Hoy toca una banda californiana de la década de los 70. Este disco vio la luz en 1979 aunque dejo la última versión del disco que ha sacado Bomp!, con dos extras y un total de 17 canciones. The Last suenan pop, pero es cierto que tienen algunos temas más energéticos, cercanos al punk, incluso con cierto aire a Buzzcocks. No perderse la versión de Be Bop a Lula o She Don’t Know I’m Here, deliciosas guitarras. Tienen buenas canciones. Placentera escucha para un domingo después de un sábado largo. Dejo comentario en inglés de Bomp!.
Their debut album -the band were to record some of the best L.A punk nuggets ever to be committed to tape. And listening now, many people will be surprised to discover how dang catchy they are. Short and succinct, the fifteen songs on L.A. Explosion (as well as the six reissue-exclusive bonus tracks) run the gamut from cheery pop (“This Kind of Feeling,” “Every Summer Day”) to neat-o psych (“She Don’t Know Why I’m Here,” “Bombing of London,”) to Buzzcock -y punk-pop (“I Don’t Want To Be In Love,” “Looking At You”).ÊIt’s a perfect mix, and it characterizes a perfect debut album by a band of hooligans who were formed before the Sex Pistols even released their first single. Influenced as much by the sixties “punk” sound as the Ramone climate that the band had been born unto, they were certainly a creative lot. Stray genres also find solace in L.A. Explosion – “Slavedriver,” for example, has a powerful surf guitar part, and the album’s third last song just happens to be a cover of “Be-Bop-A-Lula.”The bonus tracks, meanwhile, are a Last fan’s most sacred dream. Alternate, more psychedelic versions of “She Don’t Know Why I’m Here” (which I personally like very much) and “Bombing of London” are included from their 1977 debut 45. Then comes different versions of “Every Summer Day” and “Hitler’s Brother,” the latter of which was a b-side of the “Every Summer Day” single from 1978. An early version of the album’s title-track (from the 1978 single) is also included. Then, to top things off, the band’s spaced out contribution to Bomp Records’ Waves compilation is thrown in for good measure. Poising ultra-modified vocals over a heavily distorted guitar/drum/bass background, it sounds as it was a Jupiter import from the 60s.
The Last: L.A. Explosion [Bomp!, 1979]
1 She Don’t Know Why I’m Here (3:25)
2 This Kind Of Feeling (2:47)
3 Bombing Of London (2:36)
4 Century City Rag (2:38 )
5 Walk Like Me (2:36)
6 Slavedriver (1:54)
7 Every Summer Day (3:34)
8 The Rack (1:35)
9 Objections (2:38 )
10 A Fool Like You (2:01)
11 Someone’s Laughing (3:28 )
12 I Don’t Wanna Be In Love (1:30)
13 Be-Bop-A-Lula (3:55)
14 Looking At You (3:09)
15 The Rack (Reprise) (1:16)
16 Every Summer Day (second single) (3:38 )
17 Hitler’s Brother (second single) (2:50)
