The Panicks
were an Ohio-based
garage band
who played clubs across the state and occasionally ventured into Indiana and Pennsylvania, as well as recording two small-label singles during their 1965-1968 life span. Since
the Panicks
' official catalog consists of a mere four songs, the folks at
Gear Fab Records
were good enough to uncover some unreleased material to stretch
The Complete Recordings
out to 49 minutes. Unfortunately, their desire to offer as much
Panicks
as possible backfires a bit -- of the 19 tracks on this collection, only four songs aren't repeated elsewhere on the disc, six selections are just instrumental backing tracks, and thanks to imaginative sequencing you get to hear
"You're My Baby"
three times in a row.
may have more filler than it needs, but the best stuff here is the work of a significantly better than average Midwest band of the period.
"Don't Pick on Me"
is a funny tale of one put-upon teenager,
"I'm Gonna Leave"
is a sharp uptempo number with an
R&B
twist,
"Stoned"
is an appropriately bizarre tune layered with lots of echoing screams and giggles, and
(a minor hit for
the Vacels
) is a tough rocker with hearty unison vocals and some wailing fuzztone guitar. (The additional live version shows these guys could rip it up live, though the instrumental version that follows is too much of a good thing.) Much of the material on this disc seems to have been rescued from aging singles and acetates, meaning audiophiles will be a bit disappointed, but if you're the sort of
garage
collector who values obscurity, this is just the sort of disc you've been waiting for, and in this case not only is the band all but unknown, it's pretty good to boot. ~ Mark Deming