Genre: pop
Rating: *** (3 stats)
Title:  The A's
Company: Arista
Catalog: AB 4238
Year: 1979
Country/State: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Grade (cover/record): VG+ / VG+
Comments: minor edge wear; includes original lyric inner sleeve
Available: 1
Catalog ID: 6380
Price: $10.00

Formed in 1978, Philadelphia's The A's featured the talents of bassist Terry Bortman, singer Richard Bush, lead guitarist Rick DiFonzo, keyboardist Rocco Notte, and drummer Mikey Snyder. The band's live shows quickly garnered them a loyal local following (you can still find a slew of fawning on-line reviews from folks who saw the band's early shows). That in turn captured the attention of Clive Davis' Arista label which was on the lookout for new wave talent. While The A's weren't really a new wave act, they were close enough for Arista management which quickly signed them to a recording contract. They were quickly teamed with producer Rick Chertoff going into New York's The Record Plant Studios to record 1979's cleverly-titled "The A's". So leave it to a city like Philadelphia to spawn a bunch of guys who thought they were punks, but had a repertoire full of songs that were creative, lyrically intriguing, funny, and highly commercial. Judging by the leather jacket drenched album cover, Bush (the only one member not wearing Ramones-styled leather) and company seemingly thought they were channeling English new-wave bands like The Boomtown Rats, or The Undertones (I know they were Irish), but the fact of the matter is The A's were really a first rate power-pop band. Yeah, there wasn't a great deal of originality spread across these ten original numbers, but propelled by Bush's tawny, raw voice tracks like 'After Last Night', 'Teenage Jerk Off' and 'Grounded' had far more energy and enthusiasm than virtually all of the competition - imagine The Hooters with a new-wave edge, or a more urbane, jittery version of The Dwight Twilley Band, or a tougher version of The Cars and you'd have some idea of what to expect.   

- Simply one of their best performances, 'After Last Night' had it all - fantastic melody, hysterical lyrics, great vocal from Richard Bush, and a killer solo from guitarist DiFonzo. For goodness sake, they almost out-Cars Ric Ocasik and company. Easy to see why the song was tapped as the lead-off single. rating: **** stars
- I guess due to the prominent Melodica (think that's what it was), 'C.I.A.' has always reminded me a bit of a jittery,,new-wave-ish version of The Hooters. I'm normally not a big new wave fan, but this was an exception to the rule. rating: *** stars
- Opening up with some nice DiFonzo guitar, '5 Minutes In a Hero's Life' found the band dipping their collective toes into a slightly more punk-oriented direction (well, at least until the catchy chorus kicked in). rating: *** stars
- The first disappointment, 'Words' found the band trying to do too much with too little - apparently meant to be one of the more commercial sides (it was released as the second single), 'Words' was simply dull and forgettable. rating: ** stars
- With a taunt, organ-powered edge, 'Parasite' has always reminded me a bit of a good Greg Kihn Band effort. Always loved the chanting background vocals. rating: **** stars
- Even though it started out with Bush seemingly doing his best Rocky impersonation, 'Artificial Love' turned into a bouncy, Farfisa organ powered track just waiting for a crowd to pogo to it ... rating: *** stars
- 'Who's Gonna Save the World' was another rocker with a strong melody and some great fret work from Di Fonzo. rating: **** stars For anyone interested, YouTube has a clip o the band performing the song in Sigma Studios for the BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test television show. The accompanying interview between a clueless BBC employee and a seemingly stoned Bush was hysterical. Sample question: "What do you want to do next ?" Response: "Go home." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnSFcNYuSjc
- Just in case anyone thought they were pompous blow hards, 'Teenage Jerk Off'' underscored their we're-just-normal-juvenile deliquents status. The song was actually a riot. rating; **** stars- Not so much a medley of the two tunes, their rendition of 'Grounded / Twist and Shout Interpolation' basically took he rock classic and gave it a set of lyrics every parent could identify with. rating: *** stars
- With another strong melody and some great backing vocals, 'Nothing Wrong with Falling In Love' was probably the album's most mainstream and commercial track. Should've been tapped as a single .... rating: **** stars

As mentioned above the album was tapped for a pair of singles:

- 1979's 'After Last Night' b/w 'Teenage Jerk Off' (Arista catalog number AS 0452)
- 1979's 'Words' b/w 'Parasite (Arista catalog number AS 0472)




For hardcore fans, there's also a three song, 45 rpm, red vinyl EP featuring 'After Last Night', 'Who's Gonna Save the World' b/w 'C.I.A.' (Arista catalog number CP-705)

Sadly, in spite of critical praise, the album did little commercially and today it's surprisingly hard to find a copy.

"The A's" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) After Last Night (Rocco Notte - Richard Bush) - 4:11
2.) C.I.A. (Rocco Notte - Richard Bush) - 4:03
3.) 5 Minutes In a Hero's Life (Rocco Notte - Richard Bush) - 3:28
4.) Words (Rocco Notte - Richard Bush) - 3;20
5.) Parasite (Rocco Notte - Richard Bush) - 4:35

(side 2)
1.) Artificial Love (Rocco Notte - Richard Bush) - 2:39
2.) Who's Gonna Save the World (Rocco Notte - Richard Bush) - 2:39
3.) Teenage Jerk Off (Rocco Notte - Richard Bush) - 3:09
3.) Grounded / Twist and Shout Interpolation (Rocco Notte - Richard Bush) (Bert Russell - Phil Medley) - 2:34
5.) Nothing Wrong with Falling In Love (Rocco Notte - Richard Bush) - 5:00


DiFonzo went on to enjoy a career as an in-demand sessions player and touring guitarist. He's recorded some solo material and has a web presence at:
http://rickdifonzo.com/presskit.htm

Notte has a website at:
http://www.mbcdesignsweb.com/RoccoNotte/index.html

Snyder seemingly became an elementary school math teacher - kudos to him.