The Cynics - Way It's Gonna Be

Top album for the garage rock 'n' roll enthusiast

Rock ‘n’ Roll is the album that perfectly hits the mark of aesthetic and sonic perfection for Gregg Kostelich's band, following the weak debut and the nearly perfect Twelve Flights Üp. Rock ‘n’ Roll skillfully balances, with class and thunder, the classic folked-punk of the group, featuring an impetuous and fuzzy strumming that seems to unfurl and breathe amidst the bursts of Farfisa and cymbals that tear at its skin. These are tracks that the band has become so familiar with on stage (many songs have been ready since their first tour, and one even comes from the repertoire of Michael Kastelich’s previous band, NdLYS) that they manage to find the perfect outfit for each of them, so much so that when they go into the studio, they record everything in a single impetuous 40-minute take. Unfortunately, Greg Vizza, in the heat of the moment, forgot to hit the record button. So the band has to record everything from scratch, putting in a few extra hours and a few extra dollars.

For a stunning result.

We are at the apex of the garage sound tinged with folk, just like that of the What’s New and the Music Machine, featuring a refined selection of covers (Last Time Around by the Del-Vetts and Cry Cry Cry by the Unrelated Segments) and an incredible sequence of originals, among which stands out the bouncy Girl You‘re On My Mind written by Bernie Kugel of the Mystic Eyes, destined to become the first garage classic of the new decade.