The Shakers - Desired Effect (1987)

This gem of an album could have easily slipped by if it wasn't for the good people at Hyped to Death. Were I not fortunate enough to obtain a copy of their Teenline Vol. 3 compilation, of lost and under appreciated American indie bands from the '70s-80s, Nashville's Shakers would be entirely unknown to me and furthermore, you. Coming across as if it were a classic Don Dixon or Mitch Easter production, Desired Effect impresses with a wellspring of persistently jangly guitar chords, a la Dreams So Real and The Plimsouls. By no means start-to-finish par excellence, (not to mention leaning a bit AOR at times), this albums exemplary "Turn You Down," "Change My Mind," and the well-chosen Teenline comp selection, "All Tied Up," are good as gold. Desired Effect comes courtesy of the presumably short-lived Hit-A-Note label, whom have released other records that may or may not appear on this site.

01. A Stranger's Eyes

02. Throw Away

03. I'll Turn You Down

04. Change My Mind

05. I Love You, Love

06. The Need For Love

07. Remember

08. Last Call

09. Tryin' To Be Near You

10. All Tied Up

Hear

Singles Going Single # 52 - The Jumpers 7" (1979 Play it Again, Sam)

The Buffalo, NY punk/powerpop scene during the late '70s and '80s certainly wasn't the most prevalent in the nation, but nevertheless generated some talent that's weathered the test of time. Truth is, I wasn't anywhere near Buffalo during said halcyon era, nor was I even conscious of it other locales. Word on the street was that The Jumpers were the creme de la creme of the Western New York scene at the time, and as luck would have it, they've performed several reunion shows in the past five-to-six years. As luck would also have it, I came into possession of this scarce 1979 single a few years ago. Fronted by Terry Sullivan (later of the long-running Terry and the Headhunters), the Jumpers had all the proper ingredients baked into an ever-so-luscious cake - an euphoric level of enthusiasm, bravado, chops, and relatable lyrics. If you're under the impression that both "Sick Girl" and/or "This is It" could pass for long lost classics, it's because they ARE long lost classics! This is essential listening for all you Powerpearls and Teenline types. You know who you are.

For more Jumpers action, and an in-depth excavation of Buffalo's turn of the decade scene, head over to CD Baby for This Is It - Greater Buffalo's Greatest 1977-1984, a plentiful 2 CD overview that includes about two dozen other Queen City local yokels as well.

A. Sick Girl

B. This is It
 

Hear

The Pengwins - Mad About the Band ep + 2 (1988, Circle)

Although the Mad About the Band ep was a product of the late '80s, The Pengwins run actually spanned 1976 to the early '90s.  Hailing from the environs of Fort Worth, Texas the five-piece Pengwins composed deftly honed power pop (or thereabouts) that could typically slot somewhere between the Plimsouls and Rubinoos, though not terribly derivative of either.  Mad About the Band was the group's lone ep, and luckily for them they nailed it perfectly, exuding the kind of acumen and moxie that most bands with ten times the back catalog are capable of.  Recently, frontman Lannie Flowers was gracious enough to personally furnish me with an album's worth of Pengwins outtakes and singles, of which I'm sharing two songs from along with the entire six song ep.  Included is the sumptuous single side "Life After High School," which deserves it's rightful place on any given Teenline compilation, or for that matter a homemade mix disk.  More Pengwins material may follow, but in the meantime, you might be interested in acquainting yourself with Lannie's solo albums Same Old Story, and last years Circles.

01. Same Sunglasses
02. Current Affairs
03. Please Give Me a Chance
04. You're Hooked
05. Daylight Reminds Us
06. Shameless

plus: I'm On Your Side
Life After High School

Hear

The Fan Club - 15:20 ep (1982, Rude)

Once in awhile, gambling at the Casino Ebay really pays off (accurately judging an album by it's jacket factors in heavily folks).  So it was a relatively safe assumption that The Fan Club had "power pop" written all over them, it was just a matter of what stripe.  If you're at all familiar with the quasi-bootleg Teenline and Powerpearls compilation series, these New York co-eds will likely be of some interest.  A few notches shy of punk, yet wielding plenty of spunk, the Fan Club evoke the likenesses of the Pointed Sticks, the Speedies, and the (Connecticut) Bats in terms of approach, and sheer melodicism, which is never in short supply here.  "Just Another Kiss," "My Baby Loves It" and "I Won't Take It" are all pretty outstanding.  As for the album title, it would seem 15:20 references the length of this all too brief ep. 

