Sorrows - Teenage Heartbreak

Name: Sorrows
Album: Teenage Heartbreak
Year: 1980
Style: New Wave, Pub Rock, Power Pop
Similar Bands: Code Blue, Knack, Romantics, Cheap Trick, Marshall Crenshaw, A's, Steve Forbert, The Animals
"One Word" Review: oldie-trained energetic-power-wave
Based Out Of: NYC
Label: Pavillion, CBS Records

Teenage Heartbreak: Cover, Sleeve, Record

Teenage Heartbreak: Back, Sleeve, Record

Teenage Heartbreak(1980)

1. Teenage Heartbreak 2:35
2. I Don't Like It Like That 3:25
3. Bad Times Good Times 2:24
4. I Want You Tonight 2:49
5. Lonely Girl 3:04
6. She Comes and Goes 3:44/
7. Can't Go Back 3:56
8. All You Gotta Say 2:48
9. I Want You So Bad 1:57
10. Can't You Tell a Lie 3:24
11. Second Chance 2:41
12. Television 3:42

Album Rating (1-10): 8.5

Members & Other Bands:

Jett Harris - Drums, Bass (Tangent, The Shadows, Cliff Richard, )

Joey Cola - Guitar

Ricky Street - Vox, Bass (Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Rick James, Smokey Robinson, Popees, Tang S'Dang)

Arthur Alexander - Vox, Guitars (Popees)

Ann Ruckert - Backing Vox

Ellen Foley - Backing Vox (Pandora's Box, Meatloaf, Clash, Joe Jackson, Nona Hendryx, Ian Hunter)

Ellie Greenwich - Backing Vox (The Raindrops, Spector, Greenwich & Barry)

Karla DeVito - Backing Vox (Meatloaf, Blue Oyster Cult, Rick Derringer, Dan Hicks & Hot Licks)

Mikie Harris - Backing Vox (The Playboys, Prince, Bette Midler, Bernadette Peters)

Susan Hall - Backing Vox (Moon Martin, Neil Young)

Janet Perr - Design

Mark Milchman - Engineer 

Bill Stein - Additional Engineer Mixing

Roni Jane Feldman - Asst. Engineer

John Luongo - Mixing, Producer

Jimmy Maelen - Percussion (Velons, Ambergris, Latin Dimension, Shobizz, Doobie Brothers, The Jacksons)

Elisabeth Wolynski - Photography

Elliot Apter - Producer

Unknown-ness: Never heard of this band, but I love the simple color scheme/font and the leftover set look of the cover. Thin ties and business/leather jacket say more about the style than any words you could use to label what I’m sure will be on this record: new wave power-pop. Even more assurance rests in the production year of 1980.

Album Review: So unhappy with the final production of the single and album title track, they re-recorded and re-released the album with a new title, “Bad Times, Good Times” back in 2010, and presumably after the rights to this album “Teenage Heartbreak” expired with CBS/Sony.

“Teenage Heartbreak” starts with a couple power chords and jangley pop in support. There is a slight surf tempo, and a powerful pub rock energy to the vocals once he lets himself go. The song is very formulaic, and catchy. There are oldies elements, and basically it is just an 80’s update to the oldies sound.

“I Don't Like It Like That” is a little darker, starting with a waltz intro. It also has a touch of psychedelic production with the backing chorus and bass line. The vocals have a lot of nasally emotion to them, especially in the bridge. This song is more Rolling Stones to the first track’s Beatles.

“Bad Times Good Times” is a great pub rock driving song, reminding me a lot of the A’s. When it gets to the chorus, it is a very fun call and response situation. This song has a lot of energy as well, and the bass line rolls up and down carrying the energy through. The vocals mutate into gruff talk-shouting, and a singing tone is abandoned.

“I Want You Tonight” begins with a rolling, staggered drum beat that carries itself throughout the song, and as it begins, it is notably quieter, but not without energy. This song feels like it is going to morph into a Flash & the Pan song “Restless.” This song has the vibe of a mid-western story song. The breakdown into the chorus is classic percussion driven oldies style, and the build leads to a satisfying payoff in the chorus.

“Lonely Girl” is a bopping, driving song, again only described as power pop. The chorus is actually a slight variation of the previous song’s melody: it’s a wonder these two songs are positioned back to back. The style of the chorus and lead vocals overlapping is a trick popular in the glam genre, and is employed well here too (and throughout the album as well).

“She Comes and Goes” is the sad ballad, remembering a love lost, or one never had. About 1:30, guitars kick in, and it loses its ballad label for more rocking, show-tuney pastures (sounds like something that could have been produced by the Rocky Horror team). It then relaxes back into the ballad genre to finish the song out. This reminds me of a slower Elvis Costello song, mixed with a Ben Folds melody.

