The Sunrays: Our Leader (Sundazed Music/2014)

The Sunrays were a mid 60's Sunshine Pop/Surf Pop band from southern California. They were managed by Murray Wilson, father of Brian, Dennis & Carl Wilson of The Beach Boys. Murray took up the role of as band manager after being fired by The Beach Boys for being deemed intolerable to work with. Murray also served as The Sunrays producer and got them signed to Capitol Records subsidiary, Tower Records in 1964. The band had hit singles with “I Live For The Sun”, “Andrea” and “Still” before disbanding 1967.

This single, which was released on Record Store Day of 2014, is comprised of “Our Leader”, which was a recording dedicated to Murray Wilson by the band and given to him on Christmas of 1965. It's a heart-felt token of appreciation to an individual whose reputation has been tarnished over the years.

“Won't You Tell Me” is a song that was composed by Murray Wilson and band leader Rick Henn to record, four years after the band's break-up. Recorded by the Wrecking Crew and some creative input and backing vocals from Dennis Wilson, it's something of a mini Sunshine/Baroque Pop classic.

The song was overdubbed with vocals from both Brian and Carl Wilson also in 1971. This version appears on the Beach Boys bootlegs Get The Boot and All This Is That.

Sundazed works its' usual magic and the vinyl is of the usual high-standards. It's nice yellow vinyl pressing and comes with four-pages of insightful and historical annotation from Rick Henn.

Very Highly Recommended for fans of The Beach Boys, Baroque Pop and Sunshine Pop of the 1960's.

Here's the video review:

I.R.S. Mini-Albums (IR7700 Series): The Humans: Play / Payola$: Introducing (IRS Records/1980)

I.R.S. Records (International Record Syndicate) was formed by Miles Copeland in 1979. With distribution from A&M records, it was the most successful independent label (although its ties with A&M conflicts the notion that it's an "indie") of the 1980's. Nonetheless, it brought The Go-Go's, R.E.M., The Cramps and The Fleshtones to the general public at large (and responsible for distributing albums by The Buzzcocks, The English Beat and The Stranglers to a U.S. audience).

I.R.S. could sometimes be a little gimmicky to offset their impressive innovations. One such little gimmick, for want of a better word, was their 33 & 1/3 7" Mini-Album series (the 7700 Series). That's an EP to the rest of us. It lasted for all of two records: Play by The Humans and Introducing by Payola$ both released in 1980.

 The Humans were a Surf-y New Wave band from Santa Cruz, California. They'd played together previously in the surf band Eddie & The Showman, who had released singles in the 1960's. Play (7700) is a fine little four-song album (an EP in all but name). "I Live In The City" is a fantastic New Wave relic that vocally recalls Wall Of Voodoo and even The Dead Milkmen (or vice versa). The title track and the cover of "Pipeline" are well-worth hearing as well.

Payola$ were a Vancouver, BC band that featured producer Bob Rock (Areosmith, Motley Crue. Metallica) and had the hit "Eyes Of A Stranger", that was in the Valley Girl movie & soundtrack.
Introducing Payola$ (7701) is a pretty fine release. The lone stand-out track is "Jukebox", which is better than it has any business being. It's excellent. It was also re-recorded for their debut album In A Place Like This.

Very nice little collectables and true anomalies from I.R.S. Records. If you love New Wave (as I do), fetch these up.

Here's the video review:

Goo Goo Dolls: Hold Me Up (Metal Blade/Fun After All/1990)

Goo Goo Dolls are most famous for their hits "Name", "Iris" and "Slide". However, several years before all of these name-making hits, the band were a ratty, bratty, thrashy punk band. They'd first released Goo Goo Dolls (Mercenary/1987) and Jed (Metal Blade/1989), but really hit their stride on their third album, the first to be distributed by Warner Brothers, Hold Me Up. It was on this album that guitarist Johnny Rzeznik (aka Johnny Goo), sings lead on four (and co-lead on "Hey") of the songs on the album. Bassist Robby Takac (aka Robby Goo) was the lead lead singer on the band's first two albums (okay, Johnny sang two of the songs on Jed), however, Johnny undeniably assumed the role of front man/lead singer by the time of the band's fifth album (and multiple-platinum release) A Boy Named Goo. 

