Groovie Ghoulies - Re-Animation Festival

 

After seeing our old pal, Kepi, again a couple of weeks ago, I picked up a couple more Groovie Ghoulie items and realized that there were more that I never got around to rantin' about, so gonna try to make up for that neglect when i can. 

This record was originally released in 1997 but recently reissued with fantastic artwork by another buddy, Tom Neely (of Henry and Glenn and the Humans fame, among many other fabulous feats). This captures Kepi (bass/vocals), Roach (guitar) and Panic (drums) poundin' through their take on pop punk, as only the Ghoulies can provide!

Their Ramones-ish buzzsaw guitar and Kepi's clever melodies and fun lyrics about Charles Manson, ET, the Haunted Mansion and so much more mean a boppin' good time is to be had by all! Joey Ramone should have covered "Tunnel Of Love", "Graveyard Girlfriend" has more cartoonishly spooky lyrics and upbeat riffs and feedback-laden chords, "That's That" is almost hardcore speed and vanishes almost before you know it and melds into the more mid-tempo romanticism of "School Is Out". 

"Chupacabra" (not the Chixdiggit number!) is another blink-and-you'll-miss-it tune that gives Kepi a chance to show off some Spanish lessons, while "Zombie Crush" is a hip, minor-keyed garage-y cut that he still plays (along with several others from this album). Roach shows off some Chuck Berry licks in the (appropriately) 50's-ish "Graceland", and they're back to a more mid-tempo buzz for "Maze Effect", then they try not to be abducted in "Evading the Greys", they mix the Ramones with 70's rock (what is that chord progression from?!) in "Satisfy Me", Kepi'n'Roach sing/pick an especially compelling melody in "To Go Home" and they close things out with Kepi reachin' back to his roots with an ode to the Stones through their take on "If You Need Me", done Ghoulies-style, of course!

Always fun, always rockin', always mixing their various influences into a pop-packet of cartoon-y, bubblegum-ish rock'n'roll goodness.