FLAMIN' GROOVIES
Slow Death (Norton)
Reviewed by John Sekerka

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Culled from the transition period of '71-'73, after Roy Loney left the nest and the Groovies became Cyril Jordan's band outright, this little platter shows that maybe the hottest time of their existence was between record deals. A driving version that tops the subsequent album's take, the demo of "Shake Some Action" (included here) led to their signing with Sire. It is the perfect combination of Beatles sweetness and Stones fire that would define the Groovies. A kicking demo of "Slow Death" and the UK only single of "Tallahassee Lassie" rounds out this excellent ten track time capsule, which is augmented by highly entertaining Jordan penned stories in the liner notes - just in case you didn't have enough Brian Wilson anecdotes. And really, you can never have enough.

© 2002 - John Sekerka