Customer Reviews

Protect the Innocent (Mlps)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I LOOOOOOOOOVE Rachel Sweet! "Fool Around" was a great debut, quite a departure from her early country singles (for the most part anyway), but her masterpiece has to be-in my opinion-"Protect the Innocent", it's the most diversified of her 4 albums. She wrote 2 songs herself & co-wrote 2 more. All tracks are excellent and her voice is in top form-she rocks out here more than anywhere else. of course there are a few killer ballads as well. Rock, country, new wave, pop-it's all here. My faves: Jealous, New Age, Baby lets Play House, Spellbound, Lovers Lane, Foul Play, Take Good Care Of Me, & Tonight Ricky

1980's "Protect the Innocent" was the second album by Rachel Sweet, a follow-up to 1979's "Fool Around". Rachel began her career not so much as an "artist" but simply a unique "voice" and "image" being guided by managers and her record label (Stiff). "Fool Around", with its very eclectic mix of songs ranging from "near country" to "bizarre alternative" was an example of throwing it all at the wall to find out what sticks. Unlike the first release, "Protect the Innocent" was an attempt to guide Rachel into a particular genre, mainly "New Wave". For that task, producer Martin Rushent (Stranglers, Buzzcocks, Go-Go's - Talk Show) was hired.

Another major difference between the debut effort and this follow-up can be found in the songwriting credits. "Fool Around" was completely comprised of material written by other writers (ranging from Elvis Costello to John Wicks and Will Birch of the Records), but on this release Rachel gets full writing credit on two tracks and co-writing credit on one track.

Good tracks include an excellent rendition of the Lou Reed song "New Age", the punky "I've Got a Reason", and "Take Good Care of Me". Like her first release, "Protect the Innocent" is a bit uneven at times mainly because Rachel was VERY young and still finding her footing as an artist. It wasn't until the 1982 release "Blame It On Love" that Rachel really began to showcase her full potential. Still, this is an excellent album and an enjoyable journey back to 1980.

Recommended for fans of "New Wave", early 80's, and of course fans of Rachel Sweet!

I had hoped that her other albums ("...and then he kissed me" and "blame it on love") would have received the same high quality treatment when released on CD, but instead both albums were placed on one release that suffers from poor sound quality. I hope they eventually get the same royal treatment that "Protect the Innocent" is receiving, they certainly deserve it!

-JM

Sweet barely made a blip stateside on her first two disks. I think I heard of her more b/c I was way into 'new wave' back in the day and that Sweet was a fellow NE Ohio native.

'Protect the Innocent' was much more adventurous than 'Fool Around' and I consider it her best and most consistent disk. Rushnet did a good job w/the production - making the material less pop oriented and bit more dark and....manic(?), if you will.

The covers are a little more obscure (ok...maybe not Elvis' "Baby Let's Play House", but she pulls that off), Lou Reed's "New Age" was unexpected and well done. The entire disk has held up well over the (gulp) 25-28 yrs it's been out. There are a few songs that aren't as strong ("Fool's Gold" and maybe "Lovers' Lane") but the good stuff is Good.

It's a shame this CD isn't available domestically - but I never saw it as a U.S. disk even back when originally released, It always was her quintessential Stiff/UK disk...down to the cover art.

If you can get it and willing to shell out the high high price - it might be worth it.

Sweet's first album was equally fueled by her preciously mature vocals and the quirky material provided by producer Liam Sternberg. This follow-up, recorded after the first flush of ironic jailbait publicity had died down, is more about Sweet and her powerhouse voice than about unusually crafted material. The backing band, variously credited as Fingerprintz and an Aberdeen pub band called Bus Company, provide solid backing, while producers Martin Rushent and Alan Winstansley keep Sweet front-and-center. This is a straight-ahead pop-rock record that's aged a lot better than its New Wave contemporaries.

In contrast to Sternberg's teen-themed songs, Sweet often picked more mature material for her second album, selecting work from a variety of accomplished writers and performers. She gave a teen edge to Elvis Presley's rockabilly "Baby Let's Play House," sparked up The Damned's angsty "New Rose" and covered the over-the-hill nostalgia of Lou Reed's "New Age." Then-contemporary tunes from Graham Parker ("Fools Gold") and Moon Martin ("I've Got a Reason") are also both excellent, and a trio of tunes written or co-written by Sweet, including the bouncy leadoff love song and the jazzy closer of clandestine teen romance.

This CD fell out of print almost as quickly as it was reissued, making it well worth picking up used.

