Showing posts with label 80's. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 80's. Show all posts

Monday, January 6, 2014

Robin Lane & the Chartbusters (1980)

Side A:
1. When Things Go Wrong
2. It'll Only Hurt a Little While
3. Don't Cry
4. Without You
5. Why Do You Tell Lies
6. I Don't Want to Know
Side B:
1. Many Years Ago
2. Waitin' in Line
3. Be Mine Tonite
4. Kathy Lee
5. Don't Wait Till Tomorrow


Review by Richie Unterberger (All Music):
Even if Robin Lane & the Chartbusters' self-titled 1980 debut album didn't quite meet the expectations of the band and their rabid Boston following, it did capture their blend of new wave pop with dynamic folk-rockish guitar lines for the first time on a widely distributed national release. At the fore were singer-songwriter Lane's own husky vocals, delivering songs that for all their melodic hooks were tinged with far greater darkness and ambivalence than most pop-rock of the time, new wave or otherwise.

Although Robin Lane & the Chartbusters was Lane's first album, she had actually been active as a singer-songwriter for about a decade. Back in 1969 she had sung backup vocals on "Round and Round" on Neil Young's classic Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. In the 1970s she left California to move East, and only a little prior to hooking up with the Chartbusters, she'd been playing far mellower, folk-rock-aligned singer-songwriter material. Those were the kinds of songs she was doing when she got a deal with Private Stock, Blondie's first label.

Soon afterward, a newfound love for acts like Patti Smith, Television, the Clash, the Sex Pistols, Talking Heads, Tom Petty, Cheap Trick, and Dwight Twilley sent her own music into a much different path. Hanging out with Boston bands like the Real Kids and at the legendary local venue the Rat got her in touch with most of the musicians who would become the Chartbusters: guitarist-vocalists (and ex-Modern Lovers) Asa Brebner and Leroy Radcliffe, bassist-vocalist Scott Baerenwald, and drummer Tim Jackson. "I put this other band together and actually enticed them to be my bandmates, because I had this deal with Private Stock," remembers Lane. "And then about a month or two later, Private Stock folded. So I had my new band and new direction."

The new direction would come as a shock to many of her old fans. "Our first gig, we were opening for another of our manager's bands, NRBQ. I pretty much just didn't sing, I screamed!" she laughs. "NRBQ just hated us. A lot of people who had liked me before went, 'What have you done?' It really wasn't an about-face, because I always felt social issues and identified with the underdog. I just thought that this music was a better way to say it [and] put it in. The people that came to listen to me, [when I was] the mellow Robin, would just kind of sit there, and it would be all nice and peachy-keen. But it wasn't affecting them in the gut. It wasn't passionate. I suddenly realized, 'Here's some fertile soil I can plant some seeds in, and it'll be more meaningful to me.'"

She dropped her old repertoire and penned a new one virtually from scratch, though one of her old numbers would be reworked into her most famous song, "When Things Go Wrong" (the song from which it evolved, "Never Enough," was covered on the 1979 album of the same name by the Pousette-Dart Band). Although several record labels expressed interest, the band signed with Warner Brothers after Jerry Wexler saw a show and offered them a deal. A three-song EP (with an early version of "When Things Go Wrong") had already come out on the Deli Platters label and gotten some airplay in Boston before the Chartbusters went to Los Angeles to record their Warners debut.

In hindsight, Lane feels that the album didn't capture the band as well it could have: "Though some people really liked that album, it lost the guitar sound that we had. They had a really wonderful kind of mesh that was lost. I think I wasn't singing as well as I could have; I was trying to retain the force of the songs that we had live, and pushing too hard. After we came back to Boston, people couldn't believe it when they heard the album; they said, 'This is not you.'"