01. Going Mental
02. Heartache
03. Just Another Kiss
04. My Baby Loves It
05. Future Problems
06. I Won't Take It

Hear

VA - Radio Ready - Texas Vol. 1, Lost Power Pop Hits 1978-83 (Cheap Rewards, 2013) - A brief overview

For what seems like an eternity, I’ve been trying to decipher why a specific era of music (say, the years between 1978-83 that this compilation conveniently happens to encompass) is so much more rewarding and robust than the present one?   Just what is it that feeds into the genuine and uncontrived pallor of power-pop and punk from this epoch in American underground rock?   The humbler four-track recording apparatus employed by much of Radio Ready, Texas Vol. One's roster is certainly a contributing factor…but what else?   No heavy handed intrusion from corporate monoliths like Columbia, Arista and Atlantic, or even mondo indies like Stiff, might have silently played a hand in the organic essence of these recordings.  Or maybe it was the nascent, yet inspired takes from this Lone Star bakers dozen, untainted by the studio trickery of ProTools, or for that matter, minute-by-minute progress reports dispatched to their respective fanbases via the Twittersphere.  In a nutshell, I may never be able to precisely pin down what makes music from this stretch of time so affecting - but at the very least, I know it when I hear it.  

Radio Ready's strict emphasis on Texas acts is surprising, if only for the fact that few (if any) of it's thirteen obscuro participants exude any twangy or western characteristics.  Throw a dart at just about anyone in the lineup, and you might guess they hail from New York, Boston, or L.A.  

Another primary point of emphasis here is sheer quality control, and this whole affair couldn't get off to a grander start than with the Pengwins resonant, romantically jaded "What You Gonna Do."  Fronted by one Lannie Flowers (and previously featured on Wilfully Obscure) the Pengwins were power pop traditionalists that could have held their own with contemporaries like Paul Collins and early Cheap Trick.  The Haskells and The Take also do wonders with that similar, straight-up formula.  If it's a retrofitted Brit Invasion angle you're craving, The Fad's "Think" will set your noodle's wheels in motion.  The Rattlecats' "Those Are the Breaks" operates in garagey environs, taking inspiration from the Heartbreakers among others, while Jemmy Legg's "Houston" is a par excellence punk-pop salvo.   

Radio Ready contains thirteen gold nuggets in the space of a little over a half hour, and bears the same consistency of the priceless Teenline and Rhino Records's DIY power pop compilations.  It's available digitally on Bandcamp and physically as a handsome gatefold LP in a limited edition of 500 copies.  Immensely and highly recommended!

V/A - Powerpearls Vols. 4 & 5

This isn't a rerun, rather a continuation of the Powerpearls series of compilations I shared three years ago.  In 2016 I made volumes 1 & 2 available, and this year I'm giving you the fourth and fifth installments.  Why no Vol. 3?  Well, I haven't come across the third one, not in the wild anyways.  To get a better gist of what the Powerpearls m.o. is please refer to the link above, which lays things out nicely.  For the uninitiated, the Powerpearls serial were glorified, not to mention fairly well assembled DIY compilations of rare(ish) vinyl singles that hit in the late 70s/early 80s of long departed obscure power-pop and melodic punk acts that most of us wouldn't have encountered otherwise.  An unfortunate thing that would be, because the majority of what's presented is of par excellence quality.  In short, they're perfectly curated for the aesthetics of the very site you're visiting right now.  Also, the emphasis is predominantly on European artists, contrary to the like-minded Teenline series which was  exclusively America-centric

