SONICS - Boom.... raw, early 60's garage punk LP, true classic on Etiquette NM

$

25

 PLEASE TAKE A LOOK AT MY OTHER eBAY AUCTIONS - ALWAYS EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

CHECK OUT MY OTHER NEWLY LISTED LP's

THE SONICS - "The Sonics Boom" in mono on Etiquette ETALB 027. Original label, "Pacific Northwest Rock Collection Series". One of the major and original garage / punk bands, true groundbreakers from the Pacific Northwest.

RECORD GRADE: Near Mint

COVER GRADE: Near Mint Minus

LABELS:  Red and black

ABOUT THE ARTIST:

Artist Biography by Mark Deming

Of all the garage bands that made a glorious racket in the 1960s, few if any were louder, wilder, or more raw than the Sonics, a Tacoma, WA quintet whose over-the-top style, complete with roaring guitars, pounding drums, and the fevered howls of lead singer Gerry Roslie, anticipated the mania of punk and pushed rock & roll deep into the red zone during their 1963-1966 heyday. the Sonics were stars in Washington, but it took a while for the rest of the world to catch on, and in time they would become one of the most fabled bands on the Pacific Northwest rock scene.

The Sonics were founded in 1960 by guitarist Larry Parypa, who was introduced to the guitar by his uncle and encouraged by his parents, who both had a keen interest in music. the Sonics began as an instrumental combo that featured Larry's older brother Andy Parypa on guitar and, for a brief time, another Parypa sibling, Jerry, on sax, while their mom occasionally played bass at rehearsals. the Sonics initially specialized in tough R&B material and guitar-based instrumentals in the mold of Link Wray and Duane Eddy. Before long, the Sonics became a fixture on the Tacoma teen club scene, a lively circuit that included the Wailers (not Bob Marley's band) and Paul Revere & the Raiders. the Sonics' early lineup shifted often, but the group's membership became stable in late 1963 with the arrival of three members of the Searchers (not to be confused with the British pop group), a band fronted by future Moby Grape guitarist Jerry Miller. Drummer Bob Bennett, sax player Rob Lind, and keyboard player Gerry Roslie jumped ship from the Searchers to become permanent members of the Sonics, with Larry remaining on lead guitar and Andy shifting to bass. Although the band had been solid before, the new lineup evolved into a powerhouse; Bennett wasn't afraid to hit the drums hard, Larry's guitar work had become sharper and more ferocious with time, and when Roslie was encouraged to sing, they discovered he could wail like a leather-lunged Little Richard, and the Sonics quickly became the most talked about band in the Northwest.

In 1964, Buck Ormsby, who played bass with Northwest heroes the Wailers, was impressed with the Sonics' new lineup and became their manager, as well as signing them to Etiquette Records, a local label he helped run. For their first single, the band took one of their few original tunes and changed it from a number about a proposed dance craze into a cautionary tale about a treacherous female; the results, "The Witch," had a dark, sinister undercurrent and between Parypa's guitar, Bennett's drumming, and Roslie's vocals, it was louder and crazier sounding than anything else a Northwest band had committed to tape. Backed with a manic cover of Little Richard's "Keep A'Knockin'," the single was too much for many local radio stations, but eventually it broke through in enough smaller markets that the record became a major hit in the Northwest; enough so that rather than continue to pay publishing royalties to Little Richard for the B-side, the band recorded another original, "Psycho," that soon turned the 45 into a two-sided hit. In 1965, Ormsby rushed the Sonics into the studio to cut a full-length album, and Here Are the Sonics!!! was a garage rock touchstone, a loud and relentless slice of primitive thunder that caught the band at their hot-wired peak, thanks in part to the simple, elemental production by recording engineer Kearney Barton.

