Product Description
1994 compilation featuring 15 tracks recorded in 1965-66 in their original mono sound from the original multi-track and full-track mono master tapes. Includes the smash hit 'Dirty Water', plus the previously unissued tracks 'Take A Ride', 'Poor Man's Prison' and 'Medication' (Instrumental).
Product Details
| Publisher | Sundazed Music Inc. |
| Number Of Discs | 1 |
| Format | Audio CD |
| EAN | 0090771601926 |
| UPC | 090771601926 |
| Label | Sundazed Music Inc. |
| Studio | Sundazed Music Inc. |
| Artist | Standells |
| Title | Dirty Water |
| Release Date | 1994-04-30 |
| Manufacturer | Sundazed Music Inc. |
Customer Reviews
Standells - Solid Garage RockReview by Morten Vindberg, 2010-04-30
The Standells can hardly be called one of the great rock bands; nonetheless the group has positioned itself firmly in the American garage rock history.
Through a dozen really solid rock-recordings spread over four albums and some singles, the group stands as an exponent of the best of the raw but simultaneously melodic garage rock of the middle sixties.
The group achieved a major hit in 1966 with the title number from the album "Dirty Water". The sound of the group is characterized by tight playing and production, dominated by fat organ-sound and distorted guitar.
On this album, which like the other three is somewhat uneven, you'll find a handful of the group's best recordings, not least the opening track "Medication" which can be reminiscent of contemporary groups like Pink Floyd and the Easybeats. The nice bass riff that reminds a lot about Los Bravos' "'Black is Black" is the lynchpin of a solid vocals spiced with guitar and organ.
The group did not write much their music themselves, but has contributed with the robust and relatively sophisticated "Why Did You Hurt Me", written by drummer Dick Dodd, and guitarist Tony Valentino and the delicate ballad "Pride and Devotion" written by organist Larry Tamblyn. On the other hand producer / manager Ed Cobb was an important contributor to the group repertoire, not least through the "Dirty Water" and on this album also "There's a Storm Coming", "Rari" and the bonus track "Take a Ride" .
The original album play for just about a half hour, so it is positive that this version is expanded with six bonus tracks, of which especially "Poor Man's Prison" stands out positively.
The group often supplemented their repertoire of cover versions of contemporary rock hits, in this case the Stones' "19th Nervous Breakdown", which actually has a really good drive, but of course not the strenghts of Jagger's vocals.
Other contemporary trotters are "Hey Joe" and "Batman" which have not been given anything interesting or not added anything new, and probably only serve to fill out the album.
All in all, not a real great album, but one with highlights such as "Medication", "Dirty Water" and "Why Did You Hurt Me"
I'd like to spend time with my baby, walk around.
Review by Johnny Heering, 2007-02-06
The Standells were a 1960s rock and roll band from Los Angeles, California who, like The Seeds, exemplified the garage rock style. "Dirty Water" was their only legitimate hit song, although they had a couple of others come close. Other than "Dirty Water" there are a number of other great songs on this album. "Medication", "Little Sally Tease", "Rari" and "There's a Storm Comin'" are all terrific garage rock songs. The group also does a good cover version of the Rolling Stones' "19th Nervous Breakdown". Most of the songs on this CD are good, although the group doesn't handle ballads that well. Fans of the '60s garage rock sound will enjoy this CD.
Standells - 'Dirty Water' (Sundazed)
Review by Mike Reed, 2005-05-16
Originally released in 1966,this looks to be a reissue of the Standell's very first lp.It's sort of hard to figure out just how many 'actual' albums they had put out during their WAY too short of a career.'Dirty Water' has six(6)bonus cuts tagged on as I thought most of them were decent.I've ALWAYS liked this band.See my review of their '99 reunion 'Ban This!' disc.I find myself played this disc often.Well,often enough anyway.Tunes I found to be good were "Little Sally Tease",their Stone's cover "19th Nervous Breakdown",their sole hit "Dirty Water",The Leaves cover "Hey Joe,Where You Gonna Go?","Medication" and the full version of "Rari".Maybe not a garage classic,but it comes close.A should-have.
