Gawd damn! Daddy Wants a Cold Beer… and Other Million Sellers (which currently tops my list of Best Album Titles for the year) compiles a jaw-dropping 46 tracks by the legendary NYC wrecking crew the A-Bones. Fronted by main mouth Billy Miller and drummer Miriam Linna (best known these-a-days as the owners of retro goldmine Norton Records and the editors of the late, lamented Kicks magazine), the A-Bones were dedicated to spreading the gospel of pure-D rock and roll (garage stompers, R&B, rockabilly, and proto-punk), and testified to that end at a staggering number of live shows and albums over a twenty-year period. What’s collected on this two-disc set is just about everything that didn’t end up on an A-Bones LP, which translates into B-sides, compilations tracks, a dogpile of rare, had-to-be-there live tracks, and (hey!) even a brand new tune (“We’re Gonna Get Married,” a duet with the 5,6,7,8s, and the first new A-Bones material in a decade or so). Highlights? You want highlights? Jeez, where to start? Okay, here’s a random sampling: a cover of Frank Zappa’s theme for Timothy Carey’s mondo weirdo religious epic, The World’s Greatest Sinner (complete with the late Mr. Carey contributing a bit of turbo-charged glossolalia); six stormin’ live sides with former Flamin’ Groovie Roy Loney (including an unreleased rip through “Teenage Head”); a boogie-driven instro take on the Velvet Underground’s “Guess I’m Falling In Love”; and superior collaborations with original rockabillies Johnny Powers and Rudy “Tutti” Grayzell. In short, if you’re an A-Bones lover (or completist – you can stop selling your blood to buy all those obscure 45's now), a garage fiend, or just like your rock n roll straight up, blood red, full of fire, and all killer, no filler, you’re not just gonna want this – you’ll need it. _______________________________________________

– Paul Gaita