Various Artists "Enjoy The Greeks" 2004****

Not much is known internationally when it comes to Greek rock music. Chances are you know Aphrodites Child who had a UK/European hit in '68 with ballad "Rain And Tears" and released cult prog album "666" (Uncut's 15th weirdest album of all time, btw). But there's also a burgeoning indie scene that's worth your attention as well as one of the best Garage/Psych scenes in the world. The first and most famous of the garage revival bands were Last Drive who released albums and toured internationally But during the late 80's and 90's I saw lots of other great rockin' bands in small clubs - so good I often wondered what's the fuss with some of the more famous US/international bands, which weren't any better than the local talent. Most of them didn't get the chance to record in a proper studio and put an album out, but in the next decade there were many releases from small Greek indie labels. Thessaloniki's On Stage Records was one of them, and with this compilation they make a great job of presenting some of the scene's top bands circa 2004. 

First mention should go to Alexandros Perros & the Lone Stars, a Thessaloniki rock'n'roll institution since the mid-80's. He offers two 50's style surf/rockabilly sides. Another veteran band from the same city The Frantic V are represented by "I'm Asking Why" with swinging farfisa organ in pure 60's style - a specialty of Greek garage bands. The Teardrops and female-fronted Strange Brew offer more in the same style,  Unknown Passage offer a moody psych ballad and Marry Me Mary 60's-style garage pop. 5*Hotel combine garage with indie pop, T4 are more R&B, the Overtones play sax-driven surf and The Bullets offer retro surf and rokabilly. Moving on to the dirtier side of garage the Teddy Boys From The Crypt with the trashy "The Fuzzman" and mid tempo "Mini Dress" and The Ducky Boyz with the surf/psychobilly "Waitin' For Yesterday" (just like early Last Drive) and "Not My Day". The Psykicks are another noisy garage band with touches of punk and psychobilly, while The Crazed offer more psychobilly and The Hydes a punk soul cover of Martha Reeves and The Vandellas' "Heatwave". All the songs first appeared on this comp but not all are exclusive to it as the bands brought forward some of their best compositions for inclusion, so naturally a few songs appear on later releases. The music is a heady cocktail of garage, surf and rockabilly, every bit as strong as the Greek superhero of the cover, Ouzo-man. As a child, he was inadvertently left to spend the night at an ouzo factory and inhaled the fumes of that drink's undiluted secret ingredient. As a result, he's stronger than Superman, twice as fast as the Silver Surfer and a meaner guitarist than Dick Dale, but tends to lose control and have occasional memory lapses. Thank God for the antidote Cafe Frappe, which you can see him holding on the fold-out CD insert. Well, even he couldn't get the world interested in the Greek alternative/garage scene, which is too bad because stuff this good deserves to be heard. On the plus side, this means there are still enough copies of this comp kicking around, and you can get one from the record label website or discogs sellers for a nice price. Buy it, pop it in your car's CD player, crank it up real loud, take a few sips of ouzo and drive off to... no, wait! On second thought, that's not good advice! Ouzo and driving don't go well together, just play loud at home!

**** for I'm Asking Why (The Frantic V), Waiting For Yesterday (Ducky Boyz), Coming Home(The Teardrops), Cruisin' Mean (Alexandros Perros & the Lone Stars), What I'm Gonna Do(Strange Brew), I Want You (5*Hotel),  My Foolish Friends (Unknown Passage), I'm Leaving You(Strange Brew), Not My Day (Ducky Boyz)

*** for Out Of Gaz (The Bullets), Minidress (Teddy Boys From The Crypt), Hitwave (The Hydes), I Shot My Baby (The Psykicks), Thank You Johnny Carroll (The Bullets),  Mr. Myster (The Overtones), Travel High (The Teardrops), No Time To Waste (Alexandros Perros & the Lone Stars), Lunatic (The Psykicks), Spy's Girl (Marry Me Mary),  The Fuzzman (Teddy Boys From The Crypt), Trouble Im Not Strong (T4)

** for Kiss Eternal Life (The Crazed)