Awakening

The Last | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 16, 1994)
• Original Release Date: 2004
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sst Records
• ASIN: B000000M59
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #676,079 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. No Love

2. Assembly Line

3. You

4. Somebody New

5. Garden Grow

6. Your Wings

7. Book of Life

8. Dreaming

9. Tired

10. Awakening

11. She Loves You

12. Baby It's You

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Catchy, Raw, Beatles-Influenced Garage-Pop, October 31, 2002

By 

Eric R. Last "misterrockobscurities" (San Bruno, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Awakening (Audio CD)

"Awakening" is the 4th album by L.A. power-popsters The Last. Like all The Last's albums, it's chock full of catchy melodies, hooks, harmonies, economical guitar leads, and the fine songs of Joe Nolte. The Last were part of the same scene in L.A. that also produced the Plimsouls, the Knack, the Beat, the Pop, etc. The Last's music tends to be more unpolished than most of these other bands. They truly sound like they belong in a garage. I think the closest comparison I could make is with the Flamin' Groovies, another great band with a similar bent. My first exposure to them was in the early 80's when I picked up a copy of their 1980 debut album, "L.A. Explosion", in a used record store, for no other reason than their name. You see, my last name is "Last", so I was intrigued by this band with my name. I took it home and was delighted to discover that I had accidentally stumbled onto a wonderfully Beatlesque gem. "L.A. Explosion" remains my favorite Last album, but I enjoy them all. Following the debut, they put out the "Fade To Black" E.P., then the French-only release "Painting Smiles Upon A Dead Man" in 1984. Then they broke up. In 1988 they reformed (minus one of the original 3 Nolte brothers, David, but with Joe and Mike Nolte remaining as the core of the band) and released "Confession", the first of 3 albums on the SST label. "Awakening" followed in 1989, and finally, "Gin & Innuendoes" appeared in 1996 to close out the Last story (to date). "Awakening" is highlighted by five particularly strong pop gems: "No Love", "Assembly Line", "You", "Garden Grows", and "Dreaming". As an added bonus, they close the album with two fine covers, "She Loves You" and "Baby It's You". I guess they didn't think the heavy Beatles influence was obvious enough. Although The Last are among the most obscure bands of the L.A. power pop scene, they certainly are one of the best.