Teenage Head
Flamin' Groovies
1971
Album Summary
Teenage Head is the third studio album by the San Francisco rock band Flamin' Groovies, released in March 1971 by Kama Sutra Records.Released the same year as the Rolling Stones' album Sticky Fingers, Mick Jagger reportedly noticed the similarities between the albums and thought the Flamin' Groovies did the better take on the theme of classic blues and rock 'n roll revisited in a modern context.
WikipediaI'd like to say "Teenage Head is awesome" and leave it at that, but some people might mistake that review for R. Kelly's life motto.
Unless this is just one person's personal list, i dont understand how this album could be considered an album you HAVE to listen to.
At first I thought this was an album called Flamin’ Groovies by Teenage Head, which I was looking forward to. This is great. One of my new “I can listen to every track without skipping” albums. Looking it up on Wikipedia, Mick Jagger apparently said this was a better version of Sticky Fingers, and I agree. Rockabilly edging into proto-punk. I love this so much. Favourite track: “Whiskey Woman”
i love their refusal to jump on the bandwagon of the times, and instead just rip up some awesome bluesy rock & roll. fantastic album
For a band I've never heard of, this album was freaking great. It's everything I love about The Rolling Stones with a healthy dose of Violent Femmes sprinkled on top. This came out the same year as "Sticky Fingers" even. Apparently, after listening to "Teenage Head" Mick Jagger was like, "Oh yeah. That's what we were trying to do with 'Sticky Fingers' but they did it better." And he's not wrong. Put the two albums up against each other and "Teenage Head" just might come out on top. Absolute monster of an album.
These boys FUCK! Kinda like The Rolling Stones with a little of The Stooges thrown in. There’s almost no way they weren’t an influence on Eagles Of Death Metal and early Kings Of Leon. Pretty fun album!
Interesting albums with lots of blues and inspiration from other artists. Could hear hendrix, dylan, and elvis in a few songs. Liked the different vibes throughout the album
I've heard this band in the past, but never properly checked them out. This one apparently is the third and greatest album, just before one of the founding members left. It's quite pleasant. 30 mins of throwback rock n roll with a country tinge and some blues cover songs. If you are a big fan of 1950s/60s rock classics, you would definitely have a blast with this. I tapped my toes along to the whole thing, and there weren't any dull moments. But it's not a style I'm particularly enamoured with. 3.5
I enjoyed this bluesy early 70s rock way more than I expected to. The recording sounds fantastic and the music is really well done. The performances are so energized and visceral. These guys are really great here! Loved the rockin' tracks like "High Flyin' Baby" and "Have You Seen My Baby." "Yesterday's Numbers" has a fantastic vocal performance... one of my favorite tracks. The title track's rockin' blues vibe and supporting harmonica runs through this album like a freight train. Great stuff! There's a great bluesy vibe really evident in "City Lights" about a country boy headed to NYC to see 'the empire's tallest building where the plane shot that big monkey, and they killed him.' You also get a dose of the 50s in songs like "32-20", "Evil Hearted Ada" (which could be an early Elvis song) and "Doctor Boogie" (with a particularly fun performance by the lead singer). The last song of the original album release "Whiskey Woman" is a great closer to the album. Love this song. I prefer stopping there for the album listening experience and not playing the six additional tracks added in 1999. Not that any of the additional songs are bad - in fact I liked them - but the album really feels most complete in its original incarnation. Maybe I'm just getting tired of great albums feeling a bit compromised when bonus tracks are tacked on willy-nilly in their re-releases. I really dig this album... happy to welcome Flamin' Groovies aboard my musical library!
You can draw a direct line from this to my sweetheart Detroit 90s-00s rock scene. Hell yea
It's Been A While I guess, But Life Is Good, You're Doing Well. Keep On Focusing On The Process. And Go With The Flow That You Like.
Muy sorprendente disco. Quizá a ratos no suena de 1971 sino de 1964 o algo así, pero la verdad es que me gustó mucho. Combinación agradable de Rock psicodélico y Blues, transicional de la época. Le doy la razón a Mick Jagger, este disco es mejor que uno de los Stones. Y encima la versión de lujo trae unos covers que tampoco tienen desperdicio.
