Crazy Rhythms (1980)

About this title: Even the cover is a winner, with a washed-out look that screams new wave via horn-rimmed glasses, even more so than contemporaneous pictures of either Elvis Costello or the Embarrassment. But if it was all look and no brain, Crazy Rhythms would long ago have been dismissed as an early-'80s relic. That's exactly what this album is not, right from the soft, haunting hints of percussion that preface the suddenly energetic jump of the appropriately titled "The Boy With the Perpetual Nervousness." From there the band delivers seven more originals plus a striking cover of the Beatles' "Everybody's ... read more

Tracks:

1. The Boy With the Perpetual Nervousness [Mercer/Million]
2. Fa Cé-La [Mercer/Million]
3. Loveless Love [Mercer/Million]
4. Forces at Work [Mercer/Million]
5. Original Love [Mercer/Million]
6. Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey [Lennon/McCartney]
7. Moscow Nights [Mercer/Million]
8. Raised Eyebrows [Mercer/Million]
9. Crazy Rhythms [Mercer/Million]
10. Paint It Black [Jagger/Richards]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.