Here Are the Sonics
The Sonics
1965
Album Summary
Here Are The Sonics (stylized as !!!Here Are The Sonics!!!) is the debut album by American garage rock band the Sonics, released in March 1965. The album features the original songs "The Witch" (a minor regional hit), "Psycho", "Boss Hoss" and "Strychnine", along with an assortment of rock and roll and R&B covers.
WikipediaI’d actually only heard of The Sonics because LCD Soundsystem referenced them in a song I really liked about 15 years ago (I still do, but I did 15 years ago too). I had some vague idea that they were an 80s, avant-garde, electronic band, so now I feel like a bit of a fool. Absolutely loved this album, or more specifically I absolutely loved the songs that weren’t covers. The covers were still good but I much preferred their original stuff. I spent a lot of my teenage years in the back rooms of various dodgy North London pubs watching Billy Childish gigs without ever thinking to explore the origins of his sound. I wish I’d done a bit more investigation. This album was recorded more than a decade before punk broke, but it still sounds raw and vital over half a century later. Loved it. Five stars for the original stuff and four for the covers.
Just good old fashioned garage rock played with all the all the rawness of a live set in the studio. The Beatles made these songs sound better yes, but I would of rather seen these guys live around the same time.
hmm. After suffering through a number of tracks, I did a little recon on this band as to ... well, why they're in this 1001 list at all. "Major influence" on garage and punk bands...simple chord progressions...tonal aggression." ... vocals: "wwWOWWWWWWWW!!!!!" <lather/rinse/repeat ad nauseum> Just because you're among the first to create a subgenre of not enjoyable noisy music doesn't really make you a legend IMO. Then again, to each their own :P It's not my bag. (the covers were not terrible, admittedly. If I were being particularly snarky I'd accuse them of sprinkling them perfectly throughout the album to prevent some ppl from turning it off...) 2/10 1 star
“!!!Here Are The Sonics!!!” by The Sonics (1965) I wonder how many people would have bought this record if they had left off the six exclamation points? This album is of interest only to those recorded music ‘genealogists’ who fondly ponder “Who influenced who?”, a topic which is overrated and of limited critical value (especially when it comes to punk). Only four of the twelve songs in this non-cohesive collection are original. The eight covers are not covers of obscure compositions (which can be artful), but are rather recycles of major hits by other artists, whose performances are far superior to The Sonics. As a matter of fact, the attempt to seriously listen to The Sonics perform The Contours’ “Do You Love Me?”, Chuck Berry’s “Roll Over Beethoven”, etc. is impeded and distracted by memories of the original sounds. These covers are pop music at its worst. (“Night Time Is the Right Time” is painful. Please don’t listen to this track. You’ve been warned.) So why do we pull !!!Here Are The Sonics!!! out of the attic? I’m not sure. With primitive engineering that completely muddles the mix, and a small-room ambience that induces claustrophobia, the record was bad from the get-go. One wishes that the people who produced the first digital version would have inserted scratches and dust pops to suggest the ‘sound’ of musty ‘smell’. It is worth noting that in the original compositions “Strychnine”, “Psycho”, and “The Witch”, singer/songwriter Gerry Roslie pushes a few lyrical boundaries, but in retrospect, it’s rather inconsequential. Other groups at the time were far more revolutionary. And if I have to listen to one more screamed “Wow!” by Roslie, I swear I’ll warp this vinyl with a blow dryer and play it for my in-laws. Put this one back in the attic. 1/5
Almost all the songs sound the same: "Yeeoww!" + blues rock progression + "Yeeoww!" + nearly the same guitar / sax solo. Recorded too hot. Lots of covers. I don't care. This album is amazing. I bought it (actually "The Ultimate Sonics") years ago and still come back to it. Raw, youthful energy. Favorite song: Money
I adoe garage rock, and this is a wondrous slab of it. Exactly what you want of a Saturday night. Simple, unpretentious, clearsighted, slamming rock 'n' roll.
