At Full Speed - The Complete Sire Recordings

Flamin' Groovies fans can be forgiven if they greeted At Full Speed: Complete Sire Recordings with slightly less than the whole-heartedly enthusiastic reception it deserved when this double-disc set from Rhino UK appeared late in the summer of 2006. Just a few months prior, DBK Works boxed up the three expanded reissues of the Groovies' Sire records that they had released over the course of 2005, covering the same territory in nearly the same degree of completion as this set — and since only 1976's Shake Some Action had been out on disc before, with 1978's Flamin' Groovies Now and 1979's Jumpin' in the Night making their CD debut from DBK, it's easy to assume that those hardcore fans already picked up the discs not just before the Rhino UK set, but before DBK's similarly titled Bust Out at Full Speed: The Sire Years hit the shelves, either. But for those faithful few who somehow held out in picking up the DBK issues — or for those faithful few who just had to have everything the Groovies did (and everybody knows that accounts for a good chunk of their fan base) — At Full Speed: Complete Sire Recordings is the set to get. Not only is it sleeker at two discs compared to the DBK three, it also contains more recordings: a handful of unreleased cuts that did not make it to the previous set. And for those who have yet to be introduced to the wonder of the Groovies at Sire, this is surely essential: the perfect cross between British Invasion pop, old-time rock & roll, nervy new wave style and garage rock spirit.