A compilation which shouldn't have been released.
Sir Grand Citizen | Earth | 10/22/2001
(1 out of 5 stars)
"First off, let me just state that I am a very serious fan. The term 'hardcore' applies here.. been a fan since 1987 and have continued to be one ever since.
The release of new 'Bykers material isn't something to be taken lightly by fans. All of their original albums are out of print and hard as hell to get a hold of - only compilations are currently available for purchase.
"Everything's Groovy" is a new compilation which includes the band's first 2 EP's (7 tracks) as well as 9 tracks of previously-unreleased material. This should be cause for fans to celebrate, but don't be pulling-out the credit-card to order just yet. Take a few of these unfortunate points into consideration first....TRACK 1 , title-track from the bands first EP, "Everythang's Groovy". At exactly 3:34 into the song, the sound DROPS OUT TO SILENCE for a full second! It's as if the song were recorded off a record and somebody hit the needle in error. What a way to start the disc..! As well, note that they messed-up the spelling of the track-name. Not the biggest sin, but still...!
TRACK 2 "TV Cabbage" might be the best-sounding song on the whole CD. Great song too.
TRACK 3 "Space Rape". It's now obvious that something is very, very wrong here. The sound drops by HALF on this song, to the point where you'll have to turn-up the volume considerably.
TRACKS 4 -7 all taken from the "Nosedive Karma" EP.... is that static I hear at the beginning and ends of songs? Like static from a record....?! It's at this point that you'll realize what a sham this is.
TRACKS 8-16 are all demos. At least we assume they are. See, there's NO INFORMATION on these tracks included in the CD. Six of these tracks seem to be very (*very*) rough demos for tracks from "Drill Your Own Hole". Two are alternate takes on a b-side ("Afternoon Tea..."), and one is a wholly new track, "007". The sound quality on these ranges from "Oh, that's an OK bootleg" to "Oh, my speakers are obviously busted".The liner notes on this CD are a joke. Obviously cribbed from other sources (including a great GBOA website - look for it!), the liner-notes get facts wrong, album-names wrong.... and again, they offer NO information on the nine last tracks on the CD.I just can't express what a sad shame this whole thing is.
If you are at all interested in the 'Bykers, please do yourself a favour and pick-up the "G.B.O.A." compilation which is also available here at Amazon... it's all original material, all in digital stereo (no pops-and-clicks from vinyl... !!!), and it offers a pretty good overview of the 'Bykers' catalogue.I do and always will give GBOA five-out-of-five stars, but this compilation deserves LESS than one star. AVOID!"
