Who's Been Sleeping Here? - Tuff Darts, Kirke, Mikael
Here Comes Trouble - Tuff Darts, Frenzy, Tommy
She's Dead - Tuff Darts, Frenzy, Tommy
Phone Booth Man - Tuff Darts, DeSalvo, John
(Your Love Is Like) Nuclear Waste - Tuff Darts, DeSalvo, John
My Guitar Lies Bleeding in My Arms - Tuff Darts, DeSalvo, John
Love and Trouble - Tuff Darts, Salen, Jeff
Head Over Heels - Tuff Darts, Salen, Jeffrey
Slash - Tuff Darts, DeSalvo, John
Fun City - Tuff Darts, DeSalvo, John
All for the Love of Rock N'Roll - Tuff Darts, Butani, Bobby
Back in 1978 when The Ramones and The Sex Pistols were all the rage, there was another punk rock group that dented the charts. Tuff Darts! This cult favorite is making its worldwide CD debut. Headed up by lead guitarist ... more »Jeff Salen, this group made only one album, featuring hard driving punk/pop songs. Fans have been screamin' for this one! Wounded Bird Records. 2002.« less
Back in 1978 when The Ramones and The Sex Pistols were all the rage, there was another punk rock group that dented the charts. Tuff Darts! This cult favorite is making its worldwide CD debut. Headed up by lead guitarist Jeff Salen, this group made only one album, featuring hard driving punk/pop songs. Fans have been screamin' for this one! Wounded Bird Records. 2002.
CD Reviews
The Dictators' kid brothers?
Robert Schell | Townsville, Texas | 05/14/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is goofy melodic punk/power-pop with the kind of cartoonish anti-social and anti-love lyrics that made the early Ramones and Dictators records so fun. Musically, they remind me most of The 'Tators, and maybe Richard Hell & the Voidoids, though they're not as arty. Fun stuff. Now is anybody up for reissuing The Brains and Fingerprintz onto c.d.?"
I'm getting old!
Jason | Lincoln, NE United States | 04/15/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Wow, Tuff Darts finally making it to CD. I first became aware of this band when I was in Junior High School. It was the late 70's, folks were mainly into Disco. After seeing the Sex Pistols on Good Morning America, I was drawn into the world of Punk Rock, never to return! Now, as I near the age of 40, I'm reminded of one of my all time favorite records! Tuff Darts was a major inspiration for me in my youth (says something about me, eh?). I can still remember all the lyrics to "your love is like nuclear waste" and "rats". I got my vinyl from, believe it or not, the Columbia Record Club! Got it with Never Mind the Bollucks! Amazing! Still have it somewhere! Buy this CD! It's terrific!"
"Punk" in Lyrics Only
Yvonne M. Brown | Palmetto, GA USA | 07/13/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I still have the vinyl original issue of "Tuff Darts!" and was delighted to find it released on CD. Pre-dating "The Knack" and the less-explicit-lyric-inclined "Romantics," Tuff Darts minced no words, yet played with a very listenable style and rocking beat, without the rough stridency characteristic of the hard-core bands in the genre termed "Punk." And, many of the songs are funny. Not necessarily because of such lines as, "I enjoy killing pigeons in the park. I like to peer in windows when it's nice and dark" ("Phone Booth Man"). The kick is in the matter-of-fact way the lyrics are sung, sometimes to a very laid-back melody, and not shouted.
I doubt a younger audience hearing this music for the first time, would have any inkling of its quarter-century age (bar the reference to dime phone calls). Themes progressive for the 70's could find an even larger popularity, as when the singer declares to an unnamed potential girlfriend: "I'd rather slash my wrists and cut my throat than have to spend the night with you. Your fancies are the pits..." ("Slash"). Living with repressive Southeastern radio fare in the Disco Era, I probably owe the fact that I can still think to the alternative press and a couple of college-campus record shops. "Tuff Darts!" could get airplay today. Even here."
CD only hints at Darts' greatness
Don J. Kramer | Seattle, WA USA | 09/08/2005
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Tuff Darts was one of the top live bands in NY when I saw them at CBGB''s in 1976. They were terrific performers who churned out hook after inspired musical hook, and it's great to hear them again. Sadly, this recording doesn't capture the energy and attitude I saw in the Bowery. Some of the choices the band's management made on this album were downright bizarre. Their two best live performances are completely lost in mystifying arrangements. "Slash" is turned from a raw, threatening anthem into doo-wop, with a Hawaiian guitar "punching" out what live were electrifying bridge chords. Similarly, Jeff Salen's throbbing and driving lead Les Paul in "Head Over Heels" was extremely muted, downright emasculated. The decision to start off with "Rats" was also curious; the idea, I guess, was to market them as a quirky Talking Heads-type band instead of the rockers they were. There are hints of the Darts' greatness in "My Guitar Lies Bleeding in My Arms" and what got the stoners dancing at CBGB's in "All for the Love of Rock n' Roll," the selection that ends the album. But I fear those who hadn't heard them live will stop playing this CD before they get to it. Those people, if they ever did hear of Tuff Darts, will likely be wondering what all the fuss was about."
Unbelieveable production values too!
Pro Audio Guy | Dallas these days | 05/30/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"in addition to all the other things people have said about this sisde is the fact that this may have been Bob Clearmountain's first credit as a producer for a major label (Sire). bob went on to be the producer and remix engineer for just about everyone in the record business. Bowie, Stones, Chic, Nile Rodgers......he is universally regarded as one of the best recording engineers/mixer/remixer and producers in the business today, and it all started 20 years ago at the Power Station in New York where this record was recorded. The sounds, riffs and production flourishes on this record are pure genius. if you want to know how a punk record should sound with vocals out front, kickin bass, mondo drums and properly recorded guitar amps, buy this record. On top of all that, the songs are totally whack and funy to boot. Buy this record so you can play it every time a chick breaks up with you. "She's Dead" and "Your Love is Like Nuclear Waste" are meant to be played at about 105dB, and will definitely bring you out of your funk and make you forget about that bitch......lol"
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1