Eight rippin' instrumentals and two vocal numbers recorded in early 1995. Faster, tighter, and more intense than ever surf mania!
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Despite the French government's curious attempt to legislate cultural isolationism, there are now officially two good bands in France: Les Thugs, of course, and this quartet. But there's nothing new in the garage these guys call home—a heavy debt to Billy Childish is evident throughout, and the Squares flirt with plagiarism on tunes like “Believe” and “Kick Me Out.”
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Some of the best Medway-sounding Garage came from France with The Squares. This was their 4th LP, recorded at Toe Rag Studios with Liam Watson. Great stuff!
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With the Squares, it's like playing at home. Going out and ten minutes later, see them live in town. The Squares mean for me the P'tit Zing headquarters with Dédé behind the counter. It means the concerts in a place we miss, the rehearsals with the guys of the band "Panik" in the next room.
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The Squares make no secret of their influences: The Medway scene, Bo Diddley, The Seeds, The Sonics, The Kinks, The Damned... from whom they try to root out the primitive energy to do what they call Rhythm ‘n’ Punk!
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Great debut album from this seminal Medway-sounding French band. The Squares are three frenzied fruitcakes from Nancy, France. This LP is produced by the legendary Bruce Brand (Headcoats, Pop Rivets, Masonics etc)
A Manifold Hot Compilation Of High Revvin' Rockers by four of today's hottest bands! Out on Crazy Gator Records.
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... The record even says it’s recorded in fabulous mono (I’m pretty sure it’s recorded in stereo). All the songs even remind me of a simpler time, when all you had to worry about was teenage love gone wrong. "Set Me Free" starts off with some cool organ and has an extra long intro. As a matter of fact, you think it’s gonna be a instrumental until Micheal Daboll comes in and sings one verse screams and has a screaching guitar solo outro. "Ain’t Got You" is a nice piece of straight ahead rock ‘n roll. It has a great harp solo. "Yeah" is a slow burner that starts off with a fat fuzzy riff and then has that organ kick in. It reminds me of the Fuzztones. My favorite track is "I Saw A Girl." It has a jangly riff and a cool chorus, "I saw a girl. I saw a girl. I saw a girl and I wanna make her mine." It comes in at a punk rock length of a 1:30, they nail the song and shut the hell up. This is a cool garage punk record. If you dig the stuff from the Crypt’s "Back From The Grave" series, you’ll probably dig this. - cyclops mark
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Secomd LP by one of the leading German (Bamberg) garage outfits from the 80's (who had two albums on Glitterhouse). Amazing hardrockin', motor city riffin' garage fuzz release.
Punk rock soul man Willy DeVille has died of pancreatic cancer in New York at the age of 59. Though his band Mink DevIlle was more bluesy, swinging and sometimes Springsteenesque than most of the groups that congregated at CBGB back in the glory days, he fit comfortably amid its grunge, and glittered in it. He wrote some extraordinary songs and sang them with deep feeling, yet despite this (and an Atlantic Records contract) never had a breakout hit (though he did place a song on the soundtrack of The Princess Bride, for which he received an Academy Award nomination). He was big in Europe, though, and among his fellow musicians (Jack Nitzsche said he was the best singer he ever worked with). DeVille went through all kinds of mess, including his wife's suicide, a car wreck that left him hobbled for years, Hepatitis C and cancer. You might say this is sort of thing that would teach a man the blues, were it not so clear in his music that he had them bone-deep from the start. - from: forum.rollingstone.de
Halifax, Nova Scotia's Great Scots-as renowned today for wearing kilts on stage as for their knockout British Invasion-style debut disc on Sundazed-cut another album's worth of Hollies-meet-Stones fueled stunners in 1965. Here, at last, is the other Great Scots package-a 10 track rampage through material so woolly that only Eric Burdon & Co. or Mick, Brian & Keith, Inc. would dare to follow-and featuring liner notes by legendary Caribou, Maine deejay Wally Berk, who never, ever stopped believing himself to be "the sixth Great Scot."
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Entire recorded output by New York City's amazing Garage band from the 80's and still active today. All songs here are gorgeous originals, with a folk/rock sound that shimmers and sparkles. The songwriting is excellent across the board; with comparisons to Gene Clark, Emitt Rhodes and Michael Brown being easy to see. Certain songs jump out at the listener: “Like To Get To Know Her” with its breathtaking Byrds/Searchers-like harmonies, “Take Me” with the clever psychish opening, and “I See The Truth” with its hooks and guitar lines.
