Yes! Let us celebrate these fancy pirates. I am certain if more people would run this look on the street today that the world would be a better place. But it takes real men to wear makeup, puffy shirts, and curtains for pants. And there just aren’t that many left.

Calling all available backup! Jeff? Kilwag? I know you’re out there. Cover me. I’m going in. This is a great record. That’s despite the frequently self-referential lyrics. The music on Prince Charming (1981) is as fresh and weird as the costumes worn by Adam and the Ants. The album opens with the giant-sounding “Scorpios,” complete with brass horns and a house-shaking drum fill near the end that makes me want to yell “Ant Power!” It sounds like the Hawaii 5-0 theme meets salsa music meets pirate rock. Other favorites include “Picasso Visita el Planeta de los Simios” and of course the super hit “Stand and Deliver.” There is also a “hidden” track, after a long pause at the end of the album, called “The Lost Hawaiians.”

I don’t know where I got this one, but you can see from the wear on the cover that back in the day it was in heavy rotation. Ant music for ant people!

Etched in the run off margins (can’t etch an MP3):
Side 1: HAVE YOU FOUND
Side 2: THE LOST HAWAIIANS

Wikipedia article

• Artist: Nine Nine Nine
• Title: Concrete
• Year: 1981
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 10
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1981? Maybe a little later.
• Keeper: Yes

I’m throwing out a lot of “10″ ratings but these records all deserve it. This right here is the greatest band you’ve probably never heard of. Nine Nine Nine. Concrete is one of the most fun, sing-along, punk pop rock and roll records ever. It includes two great covers: “Little Red Riding Hood” and “Fortune Teller.” But the best songs are the originals. A couple favorites are “So Greedy” and “Break It Up.” The musicianship and song craft are tops. Every song leaves me wanting more. Hearing damage or blown speakers, which will come first?

Nine Nine Nine is still kicking it. I need to get their latest.

Nine Nine Nine official site
Punk 77 article (with recent interview)

• Artist: Heaven 17
• Title: (We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang
• Year: 1981
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 7
• Owner: Mary
• Acquired: A cut-out bin somewhere in DC
• Keeper: Yes

Today we have a 12 inch single from Heaven 17. Who knew the founding members were two guys who split from Human League? Not me. Actually, I know very little about the band; this one belongs to Mary. Their debut single “(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang” is some solid dance music with “overtly political lyrics” that got it banned from the BBC. “The Decline of the West” on the flipside is a pulsing instrumental bit of dark electronica. I like both cuts, so very synth.

Wikipedia can tell you more about Heaven 17.

• Artist: Ozzy Osbourne
• Title: Diary of a Madman
• Year: 1981
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 6
• Owner: Tracy and Bob
• Acquired: 2005 – Inherited from Bob Bobala when he moved to California
• Keeper: Yes

Usually, I only post a concert ticket stub if it’s from a tour that supported the album I’m discussing. That’s not the case here, but there are some connections to my Ozzfest 2001 ticket stub and this copy of Ozzy Osbourne’s Diary of a Madman. Both were given to me by my friend Bob Bobala.

Bob scored some killer tickets for the show at Nissan Pavilion. They were really close to the stage, in the shade, and not cheap. I bought Bob a shirt at the show, a lot cheaper. It was a long day of metal chaos and social observing. Black Sabbath with all the original members was, of course, the highlight; they blew everyone else away. By the end of the show we were getting pelted with ketchup packs and drink bottles by the jealous riffraff sitting on the grass, but it was worth it to see Sabbath up close.

Then, when Bob moved away he gave me quite a few records. This was one of them. I’ve always been a big fan of Sabbath but I never really followed Osbourne’s solo work. I have to admit I was kind of disappointed with the album as a whole. The big hit “Flying High Again” is excellent, but there is little else that comes close.

This was the last album Randy Rhoads recorded before he died. There’s also some interesting controversy about the credits for bass and drums. Sarzo and Aldridge pictured on the liner below didn’t play on the record.

I’m still a little surprised Bob didn’t keep this record when he moved. I’m going to take good care of it for him.

• Artist: Fleshtones
• Title: Roman Gods
• Year: 1981
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 10
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1982 ? No idea where, just glad to have it.
• Keeper: Yes

Thanks to my friend John Hurlock and his older brother Mike I was exposed to the Fleshtones early on. They were one my favorite alternatives to the alternative bands of the 1980s. Not that anyone used the word “alternative” back then, but you know what I’m saying. These guys were essentially rock and roll (a high compliment) at a time when a lot of non-mainstream music was anything but. The Fleshtones called it “Super Rock.”

The Fleshtones did have a 1960s vibe but their sound was unlike anything before, or since. I think they are one of the most under-rated bands ever. The music was fun but not silly, the lyrics smart but not pretentious, and they put on a helluva show. I was lucky enough to see them a number of times, always in small venues. I even got to talk to my hero Peter Zaremba, the lead singer. He also hosted the coolest show ever on MTV, The Cutting Edge. I’ll admit it, I wanted to be Peter Zaremba. I even grew my hair like his. If only I could do that now.

Roman Gods is an excellent album, one of the most played records in my collection. My favorite song is Shadow-line. I have a lot more Fleshtones records, but I haven’t kept up with the band for a long time. That’s dumb. I’m going to catch up on what I’ve been missing.

They are still kicking it. Read more about the Fleshtones. (I wrote this while playing the album. Every few songs I increased the rating. By the end of Roman Gods it was clear, this can only be a “10.”)