Better than ESSENTIAL VOL. 2, but still not all that great
Casey Scott | 06/12/2004
(3 out of 5 stars)
"After slapping my forehead in amazement at the awesome song selections on PEBBLES VOL. 12: THE WORLD, I was expecting more of the same here on this 2-disc set. All the tracks had appeared on the LP-only international volumes of PEBBLES, but this set focuses on European freakbeat from the lands of Denmark, The Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, and Switzerland. Of these countries, the best tracks are contributed by Holland, but there are still some really surprisingly good cuts here.Disc 1 is a rollercoaster ride of entertainment, from great peaks of garage bliss to barren lows of wannabe-Stones and Kinks. All the selections from Holland and Denmark are here, with the latter half hailing solely from Sweden. Highlights include: Rob Hoeke's "When People Talk", The Fun of It's "Drollery", The Phantoms' "Someday I'm Somebody", The Jets' "I Was So Glad", The Haigs' "Where to Run", The Jets' "Worker in the Night", The Lords' "Day After Day", The Slaves' "Shut Up" (actually from Austria), Jack and the Outlaws' "Step Into My Heart", The Mad Sound's "To (...)" (actually a completely incomprehensible broken-English apparently improvised version of "Hey Joe"), and The Shakers' "Move Out of My Mind", which sounds almost identical to the Stones' "Heart of Stone".Disc 2 kicks off with Swedish freakbeat before taking the train to Germany and finishing the tour in Switzerland, and as a whole is more solid than Disc 1. Highlights include: Sooner or Later's "This Hammer", The Melvins' "The Man Down There", The Trappers' "Too Much Monkey Business" (a Swedish-language version of the fantastic single by Portugal's The Satins), The Shakers' "Tracks Remain" (which sounds like The Motions' "Wasted Words" to me), The Fabulous Four's instrumental "438 S. Michigan Ave", Los Comancheros' "It's So Right", The Dee Jays' "Striped Dreams", The Demons' "You", The Gents' "Honor Bright", The Flippers' "Louie Louie", The Ones' "Love of Mine" (with a horn section!), Drafi and His Magics' "I Don't Need That Kind of Loving", The Dukes' "I'm an Unskilled Worker", Les Sauterelles' "No No No", and The Countdowns' "Sex Maniac". And as cool as it sounds to be able to hear Swiss garage bands, they're not that great. Still nice to finally hear 'em!Thankfully there are informative liners included with this ESSENTIAL collection, offering minimal info on each group and at least naming which country they're from. Still, I would highly recommend PEBBLES VOL. 12 over this, as it covers a wider international range of tunes and there isn't a dud among those."
Track Listings (23) - Disc #1