Amazing record from track 1 to the end - from pure party garage rock to acoustic folk blues. I can imagine that Evil Hearted Ada influencing the psychobilly Lux Interior of The Cramps with it’s circus mirror reflection of Elvis. As for comparisons, I’d listen to this before the Stones every time.
I love the Flamin Groovies.. They could have picked the album before or after and I would have been happy too. Dirty bluesy garage rock sound can't be beat.
I didn't know the band, but I was happily surprised. I know they are supposed to play many styles, but this album is a good rock album. It reminds me of newer rock bands like The Sheepdogs.
Great discovery, didn't know them at all, will certainly listen to it again.
american equivalent to Sticky Fingers is good, but not better than Sticky Fingers! come on, mick! fav track: whiskey woman
Favourite band name so far. This was a big fat Jam loved it all, especially Doctor Boogie and Shakin All Over. Whiskey Woman was my highlight though - surprisingly beautiful. Also a great rendition of Louie Louie.
Rockabilly surf-music, folded into some more mellow blues-y jams. Good stuff
This band reminds me a lot of the Rolling stones but maybe the band and the lyrics aren't as controversial? They have that 70's rock/blues thing going though I'm not sure if there is anything totally exceptional about this album. Maybe it's here because Mick Jagger thought they were better than the Rolling Stones?
Rockzinho lá de outros tempos né, bacana, acho que até conhecia alguma, mas nada que mds adoro ouvir não.
Ihan uusi tuttavuus tämäkin. Mielestäni kelpo rokkia tuolta aikakaudelta. Kivasti eri tyylisiä kappaleita levyllä, ei käynyt yksitoikkoiseksi, vaikka levy olikin täyden tunnin mittainen.
Flamin and groovy! Groovy 70's rock, nothing bad about it. Whiskey Woman is my fav
10th June 2021 Listened on my phone through the day - Jen still recovering from Covid and busy workday. Very hot. Had it saved on Spotify previously, I love the firdt half but not sure about the British invasion covers. Some total bangers on here though.
Hey this album whips ass. I enjoyed it from front to back and will be listening to it again. This is some great rock with an energy all its own.
Really cool bluesy style with a distinct 70's production and vocal style. Really fun to just put on and jam out to!
WHY HAVE I NEVER HEARD OF THIS BAND?! Funky slidey Southern Beefheart grooves. Makes Television make sense. Evil Hearted Eva channels Elvis through a rockabilly sound.
Thoroughly enjoyed it; some classic rockabilly tracks to lighten the mood. 4.5/5
One of the best albums the Stones ever put together was not actually by the Stones. Most excellent blues rock.
Really enjoyed this. Raw guitar sound is great. Simple, balls out rockin.
What a surprise this was. I was completely unsure what to expect. The band name and title made me a li’l nervous. But then there was some good ol' bluesy, old school rock 'n' roll sounds that I really liked from the first time through…the whole thing, in fact. The vocals are sometimes a little wonky, and I jumped when they started screaming in "Yesterday's Numbers," and I'm not a big fan of gun violence threats against girlfriends (which seem to be very common in several genres of popular music). But I love all the varied guitar sounds in this. I love the bass in the title track. Each of these songs is just a little jarringly weird, and I really like them.
According to wikipedia, Teenage Head was released the same year as the Rolling Stones' album Sticky Fingers, and Mick Jagger reportedly noticed the similarities between the albums and thought the Flamin' Groovies did the better take on the theme of classic blues and rock 'n roll revisited in a modern context. I tend to agree. it is like a rougher version of Sticky Finger s(one of my favourite Stones albums), so this is a revelation. Loved the slide playing, the rough boogie, and the grunt. Fabbo, and definitively going on my want list.
This.....is..... AMAZING! It’s like the Stones with a little kiss of punk. Love it so far Fav Tracks: "High Flyin' Baby" "Teenage Head"
Possibly their best album, either this one or Shake Some Action. I'm not usually a big fan of covers but these guys are really good at it.
