Adapted from a previous piece, this was prepared as a chapter for my long-threatened (and maybe even eventual) book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1).
THE FLAMIN' GROOVIES: Shake Some Action
Written by Cyril Jordan and Chris Wilson
Produced by Dave Edmunds
From the album Shake Some Action, Sire Records, 1976
Boom.
The Flamin' Groovies' classic track "Shake Some Action" sounds like an announcement of pop-rock Armageddon, and like the Beatles, Byrds, and Rolling Stones heading into the studio for a session with Phil Spector. And I don't think even that bit of willful hyperbole does the song justice.
As a college freshman in the Fall of 1977, I listened to Brockport's campus radio station WBSU all the time. I remember one particularly revelatory afternoon of connection with BSU, when in the midst of some terrific oldies by the Vogues, the Knickerbockers, and the Dave Clark Five, I heard two contemporary groups I'd neither heard nor heard of before, both performing '60s covers: "The Batman Theme" by the Jam, and "Misery" by the Flamin' Groovies.
It was an inauspicious start for me with the Jam, who would later become one of my favorites. But the Groovies? Man, I was blown away by this band doing a credible cover of an early Beatles tune, and a somewhat lesser-known Beatles tune, at that. The Flamin' Groovies? Who the devil are the Flamin' Groovies?
Damned if I knew. It would be a while before I found out.
In the spring of 1979, a friend who shared my fondness of punk and new wave allowed me to borrow his copy of an import sampler LP called New Wave. This New Wave compilation had tracks by the New York Dolls, the Damned, the Dead Boys, the Ramones, the Runaways, Richard Hell and the Void-Oids, Talking Heads, and a Flamin' Groovies song called "Shake Some Action."
"Shake Some Action."
I'm the sort of wide-eyed pop fan that can fall in love with a song or a band instantly. It's like a communion with an ethereal, ultimate radio station beamin' directly to me. It's magic, and there's no other word that applies. It was magic when I heard "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker" by the Ramones. It was magic when I saw the Flashcubes live. And it was magic when I heard "Shake Some Action."
The song was just...hypnotic. There were so many little elements combining and clashing within that track, with bits of the Byrds and Phil Spector, a brooding, booming bass, guitars that seemed to snarl and jangle at the same time, punk swagger, pop yearning, and an insistent instrumental hook that grabbed me and whispered silkily in my ear, You're with us now, son. It was a recipe for cacophony, a surefire roadmap to a sonic mess...except that it wasn't. It was precise. It was perfect. And I swear, in that moment, I knew it was The Greatest Record Ever Made.
"Shake Some Action."
I'm the sort of wide-eyed pop fan that can fall in love with a song or a band instantly. It's like a communion with an ethereal, ultimate radio station beamin' directly to me. It's magic, and there's no other word that applies. It was magic when I heard "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker" by the Ramones. It was magic when I saw the Flashcubes live. And it was magic when I heard "Shake Some Action."
The song was just...hypnotic. There were so many little elements combining and clashing within that track, with bits of the Byrds and Phil Spector, a brooding, booming bass, guitars that seemed to snarl and jangle at the same time, punk swagger, pop yearning, and an insistent instrumental hook that grabbed me and whispered silkily in my ear, You're with us now, son. It was a recipe for cacophony, a surefire roadmap to a sonic mess...except that it wasn't. It was precise. It was perfect. And I swear, in that moment, I knew it was The Greatest Record Ever Made.
I wanted this record.
But by then, the 1976 Shake Some Action album seemed to have vanished from retail. The Flamin' Groovies had a new album out: Flamin' Groovies Now. I bought a promo copy of that LP for cheap, and it was one of my go-to records for a few months thereafter. I was particularly taken with a track called "Don't Put Me On," if only because it directly copied some elements from the elusive "Shake Some Action."
My girlfriend Brenda stayed in Brockport that summer. We alternated weekend visits, with her coming to Syracuse one weekend and me grabbing the Greyhound to Brockport on the next weekend. On one of those Brockport trips, I found a copy of the Shake Some Action LP in the cutout bin at Main Street Records. SCORE!!! I couldn't buy it fast enough. And that album included the Groovies' cover of "Misery," bringing me full circle to the beginning of my interest in the Flamin' Groovies.
