Search - Various Artists :: The Essential Pebbles Collection, Vol. 1

Don't think twice about picking this one up!

Casey Scott | 06/06/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It goes without saying, with a collection title like ESSENTIAL PEBBLES, each song should be a winner. Disc 1 collects the creme de la creme of the first 10 CD volumes of the PEBBLES garage/punk series, and not one of these songs is bad! From The Preachers' "Who Do You Love" to Teddy and Patches' "Suzy Creamcheese" to The Trolls' "Every Day and Every Night" to The Uncalled For's "Do Like Me" to Keith Kessler's "Don't Crowd Me", all 29 tracks are a superb primer for the newcomer to the garage scene and will have you scrambling to get every volume of the PEBBLES collection (buyer beware: not all of them are this great). The last three songs, The Mile Ends' "Bottle Up and Go", Bohemian Vendetta's "Enough", and "Don't Crowd Me", are from the EAR PIERCING PUNK CD, an offshoot volume of the PEBBLES run.Disc 2 is where the collection starts to wane. Containing 26 rare 45's and acetates from around the U.S., including some groups whose names are unknown (!), this is the real reason that even those who have every PEBBLES CD will be in heaven with this set. Not every song on this disc is a classic; as a matter of fact, you might say some of them deserve to be left in the dusty vaults they came from. But the highlights include: The Motifs' "Someday", The Shays' "Brainwashed" (which is bleeped for profanity!), The Sinners' French-language "Sinnerisme", The Mixed Emotions' "Can't You Stop It Now", The Thunderbolts' "Heart So Cold", Peter and the Wolves' "Hey Mama" and "Only Everything" (a cover of Them's "I Can Only Give You Everything"), The Shades' "Down the Road Apiece", The Dynamic Nutones' "Sick and Tired", The Hustlers' "The Sky is Black", The Thorns' "I'm in Love", and an unknown group's "Fed Up". Unfortunately a lot of the songs tend to sound identical to one another, but the fact that they probably weren't heard outside of their particular region makes them a real treat to finally be able to experience!"

Time warp

Duane O'D | Sacramento, CA USA | 07/06/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What a surprise to discover that a song I recorded when I was 15 years old, in 1965, is selling on a compilation in 2005!!! I played the farfisa organ on "Searching" by the "Omens". We recorded this in a cramped, second floor apartment in Hammond, Indiana on a reel to reel tape. It was a wild time, playing teen clubs and sock hops, and paying WLTH DJ Ron Borden every $ we made to play the record on his radio show. This collection captures the vibrant energy of the 60's and showcases the raw talent that was rampant at the time."

Great Music But Poor Sound Quality (on Many Tracks)

Amanda's Attic of York | Binghamton, NY USA | 09/24/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you purchased the Rhino box set, "Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From the First Psychedelic Era", and liked what you heard, you will want to make this CD your next purchase. Unlike the Rhino box, which included both top 40 successes and obscure cuts, this CD is filled with songs you've probably never heard before. But don't let that stop you from buying it. As this CD well demonstrates, not every great record was a commercial success. And only one of the 55 cuts on this CD is a duplicate of the ones on the Rhino box. All are from roughly the same year: 1966, probably the last year that the 45 single was still king in the record business before the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper changed everything to album-oriented rock. But crank this CD up, step back almost 35 years, and enjoy Keith Kessler's "Don't Crowd Me", The Grains of Sand's "Going Away Baby", The Roosters' "You Gotta Run", and the other great songs you'll find here. The only down side is that the sound quality of some of the cuts (especially on the second CD, which has the rarer tracks) is grim. Many are not from the original tapes but from 45s that may have seen more use as frisbees."