Search - Various Artists :: Pebbles 5

My favorite PEBBLES volume so far

Casey Scott | 06/03/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"From the opening rocker "No Good Woman" by The Tree, PEBBLES VOL. 5 (subtitled "Various Morons") is a vast improvement on previous volumes by reissuing 20 songs which don't have a dud among them. It's hard to choose favorites, as each song has something cool going for it, but The Five Canadians' "Writing on the Wall", The Dirty Wurds' "Why", The Magi's "You Don't Know Me", The Merry Dragons' "Universal Vagrant", The Plague's "Go Away", Fe Fi Four Plus 2's "I Wanna Come Back", The Escapades' "I Tell No Lies", The Time Stoppers' "I Need Love", 12 A.M.'s "The Way I Feel", and Shag's "Stop and Listen". Some moments which may be seen as weak by discriminating ears would be Little Phil and the Nightshadows' "The Way It Used to Be", The State of Mind's "Move", and The Satyrs' anti-war song "Yesterday's Hero", but I still loved all three.Run, don't walk, to pick up this garage band classic compilation! Every single song is superb hard-rockin' 60s perfection, with plenty of snarling male vocals, frenzied keyboards, spastic drumming, and wicked guitar and bass work. Some of the sound quality on a few songs is less than stellar (Danny and the Counts' "You Need Love", a real throbbing masterpiece, is quite muffled), but keep in mind these are culled from ultra-rare 45's and dust-covered master tapes."

One of the highlights of the series.

Laszlo Matyas | 06/03/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The fifth volume of the beloved Pebbles series gives us yet another round of blistering, gutbucket 60s rock n roll. You probably know the formula: sneering vocals, pounding rhythms, primitive guitars, and freewheeling keyboards are the cornerstones of any great garage punk song, and they abound on this disc. The result is an album chock full of deranged classics, overflowing with youthful agression and unchecked passion. There are enough highlights to keep a garage-head busy for days: The Tree's "No Good Woman" is an absolute scorcher, with some truly beastly guitars and a ferocious (and somewhat hilarious) vocal. The Dirty Wurds' "Why" is (literally) an all-out screamer, a rocker whose sheer volume and violence can get even the most experienced garage vetern's knees buckling. The Plague's "Go Away" is a thundering Kinks-influenced raver, and The Gentlemen's "It's A Cryin' Shame" is just plain explosive. The Merry Dragons' "Universal Vagrant" is a little poppier, thanks to its twinkling organs and steady rhythms, but it's still an all-out monster. And a catchy one, at that. The Escapades' "I Tell No Lies" is an ultra-cool rocker, with a great melody and a snakey little guitar line. The Satyrs' "Yesterday's Hero" is a tense, haunting number with a neat ascending organ riff and a churning bass line. Danny & The Counts contriute "You Need Love," a pounding punker that features a sitar(!) The Magi's "You Don't Know Me" actually came out in 1971 (boo!), but that's okay. The important thing is that it's lean, funky, propulsive, and downright catchy. Little Phil & The Night Shadows were kind enough to record "The Way It Used To Be," a rattling three-chord rocker that really rocks, and the State of Mind's "Move" is just plain groovy. So, all in all, an excellent set of garage-pounders, and one of the best entires in the Pebbles series."