Over a short period of time, Shake Some Action grew to become one of my favorite albums, and the Groovies became one of my favorite bands. I learned that the pre-Shake Some Action Groovies were a different band than the Groovies I knew, even though they shared some personnel. The Flamin' Groovies of Supersnazz, Flamingo, and Teenage Head were fronted by the great Roy Loney, and were rootsier, less Mersey-smacked; my familiar, (slightly) latter-day Groovies were fronted by the also-great Chris Wilson, and those albums--Shake Some Action, Now, and Jumpin' In The Night--were consciously evocative of the mid-'60s British Invasion and American reaction. Guitarist Cyril Jordan and bassist George Alexander were the linchpins in either incarnation. I loved any and all editions of the Flamin' Groovies, but I'd be lyin' if I didn't admit my special affection for the Fabmania pop of the Wilson-era records.
My Groovies fandom began with a spin of "Misery" on WBSU, and exploded when I heard "Shake Some Action" on a record lent to me by a friend. A friend I would lose before very long. An announcement of pop-rock Armageddon. The cataclysm would bust out at full speed. Sad to say, but there would be casualties along the way.
But by then, the 1976 Shake Some Action album seemed to have vanished from retail. The Flamin' Groovies had a new album out: Flamin' Groovies Now. I bought a promo copy of that LP for cheap, and it was one of my go-to records for a few months thereafter. I was particularly taken with a track called "Don't Put Me On," if only because it directly copied some elements from the elusive "Shake Some Action."
My girlfriend Brenda stayed in Brockport that summer. We alternated weekend visits, with her coming to Syracuse one weekend and me grabbing the Greyhound to Brockport on the next weekend. On one of those Brockport trips, I found a copy of the Shake Some Action LP in the cutout bin at Main Street Records. SCORE!!! I couldn't buy it fast enough. And that album included the Groovies' cover of "Misery," bringing me full circle to the beginning of my interest in the Flamin' Groovies.
Over a short period of time, Shake Some Action grew to become one of my favorite albums, and the Groovies became one of my favorite bands. I learned that the pre-Shake Some Action Groovies were a different band than the Groovies I knew, even though they shared some personnel. The Flamin' Groovies of Supersnazz, Flamingo, and Teenage Head were fronted by the great Roy Loney, and were rootsier, less Mersey-smacked; my familiar, (slightly) latter-day Groovies were fronted by the also-great Chris Wilson, and those albums--Shake Some Action, Now, and Jumpin' In The Night--were consciously evocative of the mid-'60s British Invasion and American reaction. Guitarist Cyril Jordan and bassist George Alexander were the linchpins in either incarnation. I loved any and all editions of the Flamin' Groovies, but I'd be lyin' if I didn't admit my special affection for the Fabmania pop of the Wilson-era records.
My Groovies fandom began with a spin of "Misery" on WBSU, and exploded when I heard "Shake Some Action" on a record lent to me by a friend. A friend I would lose before very long. An announcement of pop-rock Armageddon. The cataclysm would bust out at full speed. Sad to say, but there would be casualties along the way.
Armageddon's like that.
Boom.
Boom.
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Finally…someone who is as taken by the Flamin Groovies as I am!! My intro to them was their version of the Byrds’ I’ll feel a whole lot better, and I was totally sucked in! Bought all three of the Sire lps and have found digital versions that are on heavy rotation on my iPod. God bless the groovies!
ReplyDelete"First Plane Home" is my other top go-to Groovies track, but I have a lot of go-to Groovies tracks.
DeleteI would argue that the song is too long and there are too many unnecessary instrumental fills. There is a cover by Liverpool band, The Ruby Tears which remedies this and cuts it down to a perfect 3 ½ minutes https://therubytears.bandcamp.com/track/shake-some-action-from-the-bunker-session Check it out and you'll surely agree.
ReplyDelete