The success of "The Witch" and "Psycho" made the Sonics a major draw in the Northwest, and they were playing some of the biggest and most prestigious venues available to local rock bands of the day (including the Seattle Coliseum), as well as sharing stages with the Beach Boys and the Shangri-La's. In 1966, the Sonics cut a second LP for Etiquette with Barton, Boom, that featured several more local hits, including "Cinderella," "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark," and "Shot Down." However, it became evident that the Sonics had gone as far as a local band could go in the Northwest, while they enjoyed only scattered airplay in the rest of the United States. the Sonics signed a deal with Jerden Records, another Northwest label that had a distribution deal with ABC-Paramount Records, giving the band a better shot at national success. Unfortunately, Jerden head Jerry Dennon sent the Sonics to Los Angeles to record their third album, 1967's Introducing the Sonics, and while producer and engineer Larry Levine had an impressive résumé (including recording many of Phil Spector's classic singles), he couldn't deliver the hard-edged sound Barton had brought to their earlier work, and Introducing the Sonics sounded anemic compared to their Etiquette recordings, despite strong performances by the group. Later in 1967, the Sonics recorded a cover of Frank Zappa's "Any Way the Wind Blows" for Piccadilly Records, a Jerden offshoot, and while it was promptly reissued by Uni Records, it failed to click. Soon afterward, Bennett and Roslie left the band, and while Lind and the Parypa Brothers soldiered on for a while, it wasn't long before the Sonics were history.

the Sonics' reputation in the Northwest led to a one-off reunion show in Seattle in 1972 (a handful of tunes from the show appeared on an EP from Etiquette, Live Fanz Only), and in 1980, Roslie began working with a garage rock band called the Invaders. They recorded an album dominated by old Sonics tunes and mid-'60s covers; titled Sinderella, it was released under the name the Sonics, though beyond Roslie's vocals, it didn't capture the original band's raw magic. By this time, the Sonics had gained a powerful reputation among fans of vintage garage rock, and later in the decade, many bands on the burgeoning grunge scene, including Nirvana and Mudhoney, would cite the Sonics as an influence, as would such nuevo-garage acts as the Hives and the White Stripes. In 2007, the Sonics were persuaded to do a reunion show in New York City as part of the annual Cavestomp garage rock festival; while Andy Parypa and Bob Bennett opted not to participate, citing an unwillingness to travel, Gerry Roslie, Larry Parypa, and Rob Lind were on hand, with Ricky Lynn Johnson, formerly of the Wailers, sitting in on drums, and Don Wilhelm of the Daily Flash on bass. Since then, the Sonics have been playing occasional club and festival dates in Europe and the United Kingdom, as well as a few dates at home, with Bennett joining the new lineup of the band on-stage for a 2008 show in Seattle. In 2009, Don Wilhelm parted ways with the Sonics, and Freddie Dennis became their new bassist. In 2010, the Sonics went into the studio with producer Jack Endino to record their first new material since the '60s; the EP, entitled 8, also saw Andy Parypa rejoining his brother Larry, Roslie, Lind, and Johnson to record four new songs, with four live tracks rounding out the release.

ABOUT THE ALBUM:

Review by Cub Koda (from the All Music Guide Website)

The Sonics' second album is every bit as explosive and influential as their debut outing, loaded with gritty Northwest rock & roll. Sandwiched in between the abrasive classics of "Cinderella" and "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" (with the Wailers on backing vocals), the funk sass of "The Hustler" and "Shot Down," the demonic "He's Waitin'," and the sledgehammer, inside-out version of "Louie, Louie" (only three chords to play and they don't even play 'em) are the band's straight-ahead takes on old R&B chestnuts like "Skinny Minnie," "Let the Good Times Roll," "Don't You Just Know It," "Since I Fell for You," "Hitch Hike," and a nice barn-burning version of "Jenny Jenny." Where the Wailers cut down the trees and paved the highway, The Sonics were the first group from their neck of the woods to take that music somewhere wilder than their original inspirations. The second chapter of Northwest rock & roll after you absorb the Wailers' Golden Crest sides.

