“The Lost Boys: Hard-To-Find ’80s Albums” gives you exactly what the title implies: a rare or out-of-print album 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!
Now that I am armed with a much-improved system for ripping vinyl, I spent a couple of hours late last night digging through my record collection in search of some gems to share with you. I found some really great stuff for future posts, but really I hit the mother lode with The Monroes. “What Do All The People Know” is right up there with Phil Seymour’s “Precious To Me” as one of the best power pop songs of the ’80s– I remember hearing it on KROQ back in 1982, and rediscovered the song when it was included on Volume 4 of Rhino’s Just Can’t Get Enough: New Wave Hits Of The ’80s series back in 1994. I found the super-rare The Monroes EP at my local Half Price Books a few years ago, but for some reason I had never ripped it. At 4 AM this morning, that all changed.
I can’t really tell you much about The Monroes because there isn’t really much to tell. The five-man band from San Diego released their one and only EP in 1982, but their Japanese-based record label decided to pull out of the U.S. market shortly after its release. “What Do All The People Know” had been steadily climbing the Billboard Hot 100, but it stalled at #59 when Alfa Records pulled the promotional plug. Sadly, The Monroes never made another record– but they did leave us with one hell of a debut. The Analog Kid hopes you enjoy this true power-pop classic!
![The Monroes [320 kbps]](https://analogkidblog.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/the-monroes-320-kbps.png)
The Monroes: The Monroes
Alfa Records, 1982
Vinyl rip courtesy of the Analog Kid
1. “What Do All The People Know” (B. Monroe)
2. “Somewhere In The Night” (R. Jones)
3. “Hungry Stranger” (R. Jones)
4. “Blind Faith” (B. Monroe)
5. “Pay Pay Pay” (B. Monroe)
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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.
The Monroes: “What Do All The People Know” [7″ Version] (B. Monroe)
Alfa Records, 1982
What Do All The People Know [7″ Version]
Phil Seymour: “Precious To Me” (Phil Seymour)
From the album Phil Seymour
Boardwalk Records, 1981
The Analog Kid 
Great, never heard little pop jems. The Phil Seymore sounds familiar too. Thanks!
Do you have the B-side to the ‘What Do All The People Know?’ 45? The instrumental ‘Yamarock.’
That would be a treat!
This is flippin’ awesome, man. Hearing “What Do All the People Know?” on the radio is a very rare treat. I’ve never heard the whole album… all the tracks are great! Thanks for sharing!
Oh, wow. I think this album must have been in the house in the early 80s… not only do I know the song, I know the album cover!
SOMEWHERE IN THE NIGHT was always one of my favourite songs from the early 80’s. Still have the vinyl ep.
Thanks for the great rip!