Girls! Girls! Girls! We've got a threefer today, but not quite all of them are from the ladies. Let's start with something from 2009. 'Album' from Girls came in as my No. 2 long player on this blog's first year-end list. Sometimes these countdowns can come back to embarrass us all these years later. Not in this case. I still listen to this one and the follow-up EP "Broken Dreams Club" with regularity. The next album, 'Father, Son, Holy Ghost', had a few bright spots but felt like a letdown overall, and I haven't taken to Christopher Owens' solo material either. Even if there isn't another "Lust for Life" or "Laura" on the horizon, I thank Owens for getting me back in the indie scene during this blog's infancy... and for making me think of Wreckless Eric again.
Lust for Life
I thought I could settle with having Cherry Red's 2009 CD reissue of this classic from 1981, but then I saw a pristine vinyl copy earlier this year on that
jaunt to Portland. Ooh, so tempting. Did it come with the limited edition "pleasure bag" of two postcards, a sticker and a pleasure symbol stencil? It sure did, and that clinched it. I paid the big bucks and never looked back. Still love that delivery, Jo! Here's the band's final single as well as a little trivia: That's Thomas Dolby on synthesizer.
Fast Boyfriends
I don't keep a various artists section in my vinyl collection. So you'll find the 1984 Rhino compilation 'The Girls Can't Help It' in the Gs. When I picked this one up, I only knew a couple of the bands that were featured, but there turned out to be a number of gems. My favorite is "Even Try" by L.A.-based band On the Air. Think Bangles on their first E.P. Bliss. I knew the Pandoras from Kim Shattuck's time with the band, but this song is from just before she joined. It will take you back to the garage in 1966. Sophisticated Boom Boom was an all-girl group from Glasgow that reminds me just a bit of early Altered Images when Clare and the clan were still being influenced by Siouxsie and the Banshees. The girls of Sophisticated Boom Boom would go back to the drawing board, get serious and call themselves His Latest Flame. I took quite a liking to them. Kudos to Rhino for finding them early.
Sophisticated Boom Boom - The Only One
On the Air - Even Try
The Pandoras - You Lie
5 comments:
There you go again Brian, reminding me of my supreme foolhardiness at flogging my original 'Pleasure' LP (with pleasure bag) when times were tough. What was I thinking? I've stupidly let many things go over the years, some decisions I can live with more than others, but that one really hurts.
A fine little set of tunes here.
Great stuff Brian.
I didn't know that Sophisticated Boom Boom turned into His Latest Flame who I really quite liked.
I never heard the original version of 'You Lie'. The Muffs' version is a family favorite played on every road trip we ever took.
JTFL, I have every studio album from the Muffs, but I didn't know until you mentioned it that they had covered this song. I see that it's on the Hamburger comp, and there are several songs on there I don't have... several B-sides and covers. I'll be picking that up, pronto. Have been a fan from the first album. It came out when I was working at a record store briefly in the summer of '93, and we played it incessantly. Glad you like them too.
Drew, I don't believe the ladies ever officially released anything as Sophisticated Boom Boom, but there was an all-girl trio from Switzerland that had the same band name at about the same time. Wanted to warn you in case you decided to buy anything by them. I bet that mistake has been made a time or two.
Swede, We have all made similar errors in judgement, but they are always mistakes in hindsight. I know you had your reasons for unloading Pleasure, and it was probably the correct decision at the time. I sold all of my Smiths singles in 1987 before they were even worth anything because I felt like I needed the cash. Big, big regrets.
Yaaaaaayyyy!!
Sophisticated Boom Boom did a few live gigs on the student circuit and I got to see them a few times. I knew they hadn't got round to ever releasing anything other than on this compilation so to find it is a real treat.
Not sure if you've ever come across this:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfZAOV3TKJE
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