The Original Recordings

Detroit Cobras | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 10, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Cobraside/Munster
• ASIN: B0018PJEQC
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #166,353 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

The Detroit Cobras are a garage rock band from Detroit, Michigan, formed in 1994. Their material is consists of old tunes cherry picked from their record collections that they rearrange and perform.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best band in the U.S., August 6, 2008

By 

T. Korol "music lover" (Rochester, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Original Recordings (Audio CD)

First, I bought this at a local store for 12.99, so it must be out domestically. Beware the import price. The sound of these early recordings, as would be expected, is more raw and unpolished than the groups other releases. I say unpolished relating to the production, not the musicianship. (And the production is fine; this is not like Iggy or the Dead Boys alt releases of Raw Power or Younger Louder Snottier, where the production was very low-fi.) The DC's could very well be the best band in the U.S. today. Lots of red hot guitar breaks; more than on other releases. And Rachel, as always is awesome. How they find a lot of these obscure songs to cover is beyond me. This band is tight, raw and even in these early sessions at the top of their game. Buy it - turn it up - put away anything flammable.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Cobras Never Disappoint, January 8, 2009

By 

Gregory S. Watson "watsonpoet" (St. Paul, MN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Original Recordings (Audio CD)

So glad these early recordings by the Detroit Cobras have made it onto CD. For the uninitiated, the Cobras play a righteous, hip-shakin' blend of garage rock-and-soul. My favorites on this collection are "Come Over to My House," "Village of Love," "Funnel of Love," and "Curly Haired Baby." Also of note is their fast and ferocious cover of The Kinks'
"Brainwashed." The production (or lack thereof) is a bit rough around the edges, but then that's part of the charm here. If you're new to the Cobras, I'd start with the phenominal BABY CD, but this is also highly recommended, as are their other discs. Don't miss them live!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A solid presentation of the formative recordings., August 14, 2009

By 

alex bushman (Michigan) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Original Recordings (Audio CD)

Sympathy was going to put this out as the title "Lost Songs" with a slightly different track listing, but the cobras seem to have put it out themselves with the help of Munster records. The recordings here are lower fidelity than their other early albums for Sympathy and show a bare bones production style. Nevertheless the compilation is full of everything they have in their other albums: energy, rock&soul, smoky vocals, plenty of groove laden guitar work, only rawer. It's a great mix of songs because they're made up of various different sessions from different singles and unreleased album sessions.

There's not much in common from song to song except for their approach which is: play it well, have a ball, don't get in the way of the song. Every band in the world has something to learn from the ease of the Cobras playing style. They rock, but they're not in your face and and they get you out of your seat dancing. This band has never strayed from this in any of their albums and now you find out that a lot of it has to do with how they started. The liner notes detail how they began and are very informative on the songs as well as personalities involved. As for my personal preference I think the Cha Cha Twist while being very good and much different from their other versions, is the weakest version, as is "It's Rainin'" in comparison to the other version, but these tracks act as a history of the group and how even though they were great even then, the best bands get even better.