Question Mark & The Mysterians: More Action

With an unmistakably organ-driven sound and an irresistible melody, Question Mark and his backing band The Mysterians catapulted themselves from Michigan-based obscurity to rock 'n' roll immortality in 1966 thanks to "96 Tears." Faster than you can say "influential, underrated, Latin-derived, proto-punk garage-rock," however, the hits stopped coming. But Question Mark never really disappeared, resurfacing to tour or record every once in a while and persevering as one of rock's most unrepentant eccentrics. Whatever the songwriting credits may read, he's still Question Mark, and now the enigma has returned with most of the original Mysterians and a double album that sounds like the last 30 years never happened. And it's great. "96 Tears" pops up in three different versions (one in Spanish) alongside other Question Mark-penned tracks and covers, including a version of "Satisfaction" that makes the song sound fresh for the first time in ages. It would almost be enough to know that Question Mark is still out there living an uncorrupted life of rock 'n' roll authenticity (and weirdness). That he and the Mysterians can still move the floor is almost too good to be true. (Cavestomp!, P.O. Box 214, Poultney, VT 05764)