Punk rock didn't mean the same thing in the 1960s that it did in the 1980s, but the Original Sins were determined to find a middle ground between the two variations on the theme, and they did it as well as anyone ever has on their debut album, Big Soul. The melodies have a decidedly garage-y cast, and Dan McKinney's organ sounds straight out of 1965, but no guitarist of the "Louie Louie" era was willing to punish his axe the way J.T. (aka John Terlesky) does here, and his manic vocals and psychodramatic lyrics exist in a time all their own. Side one is a wild, noisy rave-up, while side two is quieter and more moody but no less emotionally intense -- "I Want to Live" is a passionate affirmation that's positive without sounding sappy or insincere. If you want to say that the great link between the Sonics and Black Flag is that they both played hard, fast, and like they truly meant every word they sang, then Big Soul proves the Original Sins belong in the same class. Great stuff.
© Mark Deming /TiVo