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I've always said that the Standells SHOULD'VE had more hits.Apparently,their short existence had come to a halt in late 1967.Something about you simply cannot encourage people to 'have a good time'.They mention it during their 1999 reunion on the 'Cavestomp' disc.I've listened to this disc MANY times as it compiles the several 'actual' lp's the band did release.After hearing 'The Best Of...',you'll fully understand as to where hard rock had originated.Starts off with their one big hit,"Dirty Water",but there are many other catchy tunes on here like "Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White","Why Pick On Me",the gem "Barracuda"(bet no one remembers this rocker),"All Fall Down" and the beautiful "Animal Girl" with some great sitar.This CD has been out for eons,but is still very much available.Don't let it slip through your hands,it's a great disc to have.

It was one hit and out for this Los Angeles-based quartet--but what a hit! Written by producer Ed Cobb, "Dirty Water" is all snarl, attitude and a great guitar riff with a pounding backbeat and has become a garage band classic. [Historical note: "Dirty Water" was featured on the original double-LP Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era in 1972. Rolling Stone put this album on their list of 100 best albums. It is now available in its entirety plus three more CDs on the Rhino re-issue Nuggets Box. (It is essential garage rock listening, but I digress...)]

"Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White" maintains the swagger, but brings Larry Tamblyn's Farfisa to the forefront which lacked the bite of Tony Valentino's guitar.

"Why Pick On Me" sounds like they borrowed heavily from Cher's "Bang Bang." "Have You Ever Spent the Night in Jail" is a semi-comical song with a cowbell-driven beat. The horns on "Can't Help But Love You Baby" has the band reaching for R&B territory (and it doesn't work).

Some of the songs approach the gritty sound of "Dirty Water": "Try It" and "Mr. Nobody" with its snarling lead guitar lines, "Barracuda" and its cocky vocal. "All Fall Down" with its backward guitar (a la "Rain")and a guitar feedback fadeout, and the sitar in "Animal Girl" illustrate the Beatles' influence on the band.

The rest is fairly pedestrian. This CD contains some worthwhile music, but also shows why the Standells were unable to maintain their popularity. If "Dirty Water" isn't enough Standells for you, you can't go wrong with this Rhino collection. If it is enough, but you want to hear what other garage bands were doing in the mid-sixties get, Rhino's Nuggets box set.

The Standells are truly one of rock-n-roll's forgotten treasures. From the classic opening riff of "Dirty Water" through the moody sway of "Rari" then all the way to the heartfelt plea of "Don't Say Goodbye" this collection will leave you wondering why this group isn't as renown as The Animals or other such contemporaries. The Standells were masters of that quintessential 60's sound and are the Godfathers of garage rock.

I love the Standells, especially their signature classic, "Dirty Water." In fact, the Boston Red Sox were greeted with this song during the 2007 World Series. Go, Boston!

This Beatle mopped quartet has honored the Beatles with an excellent cover of "I Want to Hold Your Hand." The Standells guest STARRed in Episode 26 of the Munsters, which aired early in 1965. They did a cute, boppy tribute to Beatle Ringo with "Come On & Ringo," which proves that NOBODY can dodge that Beatle influence!

An excellent sixties garage band that enjoyed success, the Standells have plainly stood on their own. They can take their place with Paul Revere & the Raiders; the Kingsmen and the Sonics as cutting edge, West Coast Garage Band Rockers.

You get some excellent guitar playing and some incredible vocals. You can find the Standells as well as an array of wonderful Garage Bands on "Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era." Gear up your 1965 Dodge Dart 270 and cruise to some COOOOOL music down by the River Charles! Oh, and be sure to paint Boston Red for Victory when you sing "Dirty Water!"

Be sure to get Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From the First Psychedelic Era 1965-1968 so you can REALLY enjoy some good garage bands from the tail end of the Ford Falcon Era to the flourishing Dodge Dart - Dodge Coronet era.

If you love punk, you'll love to hear some of the early garage rock that inspired it.

If you love the Boston Red Sox, you'll love to hear the song blasted at Fenway after every home win down by the banks of the river Charles.

Certainly Diry Water is the highlight, but the rest of the album is interesting as well. Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White has a fierce yet endearing attitude, and the guitars on Mr. Nobody simply rip.

There are also a few lows, but all in all it's a good, fun album.

Its usually a hit or miss situation when you listen to "The Best of..." or "The Greatest Hits of...." one of the seemingly endless list of one or two hit wonders that permeated the sixties. After listening to one of these albums you either KNOW WHY they didn't have any more hits or you WONDER WHY they never charted again, depending on the quality of the filler (and with only one or two hits, there will be lots of filler.) In the case of the Standells, there is a lot of standard sixties style rock that is all very listenable if not a little derivative. (I was constantly thinking "That sounds a lot like,,,,,,,,,,"!) There was also a novelty song about spending the night in jail and a strangely named ballad (Animal Girl) that was pretty good, but nothing has as big a hook or comes close to the uniqueness and appeal of "Dirty Water" except....."Rari". For my money the extended version of "Rari" is the best song on the cd. It has a unique quality to it and has an intoxicating beat. The background vocals are "dead on" and along with the main vocals and throbbing beat provide a visual image of an exotic south seas paradise. The first time I heard the extended version, when the single version vocals are over and Dick Dodd kicks the drums into overdrive, I'm sure my bp went up ten points. Its a ahame this song was relegated to the b-side of "Dirty Water". I think it could have been a hit if had been pressed as an a-side and promoted as such. It's certainly more memorable than "Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White" or "Try It".
So two great songs and the balance of very listenable sixties rock gives this cd a rating of four stars.

What a line from Dirty Water, one of the greatest singles cut 1965 ...and makes the whole CD worth having.
The Standells were the punk band of the 1960's says the liner notes within....Garage Rock pioneers..The folks at Rhino anthologized these guys back in 1989 who opened up for The Stones.
These guys snarled, played mean similar to the UK's Troggs..remember Wild Thing...well, this compilation is a worthy one.

"Dirty Water" easily ranks with "Louie Louie", "Wild Thing", "Gloria" and other great garage band classics of the 1960's. "Barracuda" and "Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White" equally burst forth with the same energy, attitude and raw emotion. Provides further proof that America, the birthplace of rock 'n roll, was also the birthplace of punk. In fact, if you want to know what rock 'n roll is all about try listening to this instead of the washed-up for 35 years Rolling Stones.

I am so glad I finally konw who sings that BRILLIANT song (Dirty Water) and am very disappointed to see that it's at 51,000+ in the ratings. BUY IT! Because I Love that dirty water Boston you're my home ... do-do, do-do-do

The Standells appeared on "The Munsters" sometime in the mid 1960s (probably 1965)where they performed "I Want to Hold Your Hand". In my humble opinion, it is one of the best covers of a Beatle song. Does anyone know if this song is available anywhere (short of putting a microphone to your TV when the episode in question is on TV Land and recording it directly from your TV?) They also performed a song which I think was called "Come on and Ringo" (during the same Munsters episode), some sort of a salute to Mr. Starkey himself. This too, is a great song but I've never been able to locate it.