Teenage Head

If I must hear this before I die then I better live to 300

Listening to Teenage Head, you can really hear all those blues-rock and rockabilly vibes running the show. I totally get why people, Mick Jagger included, compare it to Sticky Fingers; it’s got that raw, sweaty garage feel and plenty of early 70s proto-punk swagger. But honestly, while some people might dig that rough-around-the-edges sound, to me it just feels like a generic rip-off of the bands that actually did it better, especially with all the repetitive riffs and basic blues tropes.

It’s not a completely terrible record, and if these guys were playing in my local dive bar, I'd probably have a good night. But as an essential, must-listen experience, it falls flat and feels entirely skippable. As already said, the similarities to the Rolling Stones are very apparent, except everyone has heard of the Rolling Stones and ain't nobody lamenting about not listening to this average rock album.

It was fine, nothing amazing.

Not a fan of these kinds of blues sounds.

Boy, that sure is some rock. With some thwanging guitars and surfer anthem energy. Gee whiz, talk about rock n' roll!

Interesting.

Pre Listen:
I like the fonts on the album cover, they goofy. Haven't heard of them before, no expectations.

Notable Tracks:
Whiskey Woman - My favorite track. I love how the song progresses and changes as it goes. Good sound.
City Lights | Teenage Head - Two highlights I quite enjoyed. Gritty sound, sounds very similar to the Rolling Stones in a good way.
Evil Hearted Ada - My least favorite song. Sounds like discount Elvis. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXp6a66KRjw

Post Listen:
What a difficult album to put a score to.

I really liked a lot of this album. I was lightly bored by a good portion of it too, but it wasn't suffocatingly so. The instrumentation, especially the guitar, was great. It reminded me of The Rolling Stones, whom I love. The occasional piano was very complimentary, and I liked the honky-tonk sound on quite a few songs.

That said, I just don't think this album is very memorable. It didn't feel memorable as I listened, but I can't really discern why.

Teetering difficultly around a 3 or a 4, may come back and edit the review after thinking on it, and possibly re-listening though. 3/5.

Cool blues rock album

The best Rolling Stones album they never made. This album was great. The drumming was a real highlight. Favorites were Have You Seen My Baby?, Yesterday’s Numbers, and Whiskey Woman.

SF rocks.

Ganz coole Rock n Roll Music, Teenage Head ist auch cool

This feels like Let it Bleed (69) or Exile on Main Street (72). This album (71) sits squarely between the two and came out the same year as Sticky Fingers. Also, am I hearing some elements that might have influenced punk? Maybe, maybe not. And the song, Evil Hearted Ada has a real rockabilly sound to it. Very pleasantly surprised!

Es ist einer dieser seltenen Fälle, in denen eine Band alles richtig macht, aber die Welt gerade woanders hinschaut. Die Flamin’ Groovies liefern hier rohen, strukturierten Rock, der nie ins Chaos kippt, sondern mit einer fast stoischen Klarheit nach vorne geht. Es ist Proto‑Punk, der noch unbedingt Musik sein will – nicht bloß Lärm, nicht bloß Attitüde.

Die Songs wirken wie ungeschliffene Diamanten, kantig, ehrlich, ohne Studio-Glanz. Man hört eine Energie, die späteren Bands wie frühen, noch unsicheren R.E.M. fast vorausgreift: dieses leicht verwackelte, aber zutiefst echte Gittern, das mehr Gefühl als Perfektion sucht.

Ein Album im Schatten der Großen – aber eines, das eigentlich selbst zu den Großen gehört 😊.

Elvis Presley vibes

Сильно не моє. Хоча кавер на shakin' all over мені подобається!

I agree it’s better than Sticky Fingers.

fun country rock!

Sounds dated and generic.

Fun early 70s rock, that goes from Stonesy to influencing the cramps.

I’m about 135 albums in and I would say this is my favorite record I’ve encountered from an artist I never heard before. They feel like a missing link between like six of my favorite bands, some before their time and some after. But at the same time, the covers make clear that it’s just some guys noodling around. On some level all our favorite bands are that, even The Beatles and Radiohead. This album feels like they didn’t mind sharing that secret and it wasn’t even that big a deal to them, the same way Tom Bombadil isn’t all that impressed by the ring. I’ll definitely listen again and seek out their other stuff.