There are definite flaws with this album. The sound quality is terrible and there are far too many standard covers on the album. However, it's easy to hear how this album influenced the punk bands that came after it. It just has that energy that comes with listening to punk music. The original songs are far better than the covers. It's clear just from listening to this that this band would have been amazing live. I wish a good recording of them existed 4/5
This makes me want to dance. It rocks. A really fun album. I did think it was older than it is, I estimated about 1958-9. Most of the album is covers, but that was sort of the done thing back in the day. Fun album, it doesn't need to be analysed too much, just smile and enjoy.
After seeing the Dictators on previous page, I was just thinking I hadn't revisited any "proto-punk" records for a few years. I don't remember liking the Dictators, and I didn't remember much at all about the Sonics. Looks like I downloaded this album in 2013, and I probably haven't revisited it. Anyway, HOLY CRAP this is better than I remembered/expected. Under 30 mins, and just a burst of energetic garage rock, containing most of what is good about rock n roll. As someone who isn't generally a huge fan of the mainstream rock canon, this album is fun enough to make me temporarily change my mind. The sound is crisp and competent, but with enough sloppiness & rough edges to make it sound like they're not trying. They cover some early rock "standards". They keep everything simple & it works just fine. My only complaint is that singer keeps trying to do a James Brown "WAAAAAAAH" / "WOOOOOOW". It's fucking annoying and lame whoever does it.
Don’t let the sweaters fool you, this is loud, obnoxious, and sweaty rock(early punk?). Strychnine, Have Love Will Trave are two of the standouts
They are the anti-Beatles right? Get rid everything that "good and pure" or radio friendly about the Fab 4, rough it up, add some fuzz and some guttural vocals and you have The Sonics. Not detracting from either band but I am so glad The Sonics existed to lay the roots of punk and Garage rock. I love them and could listen to this album in repeat for hours (which I did).
This smashed me over the head in 2022. Imagine what effect it had in 1965. The Witch is amazing, Roslie's vocals are insane, something he carries on for the whole album. But the ultimate sound is that quivery bass. I don't know if it's backed by bass pedal, but it just sounds EVIL! Only 30 minutes. Perfect. It leaves you begging for more. Apparently the Seattle scene was full of bands like The Sonics. If I ever get a ride in the TARDIS I'm going to Seattle in the early '60s. Then I'll stay for 30 years. (I won't be going to Starbucks. That coffee is awful)
Some great early punk. Lots of 60s waows and surprisingly great guitar tones. Original tracks are great. Quite boring seeing a lot of the same covers being done on a lot of bands of that era but I suppose that was the done thing. Overall very good
4 for originality. Nice use of distortion to give them an early punk sound. You can definitely hear their embracing of the early 60's songwriting, but very forward-thinking production, and attitude, that would spawn The Stooges and The Hives.
A lot of these songs are covers, but the Sonics were very influential to garage and punk rock.
There's a real Nuggets feel here. I can hear how this may have influenced later punk and garage rock bands. Cool sound but I’d be more impressed if they had the originals to match. Maybe if they’d stuck around longer they would have produced something really amazing. 2.5/5 Favourite track: Do You Love Me
Noisy punk rock in the 60s? Yes please. A couple of the covers on here are really stellar, well others kind of fall short, but overall it's an important record for more grungey/punk-y production. Fav Tracks: Do You Love Me, Have Love Will Travel
Sorry boys, The Beatles got there before you, and did it way, way better. Lots of screaming and faux excitement but the music behind it is flat as a pancake. I'm guessing these are Americans trying to emulate the Mersey sound. Whoever they are, it doesn't work. Just sounds like 10 alternate and inferior versions of Twist and Shout.
Awesome innovative band, ahead of their time. Fun fact, The Black Keys were inspired immensely by this band, you can hear it in a lot of their older music
Super Fun with some absolute classics on here. It's short and sweet too. Top 2 tracks for me are Strichnine and Have Love Will Travel = Guy Richie - Rock N Rolla.
