Over time and through many hard fought battles, the music survives.
--Patrick Pearson, from the liner notes of Through The Past, Brightly
We knew. We always knew. And yet we had no idea.
When I first saw The Flashcubes in 1978, a little more than four and a half months after the group's live debut on 9/1/77, I knew. When The Flashcubes split in 1980, guitarist Paul Armstrong going off with his ace new trio 1.4.5., and bassist Gary Frenay, guitarist Arty Lenin, and drummer Tommy Allen hanging together as Screen Test, I still knew. In all the different incarnations and combinations, reunions and retrospectives, new and old studio tracks and unforgettable live performances, I always knew, and I was never the only one who knew.
These guys are stars. All of them. Stars as big as the brightest lights in the crisp night sky. Stars.
For all that we knew, though, many of us (me included) thought the perfect, magic moment had passed by the end of the '80s. The world at large did not catch on to what we knew. Time passed. That's what time does. We still had our few vinyl singles and EPs, a 1.4.5. album, a Screen Test cassette, plus some private cassettes traded hand-to-hand amongst us. If you weren't there? You had no reason to believe, no cause to know.
Until you did. Hallelujah! CDs and digital files, more live shows, word-of-mouth, some strange virtual bulletin board called the World Wide Web; a slew of recordings given official release, both archival tracks exhumed and refurbished and--my God!--new tracks with the sonic punch of the 21st century delivering a classic sound born of the British Invasion, power pop, and new wave. Everything shiny and fresh, regardless of its original vintage. Maybe we knew something after all.
And now, we can all get to know a new record by Screen Test.
Screen Test's 2018 release Through The Past, Brightly is only the group's second-ever CD, and the first to include new recordings. It's a right worthy successor to 2005's archival set Inspired Humans Making Noise, a dynamic collection of seven brand-new Screen Test recordings supplemented by six more irresistible nuggets from the vaults. It all sounds amazing, with most of the veteran '80s material mixing seamlessly with the young recruits, their forces combined as something new.
The Beatles. Badfinger. The Raspberries. Big Star. Add a little Motown and some Screen Test contemporaries like Marshall Crenshaw and Squeeze, and you've a fair idea of what forms Screen Test's pop DNA. The seven new tracks on Through The Past, Brightly serve up three tunes apiece from the respective Frenay and Lenin songbooks, plus a simply wonderful cover of Emitt Rhodes' "Fresh As A Daisy." The set opens with Frenay's immense 'n' engaging "Notes From Trevor," a long-time fave rave delivered with the volume and swagger it's always deserved. Lenin's "Best Seller" counters with more exquisite pure pop heartache, and the future looks as bright as our brightest lights of the past.
I listened to this album in the car, the way one should experience rockin' pop music, and I smiled from start to finish. Yeah, even during the sad stuff, like the suicide that prompted Frenay's tribute song "Richard Brautigan." Pop music has that ability to make us swoon along with tales of darkness and woe, as well as to lift us with the buoyant power of its wonder and glee. The good Lord above gave stereos a volume control for the specific benevolent purpose of allowing you to turn that mutha up when you hear Gary Frenay sing "Not Today," or Arty Lenin warn "Don't Lose Your Heart." The package itself is also bright, aping The Rolling Stones' Through The Past, Darkly and sporting liner notes by Yeah Yeah Yeah magazine's Patrick Pearson, another fellow who has always known.
Tough for me to pick a favorite here; so many of these songs have been my cherished companions for decades. The 1982 cover of Greg Kihn's "Hurt So Bad" surpasses the fine original, and is light years beyond my old crappy cassette copy of Screen Test's version. The opening salvo of "Notes From Trevor" and "Best Seller" is tough to beat, and I've always had a specific fondness for Lenin's "There's No Place Like Work."
Ultimately, I have to look to Gary Frenay's "Make Something Happen." This is one of the greatest pop songs ever written--seriously!--and it should have been a massive, massive radio hit for someone. The Flashcubes recorded it in 2003. The Slapbacks, bless 'em, did a superlative cover of the track on This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4. I've tried at various times to get Mary Lou Lord and even--especially!--The Monkees to cover it. Many of you have never heard Screen Test's original version from 1985, the definitive version that made me fall in love with that song in the first place. Here it is, at long last making its CD debut. The world we thought we knew has finally come true.
The lads of Screen Test are making a very rare live appearance this Saturday, August 4th, at The Ridge in Chittenango, NY, starting at 6 pm. A splendid time is compulsory for all. Through The Past, Brightly will be available for sale at the gig. You know what to do. You've always known. Time to make something happen, once again. Let the stars come out and shine.
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| Arty Lenin, Gary Frenay, Tommy Allen--bright as they wanna be |
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Our new compilation CD This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4 is now available from Kool Kat Musik! 29 tracks of irresistible rockin' pop, starring Pop Co-Op, Ray Paul, Circe Link & Christian Nesmith, Vegas With Randolph Featuring Lannie Flowers, The Slapbacks, P. Hux, Irene Peña, Michael Oliver & the Sacred Band Featuring Dave Merritt, The Rubinoos, Stepford Knives, The Grip Weeds, Popdudes, Ronnie Dark, The Flashcubes,Chris von Sneidern, The Bottle Kids, 1.4.5., The Smithereens, Paul Collins' Beat, The Hit Squad, The Rulers, The Legal Matters, Maura & the Bright Lights, Lisa Mychols, and Mr. Encrypto & the Cyphers. You gotta have it, so order it here.
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