Yeah Yeah Yeah CD

"Though large-scale success eluded these prophetic '60s combos, consider them the foot soldiers in the Holy War against the establishment," proclaims the back cover of this collection of 28 obscure garage rock singles. When they call these foot soldiers obscure, they mean it; no band here had minor or regional hits, or even accumulated a lasting cult reputation. So this will duplicate little if any of the items in the collection of the garage enthusiast, and the sound is better than it is on most such anthologies. In all, though, it's fair but unremarkable for its type. Some cuts jump out a little, like "Girl Give Me Love" by the Little Bits, who sound all of ten or so years old (although the lead singer snarls and screams quite convincingly), or the Maniacs' "Now I Know," an inversion of the "Walk Don't Run" riff to fit garage-punk purposes. There is one future star hidden among these moldy 45s: it's fairly certain that Lou Reed is the one responsible for singing "You're Driving Me Insane," a cool primitive tune recorded in his pre-Velvet Underground days, when he knocked off some not-quite-serious garage singles. It's the highlight of this release, although serious Velvet Underground collectors probably have it, as it's been included on some of the group's bootlegs. ~ Richie Unterberger

Maniacs,Contemporaries,Colony, Young Savages,Friars Of Youth