To Hell With the Boys＜Red Vinyl＞

Originally released in 1979, "To Hell", the Boys' third album, was recorded in a small Norwegian town called Hell (hence the album title's pun), and is probably the most consistently great album of their career. Though they have always been considered a punk band, a quick listen to any of their albums (apart from their debut) shows them to be the ultimate power pop band: great songs, tons of energy, and a powerful wall of guitars. What more could you ask for out of a power pop band? Kicking off the set is "Sabre Dance" (yes, a musical nod to Love Sculpture), which then segues into the awesome "Rue Morgue". Next up is their fantastic re-write of "Knocking On Heaven's Door" entitled "Terminal Love" (which does actually feature a bit of them singing "Heaven's Door" near the end cheeky Boys, eh?). "See You Later" is glam pop at it's finest. The haunting Lennon-esqe ballad "You Can't Hurt A Memory" is quite touching (especially from a group of so-called punks). "Kamikaze" features an agitated heavily accented vocal with a catchy horn section that turns the 'angry' feel of the lyrics into a breezy pop/punk nugget. And so it goes on With five bonus tracks (including their great version of "You Better Move On"), this is a must have for fans of British pop and power pop in general. ~ Steve Schnee