More nice shots than I expected, with classics littered throughout. Definite influencers of Black keys, who covered ‘have love will travel’
Absolutely LOVED this. Total classics in there and banging riffs. Its a K Town banger for me
At first listen i'm like 'what's this, loads of 60's white boys covering tracks' but oh my - the energy that goes into this. Forerunner of punk / grunge, used in a many a tv advert - very little original material - but The Witch is just disconcerting.
I loved this album. The cover photo betrays the solid rock contained therein. Highly recommend if you enjoy classic rock. Added, with pleasure.
Early rock and roll containing the kernels of punk and grunge. You love to hear it! Bonus star for being less than 30 minutes long! In and out and over with!
Absolutely love this album. The thought of the MFrs doing this in 1965 brings me so much joy and has so much impact on all the music I love that came after it. 🤘
It's still incredible to think this album was recorded in the middle of the sixties. I've read unconvinced reviewers in this group saying you don't necessarily need to go back to the hidden origins of a genre, but I strongly disagree here. The genre at stake is punk, here, of course--or should I say, rockabilly played in such a intense fashion that it barely sounds like it. And this thing is *wild*, even 57 years later. To me, it seems that Washington State, with its lumberjacks and geographically remote location on the US map, knows a thing or two about authenticity and intensity. It took almost 30 years to make it a landmark place for that sort of music, with Nirvana and the other great bands of that area. But things did start then. And it's just a riot being able to listen to it. Number of albums left to review or just listen to: 918 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 44 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 23 Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important): 19
So, a couple of the covers appeared on early Beatles albums. On here, they are actually better bursts of raw excitement. It's fast and loose and it feels like it could fall apart at any moment which makes it all dead exciting. Add to that a song as fun as Have Love will Travel, and the fact it BLAZES through 12 tracks in less than 30 minutes and you have a real treat on your hands. Loved it.
Great garage rock, progenitors of punk music. Have a great way of making all the covers their own.
Never heard of them before, but hailing from the 60s, they must be one of the garage rock pioneers. Visceral, exciting, and there hasn't been much change between then and now with obvious echoes of their sound in bands like The Black Keys. Ground Breaking, enduring, influential
It's gutbucket garage rock that has a lot of energy. The originals like Psycho and The Witch are great and the covers were specifically chosen as high energy numbers which would kickstart whatever house party the band was playing at. The rawness makes this more appealing for me - I'd rather listen to the Sonics cover of "Money" than the Beatles cover, which just sounds too clean and less dangerous somehow. Five stars if you think Nuggets is one of the crowning achievements of American rock. Which I do.
Nice old school music, really energetic. Good music to wake up to, even if you wake up in the PM.
makes me want to play it as loud as i can in an actual garage. weird (and great!) to hear ray charles song in this context. fav track: good golly miss molly
The Witch is one of the creepiest songs of all time and I GOSHDARN LOVE IT. The Sonics have to be one of the coolest bands of the sixties. Love Gerry Roslie's maniacal rasp as well. I start to lose interest a bit when they cover the Rock n' Roll standards.
Very nice garage rock'n'roll. There's a good mix of really good covers of classic rock'n'roll songs and a couple of original arrangements which are plenty good themselves.
Amazing album. The drum sound on this album is insane. 8/10 1. Have Love Will Travel 2. Strychnine 3. The Witch
Belle surprise, bon band et en avance sur le rock punk. J’ai aime tout l’active. 4.25*
I have heard covered versions of lots of these songs but didn't know that they could all be attributed to one band. It was good to hear the originals but the lead singer has a crutch on that woo scream and every single song
The cover art did not prepare me for what I heard! I liked it a lot, and surprised it's so old tbh
I had no idea that this was the band who did all those classic songs, but I loved it! It was good vibes and fun music :)
Not only are they insanely important in the history of music, but they rock harder than any band at the time. Clocking in at just under 30 minutes, they also don't overstay their welcome. I'm willing to bet that with slightly more nuanced songwriting that they'd have more barn-burners like The Witch, but some crazy guitar solos make it seem like music your parents would hate. And that's awesome.
