69. Flamin' Groovies, "Shake Some Action" (1976)

(listen)

The whole Shake Some Action album is so good that in many ways I'm just once again using a leadoff song as stand-in for the greater whole. The Flamin' Groovies came to life in the '60s as a much harder-edged unit more oriented to bluesy variations on American garage-rock (think the Standells, the Chocolate Watchband, or the Sonics). After some lineup changes and time in the wilderness the Flamin' Groovies reemerged with a softer sound more inflected by mid-'60s Merseybeat British Invasion acts and launched it with this. Call it power-pop—this version of the Flamin' Groovies may by the most consummate purveyors of that slippery term ever. Almost perfect mimics yet with a sound uniquely their own, in a manner that Yo La Tengo would also achieve 10 or 15 years on, the eight Flamin' Groovies originals here mingle easily with the six covers (including songs by Chuck Berry, the Beatles, Lovin' Spoonful, and W.C. Handy), celebrating lives dedicated and committed unironically to rock 'n' roll. "Shake Some Action" is not only the album's leadoff and title song, but also in many ways its most ringing statement of purpose as well, all reverb-laden jangly guitar and muffled production. Its gentle yelps of sincerity guide the way down the path to the chorus, which soars even as it maintains almost perfectly the unassuming air, a kind of humility that comes to feel nearly spiritual across the breadth of the album, and it starts approximately right here. Yes, it's only rock 'n' roll but they like it, but there's something more profound churning under the surface too, something that only grows larger the more I hear it. I am still entirely enthralled with this and the whole thing when I remember to pull it out again every few years.

Scheduling notes: Obligations have piled up on me somewhat precariously, so I am cutting back the frequency of countdown postings to two per week for the time being. I know that means it will take approximately forever to reach the end, but I'm hoping to pick up the pace again come autumn. Thanks for your patience.