Back From The Grave- Vol 1

This is a fantastic compilation to introduce people into some of the less heralded garage bands of the early to mid 60’s. Thankfully bands such as The Rolling Stones, The Stooges and The Sonics have been overlooked here so to make way for little anomalies such as The Rats and The Banshees. Many of these songs are just what one would expect from 60’s garage, major chords, lyrics about girls and guys and break ups. It all sound a bit boring but its not. There is an eternal authenticity within these songs that is impossible to recreate today. Also, because of the comparably insular musical environment in those days artists that stood out as unique, really stood out. Unlike today where every band is borrowing from the past and each other via the extremely accessible internet, bands in the past did not have this pleasure. It is then understandable that bands that were forward thinking and experimental really were trying to create something new rather than just ripping of a source that most people had never heard.

A few of these song were surprisingly different to what I though was traditionally garage rock, and what perforates throughout most of the album. One track that stands out especially is The Novas track, The Crusher, which is a strange ode to the American pro wrestler Reginald Lisowski. The song is a strange mixture of early 60’s surfer guitar mixed with pre-Beefheart gravely vocals and lyrical obscurity akin to The Cramps, though they existed 20 years before the latter even began.

Give it a listen. And once you’ve chewed through this set. There are seven more Back from the Grave instalments to work through if you crave it enough. Please be patient and download both files from rapidshare. I know it takes ages. But it’s worth it.

Thankyou chocoreve for the post. Check out chocoreve.blogspot.com too it’s great.

Pw: posted_first_at_chocoreve

http://rapidshare.de/files/5917310/l._1.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.de/files/5917336/l._1.part2.rar

-Dot Eyes