Apparently, Mick Jagger said that this album was a better take on a modern updating of blues and rock 'n roll than the contemporarily released "Sticky Fingers". Mick is right.
They've got some really cool stuff going on in that 1970s bluesy rock space, which makes me wonder why they're not more well-known. Maybe their marketing department sucked? Maybe it's the dreadful band name? Maybe it's the ill-advised, super terrible Elvis impersonation? Best track: Whiskey Woman
Fun throughout Best song was Whiskey Woman. The chorus sounded a lot like knocking on heavens door but I think this song is older than that one
Loved it. Never heard of them and want to know more. Sound like a test tube baby of the Beach boys, early stooges, the Stones etc. 4*s
Cet album de rock gentil passerait presque pour un chef d'œuvre grâce à la bousasse qui l'a précédée (celle de Throbbing Gristle).
Thoroughly enjoyable rootsy/country-tinged RnR. Contemporary comparisons to Sticky Fingers are very apposite. Liked it a lot! bonus tracks are uniformly poor however
Initially I was hoping to find "Shake Some Action" on this album, since it's the only FG song I knew, but when I got into it I liked the bluesy, rockabilly-with-edge feel. The title track sounds very Howlin' Wolf. It's hard to tell from the Wiki notes if the lead vocals are shared, but if they're not, they certainly have one diverse vocalist. I guess you'd have to add FG to the list of the first (pre) punk bands, sticking to rock n' roll when hard rock and prog was all the rage.
Very hard rocking modern rock n roll, way better than I was expecting.
A band I was not familiar with at all. Really good stuff, will be listening to it again. Lots of comparisons to The Rolling Stones, but I think the Groovies did it better.
4.4 - I can see why Mick Jagger thought this was a more successful blues rock record compared to "Sticky Fingers." To Jagger's credit though, this record doesn't have the same "Wild Horses" level climax. Some great cuts including "32-20", "Evil Hearted Ada" and "Whiskey Woman."
This was unexpected as I had never heard of this band and didn't know what genre it would be. I loved the guitars but the vocals weren't completely up to snuff. The production also really sounded modern. Definitely will be adding some of these songs into my rotation since I enjoy me some old blues rock.
Fun fact: High Flyin' Baby is Robert Plant's favourite track from this album. He bangs babies. He also LOVES Have you seen my Baby? The man loves touching babies.
just a bit of bluesy rock, but has that kinda proto-punk 70s sound coming through a bit. not too bad but I'll probably never listen again. 3/5.
Decent garage rock, rock and roll sound, but nothing special or standout. I feel like this genre was out of date even when it was new. Led Zeppelin IV came out the same year and is a million times more interesting.
Pretty alright, definitely have never heard of it before. My first exposure to this group, and I may look at their stuff again, but it's not at the top of my priorities
I think I’m kind of hoping for a classic now in this list. This one is okay. I liked a couple songs but maybe only really liked one
Nice vintage rock'n'roll, but not something I'm to keen on listening to. Actually, I didn't even know about this band, but the resemblance to the Rolling Stones is striking. And I'm not that much of a Stones' fan... :-P
Erstmal der ganz unmittelbare Anhör-Kontext: was für eine Wohltat hier der erste Song, direkt nach dem Metallica-Quatsch, sofort Punkte gemacht. Dann erstmal leichtes Abfallen, aha - Bluesrock. Machte man damals wohl so, aber zum Ende dann ja immer punkiger, voll gut so die Phase vor und hinter Louie Louie. Solide 3,2 Punkte von mir.
Truck‘n‘Roll im Honky Tonk-Ländle. Ein vertonter Robert Crumb Comic, muckerhaft gekonnt, abwechslungsreich, gut für ne lange Autofahrten bei offenem Fenster 2.8
The Rolling Stones meet sixties garage. Groovy record with a bit too much filler. A few killer tracks though
I'm not a huge fan of this album. However, Louie Louie!?!? Are you kidding me? #rockon
interesting album and more interesting group. they were all over the place and showed a lot of their influences. i give them three platypuses - hopefully they figure out who they want to be
Never heard of this band before! Can sound like the Rolling Stones, Elvis, and the Kingstons.
