The Severed Cortex

Link: http://www.amazon.com/Best-Mysterians-Cameo-Parkway-1966-1967/dp/B000B8I8XC/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1203274475&sr=8-4

Yes, I know this is an more obscure choice than what I normally buy. It is neither new music nor is it recently re-issued music, although one could argue that its release in 2005 is much newer than the music was originally issued back in 1966/1967. Heck, I was just barely born back then. So, how'd I stumble on this? Mainly I bought this because of the recent read of the Lester Bangs anthology because he went on and on about them. I'd heard of them before mainly because everyone knows the song 96 Tears. It is one of the greatest songs in rock and roll. Even John Lennon said so. I'd also heard of them because back in the late 80's, early 90's I was exposed to The Mummies and they clearly were influenced by ? And The Mysterians.
So, what else did ? And The Mysterians produce? Not any real big hits. They mostly did a lot of covers. That doesn't mean they weren't influential though. For a lot of people they are considered the forefathers of lo-fi, garage rock.

This release pretty much covers the gamut of the ? And The Mysterians work. At least the influential work they did. It contains a fair amount of covers like Stormy Monday, Midnight Hour, and Can't Get Enough Of You Baby ... and yes, I'm aware that Smashmouth did not do this song first. It was The Four Seasons. They also do a fair amount of originals, and of course 96 Tears. All in all there's nothing that jumps out at you as being spectacular. What it does show is that simple, lo-fi guitars and keyboards can make a long lasting sound. It's edgy and as we can see 40 years later it still has its influence. I don't expect everyone to get excited about this kind of music, but you should recognize that groups like ? And The Mysterians made it possible for a group of people to get together with minimal musical skills and crappy equipment and still crank out something musically meaningful.

You can still see ? And The Mysterians performing today. Check here for shows.