Beat

Paul Collins' Beat | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 19, 1994)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Wagon Wheel Records
• ASIN: B000001L4B
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #93,479 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Rock N Roll Girl

2. I Don't Fit In

3. Different Kind of Girl

4. Don't Wait Up for Me

5. You Won't Be Happy

6. Walking Out on Love

7. Work-A-Day World

8. U.S.A.

9. Let Me into Your Life

10. Working Too Hard

11. You and I

12. Look But Don't Touch

13. There She Goes [*]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This BEAT goes on!, October 5, 2003

By 

Tim Brough "author and music buff" (Springfield, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Beat (Audio CD)

The Beat (or Paul Collins' Beat, the moniker they eventually took on to avoid confusion with The English Beat, and in the UK, this album was called "The American Beat" for the same reasons) cut this gem of an album in 1979, when it seemed every band in Los Angeles with a skinny tie and a jangle guitar got a deal. And like many of them, they got swept away in the backlash that formed around The Knack. Collin's fate was undeserved, because this album just bristles with energy and pop smarts.

There are a couple undiscovered classics here. "I Don't Fit In" captures the angst of an outsider looking in with British Invasion snap, and "Don't Wait Up For Me," the second single, was the kind of great rock and roll that made new wave such a blast. The catchy "Rock and Roll Girl" also generated some radio attention. Oddly enough, what has probably become the CD's most-heard song wasn't even on the original album. "There She Goes" was used for the movie "Caddyshack," and just as great as any of the album's original dozen selections.

Producer Bruce Botnik also understood The Beat perfectly, keeping the sound minimal and raw, perfect for loud playing. If you miss the fun period of early eighties power pop (Dwight Twilley, Shoes, Producers, Knack, Motels, etc), this hard to find CD is worth the effort. You can also safely skip the follow-up, in which the moniker became "Paul Collins' Beat" and the band's sound was homogenized into a Bryan Adams kind of blandness.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pure power pop fun!, May 9, 2003

By 

"mikewinn2" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beat (Audio CD)

Whatever happened to this band? I was a teenager when I stumbled across this album. I do not think they made it very big, (like The Knack). I never got rid of my records, but I did get rid of my turntable-until TODAY! After 15 years without a record player I bought one today. I put this record on and it sounds as fresh as it ever did! Power pop in the line of The Records,The Ramones, The Jags, you got it right? If you are a little younger, think the Hives, with a little less attitude and a little more pop. Every song on this is a catchy pop tune that will stick in your head and have you humming happy thoughts!

If you are a young band, I would cover some of these songs. they were overlooked 24 years ago, but I can easily see these songs gaining popularity! "Rock n' Roll Girl" and "I don't fit In" are two of the best teen angst pop songs written form those times!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Days of Power Pop, June 27, 2002

By 

KK Leather (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beat (Audio CD)

This "record" came out at a time when there were many power pop bands releasing amazing music. Paul Collins Beat along with The Shoes, Off Broadway, 20/20, The Records, Cheap Trick & others really define that period of time for me. I first heard the Beat (Don't Wait Up For Me) on a 4 track 7 inch single that also included The Sinceros, Jules & The Polar Bears (Jules Shear) & one I can't remember. If you are a fan of any of the above bands you will definitely enjoy this CD. Don't Wait Up For Me & Rock & Roll Girl alone are worth the price. The Beat seemed to be much more influenced by American R&R. Most Power Pop bands of the time drew almost exclusively from the Beatles & The Byrds. At the time when this record came out it seemed so fresh, it holds up quite well and is very consistent. Get It.