But the songs were definitely Lane's, though "Don't Wait Till Tomorrow" was written with Jackson and Radcliffe, and "Kathy Lee" and "When Things Go Wrong" had assistance from Joanne Cipolla (from the band Planet Street), who at one time lived upstairs from Robin. "When Things Go Wrong" was the single that made the charts, though just as impressive were cuts like the sullen and jaggedly rhythmic "It'll Only Hurt a Little While," and the Sid Vicious-inspired "I Don't Want to Know." Lane also likes "Many Years Ago" and "Don't Cry" ("a kind of staple for us: a cute little ditty, and it's pop").

"I gravitate towards minor keys," reflects Lane when asked what set her most apart from other acts bridging the new wave-pop gap at the time. "Actually with the Chartbusters I started writing in major keys more. But still, that minor key always calls me. And that, right away, kind of sets up the more brooding kind of feel." Some of her lyrics were not out of the radio airplay textbook either: "I remember I was playing 'you digest me with facts like a piece of cheese' [from 'Waitin' in Line']. My publisher goes, 'You can't say that!'"

"I think her history gave her a distinct advantage over a lot of what were considered 'new wave' acts of the time," adds Asa Brebner. "The whole 'new wave' thing was kind of stuck on us because of Leroy Radcliffe['s] and my background with Jonathan Richman and so forth, and that colored how they proceeded to produce and market us. I think we were naive and happy to be signed to a major label, and although we liked [producer] Joe Wissert very much, we just went along with whatever they had planned for us. I think now we could have done a much better job producing ourselves. I still cringe at that album cover, which I think largely sunk us as a candy-ass major label contrivance to those uninitiated to our music. The music itself was watered down enough so it could not overcome that basically cosmetic impression that the casual record store [browser] would garner on seeing it in the bins. It didn't represent us, and I felt cheated."

The album did not widely break the Chartbusters beyond their regional base, and after another live EP and a second album (1981's Imitation Life), they were dropped from Warner Brothers. Although Lane's only sporadically released music since then (most recently on 1995's Catbird Seat), she and the Chartbusters have recently reunited, with all of the original members save Radcliffe. A new album is in the works that will mix newly written songs with others that the group performed live in their original incarnation, but never recorded. Lane is also working on a book about her "kooky crazy peripatetic life in the music world and other planets" that, given a career that has spanned many styles and intersected with many musicians of both star and cult renown, should prove to be quite a ride.

Special thanks to my friend "walknthabass" for this needle drop!

Encoded at 320K from original vinyl promo album. Includes artwork, reviews and tracklisting

Download: Robin Lane & the Chartbusters

Saturday, January 4, 2014

The Brotherhood of Lizards - Lizardland (1989)

1. It Could Have Been Cheryl
2. The World Strikes One
3. The Dandelion Marine
4. Rusty Iron Sun
5. The Happening Guy
6. Clockwork Train
7. The Day After Yesterday
8. Market Day
9. Dear Anya
10. Love The Anglian Way
11. Sand Dragon
12. She Dreamed She Could Fly
13. Carmosine

If you enjoy "jangly" pop songs, you'll love this rare and hard to find album.

Artist Biography by Richie Unterberger (All Music):
When "Cleaners from Venus" were winding down toward the end of the 1980s, chief Cleaner Martin Newell started a similar project, the Brotherhood of Lizards, with bassist Nelson (no last name). The personnel may have been different, but the music was essentially the same: ringing guitars, droll English lyrics, inventive production quirks. There were only a couple of releases before Nelson left to join "New Model Army"; Newell began a solo career that was also essentially similar to his Cleaners from Venus output.

Bio from Newell's official site:
At the age of 19, Martin Newell joined an Essex glam-rock band The Mighty Plod as a singer and gigged in rough clubs, pubs and colleges for the next two years. In his early twenties he joined a hard rock /.prog band from Ispwich called Gypp and gigged in the UK as well as touring northern Germany several times. In 1979, he won his first record contract and shortly afterwards his first single Young Jobless / Sylvie In Toytown was released, first on an indie label and then with Liberty Records. Much Radio 1 airplay and the record briefly charted but then sank after trouble of various sorts.

