Search - Detroit Cobras :: The Original Recordings

A solid presentation of the formative recordings.

alex bushman | Michigan | 08/14/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sympathy was going to put this out as the title "Lost Songs" with a slightly different track listing, but the cobras seem to have put it out themselves with the help of Munster records. The recordings here are lower fidelity than their other early albums for Sympathy and show a bare bones production style. Nevertheless the compilation is full of everything they have in their other albums: energy, rock&soul, smoky vocals, plenty of groove laden guitar work, only rawer. It's a great mix of songs because they're made up of various different sessions from different singles and unreleased album sessions.





There's not much in common from song to song except for their approach which is: play it well, have a ball, don't get in the way of the song. Every band in the world has something to learn from the ease of the Cobras playing style. They rock, but they're not in your face and and they get you out of your seat dancing. This band has never strayed from this in any of their albums and now you find out that a lot of it has to do with how they started. The liner notes detail how they began and are very informative on the songs as well as personalities involved. As for my personal preference I think the Cha Cha Twist while being very good and much different from their other versions, is the weakest version, as is "It's Rainin'" in comparison to the other version, but these tracks act as a history of the group and how even though they were great even then, the best bands get even better."