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My goodness! This is a stunning release! Burnin' Mike Vernon has brought his fine band 3 Balls Of Fire to a whole new era. Magnificent arrangements that are very well thought out highlight exceptionally good playing. The all instrumental material found within varies from jazz guitar to rich island themes, from epic adventures to grin bearing fun. All in all, a truly fine CD. Recommended. - Phil Dirt at Reverb Central
LIFE AFTER SUNDOWN, Ghoultown’s sixth CD release, showcases the band\'s unique sound and image like never before. Described as "an uncharted crossroads between Johnny Cash and Rob Zombie," Ghoultown delivers well-written songs which range from melancholy dirges of lost love - to blood-pumping outlaw punk - to well-crafted anthems featuring trumpets reminiscent of an Ennio Morricone western soundtrack. Solid production by Chris Telkes (producer and guitarist for Nocturne, Sonic Noise Terrorists), eye-catching artwork by Dan Brereton (who has also done cover art for Rob Zombie), and powerful songwriting make LIFE AFTER SUNDOWN a landmark release in the Ghoultown catalog. Each track stands on its own, bringing in elements of driving road rock ("Werewolves On Wheels"), western-themed psychobilly ("Dead Outlaw"), gunslinger ballads ("Against a Crooked Sky"), spaghetti western instrumentals ("Thunder Over El Paso"), and out-right "cow metal" ("Under the Phantom Moon") like only Ghoultown can do.
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"BURY THEM DEEP", Ghoultown's fifth release, may prove to be their ultimate collection of songs. Having honed their unique twisted hellbilly style since their inception in 1999, the band has mastered the art of combining old west themes with blood-pumping cowpunk that features gritty vocals and mariachi trumpets. Yep, that's right, this band is one-of-a-kind! BURY THEM DEEP features "Walkin' Through the Desert (with a Crow)" which illustrates the band's mastery of upbeat western sounds along with a tuned-down, driving chorus. The rest of the CD hits equally as hard, displaying a unique songwriting vision and band image.
GHOULTOWN is awesome! The loss of Ghoultown is undescribable, however their music and vision will live on. My band, The Gravetones, had the great pleasure of opening up for Ghoultown the last 2 times they played Chicago. Seeing them live was what made me a fan. I now have all their albums and a great live dvd to boot! For those of you who never got to see Ghoultown live, your loss - for those of you who "didnt make it out" - its your fault their gone. I at least live in Chicago, which is nowhere near where they normally play. They rocked Chicago twice and was about to do it a third time but cancelled. Ghoultown will be missed however the music lives and dvd is a great ending of a great vision. Rock on. - Joe Papa
Ghoultown really come into themselves with this album, finding their groove immediately with the awesome Fistful Of Demons (yes, it is similar to WASP's Fistful Of Diamonds in more ways than one, but so what?) and just going uphill from there. Dia de Los Muertos and Return Of The Living Dead are an amazing one-two punch, showcasing the band's ability to incorporate elements of traditional Mexican music and classic Misfits-styled horrorpunk into their very unique sound. I love this album all the way through. If you are into psychobilly bands like The Hangmen, classic hellbilly bands like Elvis Hitler, or modern insurgent country-punk like Hank Williams III & Assjack, you will dig Ghoultown. And I must say that Give 'Em More Rope is as good a place to start as any! Essential. - Timothy Schwader
Ghoultown's first full-length album is a great blend of classic cowboy songs and classic horror. Every time I listen to this album I feel like I have been transported back in time to a 1950s double feature that has become reality, Twilight Zone style. The classic Killer In Texas is a standout, but I am just as fond of Ghost Riders In The Sky, Gunslinger, Death Of Jonah Hex, and La Noche Diablo. If you can imagine a bunch of zombies wreaking havoc in a classic cowboy movie, riding the rails dressed in black, your mind is ready to experience this album. Be afraid, but check it out anyway--you won't regret it! - Timothy Schwader
"An extreme take on rock music's twisted roots. Hellbilly from the black heart of Texxxas."
Another great rockin’ R&B collection for those who love the Stompin’ and Savage Kick series. The party will go out of control with this wild collection!
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A companion LP to the amazing At The Party LP. There’s no let up in wild partying tunes here. It doesn’t get any better than this, folks!
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After all these years, this is still one of the wildest 50’s/60’s R&B comps that has ever been released. This is guaranteed to keep your party going out of control.
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Liner Notes:
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Influenced by the mod sounds of the Who, the Hollies, the Kinks, and the Easybeats, these Groningen groove-meisters are an instant party of shagadelic proportions. This collection gathers their finest recent recordings, available for the first time ever on CD. Swing to their original instrumentals like "Little MGB" and "Bongo Time," or check out their excellent covers of the Who's "Can't Explain," Jimmie Page's "She Just Satisfies," or Don Covay & Steve Cropper's "Sookie Sookie." It's a smash, baby! Don't get even, get mod—Stark Raving Mod!