In the 1980s he formed the anarchic and wacky Cleaners from Venus, who after much defiance of music biz convention, signed to a London record company and began making proper records which were well reviewed and well-received. He began co-writing songs with Captain Sensible in 1986, a relationship which endures to some extent to this day. In 1989 he and his friend Nelson, now of New Model Army formed The Brotherhood of Lizards, were signed to make an album and proceeded to promote it, touring the record by bicycle. This led to many TV appearances and some notoriety and amusement in the media. In 1993, with XTC's Andy Partridge in the producer's chair Martin made what was to become his most successful album The Greatest Living Englishman. This has been followed over the years by several other solo albums. Now in middle years, still held in some regard as a great English songwriter and sometimes compared to Syd Barrett and Ray Davies, it is said that he never got the commercial success he deserved. While this may or may not be true he continues to make and sell good pop records with a degree of international acclaim.

Links:
Martin Newell Official Site
Martin Newall Wikipedia
Rocker Music - has several videos of Martin performing live
Mutant sounds Blog

Encoded at 320K from CD. Includes CD artwork including booklet and tray liner. In Zip format.

Download: Lizardland

Friday, January 3, 2014

The Judybats- Native Son (1991)

01 - Native Son
02 - Daylight
03 - Convalescing In Spain
04 - Don't Drop The Baby
05 - She Lives (In A Time Of Her Own)
06 - Incognito
07 - In Like With You
08 - Woman In The Garden
09 - Waiting For The Rain
10 - Counting Sheep
11 - Perfumed Lies
12 - The Wanted Man


Back in the late 80's and early 90's I used to go down to Deep Ellum, a cool alternative area of town in downtown Dallas, Texas to hear lots of great bands. At the time there were lots of great music venues like Club Dada and Club Clearview, just to name a few. One night I got the chance to see The Judybats, a band from Knoxville, Tennessee, at Clearview. They were great! The band was made up of six nerdy, yet hip musicians. Interesting note, the song She Lives (In a Time of Her Own) is a song written by Roky Erickson of the Austin, Texas based 1960's psychedelic rock band The 13th Floor Elevators. If you like early 90's alternative music, you're sure to like The Judybats. Plus, I love their name.

The Band:
Jeff Heiskell - Lead Vocals
Ed Winters - Electric Guitars
Terry Casper - Drums
Peggy Hambright - Keyboards, Violin & Vocals
Timothy Stutz - Electric Bass & Vocals
Johnny Sughrue - Acoustic Guitar & Vocals

Favorite Songs: Don't Drop the Baby, Convalescing in Spain, and Native Son

Links:
Wikipedia
Native Son video on YouTube

Encoded at 320K from CD. Includes all CD artwork and 16 page booklet. Zip format.

Download: The Judybats- Native Son

Tommy Keene - Based On Happy Times (1989)

1. Nothing Can Change You (3:19)
2. Light of Love (3:00)
3. This Could Be Fiction (3:24)
4. Based on Happy Times (3:47)
5. When Our Vows Break (3:20) (Keene/Shear)
6. The Biggest Conflict (3:42)
7. Highwire Days (3:37)
8. Our Car Club (3:22) (Brian Wilson, Mike Love)
9. If We Run Away (4:06) (Keene/Shear)
10. Hanging on to Yesterday (3:53)
11. Where Have All Your Friends Gone (2:25)
12. Pictures (3:34)
13. A Way Out (4:09)


If you've never heard Tommy Keene, you've been missing out. Tommy Keene has been around for a while, and has released over 10 albums. Recently, I read that the Gin Blossoms had asked Keene, their hero, to go out on tour with them. Keene has always been one of my favorite musicians since I first heard him on vinyl back in the 80's. One of my favorite songs of all time is "Places That Are Gone" from his The Real Underground album. I've never heard a guy with so many hooks in his songs. He is definitely a musician's musician.