Very blues, very loud. The sound is totally on point but the songwriting does nothing for me. I'm mostly just along for the ride with this album, letting it go from one song to next while soaking in the sheer bluesiness of it all. Overall good.
Hieman pikaisesti läpiuiskenneltu levy. Vasta Whiskey Womanin kohdalla heräsi oikeasti mielenkiinto ja pysähdyin kuuntelemaan. Jos koko levy olisi ollut tuon kappaleen tyylistä, niin olisi tykännyt isosti. Nyt tykkäily jäi vain sellaisen keskivertohyvän kolmosen tasolle.
Дженерик гаражный рок-н-ролл. Вроде не бесит, но скучно. Ухо цепляется за кавер на Louie Louie, но это кавер, да и у Моторхэда забористее как-то опосля вышло.
звучит как Loaded Вельвет Андеграунда, если бы Лу Рид ливнул перед записью, а не после, а Дуг Юл решил, что надо написать побольше песен в стиле Lonesome Cowboy Bill. Но пару норм треков есть: закрывашка, Вчерашние номера, Детская голова. Делюкс трек, где поётся про shivers in my biba тоже прикольнул. 5/10
Good ol fashion garage rock. Would listen again but nothing really stood out to
I’d never heard of Flamin Groovies before this album and it’s not bad. I would say that there is definitely a noticeable Rolling Stones influence to the band’s sound. Which is not a bad thing, there are noticeable influences from multiple artists on the record. But I was left thinking “most of these songs could be on a Rolling Stones album”.
Bluesy rock-n-roll similar to Rolling Stones. Solid album for band I had not heard of before.
Rating: 6/10 Best songs: Have you seen my baby?, Yesterda's numbers, Carol
Surprised I hadn’t heard this before, besides Louis Louis. Pretty basic. Not rushing to replay.
I can understand the appeal of the album but I wouldn't go out of my way to listen to it- it feels very derivative of contemporaneous musical acts at the time.
Not bad - I like the band, but the overall album was a take on a genre that I just didn't get super into. There were a few fun tracks on it though so I gave 3 stars.
A band far better live. This is a mixed set of songs with some fine bluesy rock in there.
I don't know man. I really wish I was more into this sort of Classic rock n' roll thing. Like I never really cared for the Rolling stones, but I feel like I enjoyed these guys more to be honest. But yeah, This rockabilly deal is really hit or miss with me. It's not bad though, It has moments where it sounds extremely 70's, tin can style. But it's decent.
Generally okay. Some songs were better, some worse. Overall not very memorable to me in any good ways
This is an unusual album, but I liked it. I'm more a fan of the Shake Some Action iteration of the Groovies, but I’ve always admired how they did their own thing musically regardless of what was popular at the time. This one is a little ramshackle and garage rocky, with a lot of 70s attitude and just a little of a proto punk edge. Stylistically it is all over the place, to the point where it’s kind of ridiculous. They start out going for a Stones-esque bluesy rock and they end up playing rockabilly. I would ding another band endlessly for this, but somehow, they manage to pull it off. This was a lot of fun. Fave songs: Whiskey Woman, Yesterday's Numbers, City Lights, Have You Seen My Baby, Evil Hearted Ava
The earth didn't move but this is ok. I like this general style of music and there were a few stand-out moments. I like City Lights and some of its rhymes: laughin'/autographin', Stetson/gets in, and buildin'/killed him. The line in Have You See My Baby about talking to strangers because I'm a stranger, too, made me laugh. Dr. Boogie is pretty fun. Don't know that I'll play this whole album again but I like some of these songs enough to rotate them into play now and again.
I had never heard of this band and when I started to listen, it was not at all appealing. I checked back a little later in the day and it wasn’t as bad as I first thought. It’s bluesy-rock, which I don’t mind, but this band’s version of the style seemed rushed with little soulfulness. It just did not grab me at all.