Each of these two platters consist of 18 songs apiece.  And while I went to the effort of providing a track list below, I'm not going to have time to profile everyone on board.  Nonetheless, if you're looking for a shortcut or two I'd be happy to disclose a few of the highlights.  Vol 4. breathes life into under-examined 45" wonders from English power-chord bashers 23 Jewels, The Elevators, Resistors and Geneva.  The Innocents, a female fronted UK export, deliver the exceptional "One Way Love" sounding a hell of a lot more visceral than Blondie of the Go Gos ever did.  Holland's Princes of Piece turn up with a hook-laden slammer that I'd desperately like to hear more of, and there's even a Canadian entry by way of an early Blue Peter cut, before they went snyth-pop and eschewed their bratty sensibilities.  And I'd be remiss if I neglected to mention The Keys "I Don't Want to Cry," a primo, Beatles-indebted slice of power pop that arguably beat the Fab Four at their own game.  

Powerpearls Vol. 5 couldn't commence with a stronger contender than one of Stiff Records finest stablemates, Any Trouble, only to be matched a little further in by my faves The Freshies with one of their signature numbers, "Oh Girl."  And there's scads more gold to be plundered in these hills - The Snips, Time Wasters, Boyfriends, and Young Lords among others.  A couple of American entries on this one, and pretty fantastic ones in my opinion, specifically the Windbreakers and The Jetboys.  I'm under the impression that each of these comps included one token Netherlands act, and the contestant on Vol. 5 is the Undertones-inflected Rotjoch.  And not to overlook the land down under, Australia's in the house with a strummy tune by Division 4.  By the way, don't be scared off by the non-English singing entrants either.

One quick disclaimer.  These are vinyl comps, that were presumably, in most cases, sourced from the original singles.  There are a handful of glitches amidst these grooves that I couldn't do squat about, not to mention intermittent surface noise.  Nothing too egregious, and naturally, as compensation the music is pretty superb.

Powerpearls Vol. 4
01. Tunnelrunners - Words
02. 23 Jewels - Playing Boghart
03. Elevators - Your Eyes Are Too Close Together
04. Cuban Heels - Downtown
05. Fingers - Isolation
06. Singles - That's Just Someone That I Knew
07. Blue Peter - Living in the 80s
08. Diestinct - Ett Gevär I Min Hand
09. Innocents - One Way Love
10. The Keys - I Don't Wanna Cry
11. X-Conz - Do Dead People Tan
12. Geneva - Geneva Street
13. Babij Jar - Ice Age
14. Cigarette - Gimme Cigarettes
15. Vice Creems - Won't You Be My Girl
16. Princes of Piece - X-Ray Proofed
17. Resistors - Takeaway Love
18. Strate Jacket - You're a Hit

MP3  or  FLAC

Powerpearls Vol. 5
01. Any Trouble - Yesterday's Love
02. Dagen D - Fel
03. The Windbreakers - Black & White
04. Snips - 9 o'Clock
05. The Zips - Over & Over
06. Time Wasters - On the Street
07. Division 4 - Stop Dreaming
08. Odds - Spare Rib
09. Y Trwynau Coch - Wastod Ar Y Tu Fas
10. The Freshies - Oh Girl
11. Rotjoch - Bad Boy
12. The Vandells - Ruby Toot
13. Boyfriends - Boyfriend
14. Young Lords - Big Burden
15. Jetboys - Get the Kids Jumpin'
16. Bikini - Tu Ne Paries Pas
17. Heartbreak - Jag Ar Inte Kar
18. Regents - Ride Cowboy Ride

MP3  or  FLAC

Toby Redd - A to Z (1982, Plastic)

