Junkmedia.org Review - The epitome of punk?
junkmedia | Los Angeles, CA | 04/07/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Merseybeat (Beatles pre-Beatles For Sale, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, The Searchers, et al.) has long provided a foundation for bands that promote the essence of rocking pop music. Whether changing the musical world (The Beatles), providing the foundation for folk rock (The Searchers with "Needles And Pins") or simply providing pleasant musical diversions with versions of unrecorded Lennon-McCartney numbers (Billy J. Kramer's version of "Bad to Me"), Merseybeat has a beat and not only can you dance to it, but you can also sing along with the chorus.The Broken Hearts were one of those bands who took up the mantle of Merseybeat during the mid '80s, producing wonderful artifacts such as the recently reissued Want One?. To celebrate the reissue 11 tracks have been added to the original nine, all of which were recorded 20 years after the ascent of Mersey's first musical incarnations.The Broken Hearts offer an interpretation of the original sound augmented with an American garage rock sensibility. By way of comparison, the high church of modern Merseybeat is usually considered in the context of the Spongetones. Where the Spongetones created wonderfully upbeat and catchy early '60s inspired pop rock, the band's commitment to capturing the sound reduced them to slavish imitators at times. The Broken Hearts, however, used the era of the 2:30 pop rock single as a source of inspiration and built on that foundation.This inspiration -- along with the urgent garage-rock feel -- is particularly noticeable in the bonus tracks. Many of them were recorded in rehearsal spaces, apartments, or live in various studios in the northeastern United States during the mid '80s. Given the Broken Hearts' commitment to classic pop music forms, one can almost sense their urgency (and near desperation) as they race through these numbers in preparation for a gig at one local dive or another -- after all, what were you listening to in 1985? Remember that three of the biggest hits of the day were "Like a Virgin," "I Want to Know What Love Is," and "Wake Me Up, Before you Go Go." Clearly, sounding like the Beatles was not in vogue, and even the developing indie rock underground was in the throes of devoting themselves to post-punk irony, beer and tiny tour vans.So -- why buy this CD? Because it represents musicians practicing their craft at a time when doing something so unconventionally unconventional represented the epitome of punk. Besides, the melodies are good, the playing is tight and you can dance to it. Drop a dime in the record machine and let the Broken Hearts provide the soundtrack.Ken King
Junkmedia.org Review"
Track Listings (20) - Disc #1