THE GRUESOMES
Gruesomology 1985-89 (Sundazed)
Reviewed by Alan Wright

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Out of all the 1980s garage bands, I probably saw the Gruesomes the most, since I lived in Ontario when they were around and they played near me a lot. I remember the first time I saw them in Montreal in 1985, all dressed in black turtlenecks and medallions, bowl haircuts and cranking out primitive covers of "Pebbles" and "Back From The Grave" material. I was in heaven! I saw them tons of times after that, witnessing their progression from an amateurish covers band to one of the tightest, most rockinest garage bands around, who penned killer originals. They went on to put out three really great albums and two EPs from which this new CD is compiled. Since those records are all next to impossible to find, this CD comes as a welcome intro for the younger generation who may not have heard the Tyrants of Teen Trash. On the 25 cuts here, there's more than enough snotty vocals, fuzz guitar, wailing harmonica, pissed-off bravado and pure rocking-ness to please the garage rock fan.

While critics everywhere are lauding praise on all this so-called "new" garage-rock sound, the Gruesomes were doing it all over ten years ago. From the opening instro B-movie soundtrack inspired "(Theme From) Bikers From Hell" to the stompin' garage pounding of "Get Outta My Hair" and "You Said Yeah," it's a trip into the '60s punk world of the fearsome foursome from Montreal, Canada. While a few of my faves are missing here -they chose not to include their great cover of "The Witch," for instance - this is a pretty satisfyin' collection. Lotsa pics, fun liner notes courtesy of Fuad Ramses (a.k.a.singer Bobby Beaton) and track-by-track song analysis make for a nice package. I should also mention that the Gruesomes got back together a few years ago and in 2002 they put out a new CD called Cave-In that rocks just as hard as this stuff. Check it out at www.gruesomes.com.

© 2003 - Alan Wright