VA - Pebbles Volume 5
Tracks 1-17 originally released on BFD Records BFD-5022 in July 1979
This CD issued on Archive International AIP CD-5022 in August 1992
Subtitled Various Morons, the fifth Pebbles compilation includes three bonus tracks, Shag 'Stop & Listen', Sound Barrier '(My) Baby's Gone', & Traits 'High On A Cloud'. When AIP Records issued the early volumes of CD's, they omitted some tracks from the corresponding LP for the stated reason that they were already widely available on other anthologies. In this case, all of the tracks on the LP are included on the CD and in the same order, although "You Need Love" shows a different band name.
The fifth volume of Greg Shaw's beloved Pebbles series gives us yet another round of blistering, gutbucket 60s rock n roll. You probably know the formula: sneering vocals, pounding rhythms, primitive guitars, and freewheeling keyboards are the cornerstones of any great garage punk song, and they abound on this disc. The result is an album chock full of deranged classics, overflowing with youthful aggression and unchecked passion. There are enough highlights to keep a garage-head busy for days: The Tree's "No Good Woman" is an absolute scorcher, with some truly beastly guitars and a ferocious (and somewhat hilarious) vocal. The Dirty Wurds' "Why" is (literally) an all-out screamer, a rocker whose sheer volume and violence can get even the most experienced garage veteran's knees buckling. The Plague's "Go Away" is a thundering Kinks-influenced raver, and The Gentlemen's "It's A Cryin' Shame" is just plain explosive. The Merry Dragons' "Universal Vagrant" is a little poppier, thanks to its twinkling organs and steady rhythms, but it's still an all-out monster. And a catchy one, at that. The Escapades' "I Tell No Lies" is an ultra-cool rocker, with a great melody and a snaky little guitar line. The Satyrs' "Yesterday's Hero" is a tense, haunting number with a neat ascending organ riff and a churning bass line. Danny & The Counts contribute "You Need Love," a pounding punker that features a sitar(!) The Magi's "You Don't Know Me" actually came out in 1971 (boo!), but that's OK. The important thing is that it's lean, funky, propulsive, and downright catchy. Little Phil & The Night Shadows were kind enough to record "The Way It Used To Be," a rattling three-chord rocker that really rocks, and the State of Mind's "Move" is just plain groovy. So, all in all, an excellent set of garage-pounders, and one of the best entries in the Pebbles series.
This CD burns pretty solid, with the exception of one or two duds. First off, you got The Tree doing a wicked nasty "No Good Woman!" This song just balls out rocks. Then you get The Plague doing a very Kinks-ish "Go Away." The Magi cut is some lame crap from the '70s that seems pretty distant from the rest of material presented here, but the Five Canadians makes up for any losses therein with "Writing On the Wall" - totally awesome. The Dirty Wurds "Why" is a total insanity screamer... really badass, you get a great tale of homelessness with "Universal Vagrant" by the Merry Dragons, Fe Fi Four + 2 does a groovy anti-acid "I Wanna Come Back (From the World of LSD)"... maybe if some rockers avoided said drug, music wouldnt have turned so crappy.... anyway, you get a bunch more good tunes on here... Yesterday's Children's tune is a bit too much of a rip off of "Gloria," but the CD does wrap up with a wicked tune by The Shag called "Stop and Listen!" howooooooo... definitely worth the dough.
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