The Sonics - The Sonics Boom (16 tracks) +Album Reviews

Essential...

Aaron C. Burkhalter | Seattle, WA United States | 12/26/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This album is a pre punk icon. From the first glance at the cover to hearing the last track I was fully satisfied by this great rock classic. Must be played at high volume. Each song sounds like they've taken ice picks to their speakers (and rumor had it, that they really did). This is a great staple in any punk history collection, also a pre requesite for listening to the Kinks, who probably had this album sitting in their collection.
The highlight of this album is Louie Louie. The fact is that Louie Louie is far from a great song. That anyone wanted to argue over authorship of this song is based solely on it's popularity. A song like this is not written well, it is only performed well, being left to the artist to mold it into something altogether different from every other recording. A song containing the three same chords over and over again is a particular challenge, but the Sonics rise to it, creating the greatest, hardest, rawest, most ear piercing version of Louie Louie ever recorded. Rob Lind wails and screams after the greatest solo on the album, and you already know you'll be backing up a track to hear it again.
Take all of your Paul Revere and the Raiders albums, and burn them (because you really shouldn't subject your ears to that ever again) then take your Wailers albums (no disrespect, they try hard) and sell them, and take that money and buy this album. It's all you need."

Full-throttle garage rock

10/03/1999

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The Sonic's second album from 1966 features gut-wrenching songs like "Cinderella", "He's Waiting", and their slaughtering take on "Louie, Louie" which is way better than the Kingsmen could have ever done. The sound of the music is mean and dirty. "He's Waiting" is the best track on the album. Lead singer Gerry Roslie sounds as if he is going to shred his vocal cords. What's a shame though is the fact that the Sonics did not write enough original material for the album. Their original songs were great, but the covers simply do not hold up very well (except "Louie, Louie") which is why this album gets 3 stars. This is about the dirtiest sound you will ever hear from a 60's garage band, though. The CD reissue from Norton contains some live tracks from a 1972 reunion concert and a great original B-side called "The Hustler"."

Gritty, Raw, Untamed, Primal

Robert Moore | Chicago, IL USA | 01/24/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"More than a decade before Greg Sage and the Wipers revolutionized rock and roll in the Pacific Northwest, The Sonics were playing and recording some of the wildest music in the history of rock. This is some of the most primitive, raucous music that you can imagine. It is very definitely from the sixties, with some production quirks that would be jettisoned even by the late sixties. And not every song is essential. But the highpoints on this album are so overwhelming that no true fan of rock and roll, garage rock, proto-punk, or alternative would want to do without this disc. And is there an album anywhere with a better title?This is one of the two original albums by the Sonics that are must-owns, the other being HERE ARE THE SONICS! There is also a good compilation not currently available entitled HERE ARE THE ULTIMATE SONICS."

"Wooooooooooo!!!!!!!!"

Laszlo Matyas | 06/08/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Sonics' 1965 debut, Here Are the Sonics, is a classic of mid-60s rock 'n' roll, if not of rock in general. With its filthy guitars, pounding rhythms, and wildman vocals, Here Are The Sonics epitomized the spirit of music at its rawest and most basic. Amazingly enough, the group's sophomre effort is even better.

Released in 1966 (one of the coolest years in musical history), The Sonics Boom is a loud, filthy, raw, and unspeakably fun slice of garage rock insanity. The band, which consists of piano-pounder and screamin' lead vocalist Gerry Roslie, guitar shredder Larry Parypa, sax man Rob Lind, and the unstopable rhythm section of bassist Andy Parypa (Larry's brother) and drummer Bob Bennett, is absolutely ferocious, tearing through these songs with a kind of breathless intensity that is simply incredible. Although the group didn't write very many songs (eight of the tracks from the original album are covers), the group originals are all fantastic: "Cinderella" opens the record with a frenzy of stomping drums, buzzing guitars, and Roslie's raucous throat-shredding. "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" boasts a relentless rhythmic attack, bubbling guitars, and an anthemic sing-along chorus. "He's Waitin'" is a menacing, brutal pounder with a leering vocal from Roslie and a brutal two-chord guitar onslaught. "Shot Down" (the last track on the original album, although on this CD reissue it's followed by four bonus tracks) is a bouncing, attitude-soaked screamer with a freakishly good guitar solo. The covers are also surprisingly good. The group's version of "Louie Louie" is an absolute monster, a thunderstorm of filthy, distorted guitars and pulverizing vocals. Their take on "Jenny Jenny" is absolutely unhinged, an impossibly high-octane explosion of nasty sax playing, rumbling guitars, and Roslie drowning everything with his voice. "Skinny Minny," "Let the Good Times Roll" are playful and catchy, but with plenty of bite and manic energy. "It's Allright" (that's the actual spelling) is a rollicking party tune with another great guitar solo from Larry. A take on the Motown classic "Hitch Hike" is fantasically forceful, rolling along with some rambling drums and blaring sax. "Since I Fell For You" is a surprisingly good teen-pop heartbreak ballad, with some rolling rhythms, a passionate vocal, and some distorted guitars snaking around beneath the melody.

The Sonics Boom is one of the greatest pure rock n roll albums- if you really wanna hear that kinda thing, you can't go wrong with this."

Not without merit, but far from the greatness of the debut

TimothyFarrell22 | Massachusetts | 01/17/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"That four stars should really be 3.5, but I'm feeling generous today. "Cinderella", "The Hustler", "Hitchhike", and espescially the cover of "Louie Louie" are essential rock 'n' roll tunes. But some songs, such as the cover of "Since I Fell For You", aren't up to the other ones, and should've been replaced by more rockin' tunes that were exposed on the debut. A band's progression is always good, but I'm not sure if the Sonics progressed in the right direction with their more slow songs. However, if you liked the debut, you will like this album and is definatly worth the space in your collection."

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