Marshall Crenshaw
Marshall Crenshaw [reissue]
Rhino/Warner Archives
The year was 1982, and Marshall Crenshaw was thundering like the fireworks finale, blaring out of radios with wonderfully summery tunes like “Someday, Someway” and “There She Goes Again.” Crenshaw was a retro voice among the clamoring flux of early-‘80s radio.
The year was 1987, and after a friend had played me Marshall Crenshaw, I was kicking myself for having missed out five years earlier. I scoured record bins across Central Florida for the album, to no avail. In desperation, I turned towards the small stockpile of CDs growing in the corner of the store. There! Shrinkwrapped in a long cardboard box was Marshall Crenshaw, the first CD I ever purchased.
The year is 2000, and this under-appreciated masterpiece gets its fair due. Remastered and repackaged with added tracks and new liner notes (courtesy of Crenshaw and Rhino reissue coproducer David Gorman), Marshall Crenshaw rides again, a clear example of what makes for a perfect pop album. Songs about girls, about finding them and losing them and feeling all sorts of things because of them. Crystal-clear melodies that stick to your ear like sidewalk gum to your summer shoes. An irresistible desire to start again from the beginning, this time promising yourself you’ll sing along louder than ever.
Nine “new” tracks – two demos, five live, a couple early versions – make for a guaranteed second helping in this long-overdue reissue. Keep summer going all winter long with Marshall Crenshaw!
Rhino Records, 10635 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90025; http://www.rhino.com
