Why aren't The Flamin' Groovies more well-loved?

I was at that show, the scuttlebutt at the time was that the break was for a bit of vitamin c. They did have more energy when they got back on stage, and they were quite good, but the dBs blew them back to California that night.

 

The Skydog 45's were really hard to find back then. If I recall I ordered them through an ad in Who Put The Bomp. I agree with you, they were lethal, as storming and energized as any of the punk rock that was kicking at rocks back door at the time, and Shake Some Action was a truly great power pop album that deserved to be huge. Not to mention the fact that the title song is one of the best of the era.
Don't know if it was drugs, disorganization, laziness, inter band conflict or what, but it seems like they blew every chance they had back then to be bigger than they were, and they had the chances. Shame, really.

 

Essentially it's two different bands with the Loney version being the more hard rockin'. I will say that Teenage Head and, especially, Flamingo are great rock and roll albums. Once Loney was out and Wilson came in it was different, more power pop, although the Skydog 45's, which are raunchy and crazed as hell, were cut with Wilson on vocals.

 

Am I alone in loving "Supersnazz"? When Cyril and Roy played as The Flamin' Groovies in London a few years ago I got them to sign my copy. It's now framed and awaiting a wall to hang it on.

I fall off the group after Roy left. Does anyone know why he went? Or was he pushed?

 

Cyril Jordan has had a longrunning biographical column in Ugly Things Magazine.
My take is that the Groovies had more of an affinity for enjoying the ride than they did in careering.

 

I haven't knowingly heard it - the versions I know offhand are the LP version and the 12" single, which was somewhat better for being shorter and a bit rougher. Got a link?

 

I think he means this one. It's Cyril's preferred version.

 

Love this:

 

COSIGN.

 

Dunno but the gals in my avatar opened for them a few months back. Fun time.

 

Great band. The Loney era is tremendous. It’s a toss-up as to whether I prefer Flamingo or Teenage Head. It may come down to whichever one I am listening to at the time. Norton’s California Born and Bred is also a must-listen if you dig this era of the band.

Post-Loney, the Grease-era recordings, while not sonic marvels, are super duper. Wilson howls like his pants are aflame, and the band is just pounding. Always felt that a lot of this energy was sapped from the Sire-era recordings, although SSA the album is cool. The two after that are spottier but there are some good songs. (Especially First Plane Home from Jumping In the Night.)

The newish one isn’t bad, considering how late in the game it is for them and the lineup changes et al. But I haven’t come back to it much.

I saw them in ’15 and enjoyed it immensely even though Cyril was not feeling well (food poisoning in NOLA the previous day, apparently) and Chris was in his cups a bit. Met George that night, total class act. As is Roy, whom I met years beforehand. Spoke with me about the Groovies and the SF scene for an hour plus.

 

Wow! That's kool as hell! Did you go? Were they any good?

 

And they were by far the superior performers that night. You're talking about the show at Rough Trade in Brooklyn back in August, correct? Wilson was p*ss drunk right out of the gate and put in the sloppiest performance I've witnessed in the four or five times I've seen the reunited line-up.

 

That sucks. I keep hearing stories of him being drunk and ruining shows. That's a shame because I bet on a good night they're incredible.

 

I might be getting this not 100% correct, but I remember reading that Tim Lynch was the first to go, and as Roy and Tim were good friends, that may have caused Roy to decide to leave.

 

While I wouldn't describe any of the other times I've seen them as incredible, the other performances I've caught were a good deal better than that Rough Trade show. Previous times I've seen them they started off sounding decent but as the set went on and Wilson got drunker, things always got a little looser and sloppier.

 

I had a similar experience at the last San Diego show I saw in 2016. As I recounted in the Fantastic Plastic thread:

The first reunion show I saw (LA, 2013) was amazing, energetic and (relatively) tight. Getting to see the Groovies live was euphoric - something I never thought I would get to see.

The second show, in San Diego last year, was unfortunately a shambles. Cyril was great and it was cool to see hometown boy and acquaintance Victor Penalosa on drums, but George was so drunk that he could barely play or stand up (I was standing right next to him, and he kept telling me that throughout the show) and Chris came off as extremely condescending. Victor had a tough job, covering up sudden tempo changes mid-song. Instead of feeling like rock n' roll sloppiness, it felt like things were unraveling.

 

Because I don't even know you...

 

Yep.

 

Of course I went. These gals are pals.

 

Too retro for their own good. It doesn't sell (cough..Lyres).

 

Classic rock sort of implies that it was a hit at one point in time. You don't hear much VU on Classic Rock stations, either.

 

By the way, has anyone heard the RSD reissue set of the Grease/Skydog material? I saw it and was interested, but wanted to get a read on SQ first...

 

True. I meant more of the off-beat classic rock stations that do occasionally play the Ramones and VU. Although those are fastly disappearing.

 

Actually, it's the one that @ralphb mentioned. They're different, but Poco? I don't think so.