Here' (1971)
JB plays a mean harpsichord and steers his band in funk meets psychedelic heavy rock direction on these six instrumentals. The results? "This is not an album of Rhythm and Blues ... not just funk ... not just jazz ... but it is all JAMES BROWN music." - Hal Neely, from the liner notes

Good times

The Easybeats 'Absolute Anthology 1965-1969' (1980, 1986)
What can be said about Australia's mighty Easybeats? That George Young and Stevie Wright were amazing songwriters worthy of Paul and John/Mick and Keith distinction? Only to be further equaled by George Young and Harry Vanda? The liner notes clear things up: "Nothing the Easybeats ever gave their public was anything less than exceptional." Get this and then this and discover for yourself. Fun facts can be found here.

White trash

Redd Kross 'Born Innocent' (1982, 1986)
'Born Innocent' saw Red Cross dropping half of their original members (Chavo from Black Flag and Greg from Circle Jerks/Bad Religion!) and recruiting a couple of cute girls, morphing their sound to more structured, trashy, garagy punk. Lots of wild, meandering, atonal guitar leads and sub-NY Dolls slop ... but a lot of fun. Its the kinda record you put on to lift your spirits and deliver a jolt of juvenile energy right to your heart. - Ryan, amazon.com

Yeah yeah yeah!

The Vibrators 'Pure Mania' (1977)
Not much I can say about this classic punk 'n' roll album other than it's one of my favorites from the '70s. Just get it and I guarantee you'll play it again and again into the future....

Want more info? Cruise over here.

A minute to pray, a second to die...

The Flesh Eaters 'Forever Came Today' (1982)
When Chris D. shrieks, "Oh, box of chaos, oh box of chaos!" one would be hard pressed to find a better description of the third Flesh Eaters LP. With yet another backing band (only Steve Berlin remains on sax), slightly more straight forward rock, "this is the way to exhaltation/this is the way to paradise/bloody hands, skinned up knees/bloody hands, skinned up knees."

I'm numb

Pointed Sticks 'What Do You Want Me To Do?' (1978) and 'Lies' (1979) 7"s
A couple of punky power pops from our neighbor city to the north, Vancouver BC. Their website www.thepointedsticks.com says: The Pointed Sticks were formed in 1978 by vocalist Nick Jones, guitarist Bill Napier-Hemy, bassist Tony Bardach and drummer Ian Tiles; keyboard player Gord Nicholl joined later. After releasing several singles and undergoing a number of personnel changes, the band released their debut album, 'Perfect Youth', in 1980. They disbanded the following year.

Leaders of the pack

The Shangri-Las 'Remember... The Shangri-Las At Their Best' (1990)
The Shangri-Las started as two sets of teenage sisters from the Queens neighborhood of Cambria Heights -- Mary and her sister Liz (Betty), and the Ganser twins, Margie and Mary Ann. The girls began singing at local dances and soon came to the attention of multi-talented George "Shadow" Morton, who shot them into the charts with massive hits on the Red Bird record label including "Remember (Walking In The Sand)", "Leader Of The Pack", "Give Him A Great Big Kiss", "I Can Never Go Home Anymore", "Give Us Your Blessings" and "Out In The Streets", written by Morton and/or Red Bird's Brill Building staffers Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry. The Shangri-Las gave a voice to real teenagers, with Mary's explosive lead vocals delivering emotion packed melodramas that made them one of the most consistently exciting groups of the day. Their rise to fame was truly meteoric, with three Top Ten records -- eleven Top 100 hits -- in a two year period, during which they were on the road constantly, crossing to England twice. The Shangri-Las played on bills with both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, and even had a Shangri-Las Day declared during the NYC World's Fair in 1964. Their groundbreaking "Leader Of The Pack" hit #1 in October 1964, and even broke the Top Ten in Britain twice in the 1970's. Mary Ann Ganser passed away in 1971, three years after the group broke up. They last performed together in 1989, when they sang as a trio at Cousin Brucie's first Palisades Park Reunion Show. Margie Ganser passed away in 1996. With regard to recording, Mary has not been heard on wax since 1967 except for an uncredited backup vocal on Aerosmith's 1979 version of "Remember (Walking In The Sand)". Although they received considerable press during their heyday, none of the members has spoken candidly until now, with Mary having made the decision to record and perform again. - Miriam Linna, Norton Records

Turn it on

The Morlocks 'Emerge' (1985)
It don't take much to enjoy this fine piece of garage trash.

There is a dimension deep within your mind
The sound of bones as they rock and grind
The strobe of the inner eye
Electric like falling night
Pulses deep and primal
From another time
Down, down
Down underground
The Morlocks crept, and they found...

The hangout of the shaggy crowd
Then dug the grooves on inner sound
So turn it up,
Let your mind submerge,
Turn yourself on...
As the Morlocks emerge....
—S.C.