“Can't Go Back” starts side 2 with jangely guitar and power bass/guitar support. And the song has a bit of a similarity to David Bowie’s “Star.” But it never gets to the glam level, and subsides in mid tempo power pop limbo. It ends in a very singer/songwriter-y fashion

“All You Gotta Say” has a little more soul with its swagger and guitar hook, and harkens back to the more psyche-style of the early garage bands. I’m reminded of The Animals a little with this track. The vocals are layered and add sonic depth.

“I Want You So Bad” is a side to side Rolling Stones meets the Ramones style of energetic power punk song. It builds and drives for a solid 1.50 minutes

“Can't You Tell a Lie” has a driving, dark intro, and a nasally jangly verse. The bridge feels very familiar, but I can’t place the more popular song that it is from. It has a little country western twang to the bass, but the song kind of feels flat in the production, as it sways back and forth between power and laziness.  

“Second Chance” starts off with a driving Eye of the Tiger guitar, and a chimey back up guitar. The drums come rattling in too, and the vocals come in with a lot of jittery energy. The song is pretty reminiscent of “Bad Times Good Times” with an even more of a nervous energy Great Balls of Fire oldies pop sound in the verse that builds up into a controlled scream.  

“Television” is a bass/drums driven song that is choppy and bouncy (Oompah), especially when it gets to the chorus. There are some Chuck Berry guitar solos, too. The song gets pretty repetitive, yet remains catchy toward the end, as it repeats the main chours with a few different effects (Sgt Pepper-like) buried underneath as each re-utterance fades out quieter and quieter. By the end of the song, the sound is recreated to seem like it is coming from a hand held radio. 

Stand Out Track: Bad Times Good Times

Links:
Discogs

Allmusic

Blurt

Sugar Buzz

Trouser Press

Myspace

Art In America

Band: Art In America
Album: self titled
Year(s): 1983
Style: Prog, Rock
Similar Bands: Genesis, Yes, Styx
"One Word" Review: Poppy-Prog-Rock
Based Out Of: LA, California
Label: Pavillion, CBS

Art In America - Front Cover & Side 1

Art In America Back Cover & Side 2

Art In America - 1983
1. Art In America - 4.30 (sample)
2. If I Could Fly - 3.50 (sample)
3. Undercover Lover - 4.12 (sample)
4. Sinatra Serenade - 4.30 (sample)/
5. The Line - 3.45 (sample)
6. Loot - 3.16 (sample)
7. Won't it Be Strange - 3.30 (sample)
8. Too Shy To Say - 3.39 (sample)
9. Brett & Hibby - 4.20 (sample)

Album Rating: (1-10)
5.5

Members & Other Bands:Chris Flynn-Vox, Guitars
Shishonne Flynn -Vox, String Harp
Dan Flynn-Drums
Luonga Machat Smith-Exec Producer
Eddy Offord-Engineer, Produced, Recorded, Mixed
Chuck Allen-Engineer
Recorded & Mixed-The Eddy Offord Studio, Atlanta, GA
Bob Ludwig-Mastering
T Lavitz - Keyboards (Artista Records)
Jim Kuha-Bass
Steve Morse & A.I.A.-Arrangements
loannis-Album Design & Illustrations
Unknown-ness: Never heard of these guys. With the style of the cover, and date of '83, I figured it would be very prog. The artwork put it right up there next to Yes and Styx in my mind, and that is what I thought the would sound likeAlbum review: I listened to this album when I first got it, and it seemed horrible...the production in the first, opening song seemed predictable and cheezy. it sounded like they were trying to be a certain style of music rather than just playing. Not to mention the first lyrics we hear is "Walking down the street one day, a billboard said to me 'What's your sign.'"

After repeated listens, the progressive nature of the track builds in your mind, and the chorus begins to become memorable and catchy. I've been listening to this many times through in order to write a little about it, and it is really growing on me. I've figured that I'm going to subject myself to a bunch of terrible albums, but perhaps after listening them to as much as I have this, they will get better. Apparently, the third track Undercover Lover was their single. It is a polite, quiet number, with all the threat and force of an Air Supply song. It builds to a wailing guitar, but it refrains from gaining any power. The next song is the stand out track on the album: Sinatra Serenade. It possesses a fun happy-choppy guitar strum/pluck to start things off. The song never builds to much more than its beginning, but it has a nice tone and is the track I tend to look forward to when played over and over again. It, as well as "Loot," is a good blend of prog and rock/pop. Neither song falling a great deal toward one genre or the other. They are never too catchy, nor are they too spacey-smooth.

Overall, they take advantage of the prog style that has been made popular at the time. The melodically blended vocals of a chorus like 'in the grocery line' in "The Line" is simplistic enough to be charming. This is not a prog-fan's prog, but it wades into Prog knee-deep; enough to cross over.

Stand Out Track:Sinatra Serenade

Links:Art In America Allmusic
Chris Flynn/AIA Music Site Virtual Studio System
Art In America Myspace
3 Art In America Videos Youtube by Flynn1229
Chris Flynn Myspace