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Williams made his nickname of "Mr. Rhythm" by talking his way through a series of fun, creepy, sleazy-sounding R&B records back in the '50s. The 1998 Silky is a lot more, uh, explicit (there's a big difference between "Bacon Fat" and "Let Me Put It In"), and Williams sometimes sounds unconvinced by the words he's drawling, though his torn-up purr slyly makes the point of "Only Black Man In South Dakota." The band behind him - a group of garage rock all-stars including members of the Gories (Mick Collins) and Demolition Doll-Rods - is terrific, backing him up with an echoey multi-guitar roar that's nothing like what he used in his R&B days, but suits his rasp nicely. --Douglas Wolk
The Hypstrz are four floor-stompin' Garage Rock purists who have been wreaking all kinds of frenzied sonic havoc in the basements, ballrooms, bowling alleys and beer halls of Minnesota since the 1970's. Theirs is the primal, animalistic sound of wild-eyed, amphetamine-rushed Rock n' Roll filtered through a heaving behemoth squall of amplified distortion and a festering blitzkrieg torrent of snot and sweat. Its unwashed and unkempt 1960s-style Punk with a swaggering sex-infused twist of Soul, several of the songs being frantically savage covers of Nuggets classics and some being raucously blistering renditions of Wilson Pickett and James Brown standards. What a gritty and impure noise The Hypstrz make! - Moser / Under The Volcano
The Hypstrz:
An 80s mod classic ... Soon the label needed a follow-up so Piller was sent to Australia to check out the burgeoning mod scene there. As a guest of Shake and Shout fanzine, and living with major mod players Don and Gary Hosie, a compilation was crafted out of the vibrant antipodean underground scene. Heroes like the Saints and Stupidity were bolstered by the Mushroom Club, Reasons Why and a host of other up and coming bands. Called, rather unimaginatively, "Countdown Under...Party At Hanging Rock", the album was released in the summer to a warm response...
The Cavestompers! - a band from Moscow, Russia confessing savage garage-punk, from mid-sixties and primitive beat sound, filled with psychedelic guitar and organs passages. The whole idea behind The Cavestompers! was simply to play together some favorite songs from 1960s, have fun and if everything goes right walk further and create original material with authentic garage punk sound, feel, attitude and spirit. Formed in fall 2006 for the past two years the band played almost 50 gigs all around the country, released 3 demo-tapes (one of these mixed by E. Letov), plenty of bootlegs and finally made it to the studio, recording their debut LP "Introducing The Cavestompers!" The sound experiments of the band gradually led to birth of their own specific sound based on heavy usage of east-bloc and soviet equipment & instruments, which can be described as a slightly delayed answer to sixties garage music coming from an Iron Curtain. Original material now prevails in The Cavestompers! average concert set-list, but there is always space for some weird covers of lost garage, beat, soviet, punk treasures and finds.
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Ace Records' Queen of Rockabilly is such a good idea for a Wanda Jackson collection that it's astonishing that it didn't get put together and released until 2000 -- or that Bear Family Records, which is no slouch when it comes to distilling down certain aspects and angles of American country and rock & roll stars, didn't do it first. It should have been out a lot earlier, in the 1970s -- that would have saved hundreds of listeners (maybe thousands, around the world) having to buy, borrow, or steal her old LPs and singles, so we could isolate and distill down her rockabilly and rock & roll tracks onto open-reel tape or audio cassette. Compiler/annotator Rob Finnis allows the songs to jump across seven years, back and forth, pulling together the strands and threads of this side of Jackson's work into a killer collection of 30 songs, clocking in at less than 70 minutes. And running through the rough and raucous rock & roll sounds is the enigma of Wanda Jackson herself -- this CD touches more musical and cultural buttons than even the man who put it together seems aware of, or than Jackson herself will ever admit to. She has said that she was never as consciously committed to rockabilly or rock & roll as her career direction would seem to indicate; she spent years walking a tightrope between traditional country and rock & roll, just trying to carve out a niche for herself and earn a living, and rock & roll was as new to her as it was to most country music fans in 1954-1955. In keeping with the sensibilities of the era, as the daughter of white working-class Texas-born transplants to Oklahoma (and then to California -- around Bakersfield, natch -- and back to Oklahoma), blues and R&B, as something that she would do herself or allow herself to be influenced by, were mostly alien to her when she began exploring the music (with help and encouragement from Elvis Presley) in 1955.
This two-disc retrospective serves better as a wild gift to fanatical Xtremests rather than as a serviceable overview for the casual fan who never had much time for the band in the first place. Only 11 of the collection's 45 tracks were culled from the nine official albums released over a decade and a half span. Unlike a standard best-of, Beyond and Back is heavily weighted with demos, outtakes, rare singles, and live recordings. Some will no doubt bemoan the supplanting of studio recordings of high-tension band standards such as "The World's a Mess; It's in My Kiss," "The Once Over Twice," and "Johny Hit and Run Paulene" with raw, lo-fi alternates. Still, the candid approach certainly suits the band's original aesthetic, and there are a surplus of enticing rarities to be found that even dabblers will enjoy. - Steven Stolder
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It's a shame that Tonio K. was never recognised for this songwriting skills until he gave up recording. He produced several smart, snappy songs that all died lonely deaths in the back bins. He once said that he made more cash off that Grammy-winning song for Vanessa Williams (in the early 1990s) than he did off his entire recording career. Sonically interesting (but you can hear T-Bone Burnett all over the place, even when he isn't there) but it's the lyrics that work best. It's dated now, but definitely still worth the money. - By eforrest (Chicagoland, USA)
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