Based On Happy Times was released in 1989 on Geffin. What make this disc special, is his collaboration with one of my favorite song writers, Jules Shear. Jules co-wrote two of the songs and plays (sings) on the album as well. I've never heard a bad song come out of Keene. My least favorite song on this album is Our Car Club, which is actually a Beach Boys song, so I guess it doesn't count against him. I hope you enjoy Tommy Keen as much as I do. This CD is no longer available.

A Google search turned up this review...

Tommy Keene is one of those guys who should be much better known, though he is highly regarded by critics and a small group of fans (for example, a used copy of this out-of-print cd is currently selling for $99 on amazon.com). I’d always heard good things about him, and major music fan (with a particular interest in ‘60s and ‘70s music), historian, collector of high end rock memorabilia, and all around good guy Steve Potocin was kind enough to furnish me with a copy of this album for this review (thanks again, Steve!). Right away I was surprised, as the album is more straight rock ‘n’ roll than the “power pop” I expected, though the jangly guitars commonly associated with that sub genre do appear on stellar songs such as “When Our Vows Break,” “Highwire Days,” and “If We Run Away.” Elsewhere, harder rocking songs such as “Nothing Can Change You,” “Light Of Love,” and “Our Car Club” (a rather obnoxious Beach Boys cover) recall bands such as The Replacements and Soul Asylum, while Keene’s not particularly pretty yet effective nasal vocals (which bring Tom Petty to mind) are especially affecting on mellow, moodier songs such as “Based On Happy Times” and “A Way Out.” Keene isn’t above unleashing a guitar solo if it serves the song, and most of these tracks are memorable and catchy (if not immediately so), with intelligent relationship-based lyrics that veer towards the bittersweet (example: “all you’ve got to say is hanging on to yesterday”). Perhaps Keene wouldn’t win many points for originality, and there are a few merely solid songs on side 2 (“Our Car Club,” “Where Have All Your Friends Gone,” “Pictures”), but overall this is a really good rock ‘n’ roll record that makes me want to hear more from Tommy Keene.


I also found this information on Wikipedia.

Encoded at 320K from CD. Includes all CD artwork (14 page booklet), with pictures and lyrics to all songs. Zip format.

Favorite songs: Based On Happy Times, When Our Vows Break and If We Run Away.

Download: Based on Happy Times

Glen Burtnick - Heroes & Zeros (1987)


1. Follow You (4:01)
2. Spinning My Wheels (3:54)
3. Walls Came Down (3:45)
4. Stupid Boys (3:46)
5. Love Goes on (4:22)
6. Heard it on the Radio (3:39)
7. Abalene (3:48)
8. Here Comes Sally (3:41)
9. Scatered (3:06)
10. The Day Your Ship Gets Thru (3:11)



Glen Burtnik is a singer, songwriter, entertainer and multi-instrumentalist, best known as a former member of Styx. The spelling of his name has changed a few times over the years (born Glenn Burtnick, then changed to Glen Burtnick, and finally spelled with "two N's, no C").

He has written chart-topping hits such as "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough", "Spirit Of A Boy, Wisdom Of A Man", and "Delicious Surprise", hosted the "School Of Rock" radio show on The Hawk - 105.7 FM, and recorded/toured/collaborated with well-known artists. He has also put together the annual Glen Burtnik's Xmas Xtravaganza for 16 years (as of 2006).

Since 2006, Burtnik has made appearances with ex-Styx bandmate Dennis DeYoung that the pair have sometimes dubbed the "Dennie and Glennie Show". (From Wikipedia)

Check out Glen's very interesting biography on his official website.

I believe this CD is out of print. My favorite song is Abalene, but the whole disc is great!

Encoded at 320K from the CD. Includes artwork and track listing. Zip format.

