Boomtown Rats, The - A Tonic For The Troops

The Rats second album delivers the goods in spades! It's hard to imagine the eruption of creativity that is this album following on the rather staid heels of their good, but more conventional debut. Bob Geldof's lyrical concerns mature to look beyond himself and cast a jaded glance at all aspects of society. This is accompanied by keyboardist Johnny Finger's tight and valuable integration into the heart of these songs. Twin guitars are still there but are used strictly for power when needed; they are subordinate to keys for the main melodies, which are much more sophisticated than on the first Rats album. Finger's playing resembles a less ornate Steve Nieve approach and this album certainly sits on the same shelf as a New Wave classic like "This Year's Model" that Elvis Costello & The Attractions was releasing at much the same time. The point I'd make is that the development of the Boomtown Rats, from this point onward, certainly mirrors that of EC & The Attractions: amazingly clever lyrics delivered in songs by an band that had the chops to do pretty much anything they set their mind out to do.

"Blind Date" is a frantic frustrated raveup that recalls the Rolling Stones glory days. "(I Never Loved) Eva Braun" is a hilarious look at Schickelgruber's love life that is good, tasteless fun. The energy peaks on the explosive "She's So Modern" a killer cut no matter how you slice it. The closer, "Rat Trap" sounds for all the world like a much less ham-fisted E Street Band number. Except that it doesn't suck. Why? Because Bob Geldof has a novelist's eye for detail that rings far truer than Bruce Springsteen, who in contrast is content to deal with symbolic signifiers burnished with all of the Wagnerian glory and bluster he can muster. A wise man once observed that "Born To Run" is not a rock & roll song. It is a Broadway ideal of a rock song. Bingo! But enough Boss bashing. This is the first classic Boomtown Rats album and they would mutate wildly from this point onward but the standard of each album would be highly satisfying if one wanted to go along for the ride.