Customer Reviews

Psycho-Sonic

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That's how you could sum up the Sonics' sound. They played the hardest rock'n'roll that could be played in 1964-65. Their screamer, I mean singer, Jerry Roslie, is fantastic. Not the greatest voice in the world but let's say he puts his heart (and guts) in what he sings. "Do you love me" is incredible : the first five seconds are so loud you could think your stereo will explode, and what follows is something that would make a dead body dance. There's also "Keep a Knockin'", sung in G, almost as high as Little Richard, and when Jerry Roslie sings it you could believe he won't manage to reach the end of the song as he breaks his voice again and again. And what about "Psycho", a self-penned rock'n'roll number ? And "The Witch", and "He's waitin'", which are proto-hard rock numbers ? Even "Louie Louie" is turned into something threatening, raw and loud. A fantastic record. And I'm not an old nostalgic Sonics fan, I'm 22 and I discovered them through the "Nuggets" box set.

Whenever I hear about "garage rock" I brace myself: let's face it, this term has been used to describe everything from the worst sub-high school battle of the bands tripe to misguided attempts to ape other contemporary bands to God knows what.

This is different. The Sonics make it so obvious that they CARE about what's being played and sung that any "faults" or "omissions" are just forgotten in the pure fun of rock and roll in the pre-critic era. Jerry's scream is so, well, visceral he loses his voice a couple of times in songs because he's trying so hard! The playing in the band is never less than servicable, often wonderful, occasionally inspirational. And the best part, the most realistic part, is that all the "you-gotta-play-'em" songs that they would have been forced to play (or not get paid..) at the local bar/high school auditorium/roller rink are on here too, from "Jenny, Jenny" to "Don't You Just Know It", to "Since I Fell For You", whether they knew (or sung) all of the lyrics or not. "Since", as a matter of fact, is missing a whole stanza - and it don't matter! The spirit of the age was "Do you know this song?" "Well, mostly" "Good, let's do it!"

THAT's WHAT GARAGE WAS REALLY ALL ABOUT - AMBITION HAD TO OUTSTRIP ABILITY - BUT NOT TALENT!

This is a great CD. You will not be able to avoid singing (screaming?) along with it, and laughing all the time. A gem.

Man!! This is one great CD! Lous, Fast Rude, Dirty Rock N' Roll. It doesn't get much better than hearing Gerry Roslie screaming at the top of his lungs to groovy riffs and an overall great album!

Looking for the hardest rockin' band from the 60's? You found it. Contains both the original LPs "Here are the Sonics" and "Sonic Boom", plus some extras. Simply a "must-have" for anyone into 60's garage stuff. It blows you away.

I finally replaced my old scratched up copy of The Sonics first album with this wonderful CD. It also has the entire second album and several live cuts of their best hits. This is music that I can play over and over again. It is hard to sit still when listening to this great stuff!

How do you keep a band as good as The Sonics secret for so long? Ok, I'm not from the Northwest and maybe I haven't been doing my homework, but it took me 50 years to discover this gem of a band. The music industry has done us all an injustice keeping the Sonics from the stardom they deserved. But thank you Wailers and Etiquette Records for letting these boys absolutely rip it up in the studio back in 65-66.

I strongly disagree with one of the reviewers here that said the Sonics were just like so many bands playing in American towns back in the 60's. From what I remember back in the 60s/70s, NOBODY played like this. The Sonics music was simple, they weren't subtle, they didn't have fancy lyrics, they had a standard lineup, but MAN, their visceral attack is unlike anything I have ever heard. The Sonics didn't write too many original songs, but the ones they have on this collection are top notch. Psycho, Strychnine, The Witch, He's Waitin', Cinderella, The Hustler, and generally the first 30-35 minutes of this collection are so intense and so fun it is hard to believe. I reserve as my favorite none other than "Shot Down". That song was so well played, so well sung (and screamed!) and so well arranged it defies description. Why Shot Down did not crack the top 40 back in '66 is a mystery to me. The Sonics had a top tier rhythm section, a great singer/howler in Jerry Roslie, an awesome saxophonist, and great guitar work. These guys were the real deal with real talent. And I must say that Jerry Roslie is the greatest screamer in the history of rock and roll, which only adds to the Sonics' mystique. Too bad they didn't go much farther after the Etiquette sessions, but thank goodness we have this landmark recording from one of America's greatest, albeit short lived bands.