Download: Heroes & Zeros

Jules and the Polar Bears - EP (1980)




1. Sometimes Real Life
2. Born out of Heat
3. Alive Alonge
4. This Fabrication





Jules and the Polar Bears formed in 1978. Lead by singer/songwriter Jules Shear. They released 2 albums, Got No Breeding (1978) and Fənĕtĭks (1979).

These four songs are previously unreleased tracks.

This EP was ripped at 24bit / 48KHz to 320 bit mp3 (Zip format)

This is a new upload of a vinyl needle drop. All songs are good now. 


Download: Jules and the Polar Bears

Jules Shear - Demo-itis (1986)

1. Deliver Love
2. Chain Within a Chain
3. If She Knew What She Wants
4. Trained For Glory
5. Different Sands
6. Eligible For Parole
7. She's In Love Again
8. I Didn't Know Your Smile
9. You Are My Heartache
10. He Tore My World Apart
11. Take The Risk
12. All Through The Night
13. I know You're Not Alive


Songs 1-6 (side one on the album) are 24-track demos recorded with a revolving cast of musicians, many of whom Jules didn't know before the sessions. He used the recordings to not only get his fresh songs on tape quickly, (usually six tracks a night), but to find new players he could use for his solo albums. Songs 7-14 (side two on the album) are more like home demos recorded on eight-track.

From djangos:
Though he's never been able to record a hit of his own, singer/songwriter Jules Shear has recorded several albums of highly accessible, hit-worthy material, and as a testament to his abilities, he's penned hits for others, including "All Through the Night" for Cyndi Lauper and "If She Knew What She Wants" for the Bangles.

Born in Pittsburgh, Shear began writing songs as a teenager. He relocated to Los Angeles in the mid-'70s, joining his first band, a typically laid-back combo called the Funky Kings. The band released one album for Arista in 1976. While "Slow Dancing" from the album (written by Jack Tempchin) would later be hit for Johnny Rivers, the three Shear songs were clearly the highlights of the album. Shear left the following year to form his own group, Jules & the Polar Bears, who released two critically acclaimed, though commercially overlooked, albums for Columbia. When a third album was rejected by the label, Shear forged on as a solo artist.

Signing on to EMI-America, he released two solo albums, 1983's Watch Dog and 1985's Eternal Return; both received critical praise but few sales. Once again, he was dropped by his label and unable to secure another deal. Shear then formed the Reckless Sleepers with the Cars' Elliot Easton. In 1988, without Easton, the Reckless Sleepers released their sole album for IRS, Big Boss Sounds; it failed to make much impact, though "If We Never Meet Again" from the album was later covered by Roger McGuinn. In contrast to the Reckless Sleepers' hard rock tendencies, Shear teamed up with the Church's Marty Willson-Piper for an all-acoustic, Dylanesque album, The Third Party, in 1989. The album ultimately led to a spot on MTV, where he hosted the first 13 episodes of Unplugged -- he left when the show switched to the single-artist format. Shear followed with two critically acclaimed, more or less pop-oriented albums -- 1992's The Great Puzzle and 1994's Healing Bones -- two of his finest albums to date. In 1998, he released Between Us, an album of duets for Highstreet Records. Shear moved to Rounder Records subsidiary Zoe Records for his April 2000 release, Allow Me, and to Valley in 2004 for Sayin' Hello to the Folks. 2006 saw the release of Dreams Don't Count on the Mad Dragon label. ~ Chris Woodstra, All Music Guide

Demo-itis was released after The Eternal Return, and never been released on CD

Digitized at 24 bit, 96 kHz

Encoded at 320K from original pristine vinyl album. Includes album cover artwork. Zip format.

Download: Jules Shear - Demo-itis

Jules Shear - The Eternal Return (1985)


1. If She Knew What She Wants
2. Stand Tall
3. Steady
4. Change (Change)
5. The Fever's On
6. Her S/he Comes (with Pal Shazar)
7. Memories Burn Hard
8. You're Not Around
9. Empty Out the House (Throw it all Away)
10. Every Time I Get The Feeling




Musicians:
Jules Shear, Anton Fig, Tony Levin, Jeff Silverman, Rob Fisher, Richard Stekol, Pal Shazar, Moris Pert, Richard Bredice, & Bill Drescher.

