Music Box: 'Tom Tom Club' (1981) (2009 Reissue)

They say if you want something done right then you should do it yourself. So having spent considerable time and money, along with my pal Greg Jelinek, in "issuing" my own version of various albums that were never released on compact disc, I tend to be as leery as I am excited when records labels surprise me every so often and actually get around to putting some of these overlooked gems out themselves. Still, when word leaked out that a two-disc reissue of the Tom Tom Club's infectious debut album was in the works, complete with bonus disc of the band's hitherto unreleased-on-CD second record, "Close to the Bone, I was overjoyed. (Not to be a buzz kill -- I know it was part of a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Island Records -- but what IDIOT thought of releasing this album on CD in 2009 -- now that NO ONE buys CDs? Why wasn't this out between 1990 and 2000 when they were flying off the shelves and fans were KILLING for it??? But I digress ...)

Naturally, I'm always thrilled when the old tapes are properly converted to digital as my vinyl transfers -- no matter how talented my friend DJ Joe Ross is -- can hardly compete to the real thing. But more often than not, the record label forgets to dot all of its I's and cross all of its T's, so when the CD version finally comes out it frequently pales in comparison to what I've already come up with. Missing B-sides, crappy artwork and incorrect information are common problems -- Marilyn's "Despite Straight Lines" and the Romeo Void/Debora Iyall discs come to mind -- and you're left thinking, you had 20 YEARS to get this right and this is the best you could do?!

So how does "Tom Tom Club/Close to the Bone," um, measure up? Much to my surprise, I'd have to say it's nearly perfect. The sound is fantastic. (It's so great to finally hear my beloved "Never Took a Penny" and "Measure Up" without the hiss and crackle from my worn-out 1983 album.) And they even included the three remixes of "The Man With the 4-Way Hips" that Greg and I had fastidiously included on our "reissue." While it would have been nice to have the artwork from "Close to the Bone" more fully represented somewhere (see photo above for Greg's flawless replication of the cover mixed in with the other albums, above), the packaging is completely delightful and builds upon the timeless original work of James Rizzi, whose "Genius of Love" video won an MTV award for "Best Animated Video" in early '83. (The inclusion of the singles covers is sooooo Greg Jelinek!) The best part, however, is Ian Gilchrist 's loving liner notes, which fascinatingly detail the recording of the debut album that would influence an entire generation (Jamaican producer Lee "Scratch" Perry was supposed to have the con but he STOOD THE BAND UP as they waited in Compass Point Studios, Bahamas, for weeks! The label had originally ordered just a single but were so blown away that it was turned into an album deal! Grace Jones was recording in the studio next door!) The notes go on to explain the tumultuous recording of the dreaded followup (Babies, vegans and cocaine -- oh, my!) They even got to perform "Pleasure of Love" on "Soul Train," making them only the second white act to appear on the show. (Everyone knows "Genius of Love" has been sampled a million times; but did you know Diddy and LL Cool J made "Pleasure of Love" into songs, too?) The band's subsequent efforts, including the infamous Escape From New York tour with the Ramones and Debbie Harry in 1990, are detailed as well. (Really great stuff, Ian: would have loved to have heard how/why they chose to record "Under the Boardwalk, though; and should mention that Colombian -- as in Colombian-American -- and Combs -- as in Sean Puffy Combs -- were misspelled, and it's LL Cool J, not "Jay"!)

My only complaints about the reissue are this: While the new (non-"Close to the Bone") bonus tracks were a nice touch, why would you REMOVE two of the bonus tracks that were on the original CD pressing -- especially a remix of "Wordy Rappinghood" and a long version of "Genius of Love," two of the band's best-known songs? For one thing, there's PLENTY of room left of the disc for them to be included. And more annoyingly to me, doing this forces me to KEEP both discs instead of replacing the old one with the new. (I'm actually NOT a fan of remixes but I AM very anal.) And secondly, WHY didn't someone -- was that you, Chris Frantz? -- DOUBLE CHECK the sequencing and artwork? Two of the songs are listed INCORRECTLY on the disc AND on the artwork: "On, On, On, On ..." (remix) is really "Under the Boardwalk" and vice versa. (Oh, and the inside descriptions omit the word "remix," so it makes it look like "On, On, On, On ..." is just on there twice for no reason). Still, two rather modest misgivings given the shoddy work I've seen from other labels.

MY GRADE: "A": If you are a fan of the Tom Tom Club, you WILL want to shell out 30 bucks for this wonderful U.K. import.



"As Above So Below" (2017 video)

Here they are doing "Under the Boardwalk" in what looks like a reunion tour

"Genius of Love" (acoustic live version)

Performing "Wordy Rappinghood" in 1981!



And again at a 2009 Island Records celebration

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