Customer Reviews

Beat

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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!

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.

The first album by The Beat (later renamed Paul Collins' Beat) is one of the most fantastic rock 'n' roll albums; it often is subcategorized as "powerpop", which just throws people off the trail of this gem. It is unjustly overlooked to the point that it's criminal, it's so fantastic. ALL the songs are catchy as hell, songwriting skills that are amongst the best in the genre of rock 'n' roll. Great guitar drives this album, but not in an excessive way; for example, the brief riff after the line "I pick up the phone and get a dial tone" is BRILLIANT; the leads are beautiful--especially in Different Kind of Girl; it will make you feel like you are lost in the stars; the song reminds me of the first girl I fell in love with, a brown-eyed beauty named Alex; I love how the song describes its character--"goes where she wants to go and says what she wants to say"-- even the title points out that the album, as commercially viable as it is, is aimed for the true rock 'n' roll lover, which means an outsider (to really understand and feel it); just look at the title of the second song -- "I Don't Fit In"-- PERFECT. I have LOVED, loved, loved this record for years. A Different Kind Of Girl's best line --"the way that she smiles/I'll kiss her tonight" (sigh!).(you need to hear the music to understand how beautiful it sounds). Don't Wait Up For Me and U.S.A. are perfect driving songs, as in yer car; it's hard not to wanna drive as fast as you can when listening to these in your car, with (no puns intended) the tempo acceleration of the former and the breezy pace of the latter. This is such a perfect album. Everyone who loves rock 'n roll must have this album in one form or another-- and with a two-fer with the inferior (by comparison--still a fine album definitely) 2nd album available on Wounded Bird, that's the way to go rather than pay exorbitant prices, unless you want this classic in its original form (well, with one bonus track). Paul Collins continues to record, tour, and keep on goin', but THIS is where to start with ANY kind of interest toward Paul Collins. I am going to use a word I often use in my reviews, but only when and where it's justified-- this is a MASTERPIECE of poppy rock 'n' roll. "Play Loud" it says on the back, and while that seem like a cliche, it truly applies here. The best rock 'n' roll is meant to be played loud, and it doesn't get much better than THE BEAT.

OK, I will make this short and sweet. As the title to my review states - change the "A" in the band's name to "S" as this is "The BEST" album of all time. A few other albums come close but this is the best. You can NOT dislike this album! Ear candy x 1,000!

This CD was voted #1 best album by Magnet Magazine for their list of rockin' power pop albums. All of the songs on this CD are classics. This album has been re-issued several times by Sony, Wounded Bird and Get Hip Recordings. The Wounded Bird version contains all of the songs on this album, plus the second Paul Collins' Beat album, The Kids Are The Same with a bonus track. If you want to buy the albums individually and each with their own full-size artwork, I recommend this version. If you want both albums on one disc instead of two separate discs, then I recommend The Beat/The Kids Are The Same 2 albums on 1 CD. The audio and sound are identical on both releases, which have been digitally re-mastered by Bruce Botnick, who originally produced Paul Collins' Beat, The Doors and Buffalo Springfield.

Beat/the Kids Are the Same


I actually interviewed Paul Collins when The Beat played in my city a while back. Paul Collins' Beat are famous in places such as Japan and Europe, where they appear on international television networks and attract large crowds at their concerts. The market for music is very different here in America, where artists, tours and albums are all pre-packaged.

Collins' best career moves were starting a successful partner-based booking agency called The Beat Army, recording the self-titled album "The Beat" and founding The Nerves in 1974. The Nerves toured with The Ramones and released their own independent albums on vinyl. The Nerves were also the first punk band or group playing an alternative form of rock music to perform on the USO tour for the American troops in the 1970s.

There has been ongoing talk of two projects, including a full length motion picture and a documentary film about The Nerves. I emailed Paul Collins, who stated that he is not currently involved with either project and is working on a new album.

King of Power Pop

If either film does surface, I hope that it will be similar to the 2010 biopic about '70s teenage band The Runaways, which told the story of Joan Jett, Cherie Currie, Lita Ford and Sandy West.

The Nerves' back catalog has been reissued by the record label Alive Total Energy and I look forward to hearing the new Paul Collins' Beat album.

One Way Ticket (Dig)

See my review of 20/20 (as Antagonico). I put this on a cassette with 20/20, and they have been bookends for me ever since. They capture the ersatz beetlish 60s sound that became so popular in the late 70s early 80s. Great work. Still holds it's own. Goes good with a cold one and a sunset after a drive to the coast.

This is absolutely impossible to find, I need to know where to get this album. I downloaded two mp3s from the album, but I can't find anything else...