Now this one didn't come from Random Selection; sometimes I just review my Latest Acquisitions because that's what I happen to be playing at home. I got this from a Brussels record shop recently: it was raining and I got inside to get out of the rain; seeing as I stayed in the shop for well over an hour, I decided to buy something. Not that I was unfamiliar with the Back From The Grave series; quite the opposite actually. I've been an avid garage rock fan/collector since my teens, and have played volumes 1 to 7 (released between 1983 and 1988) to death - I know the lyrics of almost every song by heart. Over time, though, I became oversaturated with this kind of music. Every new 60's garage compilation released since the mid-90's seems to pale in comparison with Nuggets, Pebbles, Back From The Grave, even the more sprawling Highs In The Mid 60's series. Is it because it all sounds the same, or is it because the compilers are scraping the bottom of the proverbial barrel? Maybe both. Anyway, back to the beginning of the series: 40 years ago, Crypt Records chief and record collector Tim Warren put out the first Back From The Grave LP, collecting obscure 45rpm singles recorded circa 1966. The difference between this and previous series like Pebbles and Nuggets was that he limited himself to the rawest sounding, and most aggressive, exemplars of the genre, eliminating any tracks displaying pop, folk, of psychedelic influences. The liner notes included a multitude of information on these very obscure bands as well as (humorously exaggerated) offensive remarks about every other genre of music, while the cover art always depicts mid-60's-clad zombies attacking caricatures representing all other music genes e.g. hip hop, jazz, disco, prog, techno, metal, alternative rock etc. As I said before, volumes 1 to 7, released in vinyl during the 80's, were among my favorites. Sometime during the 90's, volume 8 was released. I got it on CD, as I was mostly buying CD's at the time. It was OK, but hasn't made as deep an impression as the earlier ones. Fast forward another 18 or so years, and two further compilations appeared: volume 9 and 10 carry the tradition with similar track choices and cover art, but at the time I didn't rush to get them as I already have dozens (maybe even 100's) of great albums in the same style. Anyway, last week I wanted to buy something from that record store and thought that this one would be a safe buy, given the quality of previous volumes. One difference was that this time mr. Warren gives us some information on his method of recording those old 45's and digitally cleaning the sound. The quality of paper, printing, and vinyl is also better than the originals used to be, while the notes are full of amusing anecdotal details. I quote from wikipedia "there are only two copies of The Warlocks’ crazy mad ‘Beware’ in existence because the guitarist didn’t like being left off the recording and drove over the boxes of 45s in his truck! There's a band who drove to gigs in a hearse, one who employed their own band hairdresser, another who were just four 16 year olds". One might say that digital sound cleaning goes contrary to Warren's old "the rawer the better" ethos, but I say that it doesn't take away any of the music's original rawness, just helps preserve it as well as possible. That said, it's my impression that there's a slight dip in the quality of the music, not everything here is as aggressive or distinctive as with previous ones. The first tracks are among the strongest: opener "Circuit Breaker" is wild Animals-like R&B, followed by Zombies cover "It's Alright with Me". Here, surf-like drums give way to farfisa-led garage pop, then a slow blues interlude, then lots of screams and a short guitar/organ freakout. The Warlocks' "Beware" combines groovy organ with threatening vocals while side 1 closes with the rather unimaginative Bo Diddley pastiche "I'm Hurtin'". For a few seconds, it sounds as if someone snuck in a ska tune to start off Side 2, but pretty soon "The Edge of Time" turns into a real garage scorcher . "Don't Ask Me no Questions" sports a mean harmonica intro and a punked up Motown beat, while "It's a Cry'n Shame" is a fuzzed-up Yardbirds-style rocker. The Noble Savages' "Animal" lives up to its title, while the aforementioned 16-year olds (The Starfyres) close side 2 with a classic garage theme, the ex-girlfriend put-down "No Room for Your Love". All in all, maybe half of the songs on this LP are quite exciting while the other half are average but still listenable if you like raw 60's rock'n'roll. Previous entries had a much better killer-to-filler ratio, but this nevertheless still makes for a worthwhile addition to a legendary series.
**** for Circuit Breaker (The Pastels), It's Alright with Me (The High Spirits), Beware (The Warlocks), The Edge of Time (The Raevins), Don't Ask Me no Questions (Lord Charles & The Prophets), It's a Cry'n Shame (The Gentlemen), Animal (Knoll Allen and the Noble Savages)
*** for Like Father Like Son (The Emeralds), Tamborine (The Why-Nots), When I Feel Better (Unknown), Sad and Blue (The Donshires)
** for Something Better (The Turncoats), I'm Hurtin' (The Classics), Whizz #7 (The Shakles), No Room for Your Love (The Starfyres)
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