"Do I save it for Chanukah or not?"  That's the question I was pondering when deciding to share this gem now or later. In the end, I decided not to make you wait until December, but that's not to say the music on Toby Redd's debut A to Z is rarely short of excellent.  Just when I think I've had my finger on all things primo-power pop from the late '70s and early '80s I encounter a long-lost artifact from a miscellaneous looking Detroit-area quartet circa 40 years ago.  The band's main, if not only, claim to fame was the inclusion of future-Red Hot Chili Pepper drummer Chad Smith, though he doesn't appear until a later iteration of TR's lineup. Furthermore, Toby Redd isn't the name of the frontman or for that matter any member of the group. A to Z is a really solid excursion into melodic, DIY-ish power pop bearing punky (but not overpowering) nuances, with an awareness of yesteryear rockers like The Who.  For the most part, these guys would have fit in relatively well with the rosters on such coveted compilation series as Powerpearls and Teenline, because T/R really had the chops to deliver something genuinely memorable on salvos like "More Time," "Double Timed," and "Melea."  Am not really sure who to draw comparisons to here.  Maybe the Plimsouls, albeit vaguely, not to mention the latter work of such British punk troupes like Stiff Little Fingers and 999, but again, you really have to listen for it.

Regarding that later Chad Smith lineup of Toby Redd, the band released their second full length, In the Light for Nemperor Records in 1986, which startlingly enough was reissued for Record Store Day just two years ago. 

01. Can't Get a Job
02. Double Timed
03. More Time
04. Make it Up to You
05. Harry's Alright
06. It Ain't Me Babe
07. Won't Get Far
08. City
09. Why Can't I
10. Melea

Hear

Singles Going Single #139 - Buzzsaw Frizzbees 7" (1990, Drilltone)

If it's not abundantly clear just from a cursory glance of the rather butchered picture sleeve, this 7" was previously in the possession of a radio station (most likely one of the college campus variety).  Sorry about that, but if you're willing to shell out a few dollars you might be able to obtain a cleaner copy (and perhaps a clearer conscience, but more on that in a moment).  The Buzzsaw Frizzbees were an Ipswich, Mass trio who had a solid command of the intricacies, and for that matter, majesty of power pop.  Three songs comprise this wax, and nary a second is taken for granted.  The mid-tempo, steady as she goes "Angels Sent Me" is quintessential, Teenline compilation style guitar rock that can stand toe to toe with anything the Smithereens and Diodes ever pumped out.  They up the ante a tad on "Pretty Soon," wherein a Ramonesy, Road to Ruin-era thrust invigorates the proceedings to maximum effect and enjoyment, while the comparatively slow-burning flipside "Won't Take Long" actually takes the longest of all three numbers here. 

Click on the hyperlink above to be ushered to the Frizzbees makeshift website, which will provide info on how to obtain your own copy of the record (limited supplies available no doubt), as well as CD-R featuring these songs as well as ten or eleven more.

A1. Angels Sent Me
A2. Pretty Soon
B. Won't Take Long

Hear

The Surf - Out of Step ep (1984)

Sounding remarkably straightlaced for a band emanating from the oft remarked hotbed of Athens, GA, The Surf owed zilch to the likes of REM and Pylon.  Funny that.  Instead, the quintet released this accomplished power pop ep in the mold of The Producers and Fools Face, offering an array of stupefyingly killer hooks.  Keyboards thoughtfully embellish The Surfs modus operandi, without dominating (though they conveniently lend themselves to the slick '80s mix Out of Step is for better or worse seeped in).  Excellent songs all the way around that fall more in the Yellow Pills realm than Teenline.  The only anomaly here is the concluding "I Don't Lie," which at it's entrance comes barreling down Romantics alley, copping a sliver or two of "What I Like About You," before recovering into something less plagiaristic. Sorry if the audio is a little choppy in spots, due to the crackly slab of vinyl that these tracks are sourced from.

01. This Time
02. Here We Go Again
03. Dance of the '80s
04. Please Surrender
05. Stealaway the Night
06. I Don't Lie

Hear

Singles Going Single #171 - Reaction Formation 7" (1986, GO2)

Wow.  Now this is pretty damn excellent, ain't it?  Champaign, IL's Reaction Formation served up the same jangly strain of power pop anthologized on so many of those crucial Teenline compilation disks.  If the vaguely lamentable "Galesburg Bound" strikes you as a bit precious, that's probably because it is, but I say as such in the most flattering way possible.  Dare I say this is what Modern English could've come up with had they resided on my side of the pond (than again, Modern English weren't too big on saxophones, were they)?  Just short of classic. The sprite "Breakway" churns along at a more vivacious pace, yielding another slice of pop bliss.  Records like this are the cornerstone of my Singles Going Singles series.  You can check out some more invaluable text on Reaction Formation over at Go Johnny Go.

