1001 Albums: #49 - The Sonics - Here are the Sonics

The Sonics - Here are the Sonics
Etiquette, 1965

Listening to this is like looking at the packet of seeds that says PUNK ROCK at the hardware store. You can tell these hastily recorded tunes and covers crawled out of a Seattle garage and the raw energy is something you can't teach. This is pure sonic chaos, and that's the best compliment I can give it. The covers--like their dirtied up "Do You Love Me"--are fun but the originals are where this record really signs. "The Witch" is unlike anything else I have heard from the time. "Strychnine" and "Psycho" are also excellent, but "The Witch" is where it's at. It sounds like it wants to hurt you with its lurching guitars, sore-throat vocals, and clumsy rapid-fire vocals.