The Sick Rose
Shaking Street

I have already had the chance to (psycho)analyze my traumatic approach to garage with “Leave Your Mind At Home”.
What you do not know yet is that the sequel was even worse: but you will soon find out if you have the patience to follow me (and here I make my own the catchphrase of Alberto Angela/Neri Marcorè).

Having shelved the Fuzztones' live performance and determined to avoid another major rip-off, I bought a legendary TDK D-90 cassette and convinced a friend of my brother to record “Faces” by the unknown Sick Rose for me, having read an enthusiastic review on Rockerilla (and on the B-side, the guy put the first Love album, the one with “My Flash On You”).
I put the cassette in the double-deck, push the "Play" button, and here comes the fuzz guitar of Diego Mese and Rinaldo Doro's Farfisa opening “Searching For”, eliciting from me a sudden and heartfelt appreciation “Damn, these guys could dunk the Fuzztones in their coffee!” A few seconds later, Luca Re steps into the scene with a screechy and acid voice that is frightening: “What is this stuff, HR has gone garage?” and it continues like this until the end.
Disgusted, I put everything away and convince myself that unfortunately, garage is crap: lost between Rudi Protrudi's baritone tone and Luca Re's falsetto-like tone, my brother is really right when he exclaims, “You listen to music like a total fool!” But at least, this time I didn't spend ten thousand lire to buy a turkey.
The Fuzztones made me want to vomit, and the Sick Rose the same: no doubt about it, I was absolutely not ready for garage (nor for the Bad Brains' hardcore). However, a few months later, I stumble on my first great love and somehow, and for some reason, some songs from “Faces” come back to mind, especially “Everybody Wants To Know” (does anyone know how your sweetness feels and how your lips kiss, right?): in my twisted mind, immortal ditties to serenade the sweetheart on a dark and stormy night.

So here I am, guitar slung over my shoulder, spitting blood and sweating the proverbial seven shirts to learn some tracks from the album, blinded by the absurd conviction that no chick could resist me.
Sleepless days and nights spent on “It's A Mystery”, “Night Comes Falling Down” (my strong piece), “I'm Not Trying To Hurt You” and “Everybody Wants To Know” unfortunately did not give me the beloved heart but opened my eyes to many things: the first is that the "Amor ch'a nullo amato amar perdona" stilnovistic motto is a solemn absurdity; then that I should have focused more on “What You Are (Bad Girl)”; but above all, that garage punk is the Light and the Sick Rose are the prophets heralding its coming.
From the Revelation, two years full of Nomads, Stomachmouths, Last Drive, Lime Spiders and fuzzing company will pass until in 1989 the prophets return to the studio and publish the second album “Shaking Street.”
I run to the newsstand to grab Rockerilla, thrill at the reading of the effusive praises of the reviewer of the moment, and then rush without hesitation to Musical Dysfunctions for the purchase; and what do I read instead? Tepid comments like “Yes, nice, but ‘Faces’ was another thing.” Two and a half stars, not only on Rockerilla but across much of the specialized press. I quickly deflate and don't buy “Shaking Street”, nor do I get it recorded by anyone; thus, I even save on the tape.

22 years go by slowly, you grow old without realizing it, and the memory of the past times leaves you with a rogue sense of nostalgia. So, when a few months ago the commendable Area Pirata reissues “Shaking Street” on CD, with the addition of the previous EP “Double Shot”, my first thought, all in one breath, is “Who cares if it's not as great as “Faces”, they are still the Sick Rose”.
And there you go, I bought it. I put the disc in the player, and “Oh God, the guitar is no longer fuzz, and Luca Re has a almost normal tone of voice!” and at the end, I spit out a historic sentence: screw all those who in 1989 made me desist from buying, this disc rocks big time!
Very different from “Faces”, but equally valid. While in “Faces” the source of inspiration can be found in the mid-'60s Texas-punk (Moving Sidewalks above all, listen to this stuff), in “Shaking Street” the space-time coordinates change: “the man of Farfisa” Rinaldo Doro is no more, Diego Mese forgets the fuzz tones at home and is joined by Jacopo Arrobio, and the sound evolves from the primitive and stripped-down garage-punk debut to an exciting and compact rock'n'roll that brings back the ghosts of MC5 and Real Kids (honored with renditions of “Shaking Street” and “Up Is Up”, the latter from the Taxi Boys' repertoire) and especially of the Flamin' Groovies (the proto-punk ones of “Slow Death” though).
“Little Girlie Pearl”, “Like The Other Kids”, “She Got”, “A Kiss Is Not Enough” and especially the splendid “Little Sister” (absolutely, one of the best pieces of the Sick Rose) and “Teenage Nightdrive” are the quintessence of street rock'n'roll; rhythm rhythm, and more rhythm to dance until exhaustion, kept perpetually high by two guitars milling riff upon riff, a rhythmic section "thumping" just right, a Jerry Lee Lewis-style piano appearing here and there when you least expect it (lethal interventions in “Teenage Nightdrive”), and Luca Re's voice making you dream of pushing down the accelerator along the highways between Detroit and Boston, while you are actually in front of the stereo, within your usual four walls at home.
That's it and nothing more: “Shaking Street” does not invent anything and pays very heavy debts in terms of inspiration and attitude towards the star-spangled rock that set the streets aflame between the late '60s and '70s. But we wish there were records like this today.

And here comes back the above-mentioned nostalgia that makes me give “Shaking Street” five stars: listened to at the time, when in Italy there were bands like Boohoos, Not Moving, Birdmen Of Alkatraz, maybe it didn't stand out in the right way; but, in today's desolate landscape, the effect is that of an H-bomb exploding in a china shop. Five stars, no question.
And long live the Sick Rose, who just a few days ago released the new album “No Need For Speed” produced by the great Dom Mariani (Stems, above all and everyone): it's heartening that people like this are still around.