The Sonics' second album is every bit as explosive and influential as their debut outing, loaded with gritty Northwest rock & roll. Sandwiched in between the abrasive classics of "Cinderella" and "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" (with the Wailers on backing vocals), the funk sass of "The Hustler" and "Shot Down," the demonic "He's Waitin'," and the sledgehammer, inside-out version of "Louie, Louie" (only three chords to play and they don't even play 'em) are the band's straight-ahead takes on old R&B chestnuts like "Skinny Minnie," "Let the Good Times Roll," "Don't You Just Know It," "Since I Fell for You," "Hitch Hike," and a nice barn-burning version of "Jenny Jenny." Where the Wailers cut down the trees and paved the highway, the Sonics were the first group from their neck of the woods to take that music somewhere wilder than their original inspirations. The second chapter of Northwest rock & roll after you absorb the Wailers' Golden Crest sides. ~ Cub Koda, All Music Guide
M**R
What an amazing group! They have such energy and almost the ...
My husband introduced me to the Sonics. What an amazing group! They have such energy and almost the gritty garage band type sound and yet they really only started around 1960! Some original compositions and lots of terrific covers. I am so surprised I didn't know about them before. Can't really explain it well but just give them a listen!
B**P
The songs "Shot Down" and "He's Waiting'" make this one ...
The songs "Shot Down" and "He's Waiting'" make this one a must have, it is a bonus that everything else on it rocks too!
A**S
You Wearing Socks?
'Cuz they're about to get rocked off!
D**N
Great Rock N Roll!
If you like great music you need to buy it.
C**2
Five Stars
Great 2nd LP from the greatest underground garage/punk band of all time.
U**N
Five Stars
Great sound and condition of the record+++
C**N
Four Stars
Good album
J**D
A (bad) case of Sophomore Slump
The second album by The Sonics is a clear example of the Sophomore Slump. With their first album a likely candidate for the perfect example of what Rock ‘n’ Roll sounds like, if you were explaining it to someone who9 had never heard it; ‘Boom’ is a distinct step (two steps based on my ranking) down.The reason is simple: song selection. There are four songs on the album that are just wrong for the band. In the case of ‘Don’t be Afraid of the Dark,’ it’s the utter gimmickry of the slow, solemn start followed by a break into a not wild enough up-tempo beat.If you had said to me, “The Sonics cut ‘Let the Good Times roll,’ I’d have picked up the tone arm on my record player and placed it on that track or, in the current world, pushed a button to achieve the same. Either way, I would have been both surprised and disappointed by what I would hear. The bounce, the essential key to performing this song, is not there. Maybe the band couldn’t get in tune with the Cajun/Jazz roots of the song; maybe they didn’t want to do it. What the reason, the song comes across as flat.What we learn from ‘Since I Fell for You’ is singer Gerry Rosalie can’t sing like Lenny Welch. The former is a top tier RnR screamer; the latter a crooner of immense talent. It’s oil and water, baby.Similarly, ‘It’s Alright’ shows The Sonics are not Adam Faith and the Roulettes; this is an entirely good thing.The rest of the songs on the original album are typically great SonicsThe three extra cuts – an alt take of ‘The Witch’ followed by live cuts of ‘Psycho and ‘The Witch’ show us once again why all rock ‘n’ rollers are indebted to this band.
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