Melody Shmelody: The Monks Reissued

Spawned in Germany during 1964 , The Monks were actually 5 American Soldiers who were station in Germany. As they began testing the waters of garage rock, they found not only did they love a wide array of instrumental sounds (standard rock line up add organ and banjo) and most of all rhythm. Anchored by Roger Johnston's primal hitting with the wall of noise by Gary burger's guitar. Larry Clark's Organ hits and Dave Day's banjo strums simply fell on top, creating a layered beat. Bassist Eddie Shaw rounded out the rhythm section and Black Monk time became their first album the following year.

The album, which has no been reissued for the 5th time, flew in the face of melodic 60s rock, what was driving the market and the entire music community at the time. Elements of what would become punk, such as fast 1-2-1-2 style drumming attacks, and Krautrock, electronics and redefining just what could be considered "music, can be heard on the album. Modern day eccentricity hearkens to their live performances, as they usually had Monk tonsures and could wear cloaks, sometimes even dawning noose neckties.
Tracks like Lyrically the band truly shines. As they are all vocalists, each one takes part in the chanting frustration, love sickness, or eccentricity of the lyrics. Casting baroque ideas aside, The Monks use force, not beauty to convey the messages. Some mask the rhythmic nature they employ like in the song Cuckoo:

Cuckoo, cuckoo,
Who's got the cuckoo?
Now someone stole my cuckoo,
And I wanna know who who

Even reading it, one stresses and unstressed in a 4/4 pattern. But its not only in this they can excel, check out the invocation on opener Monk Time, quickly followed by an up-front barrelling into a message:

Alright, my name's Gary.
Let's go, it's beat time, it's hop time, it's monk time now!
You know we don't like the army.
What army?
Who cares what army?
Why do you kill all those kids over there in Vietnam?
Mad Viet Cong.
My brother died in Vietnam!

The love-sour call and response of I Hate You combines their staunch, harmonizing shouts with their blatant messages.

Hey, well, I hate you with a passion baby, yeah I do!
(But call me!)
Well you know my hate's everlasting baby, yeah, yeah!
(But call me!)
Do you, do you, do you know why I hate you baby, do you now?
(But call me!)
Well, it's because you make me hate you baby, yeah you do now.
(But call me!)

Despite their out-their sound, these 12 tracks, and even the bonus ones, are very accessible. Its a pop album. It sounds close enough to the vein of 60s British invasion while being original. In a sense they were as important as the Velvet Underground, having influenced a number of musicians such as The Dead Kennedys, Beastie Boys, and Henry Rollins. Although short lived, they continue to be felt throughout the music world.