The mid-’70s New York club scene had a large population of Anglo-pop bands, playing Merseybeat root music as accurately as possible. The Sorrows were formed in 1977 from the remains of the Poppees, a minor member of the skinny tie brigade; two years later the Sorrows had a major-league record deal.
Teenage Heartbreak, a dozen melodic originals, isn’t bad, blending all the right ingredients with enough aggression to shun wimpiness. In another time and place, the Sorrows might have been a non-salacious Knack.
The coup on Love Too Late is the production credit — Shel Talmy, the man behind all the early Kinks/Who records. Disappointingly (although the same thing happened when Talmy produced surf-rockers Jon and the Nightriders), the sound is not exceptional, and the record is basically similar to the group’s first outing.
A decade later, Sorrows bassist/singer Rick Street kept the melodic rock flame alive in Tang S’Dang, a tight guitar-pop trio that shuns specific stylistic homage (still acknowledging numerous mild influences) on its skillful but undistinguished debut.
The 2010 release (on vinyl and CD) includes rerecordings, live material and demos augured a return to action for the original Sorrows, who promoted the album with club dates on the West and East coasts in the fall of 2011.