Reissue Review: Flamin’ Groovies – Gonna Rock Tonite! (The Complete Recordings 1969-71) (Grapefruit/Cherry Red)

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With the possible exception of Big Star, San Francisco’s Flamin’ Groovies have got to be the ultimate cult band.

Although the group was formed during that fertile period in the mid-60s that generated so many great (and successful) San Fran bands (Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Big Brother, Quicksilver Messenger), the Groovies barely managed to dent the charts with their first batch of albums.

It was only after founding member Roy Loney split in the mid-70s and Cyril Jordan took the reins to lead the group as a jangle-infused Beatles-obsessed power pop band did they manage to get any kind of lasting profile.

Even then, retro classic albums such as Shake Some Action (1976) and Jumpin’ In The Night (1979) only cemented their claim on cult greatness.

It also caused them to become one of the most misunderstood bands around.

This newly-released box set featuring the group’s first three major-label albums should help clarify some of that confusion.

The band was formed in 1965 by Roy Loney and guitarist Tim Lynch. Loney, the front man and chief songwriter was consumed by 50s rock & roll…Elvis, Jerry Lee, Eddie Cochran. Eventually a 15-year old named Cyril Jordan, who being younger than Loney, had become equally obsessed with The Beatles, joined the group.

And so the seeds of disaster were sown.

But not until after these album we have here were released.

Thanks to the feeding frenzy based around all bands based in San Francisco, the group had little trouble getting signed after becoming regulars on the scene, playing The Fillmore and sharing bills with the likes of the Airplane and Country Joe & the Fish.

Columbia Records subsidiary Epic snapped them up after the band’s own self-released first album sold well in the Bay Area.

But unlike other bands from this area and this era, the Groovies weren’t into long psychedelic jams. In fact their Supersnazz album (1969) finds them covering Eddie Cochran and Huey Piano Smith…not the coolest move at the time as American Graffiti was still a few years away.

Loney’s original tunes were equally retro-sounding with Jordan getting in a couple of Beatle-like ballads.

The public was unimpressed and so the band and Epic parted ways.

The group were not label-less long.

After hanging out with The Stooges and MC5, New York scenester Richard Robinson got them signed to Kama Sutra and before long, Flamingo, was in the shops. Where, again, it pretty much stayed.

Again, it was full of 50s covers by Fats Domino and Little Richard, but now, after sharing bills with The Stooges, the band’s sound was developing a harder edge. Just listen to album opener Gonna Rock Tonight.

With two flops under their belt, the original band took one more shot at the charts.

1971’s Teenage Head is their classic. But again…no chart action (the title probably didn’t help). But listen to it now…it sounds like a great, lost Rolling Stones record. It even features the fantastic Jim Dickinson on piano.

If you haven’t heard Teenage Head…this is your chance. And there are plenty of gems on the other two albums to make them worth your while.

The tension between Loney and Jordan finally came to a head and they split off with Jordan taking over.

Nowadays enough water has gone under the bridge that the two are touring together again. Yippie!

In addition to the three albums, the box set features plenty of bonus tracks and many of them are as good as anything on Teenage Head. Plus there’s a 21-page essay by music journalist David Wells to help it all make sense.

Yep, 50 years later and the Flamin’ Groovies are still misunderstood and mostly forgotten. This box set helps shine a light on one of the great, unsung rock & roll bands of all time.

Marty Duda

Marty Duda
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