The Original Sins "Big Soul" 1987

It's a crying shame that the Original Sins didn't ever get a bigger following. Main reason is probably the "grunge scene" (whatever that means) hit just as the Sins were hitting their stride. Like one of the other reviewers said, there are no bad Original Sins records. The lyrics are real, heartfelt, a little twisted and often funny, the music is sometimes a raging blast of searing garage-pop heaviness, sometimes it's straight pop-rock and sometimes it's melancholic beauty. Leader/singer/guitarist is a genuinely brilliant songwriter and even though their music is heavily inspired by 60's garage / 60's punk, the songs are so consistently special that they rise above the level of your average 60's-inspired fuzz merchants. Farfisa organ throughout their records add extra melodic color to the beautiful rock'n'roll powerhouse created by JT and the Sins' rhythm section.
"Big Soul" is their first and although it doesn't sew together the best elements of the band on every track, it does have it's fair share of essential Sins tunes. - By C. Sephtin "Rockface" (Ohio)The rocking Bethlehem, Pennsylvania garage that incubated the Original Sins hasn't had a new coat of paint or even a serious spring cleaning in ages. Led by diminutive howler/guitarist J.T. (John Terlesky), the quartet — which didn't change, lineup-wise, save for one drummer change, between its 1987 debut and 1996's Bethlehem — has stayed true to its chosen era, re-creating the down and dirty organ-fueled excitement and atmosphere of '60s punk bands like the Standells and Seeds. Synthesizing convincing originals from standard ingredients, the Sins have been remarkably consistent in their quality control, trying new vintages now and then but keeping stylistic ambition from overtaking them (like the Chesterfield Kings) while steering clear of the sense that they've done it all before (like the Lyres).
Big Soul is an instant classic, slyly simple contemporary grunge stripped of nostalgia and ready to pop. The Sins avoid the easy cover route to create its own vintage memories on "Not Gonna Be All Right" and "Can't Feel a Thing," with Dan McKinney's cheesy organ adding the appropriate icing. Less aggressive tunes — like "Why Don't You Smile, Joan?" — maintain the no-nonsense spirit, peeling away tough posturing to get at searing emotions that are never far from the surface. (The 1994 CD reissue adds a half-dozen tracks — including covers of "Sugar Sugar" and a brief bit of "Route 66" — not on the original vinyl.) - trouserpress [Jon Young/Terry Rompers]trax:
01 Just 14 02 Not Gonna Be All Right 03 Can't Feel A Thing 04 Possession 05 All In My Head 06 Your Way 07 My Mother's Mirror 08 Road to Emmaus 09 The Party's Over Now 10 Help Yourself 11 Read Your Mind 12 Why Don't You Smile, Joan? 13 Inside_Out 14 Big Soul 15 I Want to Live 16 Sugar Sugar 17 Route 66 18 The Timekeeper