The Sonics - Boom (1966)

The Sonics' second album is every bit as explosive and influential as their debut outing, loaded with gritty Northwest rock & roll. Sandwiched in between the abrasive classics of "Cinderella" and "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" (with the Wailers on backing vocals), the funk sass of "The Hustler" and "Shot Down," the demonic "He's Waitin'," and the sledgehammer, inside-out version of "Louie, Louie" (only three chords to play and they don't even play 'em) are the band's straight-ahead takes on old R&B chestnuts like "Skinny Minnie," "Let the Good Times Roll," "Don't You Just Know It," "Since I Fell for You," "Hitch Hike," and a nice barn-burning version of "Jenny Jenny." Where the Wailers cut down the trees and paved the highway, the Sonics were the first group from their neck of the woods to take that music somewhere wilder than their original inspirations. The second chapter of Northwest rock & roll after you absorb the Wailers' Golden Crest sides.