A. Galesburg Bound
B. Break Away

Hear

Breck & Scott - Dream You Away + The Orbits (rec. 1976-88)

The tale of fellow Wisconsinites Breck Burns and Scott Krueger began when the two met in the early '70s as teenagers, but the world (or at least the country...or maybe just the state) at large didn't pull them up on radar until their first serious band, The Orbits made inroads in the power-pop circuit via their brilliant 1980 7" "Make the Rules," which I'll get to a bit later. Almost simultaneous to The Orbits, the duo alongside Scott's girlfriend Jill Kossoris would become part and parcel of one of Milwaukee's most renown unsigned bands, the Shivvers.  The Shivvers. and their incendiary 45, "Teenline" (another crucial 45 blast from '80) were quite literally a story and phenomenon unto themselves. 

The real meat and potatoes of this post concerns Breck and Scott's work post-Orbits/Shivvers, which was well hidden until the Hyped to Death folks did more of their crucial excavation efforts, yielding this cd-r album in the mid '00s. Still residing in WI throughout most of the '80s the duo in question had no good excuse not to continue collaborating, even if they kept their recordings to themselves, which they did for almost a couple of decades. Per the liner notes, they never bothered to field tapes to labels, and from what I've been able to glean never played out. The high strung, punky power-pop of the Orbits and Shivvers was largely phased out by the mid '80s when Breck & Scott's commenced recording sessions semi-informally in their spare time. With a more mature and seasoned acumen in hand, and best of all, no record label or management hovering over their shoulders, our protagonists weren't informed by any pretensions or even the prevailing trends of the era. Oddly enough, with a lack of supervision (so to speak) the boys sounded doubly more disciplined on Dream You Away's dozen or so tracks, most of which exude surprisingly clean and measured tones, without sapping any of the songs' natural energy.  The overall effect isn't quite as charming as say, Big Star or Velvet Crush, but not entirely removed thereof either.  A more accurate comparison might be Butch Vig's pre-stardom outfit, Fire Town. The strummy "Without a Sound," the gritty and muscular "Day Into Night" not to mention the wistful ballad "Let Me Know" are all immaculate keepers...and there's more gold where that came from. 

Dream You Away thoughtfully, and for that matter, crucially appends The Orbits aforementioned lone single, two frenetic power pop bangers, laced with the same mid-fidelity aptitude that worked wonders for the Shoes on their contemporary platter Black Vinyl Shoes, and maybe to a less obvious extent what the Plimsouls were up to around the same juncture. If you're hungry for more than just a pair of two-minute Orbits tunes (and who wouldn't be) four unreleased demos are graciously tacked on.

Breck and Scott
01. Dream You Away
02. On My Roof
03. Look What You've Done to Me
04. You're in Love
05. She Won't Change
06. Alone
07. Without a Sound
08. Frank Lloyd Wright
09. Day Into Night
10. Pine Circle
11. Here and Now
12. Let Me Know
13. Day Into Night (live)

The Orbits
14. Phenomenal World
15. Make the Rules
16. Having Fun
17. Smart Suit, Shirt &Tie
18. Until the Word Gets Out
19. The Waiting Game

Hear

The Burdons LP (1984, Big Rock)

Here's an unduly forgotten power pop record brought to us by Bay City, MI's Burdons, who according to this article are still active some three decades on.   Loosely, the Burdons could pass for the Flamin' Groovies unhip second cousins, albeit even more linear in the songwriting department.  Occasionally things tack in the direction of the Raspberries, other times this affair strolls into Shoes territory, but when it comes to the choicest morsels like "Heartbeat" and "I Fell in Love," you could make a case for the Burdons occupying three minutes on a Teenline and a K-tel compilation.  That's saying a hell of a lot if you ask me.  My apologies for the radio station sticker adorning the cover.  Manually removing it would have resulted in even greater mutilation, and I'm not very handy with Photoshop.  Check out the comments for a link to a 2010 Burdons performance clip.