Pretty fun, 70s blues rock. Wouldn't necessarily listen to it again, but works fine as your classic rock driving music
It was better than I expected based on the album art and the incredibly stupid band name. Seriously, who named this band?? It’s such an immature name and it inspires no confidence. Tunes okay though.
Ik hoor hier van alles in: The Rolling Stones en Elvis bijv. Ik kan het goed aanhoren, maar het is bepaald niet spannend.
Bit of a strange album. Some tracks sounded 70s, some sounded 50s, more covers than I expected. Not great, just odd.
For the first 30 seconds I was really excited to hear a full on blues rock album but then I heard the vocals and my expectations were lowered to just another 70s rock album with blues influence. Still not bad tho fav was carol
The Flamin’ Groovies have a good sound which I liked. For me the album is a bit too long. Nothing extraordinary, just a fine album. Favourite songs: - High flying’ baby - Yesterday’s numbers - Carol
Kinda fun early 70s rock. Wavering between a more Bluesy sound and a Rockabilly sound. Unremarkable, but not unenjoyable. I don't think I'd ever add it to a playlist, but if it ever came on the radio I would probably go "hey these guys are fun!", not really remembering their name but also not turn it off.
Margt alveg áheyrilegt, en svo kemur smá retró rockabilly inn á milli sem dregur þetta niður. Má hafa gaman af þessu en ég nenni þessu ekki oft.
2/16/2022 Today's Album: "Teenage Head" by Flamin' Groovies - I reviewed this album once before while my flight was taking off from denver and it got deleted by the time I got wifi, so here is a shorter review. This album is fairly decent. It is a lot of straightforward rock beats and progressions with some Velvet Undergound (Lou Reed) type vocals. There is a lot of guitar twang that makes this album feel quite hick-y and bluegrass-y. However, that doesn't totally take away from the technical talent in the guitar work throughout this album. There are a lot of songs that feel quite memorable and that get me bobbing my head, but then there are tracks that are fairly ugly and campy. I think overall, though, they balance these two types of tracks in a way that flows well and keeps my engaged. There are some surefire highlights on this album, like the smooth and warm Whiskey Woman or the rocking cover of Louie Louie. Some of the guitar work on this album is so impressive for how under the radar this little punk project is. There is a dirtyness to the production, but it is relatively clean compared to most punk outfits of this time. It is a great album for some straightforward dude rock and punk. I don't know quite what else to say about it since many other aspects are fairly generic, but there is a lot of personality to the aspects of this album that shine and there are many moments that are very enjoyable. It seems like a great road trip album or just one to have playing in the background of a small gathering. Score: 7.5/10 Pretty Good / Classic Highlights: High Flyin' Baby, City Lights, 32-20, Whiskey Woman, Shakin' All Over, Louie Louie, Scratch My Back
Teenage Head winds pleasantly towards the strange as it proceeds, and I'm glad the list introduced me to the band. Perhaps I should sharpen my regard given the release date, but I'm not sure if I'll revisit this music over similar expressions.
Like a less artful Rolling Stones in places. I like the production and the overall vibe, though goodness only knows what the singer is doing on the first track - it sounds like he's gargling his own tongue.
I love the energy of this. I can't stand the band name. None of the songs get under my skin, but if I went to bars, this would probably be the bar band I'd want playing.
Garage rock/Rolling Stones-ish blues/proto punk. Very solid, will make a return.
Perfectly fine, if a little uninspiring. There are some good grooves here and a few that overstay their welcome. The band had something but they also lacked something, maybe that spark which would have made them pop.
Has a similar feel to the Rolling Stones with their take on blues and classic rock-'n'-roll. It's funny that this came out the same year as Sticky Fingers, too. Anyway, not a bad collection of tracks. It has the same vibes as Exile on Main St. in the sense that I appreciate it more than I outright like it. I wouldn't go back to listen to this but there are some awesome cuts that will be on my playlist.
Never heard of this band before listening to this album. Pretty good early rock music.
Some enjoyable stuff on here, but too often just seems like musical wallpaper. Nothing too complex or risky which leads to a semi-bland record. I guess if I was a big fan of rock and roll then it’d be more appealing but alas… 5/10
This was pretty good. I was hoping I would like it more but it landed solidly in the “good but not great” zone for me. I also wasn’t a fan of the production of this album.