Il suono distorto del disco li rende scoppiati e si sposa benissimo con la loro energia. Per me questo sarebbe un 3.5 però voglio premiarli perchè comunque mi hanno stupito. Sembrano un gruppo punk che fa musica anni 60 e questa cosa mi piace.
It was good. 3.5 stars. Golden pop oldies but with a punk vine a la the hives or the vines. But are these all covers? I think I need more context for why this is a classic album.
Fun energetic garage rock. Way early 60s. White covers of 50s R&B. Raw sound. A level up in recording from Louie Louie but just barely. Tacoma meets the first Beatles LP, without the ballads.
Very enjoyable. The golden oldies done really well. We had a good dance around the kitchen
60s punk before punk was a thing. A lot of covers that, while pretty straight, are still given a hard edge and a little more shouting than the originals. A quick and fun listen to boot.
Weird that people were making this kind of music in Tacoma a Washington in 1965. Pretty enjoyable and the original songs were good 8/10
I didn't expect to like this album as much as I did. Garage rock isn't usually me thing and I'm not into bands like the White Stripes all that much. This album was a great listen from start to finish though. I enjoyed their originals just as much as the cover tunes. I can totally see why this one is on the list!
Mostly covers, sounds like it was recorded in an old oil drum. But the sheer energy and power at play here can't be denied, and the original tracks are the clear progenitors of garage punk. A blast!
This is a really great album of a lot of good covers. If these were all written by the band it'd be an easy 5.
A fun mix of blues, rock 'n roll, and punk. I really enjoyed the explosive wails of the singer.
Qué entretenido disco. Me encantó el sonido rasposo y acelerado que no se siente de 1965. Los varios covers que trae el disco son muy buenas versiones y las originales de hecho valen la pena. Curiosamente, los covers así rasposos suenan como a una de esas bandas mexicanas de los 60, rockeando no más por que sí.
Como una cubetada de agua fresca, lo que pudiera ser una banda más que estaba tratando de imitar el éxito de la música de moda liderada por los Beatles termina siendo algo que, a mi parecer, es incluso mucho mejor que los discos de esos mismos Beatles en esa época. Cuando comparas este disco con esos discos iniciales de los Beatles te encuentras que aquí hay una banda con la misma tónica pero mucho más liberados, menos cuidados y más crudos. Se siente cómo aquí no hay un productor estrella que sabe guiar a los muchachos hacia el sonido de las masas y en este caso la música es la que termina ganando. Me recordó a bandas como Screaming Lord Sutch que a pesar de tocar "rocanrolitos" lo hacían con una personalidad enorme.
Great garage band. Excellent cover of 'The Night Time is the Right Time'. 12 songs in 29 minutes gets bonus points...
The original punk sound was birthed in Seattle by The Sonics. A very important piece of Seattle's rock & roll history.
4.3 - garage rocking album full of raw energy that felt years ahead of its time. Loved walking the dog. Will be revisiting.
Þessir hljóta að hafa verið aðaltöffararnir í heimabæ sínum á sínum tíma. Mjög hresst og hrátt!
I like it - raw and rudimentary in execution but this really blows the cobwebs away. I can understand the influence this supposedly had on punk, but what I hear most strongly coming through is the first couple of J Geils Band albums. 'Boss Hoss' especially so, but the cover of 'Money' also seems to have its reflection in the J Geils' version of 'First I Look at the Purse'. Tidied up a little and 'Have Love Will Travel' would've been a monster hit in the 00s for one of the big garage band revival acts.
Overall, a great album. Would definitely listen again. Lots of classics on here but my favorite would have to be Walking the Dog. Overall just a really fun and killer sound. Classic.
50s/60s rock'n roll vibe, surf-rock styled guitars. Classic tunes found in this album like "Do you love me?" and "Roll over Beethoven".
Ça rock solide. Plusieurs reprises, mais l'énergie qui se dégage de cet album est folle. Tu comprends avec cet album qu'on s'en va vers des bands comme les Stooges dans les années qui suivent. Une écoute vraiment agréable. Pièces préférées: Strychnine, Do You Love Me
This has to be one of the most covered albums ever. Every song was a very recognizable super hit… just not this version.