01. I'd Really Like to See You Tonight
02. Here Comes That Girl Again
03. Climbing Up the Walls
04. I'm No Good
05. Heartbeat
06. Time
07. Right Back to Me
08. Go Steady
09. I Fell in Love
10. Just Like You
11. For You
12. The Raging Current
13. Goin' Away

Hear

7th night of Chanukah: V/A - Metrojets Vols. 1 & 2 (Red Rubber Ball)

I suppose I couldn't get away without sharing something that's squarely in the power pop vein for one of my Chanukah posts, now could I?  With a combined 37 tracks, these beauties more than fit the bill. The two Metrojets compilations slipped in and out of circulation rather quickly when they dropped in the mid-00s (no copyright date provided) via the Spanish Red Rubber Ball label.  With an emphasis on virtual unknowns in the DIY realm spanning the years 1977-82, Metrojets was an instant draw for me, even if I had little to no acquaintance with the music enshrined within.  I have a huge affinity with music from this era for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that music was still being tracked on analog equipment, imbuing recordings with a warmer tone.  Secondly, the "genre" was still relatively fresh and tuneage of this sort wouldn't hit the overkill phase until later in the eighties.  With Metrojets, I’m tempted to draw parallels between Bomp Records style power pop acts, and those featured in the Teenline series, however the emphasis here is on British practitioners, with only about a third of the roster being culled from the Yankee camp. 

Since I don’t have time to offer track-by-track critiques, the liner notes, albeit brief, do some of the heavy lifting for me, which is why I scanned them in  At the very least I can make a few quick recommendations – Bo & The Generals, The Subterraneans, Straight Eight, The Spys, New Toys, Urgent Crunch Band, and Paul Warren & The Explorers.  Incidentally I have featured only two of Metrojets participants before this posting – The Fans (Atlanta) and The Queen Annes, the latter of which saw the release of an excellent retrospective this year, Something Quick on Green Monkey Records.  The Annes offered a classy “Me” generation update on par excellence British Invasion rock, and are well worth further investigation.  Enjoy. 

Volume 1

01. The Fans – True

02. The Realists - I've Got A Heart

03. Stumblebunny - When You Walk Away

04. Straight Eight - I'm Sorry

05. Speedometors - Tonight Tonight

06. Bo & The Generals - Rich Girl

07. The Boys - (Baby) It's You

08. Sponsors - In & Out Of Love

09. Da Biz - On The Beach

10. Brian Copsey & The Commotions - Boys In Love

11. The Blades - Hot For You

12. Advertising - Stolen Love

13. The Vye - Five Hours Till Tonight

14. The Subterraneans - My Flamingo

 

Volume 2

01. T-Boys - One Way Street

02. Tennis Shoes - (Do The) Medium Wave

03. Queen Annes - This Is That
04. Furys - Moving Target

05. Jo Allen & The Shapes - Cryin' Over You

06. Dee & The Monitors - Play With Fire

07. New Toys - Say It

08. Realists – Wonderland

09. Dazzlers – Phonies

10. Spys - Heavy Scene

11. White Heat - The City Beat

12. Shades - Are You My Angel

13. Urgent Crunch Band - Listen To Silence

14. Expressos - Hey Girl

15. Sweet Tommy Band - She Don't Respond

16. Bozos - Weekend Girl

17. Paul Warren & The Explorers - Mr. A&R Man

18. Ric Tubbax & The Taxis - Breakin' Up

19. Monos! - Mad Lover

20. Fingerprintz - Dancing With Myself

21. Nick Gilder - Metro Jets (unlisted track)

  

Metrojets Vol. 1: Hear

Metrojets Vol. 2: Hear

Regular Guys - Jayhawk Pop (rec. 1979-1981)

I have a feeling this one is going to be available as a limited engagement folks, so don't sleep.  The label responsible for this reissue, Hyped to Death was behind the wonderful Teenline compilations which I've made available on here for quite sometime.  Unfortunately, H2D's website is down, indefinitely it would appear, and I'm unable to determine if the Regular Guys Jayhawk Pop is still available to purchase. 

