Night Music: Flamin’ Groovies, “Shake Some Action”

I’ve resisted posting this one, mostly because it is way bigger than a Night Music posting, and yet perfect for a casual, hey, you gotta hear this one note.

My old buddy Peter turned me onto the Groovies (and the Beau Brummels and, for that matter, the Searchers, too, thank you Peter), which is one reason (or three or many more) he’s a big character in my life.

What I can say for sure is that this album, on Sire, in the middle of punk, was a clean and compelling call to hew the clean line between rock and pop. Not that the Groovies had historically respected such formal niceties.

But that doesn’t matter. This recording or this song does. Whoever the players were, whoever wrote it, whoever produced it, whoever mastered it, none of them would ever be a part of a recording so perfect again.

Despite those cartoon characters in the video (whose idea was that?). You gotta hear this one.

2 thoughts on “Night Music: Flamin’ Groovies, “Shake Some Action”

  1. Killer riff, an all-time great. I remember the first time I heard it precisely. Two friends of mine had stolen six big tanks of nitrous oxide, and we sat in a room doing it when one said “check this out, best song I’ve heard all year” and slapped it on. It was. When the Ramones played England and started a thousand bands in their wake, they were opening for the Groovies.

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