This is going to be a slim write-up, but I think you'll want to take a couple of minutes to download this. Helmet Boy. Knew nothing of them until a few weeks ago, but saw a listing for this album on Ebay and went for it. For a power pop band on a major label, I'm stunned to find nary a mention of these guys save for catalog listings of online retailers. Heck, even the always-on-the-ball archivists at Power Pop Criminals and PVAc to 44.1 kHz overlooked this one. Granted, Helmet Boy don't approach the deftly crafted skill of 20/20 or Shoes, I'm hearing a bit of a Rubinoos influence permeating this album, along with some of Cheap Trick's gentler, early album moments. Maybe a little Rundgren in here too, but just a smidgen. In other words, nothing too heavy. Enjoy, and feel free to share your thoughts.01. Don't Tease Me
02. Hurts Like Love
03. Red Eyes
04. I Know What You Did Last Night
05. This Could Be the Night
06. Rebel (She's a)
07. Poster Girl
08. I'm Not So Sure
09. So Sophisticated
10. Here Comes That Girl Again
Hear
12 comments:
Great record. Years ago I put "Hurts Like Love" on an Audities-list SOTT comp (for those that know what *those* are). Glenn Burtnick was a Helmet Boy...
Many thankx for this fantastic record. Cheeers from Spain.
Red Eyes could have been a hit, no question. There's a Burtnick track according to AMG - but does the album list him as a member?
could you post the entire album as a download cause it seems to be no longer available....thanxxxx
Helmet Boy's bass gutarist can be seen in Rick Springfield's Jessie's Girl video...
This is historically interesting. With Big Star being one of the bleeding edge power pop poppas in 1971, and the Only Ones, Cheap Trick, Shoes, Raspberries and heck even The Romantics starting back 1974, The Cars, who were popular but criticized for biting The Only Ones, Shoes, etc. debuted in 1976. Helmetboy appears to have arrived a little late to the power pop party to be taken very seriously, possibly thrown together to cash in on the success of The Knack. That doesn't mean it isn't good, it just wasn't breaking new ground and people back then had to believe that everything they liked was revolutionary and new, or the most technically excellent yet mainstream enough to cause a fuss... you can ask Patrick Bateman about that crap, I don't get it.
My best friend from Junior High and I became ironically obsessed with Helmetboy once upon a time, after picking up a promo copy in a 75 cent bin. We even shot a few scenes on my friend's movie camera, trying to unearth the mysteries of Helmet Boy. I think we even called one of their moms, using the promo materials to track down their roots... not the guy who ended up singing for Styx. She said that they were still out in Los Angeles, playing for the labels. They probably all have tattoos now and wear Ed Hardy, dressing and acting like Steve Vai, like all the rest of the session musicians do.
"Backed into a corner at the scene of the crime. I've been through it all before: always going in the out door?"
Just bought this lp for 3 euros. Very enjoyable!
Just bought this vinyl for a dollar from a thrift store in Maryland. Looking forward to playing it tomorrow and thank you for reviewing it here.
I have a New Jersey Christmas compilation with Glen Burtnick on it. Great song on there.
Any chance for a re-post on this? I know it's been a while and I don't know if this blog even still exists but I'd love a copy of this.
This album was in a box of 50 that I bought for $10.00. Loving it. Sometimes you're just lucky to find a gem.
Could you please reupload it
Chance for a re-up on this one?
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