77's

Mr. Reno -

Thanks for the write-up on the 77's. I always thought they deserved more attention than they got in their Christian rock ghetto.

Sticks and Stones is also my favorite 77's disk. And it's good to know it ain't my imagination - Ping Pong and All Fall Down do kinda suck. I've still got my vinyl copies (mainly due to their rarity), but I haven't listened to 'em since I bought 'em, 17-18-odd years ago. After the Island album, they seemed like a big letdown.

I'll have to pick up A Golden Field if I ever come across it.

Back in the mid-80s I stopped the kid working in the used record store in Belleville, IL, from listening to one of the first two 77s albums. I don't remember which - he had just started it playing and I advised him he probably would regret it. (Although All Fall Down has its good moments.)

I like to think it was Jeff Tweedy who I rescued that day. It was the store he worked in and the time frame was right, and it was a dark haired kid. So it could've been him, but I'll have no way of ever knowing.

So are ya gonna do the Choir and Adam Again next?

Nah. Think I'll do a Norwegian black metal band like Mortiis or something to balance things out.

In that case, I also request Emperor, Dimmu Borgir, Immortal and Ulver.