Standells: LA garage / punk classics reissued--TRY 'EM!!
Review by J P Ryan, 2004-08-19
The Standells' career was both helped and hindered when the band signed with manager Ed Cobb and Tower / Capitol Records. Cobb wrote some classic hits for the group, and raised their profile. But Tower and Cobb's plan was -characteristic for the era - very shortsighted, issuing, for example, "The Hot Ones" a third album styled on the Beau Brummels' 1966 misconceived set of current top-40 hits. "Hot Ones" like the its predecessor, the group's excellent sophomore album, "Why Pick On Me/Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White," repeated 1 or 2 tracks from "Dirty Water."
Luckily, when Sundazed licensed the Standells' catalog in the mid '90s the label eliminated duplicated tracks, and packed each of the group's four Tower-era classics with rare singles and unissued bonus tracks. Now each set contains 15 songs - The Standells thus recorded a prolific 60 releasable tracks - plus a nifty 1966 archival live set issued in 2002 - beginning with the classic single / title track "Dirty Water" in 1965 through their final 45, the haunting "Animal Girl," from early 1968 (the latter has been appended to the underrated fourth album "Try It.")
"Dirty Water" is the Tower debut. The title song is a Punk classic reproduced on numerous "Nuggets"-type comps, and along with the five and-a-half minute b-side, "Rari" was recorded in Hollywood by Richard Podolor. Most of the remaining tracks - originals, covers, and songs written by Cobb, an accomplished sonwriter - were recorded a year later (April 1966) at Kearnie Barton's Seattle Studio, and as re-mastering engineer Bob Irwin points out, were "over-modulated directly to the multi-track tape, causing the finished master to become a powerful...gritty and distorted wash of sound..." charactistic of the Northwest punk/garage bands recording at Barton's studio during the period (such as the Sonics). These early recordings contained influenced later groups like the MC5.
Drummer Dave Dodd (an ex-Mouseketeer!) had a sexy, delicately cool and seductive voice that influenced (N.Y. Dolls guitarist)Johnny Thunders' breathy singing on "Hurt Me" and other classics. Dodd sings about two-thirds of the material included and is a near-forgotton punk-rock progenitor. He could snarl with the best Jagger-imitators and convey the soft bad-boy sexiness that exudes both cruelty and vulnerability. (His vocal on the classic "Medication" is one of the most understated and seductive ever!). Despite scores of versions recorded in 1966, Dodd manages to make "Hey Joe" sound like it was written for him. Keyboardist Larry Tamblyn also contributes a couple of fine rockers. The bonus cuts are all worthy,including the pre-Cobb audition track, the early-Beatles influenced "It's All In Your Mind," and two solid outtakes from the "Try It" sessions, with ex-Love bassist (and "Jaws" cinematographer) John Fleck. I advise the reader to pick up all four Sundazed remasters rather than the earlier Rhino Best-of or the ugly Hip-O comp. Not only do you get the complete Tower recordings, but the best sound and notes as well. With more forward looking management, this group might be remembered as more than 1 or 2 hit wonders today - they were LA garage rockers of the first rank, with plenty of attitude and raunch - and, good songs - to spread macross these four killer sets. (The other remasters are "Why Pick On Me/Sometimes Good Guys Dont Wear White," 1966; the much improved-by-bonus-material "The Hot Ones," from early '67; and the mostly brilliant and risk-taking "Try It," 1967.)
Hey kids, collect 'em all!
Lost Treasure
Review by G.C., 2000-08-07
Great LP from the '60's. "Dirty Water" is a classic. "Medication" is great too. But the best thing I like about the Standells is their legendary 1965 TV appearance on "The Munsters", where they sang "I Wanna Hold Your Hand". Unfortunately, the individual band members were not much for writing songs, and the band broke up in the late 1960's.
