The Rubinoos
"What we have here is a vital serving of classic pop songs .
. . few other records this year have felt so good" said Rolling
Stone. "The best pop album of the decade" exclaimed
the New York magazine Rocker. "Powerful, fresh,
exuberant pop music" said the NME.
What these rock publications were gushing over was the superb
eponymous debut album from San Francisco power pop outfit, The
Rubinoos in 1977. The LP drew together influences from such 60s
luminaries as Tommy James
& The Shondells, The Turtles and
The Hollies, and injected them with the
power of 70s rock.
The band first came together in 1973 as four exuberant
teenagers. By 1977 they made 45 on the US Hot 100 with a cover
version of Tommy James' I Think We're Alone Now.
Meanwhile, their first album - produced by the eccentric
Matthew King Kaufman (boss of Beserkley Records) - contained such
great pop songs as Leave My Heart Alone and Hard To
Get.
It was not until 1979 that the long-awaited second album was
released. Back To The Drawing Board throbbed with the
same bright innocent pop bounce and was highlighted by the single I
Wanna Be Your Boyfriend and a version of the old P.J.
Proby hit, Hold Me.
Significant commercial success was not forthcoming however. By Party
Of Two (1983) The Rubinoos were reduced to a duo (hence the
album title). Tommy Dunbar and Jon Rubin recruited Todd
Rundgren and members of Utopia to add some additional flair to
their sound.
The result sounded more like Sparks
than The Raspberries/British
Invasion style of the original quartet.
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