David + David - Boomtown

David Baerwald and David Ricketts released Boomtown back in 1986. I remember when I first heard this on the radio. I was enthralled, who were these guys. I've only experienced this feeling a few times, one memorable time when when I was driving my little sister home after a new year's eve party when I heard for the first and only time "Last Plane Out" by Toy Matinee - thankfully the DJ mentioned the band as I committed that to memory.

Hearing "Boomtown" was like that. Who were these guys? They would show up on MuchMusic and they'd talk about their tour, and how much they liked their opening act Robert Cray, who was riding a wave with the success of his Strong Persuader album. I don't know what that stuck with me - trivia is a wonderful thing and my accumulation of useless knowledge will certainly come in handy when the zombie apocalypse hits.

Of course I bought the album right away - and the lead off track was the money shot, but then it was followed up by "Swallowed by the Cracks" another really strong song. This in turned was followed by "Ain't so Easy" another incredible pop song wrapped around vivid imagery. All three were singles but here at home I don't remember hearing them - but it didn't matter, they were on most of the mix tapes that year.

I'll be honest and admit that it was those first three that captured my imagination, and when I think of the album it's these three songs that come to mind. There are a half dozen more songs, but for what ever reason I never really got past the first side very often.

It's been a long time since I say and listened to this one start to finish. The closing track on the first side "Being Alone Together" seemed like a tonal shift, the song is still great and filled with vitriol but it didn't have that buzz the first three had. This isn't a shot, listening now I appreciate this far more now than I back then.

The second side is the one I decided to spend more time with. Sort of a belated apology for ignoring it for all these years. If anything the songs are more complex and challenging. David Baerwald's voice that was equal parts growl and storyteller and the music was there to convey and support the emotional gut punch. It's weird hearing this now, and really listening. There is a vague sense of familiarity, as it isn't like I never played this side, but it still feels very much like a new discovery. When "Swimming in the Ocean" started I perked up, the interplay between the guitars, with the staccato bass between the notes and the driving beat combined with the moody vocals this was a killer song. It was very '80's without the weird synth cheese. My goodness what a groove. The album closes out with "Heroes" a song that would hint at the direction his solo work would take with more of an organic Americana bent.

It's a quite a journey over nine songs and don't make the same mistake I made in focusing on the "hits" take the time to soak it all in. I'd always thought of this as an excellent record - it really is.

This would be there one and only release, and of course I'd have loved to have more - but I suspect they said what they had to say and that was enough. Welcome to the boomtown.

Garfield - Strange Streets

I'd seen this before in the bin, but kept flipping through the stacks. I'd see it a few more times, each time stopping to look at it a little more. There was something kind of cool about the cover where the stylized Celtic knot had the dotted yellow line - it was a strange street for sure. I pulled the record out of the jacket and I was struck by the centre image. There was the familiar Mercury label, the same one I'd seen a thousand times on BTOs Head On album. Well, I'd bought things based on odd associations before - like when I had to buy anything that Solid Rock Records released (this was generally a good thing) who knows maybe this was a hidden gem. There weren't any real scratches or rash, just a lot of dirt and dust - it seemed to clean up okay, but we'll see how it goes. The album opens with the title track, and this wasn't straight ahead pop, or rock. It was leaning to the progressive, but with a pop bent. Oddly enough the vocals reminded me of Mi

Hoodoo Gurus - Mars Needs Guitars!

The first time I got this album it was a gift from my old roommate Otto. For a goofy little nebbish he would occasionally surprise me with some left of field musical treasures. Although, I still think he was reaching a little when he brought home the new "Led Zeppelin" album by Kingdom Come and forced me to listen to "Get it On" over and over again. I'd not listened to Mars Needs Guitars in a long, long, long time. The first thing that I jumped out at me was how David Faulkner's vocals reminded me of his fellow countryman Peter Garrett from Midnight Oil. I think the reason this never occurred to me was at the time I didn't have any Midnight Oil until Diesel and Dust in 1987. I'm not saying it was all the time, but there were a couple of songs where it stood out. Not a bad thing, just a thing. Even at the time this felt slightly out of step with what was going on in 1985. It seemed like everyone was using drum machines and synthesizers and having t

Saturday Night Fever - The Original Movie Soundtrack

It was going to happen sooner or later. Nostalgia is a cruel Mistress...she can dull the sharpest edges and over time can even soften the hardest of opinions. I found this in the dollar bin, and frankly at a dollar I was worried about what this would cost me. Not only from a monetary perspective, but my time, and more important my credibility. Fourteen year old me was screaming "Don't you dare. DON'T DO IT! Put it down. Walk away!" Then there was grey bearded me holding it and looking at it, thinking, "How bad could it be? I actually kind of like "Staying Alive" and me buying this record won't bring disco back, and no one will have to know I bought this." I pulled the album out of the bin, and carefully took out the records. They'd seen better days, and there were a couple of decent scratches that would no doubt make their presence known later. The jacket was in decent condition, and both of the albums had the original sleeves. I dusted the

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