Track Listing

Sample
Title/Composer Performer Time


1 Cinderella Paul Anka The Sonics 2:44


2 Don't Be Afraid of the Dark Dennis Walker The Sonics 2:22


3 Skinny Minnie Catherine Cafra / Milt Gabler / Bill Haley / Rusty Keefer The Sonics 2:11


4 Let the Good Times Roll Shirley Goodman / Leonard Lee / Fleecie Moore / Sam Theard The Sonics 2:00


5 Don't You Just Know It Huey "Piano" Smith / Johnny Vincent The Sonics 2:49


6 Jenny, Jenny Enotris Johnson / Little Richard The Sonics 2:19


7 He's Waitin' The Sonics The Sonics 2:32


8 Louie, Louie Richard Berry The Sonics 3:00


9 Since I Fell for You Buddy Johnson The Sonics 3:59


10 Hitch Hike Marvin Gaye / Clarence Paul / William "Mickey" Stevenson The Sonics 2:45


11 It's All Right The Sonics 2:10


12 Shot Down The Sonics The Sonics 2:08

All records are carefully graded. In an attempt to give customers an accurate impression of condition rather than adhere to somewhat arbitrary criteria, I give an "overall presentation" grade, supplemented when necessary with additional remarks. Please refer to my grading system below for a more detailed explanation.

MY GRADING SYSTEMS: I’ve been told that I grade conservatively. My NM (near mint) is my highest grade for opened records (which would also include unplayed records). It’s a 9 or 10 on a 1-10 scale. M- would be equivalent to an 8; VG++ to a 7; VG+ to a 6; VG to a 5; VG- to a 4; G to a 3; F to a 2 and P to a 1. The same scale applies when I grade covers (jackets). Significant defects are specifically noted and taken into consideration in the grade.

GRADING DESCRIPTIONS

RECORDS:

• GRADING is based on the following criteria
• Sealed = store stock new
• Near Mint = like new or near new with only one or two small insignificant defects, a 9 or better on a 1-10 scale
• Near Mint Minus (or NM-) = very nice. Would be Near Mint, except for a couple of light hairlines or scuffs, which do not affect play
• VG++ = still a very nice record with all or nearly all of its original gloss but may have a few more light, surface marks, hairlines, needle tracks or the like which should not materially effect play
• VG+ = a nice, but used record that may have a series of light scuffs or scratches. It probably plays with a few pops, but has no serious problems.
• VG = a well-used record that still should sound OK when played, but may have moderate surface noise, pops, etc.
• VG- = a well-worn record that plays through without skipping, but will do until a better copy comes along.
• Good = not actually good at all but probably will play through but with much in the way of surface noise, pops, crackles, etc. Still, will have no cracks, chips or the like
• Fair = you’re getting this record just to own but not to play
• Poor = the sky’s the limit, generally I will discard a record this bad (and sell the cover, jacket or sleeve alone) unless the label holds some particular interest

  VISUAL GRADING: All records are visually graded only unless I state that they are play-graded. Some major labels were pressed on better quality vinyl and will sound better than a record which visually appears the same on "budget" labels which were pressed on lower quality vinyl. Recording techniques also varied. The sound on live albums may be far inferior to studio recordings. There may also be defects in the pressing which are invisible. The point is that an album on a high quality label that was visually graded VG+ may sound better than an album on a budget label that was visually graded Mint- or even Near Mint. Please refer to my return policy, below. But please don’t be shocked if a record visually graded Near Mint doesn’t sound state of the art. If I base my grade on a PLAY GRADE, I will state this specifically in my grading section.