This one is interesting, I've never listened to the sonics. This album itself is old as fuck obviously, but it also sounds young? This feels like shit that was made to be counter to a bunch of the bullshit that was coming out then. It's fucking fried, screaming, and distorted as a bitch at some points and I think it worked for me. Can't help but hear the Little Richard influence all over this one.
As old as this is, and the band looking like a basic british rock band, this was an awesome album. We got some classics with Do you Love Me and Roll Over Bethoven but a bunch of others were great like The Witch and Have Love Will Travel. These guys were a ton of fun.
Yeah I like this… it doesn’t blow me away though. Pretty trend setting in terms of style; very ahead of its time. So it’s a generous 4*
4/5. Great covers record, proto-punk classic. I don’t love every track, but there are many goodies
Raw American 69s garage. Lottsa screaming and sax....some original songs but lots of covers of rock n roll standards..upfront and honest. What it does it does well. Can't justify a 3. It's a 4 from me.
For 1965 these guys rocked hard, was expecting something a bit more Beatles-esque based on the album cover. Lots of old standbys in here, recognized almost all of the songs but unsure if the Sonics are covering or if these are the originals. I suspect it's mostly covers. Overall good. It's loud, fast, upbeat and has more attitude than anything you'd find from that era.
Refreshingly raw, Hamburg Beatles level rock and roll, everything pushed into the red. Must learn more.
Good fun dirty rock n roll. A lot of covers, some new songs. Strychnine is a banger. Really enjoyed listening to this album I wasn’t familiar with!
I liked the energy. I liked the noisy rock that would become punk. Maybe too much noise and energy for a sleepy Monday morning.
Ohhh good stuff here, definitive garage band album, fun and rowdy. Strychnine might the ultimate garage band song, it still sounds timeless. This is the band the White Stripes and the rest of the revivalists listen to.
Brilliant proto-punk adding even more electricity to classic 50s rock’n’roll, but less noisy than Stooges. A bit like The Monks with added joy.
This was a fun listen, I enjoyed the rock & roll covers through the lens of a dirty garage filter. From the pick of the original tracks, The Witch definitely stood out. It was nice to hear a new take on the classics; however, I still enjoy the original recordings more than The Sonics's interpretation. This album coming out way before any Velvet Underground recordings puts them ahead of the curve in terms of developing this signature "dirty on purpose" sound. That opened the door for loads of great music over the years. Fave tracks: The Witch, Roll Over Beethoven, Strychnine, Good Golly Miss Molly
Voici ce que j'en ai déjà dit: "Ça rock solide. Plusieurs reprises, mais l'énergie qui se dégage de cet album est folle. Tu comprends avec cet album qu'on s'en va vers des bands comme les Stooges dans les années qui suivent. Une écoute vraiment agréable. Pièces préférées: Strychnine, Do You Love Me"
Knowing nothing about The Sonics, I was immediately excited by "The Witch" and eager for what would follow. Unfortunately, what followed were two covers of classic but much less inspiring early rock'n'roll. The Sonics' original work is incredibly revealing, unveiling connections between blues, rock, and punk that are always apparent but never as explicit as on "Here Are the Sonics." The covers are a bit hit or miss, with the early appearances of "Do You Love Me" and "Roll Over Beethoven" probably hurt most by the fact that they weren't "The Witch." Later in the album, it dawned on me that I couldn't recall another singer as influenced by Little Richard, with Gerry Roslie channeling the icon and originator with shouts and hollers and yelps. And maybe a little too influenced? Nevertheless, I actually thought The Sonics somehow improved on "Good Golly, Miss Molly." But again, it's their original tracks that really stand out. "Psycho" and "Strychnine" are revelations. I'll definitely check out their follow-up, "Boom," to see if they can recapture the magic. Unfortunately, it sounds like it ends there, with the next album heading in a different direction before the original lineup broke up. But they had a pretty amazingly outsized influence on the future of multiple rock genres despite having less than 10 original songs.
