Here Are the Sonics

Sonics | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 1, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Norton
• ASIN: B00000IR00
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #43,046 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Witch

2. Do You Love Me

3. Roll Over Beethoven

4. Boss Hoss

5. Dirty Robber

6. Have Love, Will Travel

7. Psycho

8. Money

9. Walkin' the Dog

10. Night Time Is the Right Time

11. Strychnine

12. Good Golly Miss Molly

13. Keep a Knockin'

14. Don't Believe in Christmas

15. Santa Claus

16. The Village Idiot

Editorial Reviews

1999 digitally remastered reissue of the demented debut by this legendary group of garage rockers, originally released in 1965. Features a deluxe booklet with previously unseen photos, interviews and information.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing To Read Those Reviews!, April 1, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Here Are the Sonics (Audio CD)

As kids growing up in the Seattle area in the mid-60's, we had some great bands playing at dances in the roller rinks and lodge halls. We just didn't know it at the time. We had the Kingsmen, The Fabulous Wailers, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Don and the Goodtimes, Marilee Rush and the Turnabouts, and more. We didn't think anyone listened to them outside the Pacific Northwest. Then, the Beatles and the British Invasion came along. It was good stuff, but different. More smooth and polished. Suddenly, out of our little transistor radios came a wild, blasting sound. The Sonics! Hard guitar, screaming vocals, and that whacking snare drum. The Sonics were great on record, and fabulous live - especially considering that we were dancing to them in places like the little up-stairs ballroom at Normana Hall in Everett, WA. Amps turned to 10, Jerry Roslie screaming into the mic, and "Boom Boom" Bennett hammering his drums. It was amazing. Now, reading the reviews on Amazon, I realize that hearing and dancing to The Sonics was experincing rock history. When my kids brought home the Hives CD, I told them, "These guys that listened to The Sonics!" I'm SO pleased that The Sonics are being released on CD.

By the way, if you are interested in the Northwest sound of the early and mid-60's, read "It Was All Just Rock 'n' Roll" by Pat O'Day. He was a very influential disk jockey in Seattle. Reading the book, I kept saying, "I remember that!" And, "I was at that show!" It's a great read.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sonics will kick your teeth in!, October 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Here Are the Sonics (Audio CD)

When the Sonics came roaring out of Tacoma with this 1965 album, the band pulled out all the stops. The Sonics did not care about making pretty love songs or serious artistic statements. They wanted to rock hard and loud and that they did. Lead singer Gerry Roslie screamed his lungs out, drummer Bob Bennett broke his drum pedals, Rob Lind wailed away on his saxophone and the Parypa brothers made sure that the guitar sound was absolutely filthy. The four original tunes on the album are the ones that really shine which are "The Witch", "Boss Hoss", "Psycho" and "Strychnine". The covers rock with abandon but simply do not hold up very well which hurts the quality of the album. The CD reissue from Norton contains three tracks from an Etiquette Christmas album from 1965 which are pretty funny. One of them is the "Too Much Monkey Business" knockoff "Don't Believe In Christmas".

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Birth Of Punk, May 10, 2005

By 

Eric Brunner (Willow Grove, Pa. United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Here Are the Sonics (Audio CD)

This has to be the heaviest thing ever committed to wax. Gerry Roslie and company were one of the greatest american garage bands to ever make a record. For years this record was unavailable except for the rare and expensive original on the Etiquette label. People lucky enough to have a copy have spoke of its greatness for decades. Thankfully Norton has reissued this and the equally great Sonics Boom. Now everyone can hear this powerhouse. Gerry Roslie was no less than the white Little Richard, screaming his way through classics like Psycho, The Witch, Strychnine and Have Love Will Travel. Every song is a killer. Anyone interested in the true birth of punk rock has to hear this stuff. Norton did a beautiful job remastering and repackaging this classic with the tracks from the ultra rare Etiquette Christmas record as a bonus. This stuff is definitely not for the faint hearted!