  COVERS: There are really too many possible defects regarding covers to be as specific in my definitions as I had been with my record grades. But please keep in mind these general grading guidelines:

  • I will give greater weight to the condition of the front cover than back cover when assigning an overall grade
  • No cover with a cut out hole or saw mark will be graded Near Mint even if it is still in factory shrink and there is no other wear
  • I will not reduce the grade of a cover for stickers which are glued to the jacket by the record company (eg. Contains the hit song Expressway to Your Heart); but will reduce the grade for stickers glued on the cover by stores, previous owners, etc.
  • If I write that a cover has a bb hole, I’m talking about a small cut out hole
  • A saw mark is a narrow cut in the perimeter of the cover, could be anywhere and vary in length from 1/2” to 2” at the most.
  • The overall grade takes into consideration any stated defects. For example, if I grade a cover VG+ and then state it has 6” top and bottom seam splits - I’ve already reduced the grade because of the seam splits. If the seams weren’t split, the cover would be graded higher such as VG++ or Mint-.

    Shipping Costs: CURRENT SHIPPING RATES AND POLICIES.

    The winning bidder pays for shipping.

  • 
    
  • Combined shipping discounts given for all purchases made within 5 days of first winning bid or buy it now. If you are still bidding when you receive my invoice, please let me know and wait for combined invoice.

    DOMESTIC SHIPPING WITHIN THE UNITED STATES: Due to increase in postage rates, I have sometimes been losing money on shipping as I send all records in sturdy professional Bags Unlimited mailers with one or more fillers. Therefore, I am now using the eBay postage calculator to determine postage. This will also result in a more equitable charge for priority mail shipments. Instead of a flat fee, those who live in the southeast and mid-east will reap the benefit of reduced priority mail rates.

    DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL SHIPMENTS: COMBINED SHIPPING - Save money when I mail 2 or more records in the same package. Please wait until I send you an invoice or request an invoice when combining two or more records or cd's in one shipment -prior to making payment.

    INTERNATIONAL SHIPMENTS: Overseas customers are invited to bid. As with U.S. shipments, I will use eBay's postage calculator for all overseas shipments. Postage to Canada is substantially less than to other countries - if you live in Canada and don't see a separate rate for Canada , please e-mail me and I'll modify the invoice to reflect the lower shipping charges. Surface mail is no longer available for overseas. Express Mail International and Priority Mail International are available - rates are substantially higher than first class international and will be quoted for each purchase if buyer requests this service. Express Mail International or Registered mail is now required for purchases over $100. Generally, Express International costs $35 for 1 album and additional albums are about $5-6 more. Registered costs about $26 for 1 album, about $5 more for each additional album. Registered mail may not be available to certain countries. I am sorry but the increased risks and costs must be passed on to the international buyer. On the bright side of things, Express Mail International will get you the package faster and it is safer. Registered mail is the safest form of shipment (but not as fast as express mail international). So there are benefits to the buyer as well as the seller. Please wait until I send you an invoice or request an invoice when combining two or more records or cd's in one shipment -prior to making payment.

    Please check out my other eBay auctions and stores listings.

    I’ve been listing all types of records - mostly LP’s - including 50’s and 60’s rock ‘n’ roll, country, folk jazz, blues, personalities, new wave and punk, surf, psych, spoken word, comedy, etc., etc....... I try to list unusual, unique or obscure records, not the ones that you see all the time. While a majority of my listings are albums, you’ll often find a nice selection of 45’s, EP’s or picture sleeves...and an occasional 78 or two.

    My return policy: . You may return an item if it's not in the condition described. You may not return items if you decide you don't like the music. I will return the base price of the item unless I make an error in shipment such as sending you the wrong record or cd. In that case, you will be reimbursed for the cost of the item and shipping both ways. In addition, the item must be returned in its original condition , i.e. the way it was shipped when it left my hands. While a very high percentage of my records arrive safe and sound (I use professional mailers and a filler or two, more for 78’s), they occasionally are damaged in transit. If that happens, I won’t accept the return of the record or other item.

    Sealed Records: After a sealed record is paid for, I will gladly open it before mailing to make sure that the record is new & unplayed. If the record is not, I will give a full refund. Even though it is easy to spot most resealed records from the 50's and 60's [I will mention that in the desription if it looks like a possibility], not all records from the 70's & 80's are quite as obvious. Please ask for any details about the seal of a particular record & I will be happy to answer.