Though it may not have been a deliberate gesture on their part, rarely has a moniker so aptly summed up a band's m.o. Regular Guys were a turn-of-the-decade Lawrence, KS contingent who played power-pop inclined rock 'n roll, pretty much straight down the middle, with no oblique angles or artsy proclivities. Perhaps a tad too non-descript on some levels, they played a linear but potent game not unlike their midwest contemporaries Off Broadway (USA), Secrets and Hawks.  

During their lifespan they managed to eke out a remarkably memorable 1980 ep, It's a Secret, but it wasn't until 20+ years later that the full extent of their recordings were made available to the world at large.  Jayhawk Pop, commences with the four cuts from It's a Secret, and for it's plentiful remainder the compilation, traces the history of a slightly different permutation of the Guys, with Dave Stuckey replacing original guitarist/mouthpiece Mark Gilman.  And it's not all straight-up power pop either, as the Regular Guys explored related tangents such as proto-punk, roots rock, and less obviously Americana. The booklet, which I've scanned in, provides a more thorough backgrounder on the band than I ever could, and there are generous track-by-track liner notes to boot from bassist John Odell.  So dig in. The full track list is to your left.

Hear

VA - 415 Music (1980, 415 Records)

Where do I begin with this one?  My first observation is that for a compilation this common, I'm surprised it hasn't been digitized elsewhere in the blogosphere.  At any rate, just about of all the songs here are of a brief era when AOR/power-pop/new wave could successfully intermingle with virtually no clear cut demarcations.  Yes, this is that 415 Records, the San Francisco imprint that would eventually hop into bed with CBS Records (i.e. Sony) and release full lengths by "serious" nationally known acts like Wire Train and Translator in the mid-80s.  I regard those two examples as "serious," in comparison to the considerably more lighthearted and occasionally frivolous roster showcased on 415 Music.  Several of the young hopefuls here would fit in like a glove on Hyped to Death's Teenline anthologies - Times 5, Jo Allen and the Shapes, and The Donuts all delivering peppy, melodious, and most importantly, substantive tunes that really warranted exposure beyond this disk.  The Offs, Mutants, and my favorites, SVT (whose "Heart of Stone" is a must hear) would record singles for 415 Records as well, some preceding the release of 415 Music.  Elsewhere, Sudden Fun offer a slice of Pezband/Romantics-esque slice of pop, The Symptoms vaguely mimic the Dickies template, while an undercurrent of minimalist synths informs The VIP's "She's a Put On."

01. The Readymades - 415 Music 
02. Times 5 - Is Your Radio-active?
03. The Mutants - Baby's No Good
04. 391 - Searching for a Thrill
05. Sudden Fun - (I Can't Wait For The) Weekend Show
06. The Donuts (feat. Lisa Bosch) - Johnny, Johnny
07. SVT - Always Come Back for More
08. The Symptoms - Simple Sabotage
09. The VIPs - She's a Put On
10. Jo Allen And The Shapes - Shimmy, Shimmy
11. The Offs - I've Got the Handle

Hear

Singles Going Single #196 - Connections 7" (1981, Guza)

From a cosmetic standpoint, the rather iconic pose and garb of choice Seattle's Connections sport on this record sleeve leads one to believe this combo would be prime contenders for a slot on a Killed By Death or Teenline compilation.  As it turns out, that observation isn't far off the mark, at least as far as aesthetic is concerned.  "Tug of War" is Television styled "punk," with a more acute semblance of melody.  Good, but a notch or two shy of time capsule worthiness.  "Give Me the Knife," belted out by the lone female (no name provided) in this septet, takes a more aggro tack, packing punchy chords and a heaping dollop of sass that goes a long way in defining it's three potent minutes.

A. Tug of War
B. Give Me the Knife

Hear