or better or worse, we here at Stylus, in all of our autocratic consumer-crit greed, are slaves to timeliness. A record over six months old is often discarded, deemed too old for publication, a relic in the internet age. That's why each week at Stylus, one writer takes a look at an album with the benefit of time. Whether it has been unjustly ignored, unfairly lauded, or misunderstood in some fundamental way, we aim with On Second Thought to provide a fresh look at albums that need it.

"Alright, my name’s Gary. Let’s go, it’s beat time, it’s hop time, it’s monk time. We don’t like the army. What army? Who cares what army? Why do you kill all of those kids in Vietnam? Mad Vietcong. My brother died in Vietnam. James Bond, who is he? Stop it ! Stop it! I don’t like it! It’s too loud for my ears...Pussy Galore’s comin’ down and we like it. We don’t like the atomic bomb. Stop it! Stop it! I don’t like it! What’s your meaning, Larry? Ah... you think like I think. You’re a monk, I’m a monk, we’re all monks. Dave, Larry, Eddie, Roger, everybody... Let’s go, it’s beat time, it’s hop time, it’s monk time!" -- The Monks, "Monk Time"

And with those words the world was introduced to the Monks. Five expatriate former US servicemen (based in Frankfurt, Germany) who sounded like the bastard children of Paul Revere and the Raiders and an oom-pa band. This is probably the best way to describe their sound, though I do like this description from the English translation of Black Monk Time’s German liner notes : "Roger beats, Gary plucks, Dave pummels, Eddie dreams hell’s bass part, and Larry fingers the keys of the day after tomorrow". Oh, and, of course, they dressed up like medieval monks.

The album opens with "Monk Time", possibly the catchiest anti-Vietnam / anti-army/ pro-James Bond anthem ever written (also probably the only one ever written). A manic stomp highlighted by Larry Clarke’s out of control organ blasts, Eddie Shaw’s booming bass (not quite "hell’s bass part", but close enough) and Dave Day’s unrelenting electric banjo...a sign of things to come. The equally catchy/manic "Complication" continues the anti-army theme with the "people die, people die for you, people kill, people will for you, people go to their deaths for you" chant. The rest of the album follows the same manic pattern, one chanted line over a two and a half minute stomp. Almost as beautiful as it is simple.

It would be easy for anyone to dismiss The Monks as a novelty act, but if you look a little closer you’ll find angst-filled lyrics; short, repetitive songs; and little or no emphasis on musicianship. Could it be the start of punk? If you believe the majority of the hype surrounding this album since its re-release on Big Neck Hank Rollins’ Infinite Zero label (which has since gone belly up) in 1997, the answer is yes. On the other hand, "angst-filled lyrics; short, repetitive songs; and little or no emphasis on musicianship"? That could be used to describe 80 to 90 percent of all garage bands. Just because the Monks were the first garage band to name a song "Shut Up" or "I Hate You" doesn’t make them the first punk band. But, really, does any of this matter anyway? No, not really. If you forget all about the novelty band or punk accusations what really matters is that Black Monk Time is an enjoyable collection of sixties garage rock. Nothing more, nothing less.