From Wikipedia:
Jules Shear is an American singer and songwriter born in Pittsburgh in 1952. Although he has had only one minor hit as a performer ("Steady", which reached number 56 on the US charts in 1985), he has recorded almost twenty albums to date. He made his first appearance on vinyl with The Funky Kings; he also led the critically-acclaimed but commercially-unsuccessful pop group, Jules and the Polar Bears, along with later groups The Reckless Sleepers and Raisins in the Sun. He also conceived (and hosted the first 13 episodes of) the MTV series Unplugged.

His songs have been more commercially successful in the hands of other artists, notably Cyndi Lauper, whose recording of "All Through the Night" reached number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984, and The Bangles, whose recording of "If She Knew What She Wants" reached number 29 in 1986. Singer/songwriter Iain Matthews (still using the spelling "Ian" for his first name at the time) recorded an album of Shear's material, Walking A Changing Line: The Songs of Jules Shear, with synthesizer-dominated arrangements (and containing some previously-unreleased songs by Shear), in 1988; Matthews had previously recorded songs by Shear on other albums.

Shear was the subject of a song by 'Til Tuesday, "J For Jules", after the end of his relationship with that band's singer, Aimee Mann. He also co-wrote the title track of that album, Everything's Different Now, with Matthew Sweet. Shear is married to singer/songwriter Pal Shazar.

The Eternal Return is Jules Shear's 2nd album. It has never been released on CD, which is hard to believe.

Digitized at 24 bit, 96 kHz

Encoded at 320K from original pristine vinyl album. Includes artwork and track listing.

Download: The Eternal Return

Jahn/Siefkas - The Broken Prairie Sessions (1981)


1. To Talk To (Jahn)
2. Taking Away (Jahn)
3. Mexican Vacation (Siefkas)
4. New York, New York (Siefkas)
5. Real Emotions (Jahn)


On March 26, 1981, Jahn/Siefkas went into the studio to record some of their original material. The sessions lasted three days. As their studio time ran out, they had only completed two songs, To Talk To and Taking Away, both penned by Jahn. Three other songs were never completed, only the rhythm tracks were recorded. When they left Broken Prairie Studios, in the heartland of Illinois, just outside of Champaign-Urbana, all they had were a couple cassette tapes, with some rough mixes. The plan was to return to the studio and complete all the songs, and end up with a finished EP. That was not to happen. Unfortunately, all that survived those three days of music the cassettes.

Recently, Siefkas, using Pro Tools, digitized the tapes. We are now able to bring you the lost tapes from The Broken Prairie Sessions.

Musicians:
Alfredo Jahn - Vocals, Bass Guitar
Kirk Siefkas - Guitars
Jeff Dear - Drums


Digitized at 24bit, 96KHz from a first generation cassette tape

Encoded at 320K. Includes artwork and track listing.

Download: Jahn/Siefkas - The Broken Prairie Sessions

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Beatnik Beatch - Beatnik Beatch (1988)


 01. Beatnik Beatch (3:00)
 02. Lonesome Town (3:32)
 03. Maria (4:20)
 04. Love On Your Side (3:09)
 05. Harlem (3:39)
 06. Welcome (2:34)
 07. Sargeant Lasard (3:36)
 08. How Much Does Love Cost (4:03)
 09. Worthless Heart (2:50)
 10. Watching The Rain (4:36)



George Cole - Guitars
Chris Witt Ketner - Bass, Vocals and Viola
Roger Manning - Keyboards
Andy Sturmer - Drums, Vocals and Percussion

All songs written by Ketner/Sturmer

Beatnik Beatch was a four-member pop/rock band from San Francisco. They made one album, which was released in 1987 by the independent label Industrial under the title At the Zulu Beach. In 1988, a revised version of the album, deleting five tracks and adding four others, was released by Atlantic Records under the name Beatnik Beatch. The group broke up, and Andy Sturmer (drums, vocals) and Roger Manning (keyboards) formed the more successful Jellyfish. (by William Ruhlmann)

This is a very rare and hard to find album. Digitized at 24bit / 96KHz.

