Pebbles, Vol. 9: Southern California, Part 2

Digitally remastered by John Strother (Penguin Studios).
Twenty-four Socal garage-band obscurities from 1965-69, more psychedelic in tone than the average Pebbles collection (though not every track is psychedelic-influenced). It's about average for a '60s garage anthology, with some standouts like the Standells' Beatlesque "Someday You'll Cry" (not available on any other CD), the David's garage-pop take on the Doors ("I'm Not Alone"), the Gypsy Trips' folk-rock "Ain't It Hard" (later covered by the Electric Prunes), a pre-Monkees version of "I'm Not Your Stepping Stone" (by the W.C. Fields Memorial Electric String Band), and the blues-rock protest of the Starfires' "Cry for Freedom." It's the first time on CD for all selections, a few of which had been previously unreissued. ~ Richie Unterberger