Thank God, someone had the sense to release this on CD. It is one of her better albums. That is, of the painfully few she made. Buy the anthologies - but for REAL Rachel put this CD on REPEAT!!

Hopefully everyone reading this is familiar with "Protect The Innocent", Rachel Sweet's second album. If not, other reviewers have summed the music up pretty well, so I'll comment on the merits of this particular cd issue, Stiff/JVC VICP-63350, UPC code 4988002498994.

This 20bit K2 release from Japan comes in a nostalgic "vinyl album" - type cardboard cover which replicates the original album artwork, with an OBI strip on the side, rather than a standard jewel case. (It's neither here nor there really, but I'm not particularly fond of these covers myself.) Inside the cd is in a clear sleeve just like many of the old vinyls, along with a red paper sleeve. There's a nice booklet with song lyrics in both Japanese and English, brief credits, a great b& w photo, however the newly written liner notes are in Japanese only.

While amazon isn't guilty of this I see a few online stores advertise this cd as having a bonus track, but there isn't one, just the regular 12 album tracks.

(Some of these releases do feature bonus tracks that aren't listed on the cover so as not to alter the original artwork.)

Now, the biggie: how does this cd sound? For the high import price (over $40 nearly everywhere), it really had better deliver, right?

Yes, it does deliver. Big time. This classic album has never sounded anywhere near this good, not on the original vinyl and certainly not in the previous, somewhat murky cd release; the compilations that have featured tracks from "Protect The Innocent" cower in shame before these remasters. I played this JVC cd in two pretty middling systems and the sound comes through loud, clear and crisp, with instruments and nuances never before heard by my ears. A common complaint among audiophiles regarding 20bit K2 remasters is an overly bright sound on several releases; an Elvis Presley K2 cd I own suffers *slightly* from this, but I happily report there is no such problem on "Protect The Innocent". I'm not exaggerating when I say it's damn near like hearing Rachel's masterpiece for the first time all over again listening to this particular reissue. I doubt it will ever sound better.

So. While I'm sure nearly all of her fans who don't own this album on the previous cd release will buy this without knowing how amazing it sounds, there are also fans who do own that '90's cd who may be hesitating to double-dip at this price (I was one) and others who may own the vinyl and think the few tracks reissued elsewhere in cd format are enough. Well, think again. This is ROYAL, and three bucks or so per track is actually a bargain to hear "Protect The Innocent" like this. Highly recommended.

Protect The Innocent was my second Rachel Sweet Album I purchased in the late 70's after her Fool Around Album and it was a mind blower. Her version of New Age is the best I have heard since Velvet Underground and the songs that she penned on her own were fantastic.

I was disappointed after Blame it on Love that she got out of the music business. She never got the respect that she deserves and people who haven't heard Rachel Sweet need to check out what is out there. They will be blown away by what this woman did.

B Knowles

I was thrilled to see this album had finally been released on a remastered CD. Most of the songs had popped up on a couple of compilation CDs, but this was the first time I had heard it in its entirety since my turntable died, and vinyl faded away. I first found this music shortly after its release, and loved the voice and the quirky sounds. I recall that the cover art was controversial (at the time), especially when compared to the "sweet young thing" cover of Rachel's previous release. Anyone who loves early 80's power pop, or girl power, or just plain old catchy hooks will love this album. The musical styles run the gamut, from Rockabilly throwback (Baby Lets Play House) to Power Pop (Fool's Gold) to shimmery, seductive vocals on Tonight Ricky, a song that could have easily been covered by Julie London or Peggy Lee. This is a 5-star effort.

Album number 2 is filled with great Rachel tunes. The Elvis rebel comes out in JEALOUS, and BABY LETS PLAY HOUSE. NEW AGE is an homage to faded Hollywood glory, great for a 16 yr old. Every song is great. All but the first 3 tunes appear on the B A B Y compilation, plus the whole first album (minus ITS SO DIFF HERE-darn). She later surfaces for HAIRSPRAY, but not after a defunct cable show called The Sweet Life. Her voice blows away all the recent pop tart stars of today. C'mon WILDWOOD SALOON? At 14? She is the reincarnation of Janis and Patsy. FOOLS STORY from And then He Kissed me LP. What are you waiting for Columbia? REISSUE DUH!!!

Released in 1980, this was one of Rachel's milestone recordings. With such classics as "Stranger In The House" and "Lover's Lane," this is easily a compilation of some of Rachel's finest new wave hits. I strongly recommend it!