I was looking through my iTunes collection to get some inspiration for this blog post, and I was pleasantly surprised (and actually quite shocked) I had not written a blog post yet about anything by Concrete Blonde, one of my longtime favorite bands.
In 1982, singer / songwriter / bassist Johnette Napolitano and guitarist James Mankey formed a band called Dream 6 in Hollywood, California, playing the club scene during a time that featured other great L.A. bands like The Go-Go’s, X and Wall Of Voodoo. Fast forward a few years, and the band (like The Go-Go’s and Wall Of Voodoo before them) was signed to I.R.S. Records. Then-fellow I.R.S. label mate Michael Stipe of R.E.M. suggested they rename the band to Concrete Blonde, which turned out to be an excellent idea.
Drummer Harry Rushakoff joined Johnette Napolitano and James Mankey on their eponymous debut album, which was released on January 1, 1986. What a way to start the year! I mentioned on my last blog post how the debut album from Scotland’s Texas, SOUTHSIDE, was one of the best, solid debut albums ever. 1986’s CONCRETE BLONDE is definitely another. Brilliant all the way through.
The song that closes the CD version of the album, “It’ll Chew You Up And Spit You Out,” is actually a longer, alternative version of another song on the album, “Still In Hollywood.” It’s long been a favorite of mine, and was a favorite to play on my WMPG radio show, STUCK IN THE 80s.
Not many bands can pull off doing two different versions of a song, let alone on the same album. “It’ll Chew You Up And Spit You Out” cranks “Still In Hollywood” up to 11 with some different lyrics, a kickass drum solo about two minutes in that will remind you of “Hawaii Five-O” by The Ventures, killer guitars and this fucking hilarious bit during the last 30 seconds of the song with this older-sounding man, warning a young man that if he’s going to Hollywood to “be a big shot, that town’s gonna suck you up and spit you out, you ain’t gonna have a pot to piss in…” You can even hear the band laughing right at the end; it’s beautiful.
One of my all-time favorite concerts was when my friend Travis and I saw Concrete Blonde in Boston right before my birthday in 1994 (on the MEXICAN MOON tour). Notable moments were when we passed a burning car on the Tobin bridge and the band played a Grunge version of the song they are (sadly) most-remembered for, “Joey.” Such a great time at the show!
Concrete Blonde released a single in 2012, toured late that year, and have not recorded or toured since. But, it’s songs like “It’ll Chew You Up And Spit You Out” and albums like their eponymous debut that keep me loving their music for all time.