791 The Heartbreakers - L.A.M.F. (1977)

 791 The Heartbreakers - L.A.M.F. (1977)

Studio Album - Punk



About the Act:

The Heartbreakers, sometimes known as Johnny Thunder and the Heartbreakers, and mot to be confused with Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, were a relatively short-lived punk band from New York, formed from the remnants of the New York Dolls and a guy from Television. The band. They became really popular in the NY Punks scene but couldn't get a record contract. Malcolm McLaren brought them to England to open for the Sex Pistols on a tour that was largely cancelled because of some faux pas on Live Television, and they were kind of stuck in London. McLaren persuaded them to record an album there. They kind of imploded over the mixing of the album, so in the end it was their only album.


About the album:

See above


My History with this Album:

None


Review:

I didn't know anything about them when I listened the first time. I thought they sounded at times British and at times American. I guess an American band recording in England might sound like that, especially as they had got involved in the UK Punk scene, and maybe it rubbed off on them a bit.

It's punk, but punk by people who can play their instruments. It's not overly heavy, but it does have that punk raw energy and buzz to it. Some of it is quite rock N roll influenced, at times I can hear Eddie Cochran in here, at times Lou Reed, at times Steve Harley even, and at times Ten Pole Tudor. I'm sorry if those references don't mean much to you - it's the more rebellious end of Rock and Roll into Rock and kind of Garage. It's Punk, and Punk has always had this kind of Rockabilly/Rock 'n' Roll edge to it.

And I like it. I quite like a good bit of punk and this is quite a good bit of punk. It's not shocking (unless you dig deep into songs like Chinese Rocks, about Heroin), they are unsophisticated songs by unsophisticated people for unsophisticated people (or repeat this phrase substituting "un-pretentious" if you like). I don't mean this in a bad way, in the same way that Sausage Egg and Chips is good and enjoyable, so it this. It's not fine dining, it doesn't pretend to be, and it has a sort of honest authenticity to it.

My last review was of Tales from Topographical Oceans by Yes. You could not get further from that with this, but I like them both. To be fair, I did like the Yes more, but this is OK.


6.9/10


Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/4CLnHCjgBVBEoCU6e4kts1

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmZp9fbjo3rHM58t0FyIVIIbMMGl873-P

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L.A.M.F.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

840 Various Artists - The Best of Girl Groups Volumes 1 and 2 (1990)

Image
 840 Various Artists - The Best of Girl Groups Volumes 1 and 2 (1990) Compilation (double) - Girl Group (Soul/Bobby Soxer/Do-Wop) About the Album: This is a highly acclaimed compilation in 2CDs by Rhino Records. It's the sort of thing that in this country you might expect to see at 3.99 in a Garden Centre. My History with this Album: None Review: There are not many multi-artist compilations in this series for reviewing. There is not information about it on Wikipedia, but the reception seems to have been positive. It is choc-full of hits with a smattering of lesser-known songs, and it's hard not to imagine Grease or similar situations - girls with cardigans and white socks, listening to the juke box while sipping milkshakes in the drug store. On one level it's a fun collection of songs that you could use to feel nostalgic, or as the music for a themed party. On another level it's kind of like a cultural artefact. I feel honour-bound to describe it, even though if I drop
Read more

944 Manu Chao - Próxima Estación Esperanza (2001)

Image
 944 Manu Chao - Próxima Estación Esperanza (2001) Studio Album - World Music About the Act: Manu Chao is a French-Spanish musician of Spanish descent who grew up on the outskirts of Paris. In the mid-80s he was in a Spanish/English rockabilly group called Hot Pants. In 1987, with his brother and cousin he founded the band Mano Negra, combining punk and world music influences and playing on the Paris Metro. This band took off and had 4 studio albums. In 1995 Manu "went solo", forming the band Radio Bemba Sound System to be his backing band. The punk elements were less prominent, but he started to make music that "replicates the sound of street music and bar scenes from a variety of cultures". He has been really popular in parts of Europe.  About the Album: This album was Manu Chao's second studio album as a "solo" artist. In Spanish, the name means "Next Station: Hope", after a real station on the Madrid Metro. The album reached top 10 slots
Read more

591 Harry Smith, Ed. - Anthology of American Folk Music (1952)

Image
 591 Harry Smith, Ed. - Anthology of American Folk Music (1952) Compilation Album - Americana About the Act: Harry Smith is not the performer here, he is the collector. He was a film-maker, occultist, and eccentric. About the Album: Harry Smith had a collection of early 78rpm records of various "folk" styles dated from 1927 when such things first started to be commercially available to 1932 when the Great Depression put a stop to the sales of folk records. In 1947 he approached a label, Folkway Records, about releasing a collection of them transferred onto LPs. This they did in 1952, without seeking copyright permission, making this technically a bootleg. It was released as three double-LP boxed sets, and sold very poorly. In the first year it sold 50 copies, 47 to libraries and colleges. It was reissued later, and gained traction and sold better. It now has a reputation for being one of the most influential compilations in the history of Americana, and is cited as being a ma
Read more