On 20 Rock & Roll Hits of the 50s & 60s, Thee Milkshakes attempt to inject new life into some old chestnuts and succeed, to a point. Billy Childish and Mickey Hampshire both shred things up vocally and their guitars growl and sting in all the right places, while the lo-fi recording gives the set an authentic feel full of vim and vigor. Their choice of songs to cover is both happily inspired (the Shirelles' "Boys," Link Wray's "Comanche," Eddie Cochran's "Something Else," Chan Romero's "Hippy Hippy Shake") and sadly pedestrian (Chuck Berry's "Carol," and "Sweet Little Sixteen," Barrett Strong's "Money," Little Richard's "Rip It Up"). One can't help thinking that they could have dug a little deeper to find some songs that aren't burned into the memory of everyone who has heard them more than once. Perhaps their intention was to hip the kids of the day (late '80s) to some classic rock & roll tunes. If that is the case, it is an admirable goal, and maybe this record did turn some kids on to the original hitmakers. To anyone else, this record is a bit of a waste of time. Better to latch on to a Milkshakes' record made up of Childish and Hampshire original compositions.
© Tim Sendra /TiVo