The Barracudas

This blog has undergone lots of changes since it's inception.......I hope they've been favorable, I
change things up from time to time just to keep myself interested, of late, (say the last 3-4 months), I have relied on a LOT of guest material, and my "original" posts have been of the "mega" variety, The Stranglers one was stunningly (to me) popular, and the Dickies and Yo La Tengo were fun to do and well recieved too........but here's something I need to get back to doing now and again, which is to post a fine comp, such as this, from a band that I was, for whatever reason, never all THAT into, in other words, not a band that I havae a complete discography and a bunch of demos, boots and etc.......

The Barracudas, for me, were always sufficiently serviced by this comp, it's all I ever need from them.......I just don't really remember them making consistently good albums (although I'm likely wrong and someone will correct me), but as a singles-based bunch of dyed in the wool garage rockers, there is no better way to round up the best of thier stuff than a double disc anthology that is bursting at the seams with good stuff.

Don't get me wrong, same rules as always.....you have something by these guys you want to share, be it an LP release, a boot, or whatever (I assume they were a fine live act), PLEASE submit......some bands, well, you know, I have a load of material from, these guys, I think this is it.......but it rocks seriously in that wonderfully amatuerish, garagey way that so many of us love......well, I listened to this today (hey I have a THREE HOUR round trip commute to/from work) for likely the first time in 10 years, and hell yes, it holds up and any fan of garage rock should be all over this (if unfamilar).

OK, so who are/were the Barracudas? Well, originally the lineup was singer Jeremy Gluck, guitarist Robin Wills, bassist Starkie Phillips, and drummer Adam Phillips....the Phillips would leave shortly after formation, to be replacead by various others, but the Barracudas, in reality are Gluck/Wills, a pairing that works quite well.

This comp is laid out pretty well, with the great early singles "Summer Fun" and "I Want My Woody
Back" from thier early sessions, several psuedo-surf numbers such as "Surfer Joe" and "Surfers are Back", as well as a desecration of Love's "My Little Red Book" (yes, smart ass I know it technically isn't "Love's", but, so what?) highlighting the first disc.

The second disc concentrates on stuff from a bit later, which is still pretty good although not IN GENERAL essential.......if you liked what you heard on the first disc, check "Grammer of Misery", "Stolen Heart", and "I Thought You Sounded That Way Yesterday", and hear the band maturing before your ears.

OK, this is worthwhile.......if you are unfamiliar, you'll like it I'm sure......If you're already a fan, this is probably a redundancy for you, but it's a good introduction for the unindoctrinated, rocks like hell, and serves as an open invite to anyone who has any essoteric Barricudas material to help revive interest in a good, and underappreciated (by me even, I guess, as I have but these two discs to offer up) band.

THIS AIN'T MY TIME (ANTHOLOGY DISC 1)-01 I Can't Pretend/02 1965 Again/03 Summer Fun/04 His Last Summer/05 I Want My Woody Back/06 Subway Surfin'/07 Rendezvous/08 Neighbourhood Girls/09 Love Is Fun/10 Surfers are Back/11 My Little Red Book/12 We're Living In Violent Times/13 Somewhere Outside/14 I Saw My Death in a Dream Last Night/15 This Ain't My Time/16 Ballad of a Liar/17 Inside Mind/18 Hour of Degredation/19 Next Time Around/20 Takes What He Wants/21 On a Sunday/22 Surfer Joe

THIS AIN'T MY TIME (ANTHOLOGY DISC 2)-01 Grammar of Misery/02 Middle Class Blues/03
When I'm Gone/04 Be My Friend Again/05 Dead Skin/06 Eleventh Hour/07 Dealing With Today/08 Leaving Home Again/09 See her Eyes Again/10 Black Snake/11 Losin' Streak/12 Stolen Heart/13 Two Sides of a Coin/14 Adult Child/15 I Thought You Sounded That Way Yesterday/16 She's Alive/17 Can't Get Away From You/18 I'm The One/19 Wait For Everything/20 It's Easy/21 The Best Years

Comments welcome, opinions very important on bands like this, the ones of whom I am lacking in in-depth knowledge.......would LOOOOOVE to hear some boots or demos, even as-released LP's.......I'll try to be back tomorrow with something, I have, I guess, "rediscovered" the joy of sharing my music collection. Love to ya all!