The Gimmies index: CDs

--The Gimmies revive garage rock the way it was first brought back to life in the late '60s--

THE GIMMIES

Sora--guitar & vocal
Ryder--guitar & vocal
Zett--bass & bg vocal
J.J.--drums

Kawabe--guitar & vocal (on the first two Gimmies CDs)
Kim--bass & bg vocal (on the first two Gimmies CDs)

Auto Shut-Off...Any Questions? -- (43:24) -- (2002) -- Star Jets Records -- SJR-004
  1. Dirty Trick
  2. Not So Easy
  3. Sixties
  4. Give It Up
  5. Boys Can’t Stand It
  6. Down To Me
  7. Pretty Flamingo
  8. Sister’s Accuse
  9. Shakin’ With Her
  10. Beat Me Out
  11. Till You’re Down
  1. Get It Right Now
  2. Get Off The Phone
THE GIMMIES rock! It’s an all out punk attack, with some of the greatest sounding guitars I’ve heard in ages. The lyrics, even written out, are in brilliantly incomprehensible English. The guitars make the lyrical references to the MC5 unnecessary, and Johnny Thunders’ ‘Get Off The Phone’ is the extra track. So, yeah, these guys rock, and the hooks wrap around your head and don’t let go! The band is competent, but recorded rough and raw. It’s an impressive first release, and the arrangements are a damn sight smarter than they let on.
 

Phonic Souls -- (36:54) -- (2005) -- Dionysus Records -- ID123316 (U.S. release)

  1. Stick It Around The Bend
  2. Alternative Mainstream
  3. Livin’ On The 16 Shadows
  4. Baby’s Inside
  5. New Race
  6. Gotta Keep Coming
  7. Let’s Get A Move On
  8. Lies In Your Eyes
  9. Have You Seen My Baby
  10. Time Of Gold
THE GIMMIES rock! Hell! It sounds like someone’s playing all three MC5 LPs at once! There’s the roar from Kick Out The Jams, the frenetic guitar lines from Back In The U.S.A., and the racket from High Time. This band’s got rockin’ goin’ on. They play at a clip they can’t even keep up with. When they slow it down, and roll into the riffs, you can hear the classic band they are. Then the chaotic roar envelops ‘em again. There’s a growing maturity, but the stumbling adolescence is part of it, and if you can’t identify and specify every aspect, that’s OK. Keep rockin’, maybe it’ll fall into place.
 
Roll Up -- (35:46) -- (2009) -- Pop Ball Records -- POP-024CD
  1. Rock Show
  2. Flame Of Wings
  3. Turnin’ Into Your Mind
  4. Half A Man
  5. Comin’ Through The Night
  6. Beyond The Fringe
  7. Roll Up
  8. Quaky City
  9. Fever Street
  10. Slow Tide
  11. Freeway
  1. Solid Crowd
  2. A Little Behind You
I got the new GIMMIES record, and I wondered, what did I want it to sound like? It’s been five years since Phonic Souls. Two of the members have changed. The answer I came up with was I want it to rock! Roll Up is more mature than their previous releases, but it does rock, and it rocks with same kind of street cred THE GIMMIES have always had. They’ve got a wider variety of riffs. Their English has improved. Their production is cleaner, but this is still one primal rock band. Hell, one could make the argument that THE GIMMIES are the only true rock band of our misbegotten time.