Is Shake Some Action by The Flamin Groovies one of the greatest rock songs of all time?

I like the way you think.

 

For me absolutely. It pushed me into the direction I've followed since.

Bobby Sutliff

 

Those of us who are old enough to have observed this evolution have also seen something very similar with the music described as "heavy metal." In the '70s it meant pretty much any hard rock, especially with a Led Zeppelin influence. Obviously these days it's a totally different term. Sorry for getting so far off the Shake Some Action track -- just thought this side discussion was interesting too.

 

I'm talking about the sound and spirit of the song, not the band history which I am well aware of. "Elected" sounds like punk, except for the horns in the last third or so of the song.

For example, listen to the first minute of the song.

 

Great song!!! What else can I say?

 

Sounds like really good 'power pop' to me, but mileage may vary.

 

That whole first Artful Dodger album is tremendous. The sound, the songs, the attitude. . .all great.

Wait, what were talking about? Oh yeah, Shake Some Action. Yes, great track. All-time classic.

 

Preach!

 

IMO the SSA album is pretty fantastic. I am OK with the covers on this record, as opposed to the ones on the two followups which are kinda obvious choices and don't really bring much to the table. The originals are fantastic - You Tore Me Down, Yes It's True, Teenage Confidential, and esp. I Can't Hide, which is as exuberant as SSA is mysterious and mournful. Very cool record.

That said, I prefer the previous incarnations of the band - namely, the Loney-era band as well as the early stuff with Chris Wilson. I have a real soft spot for Flamingo in particular; that one is about as raw and wild as they got. Roadhouse! What a monster track. And Let Me Rock, to me, is about as good as they ever got. Or anybody ever got, for that matter.

One later track I adore: First Plane Home. Probabaly my favorite post-SSA Groovies track.

 

I saw them when they played in May of last year. They were fantastic, even though Cyril was fighting a bout of food poisoning. There's a hilarious picture of me in the audience during their set. I managed to get pushed up onstage and sing harmony on the 2nd chorus of SSA with one of my bandmates. What fun.
George Alexander hung out for awhile after their set. Super nice guy.

 

I recently ordered the album Teenage Head from Amazon on CD. I just finished listening to it for the first time .

Whadya know? I now have a new favorite Flamin Groovies album !

 

Here is an excellent recent live performance of Flamin Groovies recorded live for NPR. It would be nice if they could release a professionally recorded complete live album from their current reunion tour.

http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=462142566&m=462154105

 

Teenage Head and Flamingo are supposed to be in every rock collection. I'm not tryin' to be an elitist snob or be a put-down in any way. Sometimes it takes a while to get everything. But yeah, those two plus any others along with some others are essentials. Like Big Star albums, Stooges, MC5, VU, and other slow burners.

 

What about Chris Wilson's post-Flamin Groovies/post-Barracudas group The Fortunate Sons? Why have these LPs never been re-issued or released on CD?

 

Shake some action defintively is one of my all-time favourite rock/pop-records. Something with that guitar-riff, drums , harmoniesxand melody that s sort of defintive. So everytime I hear it it s the greatest. Just as many other records by the likes of the Byrds, Beatlers, Beach Boys and many others. They all are the greatest

 

Shake Some Action, the album and song, was an instant classic with me and mine when it was released (I had to order it in RichmondVA!). My has it stood well the test of time, I've had it on rotation ever since. That title track is the standout for sure, and that's saying something. Short answer; yes.

 

I picked this up recently for a few bucks from Bomp! Records; even includes an appearance by Mr. Loney.

 

No put down taken....

For me, it's just a very cool thing to know that after all these years, there are still essential albums out there from my definitive years that I have not yet heard, and that I can still occasionally come across and experience that euphoric joy of discovery yet again...

 

Personally I only listen to the pop tunes on that LP: You Tore Me Down, Teenage Confidential, Yes It's True, I'll Cry Alone, Sometimes, Misery and I Saw Her, approximately in descending order of preference.

For some reason I can never remember the name to I'll Cry Alone and have to look it up.

 

Greil Marcus on the song in question:

"When I came up with the idea of the [The History of Rock 'n' Roll in Ten Songs] and had a sense of what I was going to do, I knew from that instant that the first song—the first chapter in the book—would be “Shake Some Action” by the Flamin’ Groovies. For years and years whenever I heard that song, on the radio or just playing it myself, I just thought, this is it. This is what rock ‘n’ roll is. Everything I want it to be. This could have been the first rock ‘n’ roll record. It could have been the last rock ‘n’ roll record. It has a spirit. It has a drive. It has a melodic momentum. It has a beat that didn’t exist before rock ‘n’ roll. It didn’t happen in the 50s or 60s; it happened in 1972 and wasn’t even heard until 1976. But none of that matters. This is more the thing itself than any other record I know, so I hate to write it. Even if I can’t do it very well, even if I can’t live up to the song, I have to do it."

This guy gets it.

 

Shake Some Action one of the best rock pop songs ever.