“The Lost Boys: Hard-To-Find ’80s Albums” gives you exactly what the title implies: a rare or out-of-print album or EP from the ’80s in its entirety. Some will be from CD, but most will have been lovingly transferred from pristine vinyl culled directly from the Analog Kid’s vast collection. Whatever album I choose, it will be one that you can’t easily find a physical copy for sale on Amazon or in your local record store (if you even have one anymore). Death…by stereo!
I was introduced to Concrete Blonde in the summer of 1989 by 94.5 The Edge, the wonderful Dallas-area alternative radio station (often discussed in my ongoing “Songs From The Edge” posts). The Edge played “God Is A Bullet” about once an hour during that glorious summer, and I instantly fell in love with Johnette Napolitano’s amazing voice. I quickly purchased Free and also acquired a copy of their fantastic 1986 debut album, so I was already a big fan of the band by the time the MTV generation discovered Concrete Blonde via the Bloodletting album in 1990.
I’ve only seen Concrete Blonde live twice, but both were very memorable shows. The first time, they opened for Sting on the Soul Cages tour right around the time that “Joey” was making it big. The second show was on the Mexican Moon tour in 1993, and I will always remember that concert for the sheer joy Johnette and the band displayed on stage that night. Concrete Blonde had absolutely packed the cavernous Bomb Factory, and you could tell by the band’s awed response to the overflow crowd that they didn’t necessarily have such a rabid following in other cities. I bet a lot of bands in the early ’90s could say that about Dallas– it was a great place to be an alternative music fan, and a lot of the credit has to go to George Gimarc and rest of the staff at The Edge.
Free is currently out of print on CD for a second time, so the Analog Kid hopes you enjoy listening to this copy of my original CD from 1989 (along with a couple of b-sides from the God Is A Bullet 12″ single).
Concrete Blonde: Free
I.R.S. Records, 1989
1. “God Is A Bullet” (Concrete Blonde)
2. “Run Run Run” (Concrete Blonde)
3. “It’s Only Money” (Lynott)
4. “Help Me” (Concrete Blonde)
5. “Sun” (Concrete Blonde)
6. “Roses Grow” (Concrete Blonde)
7. “Scene Of A Perfect Crime” (Concrete Blonde)
8. “Happy Birthday” (Concrete Blonde)
9. “Little Conversations” (Concrete Blonde)
10. “Carry Me Away” (Concrete Blonde)
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Bonus Tracks!
The first rule of The Analog Kid blog is that if you write about a song on the Analog Kid blog, you share the song on the Analog Kid blog.
Concrete Blonde: “Joey” (Napolitano)
From the album Bloodletting
I.R.S. Records, 1990
Concrete Blonde: “Free” (Concrete Blonde)
Concrete Blonde: “Little Wing” (Hendrix)
Both taken from the 12″ single God Is A Bullet
I.R.S. Records, 1989
The Analog Kid 
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