I first discovered this band in late 1990 with the video/single for "There You Are" on MTV's 120 Minutes. I saw the band live before I'd heard the album, and was completely blown-away. The album did not disappoint when I did in fact hear it. The influence of The Replacements, Cheap Trick, Hüsker Dü and The Ramones are evident throughout the album. The singles, "There You Are" and "Just The Way You Are" are highlights. The two covers (Prince's "I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man" and The Plimsouls' "A Million Miles Away") are exceptionally rocking. Takac is responsible for a few of the albums' exceptional tracks; the intense Ramonesesque opener "Laughing", the amphetamine-rockabilly of "Out Of The Red" and minor-key-yet-optimistic "So Outta Line". The stalker song "Hey" could be a contender for best song on the album. The instrumental "Kevin's Song" is oddly the album's centerpiece and is kind of wonderful. The mid-tempo "You Know What I Mean" and the acoustic (the bands first acoustic song, a taste of the future) "Two Days In February" both appeared on the Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare soundtrack- as did the non-album single "I'm Awake Now".


If you think you know the Goo Goo Dolls and haven't heard this (or their early work), I highly suggest giving it a serious listen. It still holds up (no pun intended) as a great pop/punk album.
Great, tight playing and very fine material. Also Superstar Car Wash (the album that followed Hold Me Up) is definitely work a listen.

Here's the video review:

Special thanks to: Stephen Gersztoff.

Fear: The Record (Kicked In The Throat/2004)

Fear were part of the original Los Angeles, California's punk scene in the late 1970's. Part sincerity and part tongue-in-cheek, Fear were what you'd call “humorously offensive”. With cartoonishly homophobic, misogynistic and misanthropic lyrics, they were what one might describe as being an acquired taste. I remember Trouser Press Record Guide liking singer Lee Ving's vocals to a drunken baseball fan bellowing from the bleachers. Fear had their most widespread exposure in 1981. First in the Penelope Spheeris' classic The Decline Of Western Civilization motion picture and on the Halloween episode of Saturday Night Live in which, as per mega-fan John Belushi, the band played a mini-set (which is worthy of an episode itself).

Nonetheless Fear's debut album The Record is easily something of a classic and one of the best-recorded debut albums from the entire LA late '70's punk scene. The playing is technically very skillful and well-above average in terms of your standard up-start punk band. “Camarillo” has a difficult time signature, “Getting The Brush” is darkly imaginative and “New York's Alright If You Like Saxophones” is kind of hilarious. “I Don't Care About You”, “Let's Have A War” and a re-recording of the 1978 single “I Love Livin' In The City” are bonafide punk anthems in the classic-sense.

Initially released in 1982 on Slash records, this issue is the 2004 Kicked In The Throat release and features their 1982 Holiday single “Fuck Christmas” as a bonus track.

Highly recommended for any and all fans of punk rock. 

Here's the video review:

Tom Tom Club: Close To The Bone (Sire Records/1983)

The rhythm section of Talking Heads, the husband and wife duo of drummer Chris Frantz & bassist Tina Weymouth, formed Tom Tom Club in 1980 while Talking Heads were on hiatus after the tour for Remain In Light. They had remarkable success with their single “Genius Of Love”, from their self-titled debut album. The 1981 single has been on of the most sampled records of the 1980's with artists from Mariah Carey to Public Enemy to 2Pac. It was an overall bigger success than any Talking Heads chart single had been (“Take Me To The River” peaked at #26 on Billboard's Hot 100 while “Genius Of Love” charted at #31, however it reached #1 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Charts and #24 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart). Also reaching #1 on Billboard's Hot Dance Charts was “Wordy Rappinghood” which was a top 10 hit in the UK.

Their 1983 follow-up album Close To The Bone was less successful commercially. It charted at #73 as opposed to their debut's #23 chart placing. The two singles from the album (“Pleasure Of Love” & “The Man With The 4-Way Hips”) charted briefly on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Charts at #23 &#4, respectively. The album is a bit more organically cohesive than the debut and bears repeated listens simply for the fact that its' two singles haven’t been played to death on alternative radio for the last thirty-years. It still has the breathy, ethereal vocals from Lani, Laura & Tina Weymouth, but it has more synthesized drums in addition to Chris Frantz's standard kit and more twee synth sounds (which still retains the Caribbean-feel of the overall aesthetic). As for samples taken for Close To The Bone, The Treacherous Three sampled “Pleasure Of Love” on their “Turning You On” single by recording the sample as opposed to taking it from the Tom Tom Club recording.

It was initially released on both vinyl and cassette and wasn't released in a digital format until the Deluxe Edition release of the debut and Close To The Bone in 2009.

I personally think it's a fine release, ripe for rediscovery.  

Here's The Video Review: