Search - Paul Revere and the Raiders, the Turtles, The Shadows of Knight :: Garage Rock Classics

Killer classics--with some nice surprises, too !!!

Matthew G. Sherwin | last seen screaming at Amazon customer service | 06/28/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Garage Rock Classics has a good amount of "garage rock" tunes from the 60s and more that give garage rock fans something to really be happy about! The quality of the sound is excellent and the artwork is very nicely done at that! This CD is a must-have for fans of "garage rock" from back in the day.



Paul Revere & The Raiders start things off with a really rockin' song, "Just Like Me." "Just Like Me" profits from some incredible guitar work and the beat really does rock! This is cool for listening--but naturally you can also dance to it. Paul Revere & The Raiders really do this one up right! In addition, The Turtles do "Outside Chance" with a lot of positive energy--and again, they use the guitars and other instruments to make the music really awesome! The Turtles do their usual excellent job at singing the lyrics, too. The Thirteenth Floor Elevators also do a great job on "You're Gonna Miss Me;" "You're Gonna Miss Me" has a great `60s flavor beat to it and although this at first sounds like something The Stones would have put out "You're Gonna Miss Me" by The Thirteenth Floor Elevators holds its own very well.



The Kingsmen do their huge hit entitled "Louie, Louie;" the percussion helps to mark the beat and this number is truly one of the highlights of the album. The Nightcrawlers also do good on "The Little Black Egg;" "The Little Black Egg" again has a wonderful `60s rock beat to it that couldn't be better and I really like "The Little Black Egg." Nazz also does "Open Up My Eyes" with lots of panache--hey, is this classic rock or what? GRIN



The Five Americans also do their hit entitled "I See The Light;" "I See The Light" has great psychedelic special music effects and this makes this number stand out as another major highlight of this CD. "Hey Joe" features The Leaves front and center--and these guys don't waste a single second of their time in the spotlight--they really rock and they sing this one up right!



The Premiers do "Farmer John" with lots of energy and the females on backup really enhance the number a whole lot; it rocks hard with a great melody that just oozes that `60s sound! The Moving Sidewalks also turn in a great one with their "99th Floor;" "99th Floor" also has a good melody and they sing this rather well as they switch effortlessly between major and minor keys to make this number swing!



There are also three extra tracks that were recorded live;" listen for The Standells to do their "Dirty Water;" I always loved this song!!! "Dirty water couldn't be better; and it's a major highlight of this album. The CD ends strong with a live track of Syndicate Of Sound performing "Little Girl;" and this is gonna leave you wanting more!



Garage Rock Classics is a very good CD for those of us who like their `60s music hard. This is anything but bubblegum music! Enjoy it!

"

Superb disc of '60s garage rock

hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 06/27/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When Lenny Kaye put together the legendary double-LP "Nuggets" in the early '70s, he kicked off an anthologizing craze that's still going strong. Varese's producers navigate a rockin' line between the more well-known names of '60s garage rock and the sort of obscurities found on anthology series' like "Pebbles" and "Beyond the Grave." It's a winning mix, combining killer classics like Paul Revere & The Raiders "Just Like Me" and The Kingsmen's "Louie, Louie" with lesser-known gems like The Moving Sidewalks' "99th Floor" (featuring a young Billy Gibbons, later of ZZ Top) and The Litter's "Action Woman."Followers of garage rock will know most these tracks, but given the regional fame of many singles, and the uneven quality of their anthological reissue over the years, there will be some nice surprises for even die-hard collectors. More importantly, those familiar only with the national hits will treasure this introduction to a broader sampling of mid-60s garage rock riches. This is a superb disc for charting a course to additional purchases (e.g., original album reissues and multi-disc box sets like "Nuggets" and "Nuggets II"), with 25 well-selected original tracks and liner notes from garage rock authority (and "Ugly Things" fanzine editor) Mike Stax.Cuts 1-3, 9-12, 17-18, and 24 are true stereo, while the rest are AM-radio-ready mono. Tracks 26-28 were recorded live at the Cavestomp garage rock celebrations in 1999 and 2000, and show aging garage rockers - especially The Standells - to hang on to their mojo with impressive force."