Obviously, this band influenced the creating of the Seattle basketball. Only a year after this album was released, the Seattle Sonics were created. Coincidence? I think no. Regardless, it's hard to imagine the impact these guys had more than 50 years ago with clean cut looks and song titles like Witch, Psycho and Strychnine they probably wouldn't have appealed to the masses without some cover songs. It took me a little bit to realize the significance (basketball and whatnot) but I did enjoy this album and feeling the energy of them beating on their instruments. Will probably listen to these guys again.
Started strong (for a band from ‘65) with opener “The Witch”. As I listened to this I was thinking that “if the only music in my collection was circa 1965 and prior, The Sonics would be in heavy rotation”. Next track, a cover of The Contours’ “Do You Love Me”, was pretty lame; but the band rebounded with a pretty decent album! Solid throughout. Harder and edgier than most pop/rock of the day. “Strychnine” was an old favorite of mine - had it on a cassette mix-tape back in the day. I mistakenly always thought this was by “the13th floor elevators”. Cool. 3.5 and rounding up.
15th August 2022 Listened while working from home. Seb over in the evening, face masks and DB Cooper documentary. I did not know full on garage rock came this early. So much drive and energy and wild production for a mid 60s record, great fun.
Interesting album, great album and garage rock, interesting that all the covers have better versions but this still somehow works very well as an album.
A bunch of crazy kids performing R&B covers to their wildest hearts' contents. Sure, the production sucks, but it adds to the insane rawness that these guys are doing whatever the hell they want, and they pull it off with insane enthusiasm. Even the sax tries to jump out the record, restrained only by the limitations of the medium that controls the music. In under half an hour, we get 12 short tracks, and not a single half assed effort in any of them. The intro "The Witch" already establishes this album's place on this list, as one of the best garage rock hits of the 60s that would influence the the punk movement. There are some weak picks, but nothing you can't enjoy, and they're all short enough that you could wait out for the next pick. The highlights are well-dispersed so you never go more than a couple songs without a song you either already recognize or sticks out. Favorites: The Witch, Have Love Will Travel, Psycho, Strychnine
even though it was all kinda samey sounding and made me wish i was listening to little richard instead i still enjoyed it more than i thought.
Good sounding stuff, something id hear at a diner. Bunch of covers at the end were a treat
Undoubtedly a classic. I love some of the songs on this album, but I can't fully enjoy the full embodiment of dad rock that is Guns N Roses. A bit cringey at times
I can hear the sixties sound in this album. Had not heard of the gerne 'Garage Rock'. Nice album with a lot of well known covers. Nice to see that all the songs are within the 3 minutes what was "a standard".
Not bad, but ilnot much variation between songs. Definitely got a bit stuck of the screamed “waaaaaahhhhhh!”
These guys were before their time with this right? 1965! Sounds like they are having fun
I know it’s a style of it’s time but half way through album the screaming seemed too much and took away from the song too much.
Psychobilly, da liegt Gewalt in der Luft voll Sex and Speed and Prügeleien. Als wäre statt Marty McFly (der ungezähmte) Biff Tannen bei Marvin Barry and the Starlighters eingestiegen und hätte die Band nach seinen Vorstellungen versklavt. Roh und ultrabrutal, solche Typen machen mir Angst mit ihrer Wildheit, kein Witz!
