Various - Pebbles, Vol. 12
This CD issued on AIP CD 5029 in September 1999
Were you disappointed with 'Nuggets II,' that huge boxed set with only a few really great rock-out tunes and too much psychedelia and Beatles rip-offs? Well, here is the real deal: 27 tracks of international garage/punk genius, every one of 'em a classic. Don't hesitate to go on this global trip through the hidden gems of Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand!
Everything NUGGETS II should have been and more! After the abysmal Vol. 10 of the Pebbles series, 'Vol. 12: The World' is the quintessential compendium of international garage rock, from Japan to Sweden and back again, covering some of the least expected countries on the globe (Lebanon, too!).
Kicking off with a Japanese instrumental, "Moanin'", packed with marvelous wall-to-wall guitar and keyboard work by The Bunnys, the CD never lets up from there! Belgium's The Four Rockets' go Merseybeat with a vengeance in "The Place Where She Lives" and Germany's The Shamrocks go to town on "Midnight Train". Other highlights include: The Shake Spears' "I Can Tell" (Belgium), The Henchmen's "Baby What's Wrong" (Australia), The Phantoms' "Roadrunner" (France), The Klan's "Already Mine" (Belgium), The Merrymen's "Walking Down Lonesome Road" (Sweden), The Nicols' "She Had a Name to Find Out" (Holland), ah hell, every single track is an exciting discovery you'll love! If I had to choose a favorite, it would be Evariste's "Connais-tu l'animal que inventa le calcul integral?", a French-language oddity, plastering to vinyl a schizophrenic's bad acid trip.
01. Bunnys - Moanin' 2:36 JAPAN
02. Four Rockets - The Place Where She Lives 2:40 BELGIUM
03. Shamrocks - Midnight Train 2:48 GERMANY
04. Shake Spears - I Can't Tell 2:20 BELGIUM
05. Henchmen - Baby What's Wrong 2:18 AUSTRALIA
06. Phantoms - Roadrunner 3:02 HOLLAND
07. Klan - Already Mine 2:10 BELGIUM
08. Merrymen - Walking Down Lonesome Road 2:00 SWEDEN
09. Nicols - She Had A Name To Find Out 2:45 HOLLAND
10. Noel Deschamps - I'm Your Witchdoctor 2:08 FRANCE
11. Odd Persons - I'm Crying 2:39 GERMANY
12. Scorpions - Baby Back Now 3:19 HOLLAND
13. Honestmen - I've Been Wrong 1:52 HOLLAND
14. Rokes - She Asks of You 2:09 UK/ITALY
15. John Wooley & Just Born - Look and You Will Find 3:29 BELGIUM
16. John Wooley & Just Born - You're Lying 2:43 BELGIUM
17. Shirrows - Not For Me 2:47 NORWAY
18. Cedars - Hide If You Want To Hide 2:35 LEBANON
19. Evariste - Connais-Tu l'Animal Que Inventa le Calcul Integral? 2:39 FRANCE
20. Sir Henry & His Butlers - Pretty Style 2:48 DENMARK
21. Los Salvajes - Las Ovejitas 2:34 SPAIN
22. Tonics - Daddy 3:05 GERMANY
23. Five Gentlemen - Dis-Nous Dylan 3:52 FRANCE
24. Pleazers - Bald Headed Woman 2:47 NEW ZEALAND
25. Entertainers - Searching 2:45 HOLLAND
26. Satins - Too Much Monkey Business 3:37 PORTUGAL
27. Brothers Grimm - Beautiful Delilah 2:19 AUSTRALIA
Quote:
This collection features 27 mid-60s beat/punk singles from bands outside North America and the UK, although a few of these bands were actually British outfits that moved abroad (the Rokes to Italy, and the Shamrocks and the Scorpions to Germany). Most of these singles have not been previously reissued. To their credit, the compilers have cast their net far and wide, encompassing not just continental Europe, but also New Zealand, Australia, Japan, and even Lebanon. The chief flaw of the volume is one that afflicts many such '60s anthologies: there are too many covers of songs (often R&B classics like "Roadrunner" and "I Can Tell") that were done better by much more famous British bands. Nonetheless, there are some class selections here, particularly when the bands go out of the routine R&B rave-up orbit into poppier or more psychedelic territory. Among the more satisfying entries are the Four Rockets' (from Belgium) "The Place Where She Lives," with its mod chords; the Shamrocks' hot R&B single "Midnight Train" which is not on their cult-favorite album); and Noel Deschamps' fine French cover of John Mayall's "I'm Your Witchdoctor" (retitled "Curieux Docteur"). Los Salvages' (from Spain) "Las Overjitas" is as raw a bash as continental bands managed; Japan's Bunnys merge British Invasion guitar with the Shadows on "Moanin'", and Sir Henry & His Butlers' (from Denmark) "Pretty Style" is trance-inducing pop psychedelia with sitar.
|
