Re: Long Time, No Listen: Episode IV (A New Hope)

Five more records that entered my collection by means that I don't remember. (Come to think of it, that's getting to be kind of an embarrassing subtext.)

The Best of Petula Clark
Neither of us remembers acquiring this record. It's a single-disc comp from 1969 on Pye Records. All lushly orchestrated stuff, all beautiful vocal performances, but none of it really left all that much of an impression on us. And really, what's a Petula Clark best-of without "Downtown"? This will hopefully be an ideal acquisition for someone else. (My wife said it's too bad that her mom can't handle a phonograph anymore; otherwise, it'd be in Media Mail on its way to her.)

The Del-Lords - Johnny Comes Marching Home
Enjoyable, no-frills rock 'n' roll, from the first track forward. Despite its NYC provenance, this band's music is closer to the "heartland" sound than to New Wave. Nothing particularly flashy here, but of course, that's what the heartland sound is all about, right? Neil Giraldo, Pat Benatar's husband and long-time creative partner, is the producer here. With his help, the quartet plays with a solid, muscular sound, and keeps the riffs and rhythms focused. Pretty good songs, too, although they seem to be stronger when they don't try making a statement: "Soldier's Home" isn't a bad tune, but its lyric seems a bit cliched. Overall, though, good stuff. Another keeper.

Howard Devoto - Jerky Versions of the Dream
Interesting to me that Howard Devoto (the original singer in the Buzzcocks) and Pete Shelley (the guy who took over that spot) both took their solo careers into more synth-pop explorations. But of course, that's the Eighties for ya. This album maintains some of the more arch qualities of Magazine's records, but with a lighter touch. It doesn't try to bowl the listener over, but draws them into its low-key arrangements of keyboards, lightly strummed rhythm guitar, synth-bass and drum machines, with occasional lounge-style piano and female backing vocals on a couple of tracks. In this audio environment, Devoto's voice carries kind of a lounge-lizard quality, to boot -- focusing more on his lower-register croon. I'm confident this one won't spend another ten years undisturbed on my shelf.

Dirty Looks
Much like The Del-Lords, this NYC trio makes its impression right from the first track. Unlike the aforementioned band, Dity Looks offers a tight new wave sound -- one with plenty of breathing room in the mix. Straight-ahead guitar-bass-drums, with organ adding color to a few songs and an earnest attempt at Police-style reggae-pop on "Disappearing" and rockabilly on "Drop That Tan." The singer, one of three clean-cut fellows on the cover, has a slightly whiny tone, but not so whiny that it distracts from the quality of the songs (although they do seem to stay stuck on the topic of girls who, in some way or another, are breaking their hearts). Not sure how this album ended up in my collection, but it's staying there for sure. (Caveat emptor: There's another band using this name, a second- or third-string glam-metal band from Erie PA.)

DMZ - Relics
A nine-song mini-album from a purportedly seminal* Boston garage-punk band, fronted by Jeff "Mono Man" Conolly, a singer/organist who would go on to more acclaim (if not more fortune) in the Lyres. That later band, as we all know from tales around the campfire, established itself in the garage/psych revival of the Eighties. This album comes from a similar righteous source, but it's more Stooges than Strawberry Alarm Clock, with Conolly's passion for wheezy organ riffs and barrel-house piano hammering matched by his no-holds-barred singing -- shifting from a guttural thuggish bass to a ceiling-tile-scraping high-end (think Jagger at the end of "Sympathy for the Devil," except not quite as good). Eight originals plus a 13th Floor Elevators cover. Overall, a cool rollicking ride.

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*I wasn't there, so I'm taking someone else's word for it.

I had all these save Petula.

I actually owned three LPs by the del-lords, but each was likely bought amongst a pile in a used cheapo bin. I can’t recall anything about any of them, other than that it was rootsy rock. They came, they left. This band speaks to the hoarder mentality I had with used vinyl… if it was slightly new wave or alternative and cheap, it came home with me.

The Devoto album I also grabbed used, probably in the early 2000’s. I was on a website that was going on about the album and the song ‘rainy season’ (new wave outpost?) so I picked it up upon finding it. I recall thinking it wasn’t what I expected. I think I should’ve given this one more time. It sounded of its time, as new wave got a little more worldly and fretless basses abounded.

Dirty Looks - I bought this new in year of release. Loved it, good catchy songs. It was around the time of the Equators ‘hot’ lp (with ‘At the age of five’). I was discovering and buying artists on stiff records with my teenage lawn mowing money.

DMZ, I had relics and the s/t on sire. (Man, sire was a great label… they may have had the greatest percentage of releases in my 9,000 lp collection). I bought these more for the band’s reputation than anything else. I don’t ever remember rocking out to DMZ, like I did to the undertones or Ramones.

Teenage Lawn Mowing Money would make a great hardcore band name

Nine thousand LPs! Bip, you're a true diehard.

Well, I WAS. Sold them all in 2025, but collected for over 40 years before I hit the wall.

I miss the crate digging, and the aesthetics of the vinyl packaging….but not much else. It was my time.

Are you up to the letter E, or do you have more "D" records to go through?

Dirty Looks...not familiar with them but sound interesting as described above. If anyone doesn't already know this band and attempts to look them up, there is an '80s metal band with the same name. I didn't listen to them, but should have just for the heck of it. I thought the Dirty Looks that Delvin mentioned here was OK, but nothing that excited me too much.

Dirty Looks the TP band are solid power pop - nothing that transcends the form, but if you're an aficionado of the style, you'll dig it.

Dirty Looks the metal band were straight up AC/DC clones. I'm told they were good at it, but with the original still treading the boards and Rhino Bucket still in existence, what would be the point?

Personally I love the Del-Lords - Spectorian drama added to well-written and enthusiastically performed heartland (if that land is the Bronx) rock. I'll take Johnny Comes Marching Home and the gleefully over the top Based On a True Story over anything Springsteen/Mellencamp/etc. ever did.

Edit: after Kempner died, Giraldo went on record talking about how good a band he thought they were and how disappointed he was he couldn't help them reach the next level.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/26/2026 04:07PM by Michael Toland.

Michael Toland Wrote:
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> Personally I love the Del-Lords - Spectorian drama
> added to well-written and enthusiastically
> performed heartland (if that land is the Bronx)
> rock. I'll take Johnny Comes Marching Home
> and the gleefully over the top Based On a True
> Story over anything
> Springsteen/Mellencamp/etc. ever did.

I am listening to Johnny Comes Marching Home as I type this. Not bad at all. Maybe I've heard a song from this band in the past, but I really don't know. Not sure I even knew the name? Who knows, but I'm enjoying what I'm hearing.