Blown to Smithereens

The Smithereens - Especially for You

New Jersey's The Smithereens needed help from Suzanne Vega for their UK minor hit In A Lonely Place which I ripped from my red vinyl 7" a few months back. The Smithereens were more successful in the US as their mod-influenced power pop found a home on college radio, whereas a virtual lack of airplay over here resulted in just limited word of mouth sales. EMI eventually adopted the distribution of Enigma so albums such as 11 found their way into British stores. 

I eventually got around to ripping the debut LP which just about managed to survive recent a  PC hardware failure as it was up on A-Drive and ready to post (regrettably many others did not).

Ripped from a vinyl album released on Enigma Records (3208-1) in 1986 to high quality lossless flac audio.

A1 Strangers When We Meet
A2 Listen To Me Girl
A3 Groovy Tuesday
A4 Cigarette
A5 I Don't Want To Lose You
A6 Time And Time Again
B1 Behind The Wall Of Sleep
B2 In A Lonely Place
B3 Blood & Roses
B4 Crazy Mixed-Up Kid
B5 Hand Of Glory
B6 Alone At Midnight

In A Lonely Place

The Smithereens - In A Lonely Place

The UK had to wait a good few years for debut release of The Smithereens on these shores, though a few early EPs and singles had snuck through as pricey imports. In what was a shrewd move with designs on pop success, they hit us with a soft ballad with Suzanne Vega on backing vocals, hardly the pounding indie power-rock in which they had made their name. It is a sweet, evocative and memorable song, and should have been a huge hit here in the UK, but for unknown reasons they never managed to really break through as much as their home market. 

Ripped from a crackly red 7" vinyl single released on Enigma Records (ENIG 1) in 1986 to high quality lossless flac audio.

A. In A Lonely Place

B. Beauty And Sadness (Live)