The Milkshakes
, or
Mickey & the Milkshakes
as they were known when they first started out, were a perfect blend of
Mickey Hampshire
's romping beat group-inspired playfulnesss and the unhinged garage-frat wildness of
Billy Childish
. Their guitar styles meshed like a highly charged engine and their vocal styles contrasted nicely, with
Hampshire
's slightly restrained shout balancing
Billy
's wild-eyed hollering. With the help of a stripped-down and punchy rhythm section, their albums were an instant party filled with clanging instrumentals, savage sub-
Kinks
rockers, and sprightly tunes it would be easy to picture
the Beatles
playing during their Hamburg days. Nothing fancy at all about their presentation, just pure rock & roll fun and frolic tempered by slashing moments of danger. This set collects their first record, 1981's
Talking 'Bout...Milkshakes!
, and 1983's
after school session
, both of which are made up of (mostly) all original tunes, bereft of any filler and delivering a staggering blow to the solar plexus. The first album may be a touch cleaner-sounding, free of noise and distortion as the lads run through a bracing set of songs, while
is more in line with future
Childish
productions with its scrappy guitars, overdriven vocals, and lo-fi kick. Both albums are fine examples of rock & roll at its finest, without an inch of fat on their bones and more fun than you can shake a maraca at. Of course, any
fanatic who missed out on the albums the first time around needs to get this set; so do those who fancy themselves garage rockers of any stripe. ~ Tim Sendra