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The Crooks' Just Released originally appeared in England in 1980 on the Blueprint label, where its '60s-influenced mod revival sound made it into a cult favorite. The record, built almost entirely on originals by co-founder Tim Parry (aka "Jimmy Fingers"), still rocks with a lean, powerful sound strongly reminiscent of the Jam -- everything here is well played and fervently sung, but even with the occasional Chris Dean number interspersed, there's a certain sameness to the songs. The best song here is the muscular cover of the Steve Marriott/Ronnie Lane-authored "Understanding," and there's nothing quite as memorable as the single "Modern Boys," with its catchy hooks and chorus, or its B-side "Bangin' My Head," neither of which was on this LP. Among the four players, Parry and Dean make a great guitar duo, and Chris Broderick's bass work is astonishingly fluid and nimble, but Micky Sparrow's drumming is still the most impressive component of the band's sound a quarter-century later -- if this band was compared to the Who (and they were), it was his playing that helped cast that illusion. ~ Bruce Eder
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RS
MU
Repaired track 6
"Modern Boys" and "Bangin'" are both on the 2cd version of "Just Released", along with a full cd's worth of live recording (pretty good sound quality). Well worth the effort.
ReplyDeletePete
Hi,
ReplyDeleteHave you got anything by The Midwest Beat?
www.cdbaby.com/cd/midwestbeat
Thanks for turning me on to this band, but track #6 is seriously screwed up with seriously low volume and many digital glitches.
ReplyDeleteHere is the repaired track 6
ReplyDeletehttp://rapidshare.com/files/371156533/06_1_000_Faces.rar
Although there is a sameness to each song, the overall quality is very good. If you enjoy mod/powerpop with echoes of the Jam, then this is a very enjoyable album. great post.
ReplyDeletelinks are dead, could U please reup? thank U anyway
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