The Modern Lovers :: Reissued (U.S.)

Any discussion regarding albums and artists who were ahead of the game in terms of influencing upcoming musical movements must include The Modern Lovers debut LP. This is the precursor to punk — absolutely essential listening.

Recorded in 1972, and released in 1976, the album was wayyy ahead of it’s time, influencing punk, post-punk and new wave. Hell, it even sounds remarkably fresh today.

Without a doubt The Modern Lovers are the missing piece between the Lou Reed helmed Velvet Underground and The Ramones. Jonathan Richman’s vocal inflection, the band’s style, and overall garage rock simplicity/brilliance mapped out the trends that would take hold the in latter half of the decade.

Sanctuary Records is reissuing the LP (stateside) complete with eight bonus tracks. Do realize though that this exact ‘updated’ version has been previously available for a good while if you knew where to look (I personally bought a copy at Amoeba), but only via import prices. If you somehow missed this classic, now is a great time to get hip.

Previously: Rock ‘n’ Roll With The Modern Lovers :: 1977

Download:
MP3:The Modern Lovers :: Roadrunner (alternate version)
MP3: The Modern Lovers :: Pablo Picasso

5 thoughts on “The Modern Lovers :: Reissued (U.S.)

  1. You have no idea how close I was to playing this album as one of my final, summertime Wholesale albums on my radio show. *puts fingers together* This close! And I was randomly humming songs from it this morning in the shower. Get out of my head!

    Second, anyone who’s heard the new M.I.A. album knows that album opener “Bamboo Banga” starts off with lyrics lifted straight from “Roadrunner.” Great stuff.

  2. From what i can gather, there exists THREE versions of “roadrunner” ; “roadrunner (thrice)” appearing as the flipside to “the morning of our lives” 45 issued on beserkley in 1977, and allegedly unavailable anywhere else according to the sleevenotes.

    While the single “roadrunner (once)”, i take it, was the same version lifted from the original 1976 album, it appeared with two different flipsides on release – “pablo picasso” and another version of “roadrunner” attributed solely (i think) to jr.

    Any idea whether this version from the castle/sanctuary release is no. 2 or 3 ?

  3. I saw what may have been their last gig as a band in New York in early 1974. Jonathan Richman played a Fender Strat which he never plugged in. They still sounded great.

  4. Finally reissued! It was available through I-Tunes, though if you didn’t want to pay the import price…

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