Ok, yeah, kind of a fun listen. I was thinking there was something Rolling Stonesish about the whole thing so it was interesting to read on Wikipedia "Mick Jagger reportedly noticed the similarities between the albums and thought the Flamin' Groovies did the better take on the theme of classic blues and rock 'n roll revisited in a modern context" Fave track - The title track is pretty good. Like their cover of "Louie Louie", too...
garage rock kind of group. The music was all rock n roll. they did number of covers from other groups, although different from the original but pretty good
Even in the notes it was stated that the rolling stones felt like this was a better version of their album and I partially agree but more so I'm laughing that this guy sounds almost identical to them so really they are just copy cats. I thought I'd get annoyed by this album but I'm enjoying it, only a few skips.
J'ai écouté cet album il y a une heure, et ai oublié d'écrire mon review dans la foulée. Vous vous doutez bien que je n'ai déjà plus la moidnre idée de ce que j'ai écouté.
Never really listened to them but I've seen this infamous cover. It's pretty enjoyable. Catchy with nice riffs and some great arrangements.
It's like the very sleazy 70's Stones...not sure its that great or important but it would sound better after a few more listens and preferably a couple of old fashions.
Similar to another reviewer, I thought this was an album by the Canadian band Teenage Head that was called Flamin' Groovies. I wouldn't be surprised if the Canadian band got their name from this album. Overall, this is a solid, straight-ahead rock and roll album. I also immediately thought they sounded very similar and maybe even better than the Rolling Stones and with Mick Jagger his royal-self saying that he thought they did a better take on classic blues and rock and roll who am I to argue. Shaking' all over and Whiskey Woman were standouts for me.
Yeah these guys know how to play. I get Mick’s comment that it sounds like Sticky Fingers but the Stones were playing styles that were borrowed from others. It wasn’t original but Keef and the boys just executed it incredibly well. Flaming Groovies copied the way Keef plays. So they are guilty but The Stones can’t gripe since they weren’t being original. Some simple but good lyrics like on Doctor Boggie: #You gotta mow the lawn if you want to get along w me.” The cover versions on the bonus tracks are also interesting. The copying of other bands continues since Shaking All Over sure sounds like The Who’s version of that song on Live at Leeds but Pete can’t gripe since The Who’s version sounds like The Guess Who’s version. An interesting aside, in the mid 60s when both The Who and The Guess Who were playing at bars, the crowd would confuse the two bands since their names were similar. The crowd would yell for The Who to play Shaking all Over so they learned the song and added it to their set. Similarly, The Guess Who learned to play My Generation to satisfy requests from bar crowds that didn’t realize there were two different bands. Good fun.
Nice music, like it a bit more rough though. The extra songs, covers of rock and roll classics were very good.
Wasn’t expecting much out of this, but it’s solid boomer rock, and surprisingly varied. I especially like the Elvis tribute. It’s a breezy listen at a solid half hour, but I also don’t see myself returning to it. C
Wasn't bad, wasn't great. I do hear the early punk aspect though. I just don't think it had much sticking power. 3/5
Not bad. Very garage band-y rock and roll. I liked most of it, though it started to get more blues-centric and generic towards the end of the album.
This was alright - kind of generic rock of the era with some influences of The Rolling Stones, just obviously not as good. 6/10.
Good, if unmemorable blues/bluegrass rock. The instrumentals are great, the singer is utterly mediocre, and stuck back in the mix.
Didn’t get to listen to the whole album but I enjoyed what I heard. 3*
While this is usually compared to The Rolling Stones, I think this album manages to have a unique sound. It could definitely benefit from a remaster. My favourite song was City Lights.
Glad I listened to it and there were a couple of cool tunes on here but overall this didn't do much for me.
Went in with little to no expectations and came out pretty surprised. Would I ever listen again? Probably not. However, its good background music and reminds me of Elvis and a bit of the beatles. I cant say I love it but honestly not too bad!