Album Details

• Artist: Del Fuegos
• Album: Boston Mass.
• Label: Slash
• Year of Release: 1985
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: charlesmartel on 2012-09-10

The band had clearly moved on from their first album and seem to have overcome some of the drawbacks which that album displayed. Principally, there is more energy in this album than its predecessor. Sometimes, this energy is latent, held back in reserve, taunting and tempting you to let rip before the band does. At other times, it just comes across as full on and in your face. The Del Fuegos had not put aside their bar-room garage rock roots. They had simply honed and refined them and brought them to their logical conclusion.

At times it can be a little silly, witness some of the childishly smutty lyrics on "It's Alright". Yes, we've all been down the pub of an evening and written lyrics like:

"I love you, Baby, and I love your cat./I love the way you look at my fireman's hat"

And then woken up the next morning and though ‘OMG did I embarrass myself last night'. In spite of that, "It's Alright" is my favourite track on the album and one of my all time favourite tracks.

Yet at other times the album rises to the sublime - the syncopation shattering the comfort of the bridge of "Don't Run Wild" is a typical example. The tension in this track is so palpable the air virtually crackles with it when the track is on. If bathos is an essential ingredient in a good album, then that explains a lot behind why this album feels so good.

And yet, in spite of those two stand-out tracks, the two best on the album, the fear that the album is little more than the opening of the two sides never materialises. This has no fillers. Every track has something to grab you and hold your attention. Tracks such as "Sound of Our Town", "Hold Us Down" and "Night on the Town" all convey the energy and the attitude which was sometimes a bit lacking in their first release. On the other hand, with "Coupe de Ville", the band show that they can take the pace down a bit without losing anything essential as a consequence.

This album then is one of the great unsung wonders of its age. When it came out it grabbed me instantly and was something which barely got off my turntable for several years afterwards. Like Talk Talk Talk by the Psychedelic Furs, the Del Fuegos had a second album which was stronger than their first and must rate as the finest album of its kind.

User Reviews and Comments

on 2011-06-10 CharlesMartel Said:

Great pub rock from America. This should have been massive
Rating: 9/10