buy new product by a favourite act – but soon went back to playing the old stuff. ‘Way Over My Head’, ‘Shakin’’ and the Lennon tribute ‘Dear John’ were highlights, but these tracks had already been put out on an Australian single and a Bucketful Of Brains magazine flexidisc five years earlier.
As one would expect from a band who recorded for so many labels, The Groovies’ discography is a minefield. This is quite good news for collectors of singles, as there are a host of one-offs and variations – many in stunning picture sleeves. However, there have been all kinds of issues and reissues of albums under varying titles and legitimacy, comprising official releases, demos and live tracks, which are far too complicated to try and explain here.
The good news is that Rev-Ola are just about to put out Flamingo and Teenage Head on a 2-on-1 CD. All the “proper” albums have previously had a CD issue of some description, although some might again be of dubious origin.
I’m sure most readers of Shindig! will have a smattering of Groovies in their collection already, but for those who don’t – or want more – I would also recommend Groovies Greatest Grooves (Sire, 1989) as an overview of most of the best tracks from ’72-81 (but be warned – this only has the album version of ‘Shake Some Action’), or At Full Speed: The Complete Sire Recordings (Rhino, 2006), a double that does exactly what it says on the booklet cover by gathering all the A-sides, B- sides and album tracks released on Sire between 1976 and ’79 (including both versions of ‘Shake...’ this time).
I haven’t seen my friend Kerry for about 20 years, but every time I hear ‘Shake Some
HEADIN' FOR THE TEXAS BORDER SHE'S FALLING APART
'Headin' For The Texas Border' is (with 'Roadhouse'), the highlight of Flamingo, where the Groovies take MC5/Stooges abandon, add a dash of their own feedback-hewn rifferama and recast themselves as keepers of the true rock flame. By contrast ‘She's Falling Apart' is a dark, stately ballad, hinting at the faux-Elizabethan grandeur The Rolling Stones mined for 'Play With Fire'.
TEENAGE HEAD YESTERDAY'S NUMBERS
The title piece from Teenage Head is the 'other' Groovies' classic, superbrat garage music, although the track, in Cyril's words, "was a put on. The Mothers of Invention doing Led Zeppelin." Ah, humour with an organic power. More serious is 'Yesterday's Numbers', which inhabits the Jagger/Richard sweep of 'Let It Bleed', yet simultaneously anticipates the Groovies' Carnaby Cuban-heels period.
SLOW DEATH YOU TORE ME DOWN
'Slow Death' introduced new singer Chris Wilson yet
“Aw, it’s my right hand too!” Cyril in cast, 1978.
Action’ I am 16 again, and he is the first person I think of – I wonder if he still has his Ramones jacket and haircut. And I live in hope – I know this is sacrilege to the readership, and indeed to every right thinking person on the planet, but with the advent of the download era a band doesn’t actually need to have a physical single out to make the charts – they don’t even need a record deal.
All it would take would be a snippet of the song to be used in the pivotal scene of a blockbuster film, or in an advert for a health
consolidated the confident savagery of 'Teenage Head'. While The New York Dolls were (rightly) praised for their brattish steal on The Rolling Stones, the Groovies had already made a similar template their own. 'You Tore Me Down' dates from the same sessions but its Merseybeat lilt and newfound harmonies define the band’s future direction. A wonderous breath of fresh air.
SHAKE SOME ACTION
Recorded as a demo, the mark 2 version of the Groovies' clarion call surpasses that of the album. It's tougher, the guitars demand attention and the closing chorus boasts an even greater, nagging insistance. It was the song with which the band proved themselves the equal of those inspiring them.
LET ME ROCK BLUES FROM PHYLLIS
The Grease/More Grease releases enhanced the Groovies' cult status. They were passed between aficionados like a badge of honour. 'Let Me Rock' and 'Blues From Phyllis' best exemplified the urgent excitement of these recordings: gritty, vengeful performances where leakage and noise consumes melody and transformed the band into a legend. Play fucking loud? That they did.
drink, and who knows – one day ‘Shake Some Action’ could be #1! Young kids everywhere would be gripped by that crashing intro, whilst us older kids would find ourselves grinning gleefully when we heard the mighty Flamin’ Groovies proclaim “It’s taken me so long, to get where I belong…”
The post-Groovies exploits of the band members would take an entire magazine to detail, but some parts are covered in the rest of our jumbo Shindig! feature. Please read on...
LUCKY 13: MY FLAMIN' GROOVIES BY BRIAN HOGG
TEENAGE CONFIDENTIAL I CAN'T HIDE
Where does one begin with the Shake Some Action album? The entire set is majestic, culminating with these two exceptional tracks. The first offers an aching poignancy, a tenderness underscored by its acoustic guitar figures and banks of close-harmony voices; the latter boasts a claustrophobic tension where Talmy-era Who meets The Byrds; a blistering bravaura encapsulating everything special about the group.
JUMPIN' IN THE NIGHT
The final days at Sire were covers-heavy, but the title track of Chris Wilson's swan song LP was a mighty farewell. Pushed on by Dave Wright's fearless drumming and a monstrous riff, 'Jumpin' In The Night' is a shuddering tour-de-force, relentlessly building to a guitar-fuelled crescendo.
SHAKIN'
Cut adrift from the mainstream, the Groovies enjoyed a brief ’80s hurrah in Australia. 'Shakin'', culled as a 45 from another set of demos, is a jangling, hook-laden Jordan original, with all the melody and passion of the band's golden era. Deserves its exalted company.
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