Essential Pebbles, Volume One

ESSENTIAL PEBBLES, VOLUME ONE

Essential Pebbles, Volume 1 is the first compilation album in the Essential Pebbles series. Although subtitled Ultimate ’66 garage classics!, not all of the recordings on the album were originally released in 1966. (More from Wikipedia)

The songs on Ear-Piercing Punk include one of Bomp! Records founder Greg Shaw’s personal favorites, “Bottle up and Go” by the Mile Ends (that factoid was included in the liner notes for a compilation album of the Pebbles compilation albums, Essential Pebbles, Volume One).

(April 2011)

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Among American garage-rock fans, Sinerisme is the only album that is at all well known. I had previously heard “Nice Try” on the Pebbles, Volume 13 LP, and this song proves that Les Sinners can snarl with the best of them; the other English songs are similarly raw garage rock recordings for the most part. The album has out-of-the-ordinary vocals and musical passages, notably on the sort-of love song, “Cleopatra”.

I later encountered one of the French-language songs from this album, “Sinnerisme” on the double-CD release, The Essential Pebbles Collection, Volume 1. While still strong stuff, the French songs are more melodic and a little closer to pop music; the mixture of the two languages and several musical styles makes for a delightful album.

(April 2013)