Monday, August 22, 2005

The Group, Inc.: Like A Woman/Just Call Me Up (Staff BP-177)


And now, we make it an Indiana three-fer! This particular item comes from Gary, the same place by the lake that gave us a certain group of Jacksons. (We won't go any further than that.) It comes from Staff Records, the same label that also gave us that rarer-than-your-grandma's-dentures Back From the Grave 2-sider from The Aztex' "I Said Move" and "The Little Streets In This Town." Lastly, this is two sides of crude teen angst just for you.

Take a listen to "Just Call Me Up" and you'd think the kids had barely had enough time to rehearse the thing before they recorded it. There's a point before the guitar break where it's obvious that they're stumbling to stay on track. They do manage, but just barely. I'm not saying it's completely inept or anything, just not tight, that's all. Despite all that, though, it's actually a pretty darned good teen punk mover.

"Like A Woman" is even better. Here we have a strong example of girlfriend putdown in which the crude guitar playing only enhances it. And you get three guitar breaks for the price of one. Since this is the A-side, it sounds like the kids decided to use whatever minimal instrumental prowess they had and just go all out. That they did, and the result is a teen punk classic good enough for "Garage Punk Unknowns" or maybe a future "Teen Blast" comp. What I'm saying is, if "Like A Woman" isn't comped, it should be. (It may be, but I don't have the time to follow those things, so if you feel like filling me in, please do.)

Should we rack this one up as a fave? Yes, I think we should. And I'm keeping it. So there!

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