Rating:
* * * * *
First, the back story. While not actually monks, the 60s five-piece looked like Monks, with the tops of their heads shaved, and they wore black clothes with thin, noose-like ropes tied around their necks.
Monks were, in fact, five American GIs who were
stationed in Germany and, upon being discharged from the Army in the mid 60s, they stayed on in soon-to-be Krautrock land to do a bit of rockin' themselves. This is a reissue of their first and only studio album from 1965. It's a raw and innovative rock'n'roll racket that sounds bold and unique these days, so imagine what it would have sounded like in the mid 60s.
Similar to the Sonics, another rowdy 60s band who were ahead of their time, Monks were forerunners to punk and noise rock. But the bald guys also had a quirky, excitable and unpredictable musical approach. Vocally, while there are sleazy and shouty spoken word outbursts, it's the harmonising, 50s vocal-group style that comes through most. And, musically, there's the deep guitar fuzz and funereal organ of
