Teenage Head in Bloomington, MN

Miriam Linna
once opined that the
Roy Loney
-era lineup of
the Flamin' Groovies
suggested what
the Rolling Stones
would have sounded like if they'd sworn their allegiance to the sound and style of
Sun Records
instead of
Chess Records
. If one wants to buy this theory (and it sounds reasonable to me), then
Teenage Head
was
the Groovies
' alternate-universe version of
Sticky Fingers
, an album that delivered their toughest
rock & roll
beside their most introspective
blues
workouts. (In his liner notes to
Buddha
's 1999 CD reissue of
,
Andy Kotowicz
writes that
Mick Jagger
noticed the similarities between the two albums and thought
did the better job.) While
didn't dip into the
often, they always did right by 'em, and
"City Lights"
and
"Yesterday's Numbers"
find them embracing the mournful soul of the
to superb effect, while their covers of
"Doctor Boogie"
"32-20"
honor the originals while adding a energy and attitude that was all their own. And the rockers are among the best stuff this band ever put to tape, especially
"High Flying Baby,"
"Have You Seen My Baby?,"
and the brilliant title track. And unlike
Flamingo
sounds just as good as it deserves to;
Richard Robinson
's production is clean, sharp, and gets the details onto tape with a clarity that never gets in the way of the band's sweaty raunch. While
rocks a bit harder,
is ultimately the best album
would ever make, and after
left the band within a few months of its release, they'd never sound like this again. [
reissued the album in 1999, adding quite a few bonus tracks in the process.] ~ Mark Deming