The Flamin' Groovies

As one of America's most influential cult bands, the Flamin' Groovies' repertoire of bluesy rockers featuring jangly guitar and a liberal dose of early-'60s Brit rock feel has been repackaged countless times with varying results. Shake Some Action Live With the Flamin' Groovies is an inexplicably unorganized, detail-lacking two-disc set containing a hodgepodge of live, as well as studio versions of Flamin' Groovie classics and numerous covers. Listeners will find most of the Flamin' Groovies' finest cuts here, including "Shake Some Action," "Slow Death," and a snarling live version of the classic "Teenage Head" that makes the studio version sound meek and tame. The covers that the band takes a stab at here perfectly reflect the band's influences. The Groovies put their stamp on the vintage Larry Williams rocker "Slow Down," the Byrds' "Feel a Whole Lot Better," and the '60s bar band standard "Money." Their unabashed affection for early-'60s Brit pop/rock was completely out of step with their contemporaries in psychedelic late-'60s San Francisco. The live tracks show the band as an excellent honest to goodness rock & roll band, but the lack of liner notes detailing where and when these live recordings took place and who was in the band at the time is totally unacceptable in a compilation of this length. Although this collection is filled with plenty of great Flamin' Groovies music, it can only be truly recommended to diehards. Curious music fans looking for an introduction to this generally overlooked band would be much better off with the thorough compilation Groovies' Greatest Grooves. ~ Paul Tinelli, All Music Guide