Kolejny klasyczne rokowanie, podobny rocznik, a nawet starszy niz byrdsy, bo 65, ale klimatycznie calkiem inna bajka, nie ma tutaj za bardzo wlasnych kompozycji, a glownie interpretacje klasycznych kawalkow rokowych nawet z lat 50, a wszystko jest zagrane tak jakby byl to ich ostatni live wystep jaki maja zagrac, energia nie tylko na wokalu, ale i instumentach, polaczona z surowoscia nagrania brzmi jak dziadek punkowania, albo nawet bardziej garazowego punkowania, zwlaszcza przez ta surowosc, wiec sa to garazowe interpretacje kawalkow ktore wszyscy znali i kochali, zagrane o wiele agresywniej niz wczesniej, brzmi jak dobry przepis na debiutancki albumik bandy, chociaz preferuje ich pozniejsze plyty, to jednak here are the sonics sa obecnie najbardziej rozpoznawalnym kawalkiem vinyla bandy, ale znajda sie tam takze 4 orginalne traki, otwierajacy witch, psycho, boss hoss i strychnine, na plejke dorzuca openingowy trak, bo have love will travel juz bylo dodane wczesniej, no i w tym przypadku mozna posluchac sobie mono/stereo w zaleznosci od preferencji na spoti, sprawdzilem obie i niestety nie moge potwierdzic teori z byrdsowego albumu, bo mono brzmi w tym wypadku tragicznie, glownie przez dziwne ustawienia na glosnosci, podbicie na sluchawkach nie pomaga, bo jeszcze bardziej przez to rzucaja sie szumy, jakby nagrywane z kiepskiej jakosci vynyla i slyszac wszelakie trzaski, wiec w tym przypadku wersja stereo to musi byc jakis pozniejszy remaster, ktory jest pozbawony tych bolaczek
Loads of covers but they made them their own and I enjoyed it. Maybe there weren't enough songs to go round in 1965? 6/10
Charming, staple for the time period, but faster and a lot more screaming. Kinda repetitive and the poor quality of the screams kinda hurt my ears, but it did go on to inspire later punk, so I'll give credit where credit is due.
Saved Prior: None Off Rip: The Witch, Psycho, Money Cutting Edge: Do You Love Me, Strychnine Overall Notes: One of those albums with a low profile but incredible influence. Crazy that this was released the same year My Girl by the Temptations went number 1. Proto-grunge and proto-punk for sure, super simple chords and stuff but the energy sells it.
very retro beatles vibe. very banging sound. pretty sure they whitewashed black music though.
Proper OG rock and roll, recognised some tracks, one off Earthed 2. Some beach boys vibes but better. Feel-good
In Conclusione: Ho apprezzato la vena un po' punk e ruvida nonostante l'album fosse chiaramente indirizzato ad un contesto un po' festaiolo, forse non era una cosa originale dei The Sonics ma ho trovato curioso il fatto che evidentemente questa cosa di rendere più ruvido un genere "pop" si ripropone ciclicamente nella storia della musica. In ogni caso mi ha divertito, la formula è chiaramente sempre la stessa un po' swing blues ballabile, conoscevo "Good Golly Miss Molly" e forse la mia preferita è stata "Have Love Will Travel" (ma che significa?). All'inizio ero più esaltato (verso il 4) ma poi la struttura troppo ripetitiva dei pezzi m'ha fatto scendere al 3.
Energetic and not unusual. Surfing the wave of their music style. Didn't listen to the lyrics. Probably won't listen again.
È sempre divertente ascoltare questi album. Ma anche questa volta a un certo punto ho un po' sofferto il fatto che sembrasse non finire mai e che sia diventata una sorta di punizione. Sono combattuto perché per me sarebbe un 2.5.. Ok, ho provato a dare 2 ma mi è dispiaciuto quindi vado per 3.
Not really sure how to rate this. On the one hand, it's just a bunch of covers so who cares, but on the other hand there is a raw energy here that is palpable and impressive. They put their own subtle spin on the covers but at the same time there wasn't much difference between them and every other version of the songs I've ever heard. I probably won't listen again but I didn't hate it. I bet they would have been great to see live. "Strychnine" and "Have Love Will Travel" are great songs. "The Witch" & "Boss Hoss" grow on you.
Lots of raw energy with descent guitar and piano work laced throughout. Protopunk vocals and garage band style with some classic rock and roll riffs. Strong cover of good golly miss Molly too close out. Dirty robber, have love will travel, money, nighttime is the right time, good golly
Their original songs are quite good. Unfortunately there are only three of them on the album. 6/10