eli@uw-june (Eli Messinger) (02/28/84)
I would have to disagree with Stewart W**ner's appraisal of the Smithereens' second vinyl effort. I find virtually no Rockabilly/Swing influences (ala The Blasters or Stray Cats) on this disc--instead it sounds very English in a 60's Beat sense. Lots of early Beatles influence as well as tastes of other seminal British invasion pop bands. I find that the title cut is a bit slower than I'd like to hear it, BUT "Tracey's World" is one of those per- fect pop songs, start to finish; excellent guitars and a nice harmonica break. Unfortunately this disc seems to have run out of it's initial pressing-- making it rather difficult to find. As is The Smithereen's debut 7" 4-song EP, on I-Can't-Remember-The-Label-But-It's-Not-Little Ricky Records. The production on the 7" isn't quite up to Alan Betrock's work on the new EP, but their version of Brian Wilson's "Girl Don't Tell Me" is excellent! Oh yes--The Smithereens can also be seen performing as Otis Blackwell's backing band. ... uw-june!eli