Robin Lane & The Chartbusters

Robin Lane, Robin Lane and The Chartbusters | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 11, 2003)
• Original Release Date: 1980
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Collector's Choice
• ASIN: B00006RYJ4
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #178,164 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #94 in Music > Indie Music > Alternative Rock > New Wave

Editorial Reviews

Singer-songwriter Robin Lane had been around for a decade (doing back-up vocals, for example, for Neil Young’s 1970 album "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere") when she fell in love with punk and new wave and abruptly changed directions, forming the Chartbusters and adding a much more aggressive element to her sound while still retaining her folk-rock roots. The combination proved to be a knockout, garnering a rabid following among her Boston base and getting her and the band signed to Warner Brothers by Jerry Wexler, for whom they recorded this 1980 debut, here released on CD for the first time with notes by Richie Unterberger featuring quotes from band member Asa Brebner and Robin herself! Includes "When Things Go Wrong," "It’ll Only Hurt a Little While," "Don’t Cry," "Without You," "Why Do You Tell Lies," "I Don’t Want to Know," "Many Years Ago," "Waitin’ in Line," "Be Mine Tonight," "Kathy Lee" and "Don’t Wait Till Tomorrow." A Collectors’ Choice Music exclusive!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars You had to be there., November 23, 2003

By A Customer

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This review is from: Robin Lane & The Chartbusters (Audio CD)

Some great performers become stars and some don't. In late 1980, I had the pleasure of seeing this band in concert, and it was one of the highlights of my musical life. I was always a sucker for jangly-guitared bands, and I saw the Byrds, Tom Petty, and R.E.M. as well as the Chartbusters, but if I could go back in time and pick one of those shows, it would be Robin's. Around the same time I saw other new wave or punk or post-punk bands who became hugely successful, and they didn't approach what this band could do. I loved the Ramones, silly bands like the B-52's and Go-Go's put on great shows, Elvis Costello, who's lasted, or the Romantics, who didn't, were on tour the same winter and none of the above could come close to this band live. I'd put Robin's show up with Patti Smith's first appearances, or the early Pretenders. In terms of energy, it was comparable to a Lone Justice show, speaking of women of the early 80's who rocked hard and then disappeared, but musically, I'm trying to summon adequate words. The drummer was amazing, the guitarists were so brilliantly talented that half the time they distracted me from a singer with stage presence, energy, talent, and raw sex appeal that otherwise completely captivated me. I wanted Robin, but didn't really have a groupie personality, wanted one of their guitars (an SG?) and all the special effects that went with it, but only had the money to buy the records, so I went out and got this on vinyl, soon to be followed by the live EP and "Imitation Life", still both unavailable on CD.

This recording really didn't capture their sound, and I found it disappointing. I'd hesitate to say anything negative about it, but I found Robin's comments in the CD liner notes contained every criticism of the album I ever felt. It didn't capture the way Robin sang, their energy level, or the absolutely incredible guitar sound. Didn't even have a good photo of Robin. Still, for a fan, this album was at least a faint reminder of how they sounded live, and I listened to it and the others until I wore them out. Then the band was gone, the albums out of print, and that was that. Until now. The CD actually sounds better than I remembered the record - maybe it's just being old and able to afford a better stereo. My only complaint about the transfer to CD is that, unlike the original record, the lyrics aren't currently included. Songs like "Don't Cry" bring back just how well this band did pop songs with great hooks (plus the memory of Robin singing that one to me in the front row), and "I Don't Want To Know" resonates with much of that raw energy from way back when. "Many Years Ago" seems even more evocative now with its "Many years ago you could live a simple life, and not be so frustrated" chorus. You could actually live a much simpler life in 1980, as my teenagers remind me daily.

If you weren't a fan then, or haven't been out to see the recently-reunited band, I'm not sure why you'd want this CD. The sound is dated, and if you clicked here from a new-wave link, you'd probably be happier with bands you remember. There are some good songs, but in most cases I thought more of the music than the lyrics. And that sound just was never recorded well, though one of the show's highlights, a "Shakin' All Over" cover that sounded like the Who's "Live at Leeds" version on speed, did come out pretty well on the live EP.

For any fan of Robin's, though, this is an essential, and we can only hope the EP and "Imitation Life" turn up on CD one day.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Overlooked female-voiced power pop from 1980, February 10, 2006

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hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Robin Lane & The Chartbusters (Audio CD)

Issued in 1980, and with band links to Jonathan Richman's Modern Lovers, the Chartbusters were tagged early on as "new wave." And though the energy of that era certainly informs their music, Lane's songs were more straight-ahead rock, and the band's playing was devoid of new wave affectations. In the liner notes of this first-ever CD reissue, Lane and guitarist Asa Brebner suggest that the album didn't capture the band's sound, what it did capture (thanks in large part to producer Joe Wissert) is a heartier version of the power pop that fellow travelers like Tom Petty and Dwight Twilley had been putting out for a couple of years, but fronted by Lane's husky female vocals.

The sound of Collectors' Choice's reissue really sparkles, no doubt in large part due to the original work of the album's engineer, Rick Ruggeri. Richie Unterberger's two-panel liner notes provide background on the band, but leave no room for the lyrics and songwriting credits that appeared on the original album's liner sleeve. 4-1/2 stars, if allowed fractional ratings. [©2006 hyperbolium dot com]

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Robin Lane's First Album...give yourself a gift, February 19, 2005

By 

C. Solomon (SILVER SPRING, MD United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Robin Lane & The Chartbusters (Audio CD)

I have been waiting for ages for this album to finally come out on CD...it's about time. This is one of my favorite rock albums of all time. For me it's never old or tired; it's just timeless rock that ages well like fine wine. Enjoy! Now, if only Imitation Life would come out on CD soon.