10 Classic Rock Albums That Were AHEAD OF THEIR TIME
7. Black Monk Time - The Monks
If you're talking about the first waves of punk rock, you have a few options of where to place ground zero. Most people like to think that it truly started around the time of The Ramones and The Sex Pistols releasing their debut record in the mid '70s. Others may point to the garage rock sounds of people like the Stooges and the MC5 for getting the ball rolling. And yet...here we have the Monks doing that same sound a full decade before any of them.
Having just been serving as American GIs in Germany, these are garage rockers in every sense of word, putting together songs that sound like they're on the verge of chaos. Though some of it might seem a little bit quaint when you put it next to the hardcore stuff of today, this entire album feels like it could fall apart at any minute, whether it be because of the amps getting blown out or the guitars snapping in half.
Compared to the more accepted garage rock acts that came after like the Strokes, this is the kind of ramshackle production that only comes from guys who are putting their heart and soul into creating something a bit chaotic. They're not going to give the Stones a run for their money or everything, but it's not about how much chops that you have. It's what you're able to do with what you got.