Customer Reviews

Real Kids

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This disc that you are looking at holds more up-beat energy than a thousand Strokes records! The Real Kids hardly get mentioned in any of the trendy "roots of punk" books and records that are all the rage with the new "garage/rock'n'roll" crowd and that is a real shame. This band deserves a spot in the damn rock'n'roll hall of fame for being so great! All Kindsa Girls has to be the best darn punk,rock'n'roll or pop song in the history of music! Buy this or be square for ever.

This is an amazing record - like others have said, it delivers an intense punch of pioneering power-pop sound that's just fabulous to listen to. Not only that, but there's a certainly defined skill that comes off of the vinyl grooves of this album; the songs vary from the jumpy ("All Kindsa Girls") to the incredibly heartfelt and rather slow ("Just Like Darts"- a MUST listen). I HIGHLY reccomend this album. Totally overlooked, but absolutely seminal.

Before there was the Knack, or any other of a thousand power pop wannabees, there was this album by a quartet of Boston kids with loud guitars and a passion for 60's rock. The songs are great, and fortunately time and money were short, resulting in a raw explosion of sound that virtually defines late 70's power pop.

This was the first punk rock album I ever owned. I was 19 and it changed my life forever. Now I'm 41, and I decided to get it on CD. It was catchy pop at a time when that was out of style. It was rockin', moody, happy, mad, tough, gentle, all in songs that were three and a half minutes long. We take music like this for granted now. They were doing it in 1977.

This has always sounded more like Big Star than the Ramones or Stooges, but its a good rock 'n' roll album nonetheless. In an era when horrific arena rock such as Peter Frampton ruled the airwaves, bands like Real Kids released lo-fi albums which recalled 50s and 60s pop music, and while they never had the following of the Ramones, they were certainly playing their part in the fight to save rock 'n' roll. They are my favorite rock 'n' roll band to come out of my homestate, aside from the Modern Lovers (who Felice had been a member of) and the Pixies. The music itself is incredibly catchy and rocking, and its obvious John Felice is a big fan of Buddy Holly and all the other pop-rockers of the 50s and 60s. The overall sound is mostly similar to Big Star, but there are a few tunes which make me realize why its classified as punk, mainly the angry teen angst anthem at the end "Reggae Reggae". Great dancing music, I'd reccomend picking up the first Modern Lovers album and "#1 Record" before this, but if you enjoy those classics LPs than you'll probably like this. Fun if unessential.

Love songs with attitude that totally rock! Originally released in 1977, this debut has excellent production. They followed-up with a few albums in the early 80's and singer John Felice released a solo album in the late 80's--all of which have less attitude and are a little more pop. How's this for an obscure reference: sounds like early Skrewdriver (All Skrewed Up/Boots and Braces), sans megalomania, with Mick Jaggar singing. Should appeal to fans of the Ramones, B-Movie Rats, Supersuckers.

It pains me to give this cd less than 5 stars, because the actual album is a bona fide classic. Rock & Roll simply does not get much better than this. Very similar to what the early Ramones were going for, but with one foot leaning slightly more in the 50's Rock foundation. Still, it's ground breaking in the same way the Ramones (& Saints, MOdern Lovers, etc) were, in updating the R&R sound with louder guitars and much more raw passion than was the norm at the time.
Norton records has reissued all of the early Real Kids material, and it all sounds good, but for some reason this album is mastered too low. It's one of those cases where the cd volume is so much lower than that of other cds that you need to crank up the volume on your system higher than normal, yet it still lacks the "punch" that the music deserves.
I suppose this cd comes highly recommended, since it's the only version out there, but your best bet may be to seek out a vinyl copy, or just get the cd and hope and pray (like I do) for a reissue sometime in our short lifetimes!

There must have been something in Boston's water in the '70s and early '80s, as the city turned out a tremendous amount of great punk-fueled rock 'n' roll. While Aerosmith, Boston, J.Geils and The Cars may have had the most commercial success, the city's underground spun out great rock, power pop, punk and post-punk bands that included the Lyres, Neats, Neighborhoods, FU's, and Mission of Burma. Perhaps the most pure rock 'n' roll heart belonged to this foursome, formed in the early '70s by John Felice after leaving Jonathan Richman's Modern Lovers. Like many Boston bands, the Real Kids were known for their energetic live shows, and it took a half decade and a kick in the ass from the DIY revolution to get their sound down on vinyl.

This 1977 debut, originally released on New York's Red Star label (along side Suicide's debut) is a gem perfect rock 'n' roll record. It's melodic, in the way of power pop, but Felice's singing and the ferocious guitar playing harkens back to the edginess and power of the '50 more than the British Invasion of the '60s. Their hyped-up rough-and-ready cover of "Rave On," is a perfect update of Buddy Holly's original, magnifying the song's joy with the power of loud guitars. Eddie Cochran's swaggering "My Way" also succumbs to Felice's vocal and the band's sonic punch, and Frankie Ford's "Roberta" provides a great opportunity to rave on.

Felice's originals combine the rock 'n' roll drive of the covers with dashes of power-pop tunefulness and punk abandon. The opening "All Kindsa Girls," is a solid gold rock 'n' roll classic driven by an irresistible backbeat, hyperkinetic drumming, driving guitars and terrific melodic hooks. Same for the '60s-styled background vocals of "Better Be Good, the bashing guitars of "Taxi Boys," the blues riffing of "She's Alright," and the band's newest dance sensation "Do the Boob." Even when the band slows down for "Just Like Darts," they maintain their power, with slashing guitar and a strong rhythm section. Ragged and ready, a rock 'n' roll classic! [©2008 hyperbolium dot com]

One of THE greatest American rock'n'roll bands on their best album.Buy it!

Then get the other ones!

you gatta have this in the collection ....... if you dont have this you dont have taste.......... all the cool kids have the real kids