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The Seeds

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The Seeds

 
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The Seeds
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Avg: 4.0 (91 ratings)

This classic nugget of garage-rock pushes too hard –— and that's good

  • We Say...

    Review by Lenny Kaye

    The Seeds and "Pushin' Too Hard" are well enshrined in the garage-acropolis, and if that guitar solo (Jan Savage call-and-responses-himself) and Sky Saxon's feral whine aren't enough, there are those drums, one step removed from "Wipe Out," and an electric piano that whirls the song about like a lariat. (The band even dressed like cowboys and Indians.) The iconic 1967 hit would overshadow their mortal time as a band — and, blessedly limited musicians, the Seeds were not likely to improve on it — but they explored the riff they were given in all its permutations, to the point of obsession (see the 14-minute "Up in Her Room" on their second album).

    Their self-titled debut has their tangled influences topmost, not yet hippie-fried (their legend would either suffer or illuminate when Sky worked white-robed on Sunset Blvd. in a health food restaurant), highlighting their unique texture, even today when the fuzz-tone and tambourine duel of "Evil Hoodoo" (two chords!) has become a touchstone of archetype. Witness their more bizarre and enjoyable trails: Savage's flamenco roll of chord (something he shared with Robbie Krieger of the Doors, and there are times on this record where one might hear mutual repercussions at work); the omnipresent fuzz bass of "Girl I Want You," a virtual other guitar; even the Hollywood Argyles' gleeful 1960 caveman stomp "Alley Oop" ("Nobody Spoil My Fun").

  • They Say...

    Review by Peter Kurtz, All Music Guide

    As mid-'60s L.A. garage bands go, the Seeds were perhaps the most primitive, which isn't necessarily a virtue. Whereas the Standells had good lyrics, the Leaves could write pop, and Love was gifted beyond comparison, Sky Saxon and company had to settle for attitude and an unintended comicalness. Their debut record is just that. It's comprised of snotty boy-girl songs and teeters on the edge of musical ineptness, though it does contain the garage classic "Pushin' Too Hard" (whose arrangement is recycled at least once here). The other significant tune is "Can't Seem to Make You Mine," which features a repetitive, haunted-house guitar riff. The rest of the record, though fairly forgettable, still reinforces the truth that pure punk appeared long before the Sex Pistols.

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