The roots of punk and grunge seem to trace right back to The Sonics. I was unaware of their immense influence until recently, and I am glad I am catching up.

This is one of my favorite groups. Ever since I first heard "Strychnine" it was a wild little romper. The next song I heard from these guys was a song called "Santa Claus" scarcer than hen's teeth to find I actually heard it on Princeton University's radio station. Then every song I heard from these guys was getting more and more better. I just like the wild guitar, the blood curdling screams, and the trash can pounding drums. This is how rock and roll should sound unbridled. I like the sounds of the Pacific Northwest there were so many good songs that came out of there, and these guys did most of them. Other juicy little nuggets from the Northwest are: "Hang Up" from the Wailers, "It's Your Time" from the Weeds, "Wolf Call" I forget the name of the group who did this, and "I Need Love" from J. Michael and the Bushmen. Most if not all of these songs are hard to find, but if you can find them don't let them go.

I was like 12 years old when I first heard the Sonics while growing up in Seattle. People in seattle were really proud of The Sonics, The Wailers. Seattle was pretty much a backwater town in the early sixties. The Seattle World's Fair started to change that image.

I think what I remember most about the Sonics was all that distortion in their music. Lots of groups were experimenting with "fuzz" guitar and bass... The Beatles, the Stones. I wouldn't be surprised that the group "Blue Cheer" was influenced by The Sonics and The Wailers..

Tacoma's The Sonics define "essential listening." Gerry Roslie's trademark bloodcurdling scream, Andy Parypa's "Take That Dave Davies" guitar and Bob Bennett absolutely hammering his drums must've made these early punkers devastating live. Their cover of "Have Love Will Travel" landed a Land Rover commercial but that's far from the best tune found here. Originals like 1964's massive Northwest regional hit "The Witch", "Psycho" and "Strychnine" go toe-to-toe with blistering covers such as "Louie, Louie" & "Keep A Knocking." "Psych-Sonic" is the only Sonics album you'll ever need. And you need to have it.

The Sonics formed in Washington State in 1959, and after transitioning band members in and out of the group for a few years, the line up eventually settled in 1963 to the group that is featured in this compilation album. This album, "Psycho-Sonic", features The Sonics material as recorded during the Etiquette Records years of 1964-1966.
While largely a club band, The Sonics mastered a sound like no one else of the period. American Rock had taken a back seat to the British in the mid-sixties and many bands simply began to follow the British sound. Not The Sonics. They harked back a decade to Rock's early days and took the most explosive influences, like Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis, and used the simplicity of early Rock to produce a new, raw, ear-shattering sound that left crowds devastated and demanding more. Anything the Sonics touched was morphed into a loud, raw, energetic form of powerhouse Rock 'N' Roll; from cover songs like "Hitch Hike" and "Keep A Knockin'"; to The Sonics original tracks "Psycho", "The Witch", and "Boss Hoss". Hard-edged guitar coupled with a thundering rhythm section and a fantastic sax player were all that was needed to support a vocalist that could belt out a tune like few others, then or now. The Sonics weren't just producing music, but capturing live atomic energy in the form of a recording.
The summer of 1967 would see a new American Rock sound emerge, one that was more politically driven than anything else. The Sonics had shifted to a new lable that altered their sound and the band began going through line-up changes once more. It would be nearly a decade until the world hear anything like The Sonics again. This time, four guys from New York City calling themselves The Ramones, would be credited with capturing a similar energy and creating a sub-genre of Rock 'N' Roll now referred to as Punk.
The Sonics sound is timeless. They were the last true shot to be fired in American Rock 'N' Roll before Rock would then fragment into genres such as "progressive", "punk", and "metal". This is genuine speaker-melting American Rock 'N' Roll. A great album that any true Rocker would love and appreciate.