Encoded at 320K from pristine vinyl album. Includes album cover art and track listing.

Download: Beatnik Beach

The Cretones - Thin Red Line (1980)


01. Real love
02. Everybody's Mad at Katherine
03. I can't wait
04. Justine
05. Mad Love
06. Cost of Love
07. Thin Red Line
08. Ways of the Heart
09. Mrs Peel
10. Here Comes That Wave



Mark Goldenberg - Guitar, Vocals
Peter Bernstein - Bass, Vocals
Steve Leonard - Keyboards, Vocals
Steve Beers - Drums

Mark Goldenberg and Steve Leonard met in junior high school in Lincolnwood, Illinois. The two stuck together and went to Chicago Music College. As a freshman, Leonard was teaching a course on electronic music composition to graduate students. Goldenberg was playing the Chicago folk scene for a while. After forming the Eddie Boy Band, and moving to the West Coast, the band broke up. Stranded in Los Angeles, Goldenberg started making demo tapes of his material. He landed a job as guitarist for Al Stewart's touring band. Stewart's opening act was Wendy Waldman, whose sidemen included Steve Beers and Peter Bernstein. They hit it off together and the three later backed Waldman on tour. They decided they wanted their own band, and so the Cretones were born. Read the included newspaper article for more details...

From Wikipedia: The Cretones were a Los Angeles based new wave and power pop group in the early 1980s. Led by singer/guitarist & former Eddie Boy Band member Mark Goldenberg, who also wrote the bulk of The Cretones' material, the group had a strong sense of melody and a lyrical wit that placed them a cut above most of their new wave peers.

They had one single which charted on the Billboard Magazine Hot 100: "Real Love" in the spring of 1980, which was from their first album "Thin Red Line". The song "Empty Heart" from their second album Snap Snap was their only other song to receive significant airplay on album rock stations, but it did not chart as a single.

They are perhaps best known as the group which provided four of the songs on Linda Ronstadt's platinum selling 1980's new wave album, Mad Love. Ronstadt's effort served to highlight and introduce Mark Goldenberg's tuneful melodies.

After the band broke up, Mark Goldenberg went on to write the song "Automatic" for the Pointer Sisters which was a hit in 1984. He later toured with artists such as Peter Frampton and Chris Isaak, and had moderate success as a new-age instrumental artist in Japan. Since 1994 he has been lead guitarist for Jackson Browne and continues to write play and produce. Cretones members Steve Beers and Peter Bernstein helped produce and compose the score to the TV show 21 Jump Street. Steve Beers has been producing television ever since while Peter Bernstein has gone on write numerous film and tv scores.


This is a very rare and hard to find album never released on CD. Digitized at 24bit / 96KHz. ZIP format.

Encoded at 320K from vinyl album. Includes album cover art, track listing, and newspaper article.

Download: Thin Red Line

The Cretones - Snap! Snap! (1981) [Vinyl]


01 Empty Heart
02 Hanging on to No One
03 Swinging Divorcee
04 Lonely Street
05 I Can't Get Over You
06 One Kiss
07 Love is Turning
08 Girls! Girls! Girls!
09 Snap! Snap!
10 Mood Vertigo



This is the 2nd album by the power pop LA band, The Cretones. The Cretones were Mark Goldenberg guitars, vocals, Peter Bernstein - bass, vocals; Steve Beers - drums and Steve Leonard - keyboards, vocals. According to Mark the Cretones never officially broke up.

Read more here

Ripped from a pristine vinyl copy. ZIP format. Encoded at 320K

Download: Snap! Snap!

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