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The Torinese Sick Rose was the most representative Italian garage-punk band, highly regarded internationally and not inferior to names like Fuzztones and Chesterfield Kings. Their moment of greatest notoriety was during the revival of garage-punk and psychedelia in the '80s, in which they released a genre classic like "Faces."
At a time when the cold and dark sounds of the new wave dominated, there was a spontaneous wave in which many bands - among them, besides those mentioned, I recall the great Lyres, the Miracle Workers, and the Morlocks - returned to immerse themselves in the sounds and colors of the '60s. The band's sound was built around the Farfisa organ of Rinaldo Doro, the fuzz guitar of Diego Mese, and the charismatic and angry voice of Luca Re, while their sources of inspiration were obscure Texan sixties-punk bands like the Moving Sidewalks and Count V. The bold Pisa-based label Area Pirata, to celebrate the band's thirtieth anniversary, has recently reissued "Blastin’ Out" from 2006, produced by the experienced Dom Mariani (former member of the Stems), an album marking their reunion and their shift to power-pop.
On this occasion, a second juicy CD is also paired that represents a sort of "best of" their career. Thus, cult tracks like the legendary single "Get Along Girl", a driving and energetic garage-punk with Farfisa and fuzz prominently featured, can be listened to again, confirming that the Sick Rose were among the best and most calligraphic interpreters of that era. There are also some tracks from "Faces" (1986) - considered by genre expert Timothy Gassen, author of the book "The Knights Of Fuzz", among the top 10 garage albums of all time - and from the excellent and devastating EP "Double Shot."
The subsequent and noteworthy "Shakin’ Street" (1988) is also heavily plundered, a harder album influenced by MC5, Real Kids, and Flamin’ Groovies, which contained authentic gems like "Little Sister" and "Little Girlie Pearl." The collection closes by paying tribute to the subsequent "Floating" (1990) and "Renaissance" (1992), albums still in the vein of hard and street sounds. As mentioned, "Blastin’ Out" is an excellent power-pop album where the '60s melodies are very strong. Splendid ballads like the title track and "Cigarettes Girl" can be heard, but tracks like "It’s Gettin’ Bad" bring back the old garage approach with decisive and disruptive guitar riffs. "Blastin’ Out" was then followed by the recent and valuable "No Need For Speed" (2011- Area Pirata). The advice - to all lovers of '60s-inspired sounds - is not to miss the opportunity to rediscover Sick Rose. Make this double CD yours!
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