Various Artists - Pebbles, Vol. 8 Subtitled: Southern California 1, Original '60s Punk & Psych Classics 1996

Various Artists - Pebbles, Vol. 8
Subtitled: Southern California 1, Original '60s Punk & Psych Classics
1996 Archive International Productions (AIP)
CD cat. #: AIP CD 5025

 

 [Southern California, and specifically the Los Angeles area, was one of the most active hotbeds of '60s garage punk, both because of its huge size and its flourishing musical and youth culture. Not all

L.A. garage rock was great, and this 25-song compilation (much of which has appeared on previous vinyl garage anthologies, Pebbles included) is a good way to ferret out some of the better rare singles of the genre. Terry Randall's protest rocker "S.O.S.," the Rumors' "Louie Louie" ripoff "Hold Me Now," Byron & the Mortals' organ-driven "Do You Believe Me," the Dovers' Byrds-meets-the-Zombies "She's Not Just Anybody" -- all are among the best garage classics. Most of the rest is pretty good, if a bit generic at times. Lots of informative liner notes, too. - -
Richie Unterberger,
AllMusic }

Some of these songs are among the best garage rock records ever. The Dovers' "She's Not Just Anybody" should have (and could have) been a chart-topping smash. It is, simply put, a masterpiece, a haunting, emotional burst of chiming guitars and dreamy vocals, bolstered by a relentless river of percussion. The Starfires' tense, throbbing "I Never Loved Her" is almost as good. Same goes for "She Needs Me," a hypnotic fuzz rocker courtesy of the Grains of Sand. The Rumors' "Hold Me Now" is positively anthemic, thanks to its rousing, "Louie

Louie"-inspired melody and exuberent vocals. The Cindermen's "Don't Do It Some More" is a relentlessly catchy twist rocker that features a wonderfully off-the-wall guitar solo. Terry Randall's "S.O.S." is a spooky, paranoid protest tune with a subtle, smoldering lead vocal and a churning rhythm. The Gigolos' "She's My Baby" is a storming, double-time punk-rocker with a strong rockabilly influence, and the Humane Society's "Knock Knock" is a fiery, snarling tune with some thorny guitars. The Cloudwalkers' "Sunglasses" is insanely cool, and the Bush provide a fantastic version of "Got Love if You Want It" that features some compact but explosive rave-up sections. The Green Beans' "Who Needs You" is every bit as sneeringly sarcastic as its title suggests, and The Beckett Quintet's "No Correspondence" is a quietly insane bouncer with an anthemic chorus. The Caretakers of Deception close out the album with driving "X+Y=13."

The afformentioned tunes are only a few of the highlights of this spectacular disc, one of the finest entries in the entire Pebbles series. Your garage collection isn't complete without this one.

The PEBBLES series, which doesn't really pick up speed until Vol. 7 (CHICAGO VOL. 2, which Amazon doesn't carry for some reason but is essential listening), continues with SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, gathering together rare 45 singles and acetates of garage bands and high school rock groups from Sacramento to San Diego, with plenty of small towns hit in-between. 2 of the songs, "Knock Knock" by The Humane Society (without a doubt one of the best unheard songs of the 60s) and "Hold Me Now" by The Rumors (which I dare you not to rock out to), are included on the NUGGETS boxed set, but they're surrounded by so many amazing gems here that this volume simply cannot be passed over.

Terry Randall's anti-riot anthem "S.O.S." kicks off the album with a bang; this is one dark little mother of a single, half-sung, half-spoken by an unknown artist. Of the 25 songs, the highlights are: The Starfires' "I Never Loved Her", The Grains of Sand's "She Needs Me", The Cindermen's "Don't Do It Some More", The Colony's "All I Want", The Cloudwalkers' "Sunglasses", The Beckett Quintet's "No Correspondence", The Dovers' "She's Not Just Anybody", Sean and the Brandywines' "She Ain't No Good", The Rogues' "Wanted: Dead or Alive" (the guitar work is very similar to that of "Hey Joe"), The Last Word's "Sleepy Hollow", The Green Beans' "Who Needs You", Limey and the Yanks' "Guaranteed Love" and "Out of Sight, Out of Mind" (a cover of a terrific single by New York City's Bit-A-Sweet, which has never been available reissued) are all singles which should have been national hits, blowing anything by The Dave Clark Five or Herman's Hermits out of the water. Not every song is a bonafide classic, but they're all sterling examples of what makes 60s garage rock a highly sought-after subgenre of classic rock.

TRACK LISTING:

01. Terry Randall: S.O.S - 02:17

02. The Gigolos: She's My Baby - 02:59

03. The Starfires: I Never Loved Her - 02:44

04. The Grains of Sand: She Needs Me - 02:43

05. The Humane Society: Knock Knock (Who's There) - 02:59

06. The Cindermen: Don't Do It Some More ('Cause It Hurts So Good) - 01:48

07. The Hysticers: Everything's There - 02:16

08. The Rumors: Hold Me Now - 02:31

09. The Colony: All I Want - 02:35

10. Byron and the Mortals: Do You Believe Me - 02:15

11. The Dirty Shames: I Don't Care - 02:58

12. The Cloudwalkers: Sunglasses - 02:20

13. The Beckett Quintet: No Correspondence - 02:31

14. The Dovers: She's Not Just Anybody - 01:51

15. The Roosters: One Of These Days - 02:48

16. The Avengers: It's Hard To Hide - 02:05

17. Sean and the Brandywines: She Ain't No Good - 02:04

18. The Rogues: Wanted: Dead Or Alive - 02:28

19. The Last Word: Sleepy Hollow - 02:53

20. The Green Beans: (Don't Give Me No) Friction - 02:24

21. The Green Beans: Who Needs You - 01:30

22. The Bush: Got Love If You Want It - 02:44

23. Limey and the Yanks: Guaranteed Love - 02:19

24. Limey and the Yanks: Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind - 02:19

25. The Caretakers of Deception: X+Y=13 - 01:49

Playing time... 1 hour

MP3 @ 320 Size: 150MB
FLAC   Size: 366 MB