“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!
Back in October of 2013– in the wee early days of The Analog Kid Blog– I wrote a post that featured many of my favorite solo songs from some of the best front men of the early ’80s. That entry included Ric Ocasek’s often-forgotten radio hit “Something To Grab For,” a track from his 1982 solo debut Beatitude. (You can read that entire post here https://theanalogkidblog.com/2013/10/31/koona-tchuta-solo/ if you’d like!)
I’ve always loved “Something To Grab For,” probably because it would have fit perfectly onto Shake It Up (one of the seminal albums of my 9th grade days). Ocasek didn’t try to reinvent the wheel with Beatitude— he simply kept writing fabulously catchy rock/new wave songs. Fellow Cars member Greg Hawkes played some keys on Beatitude, as did future producer extraordinaire Stephen Hague. Ocasek produced the album himself, helping to pave the way for a post-Cars career behind the boards for bands like Romeo Void, Weezer, and No Doubt.
Beatitude was briefly available in CD back in the ’90s, but it is long out of print. I’ve never even seen a used copy in the stores, and trust me– I’ve looked. Until I find one, this brand new 320 kbps rip from my original vinyl copy will have to suffice!
Ric Ocasek: Beatitude
Geffen Records, 1982
320 kbps vinyl rip courtesy of The Analog Kid
1. “Jimmy Jimmy” (Ric Ocasek)
2. “Something To Grab For” (Ric Ocasek)
3. “Prove” (Ric Ocasek)
4. “I Can’t Wait” (Ric Ocasek)
5. “Connect Up To Me” (Ric Ocasek)
6. “A Quick One” (Ric Ocasek)
7. “Out Of Control” (Ric Ocasek/Greg Hawkes)
8. “Take A Walk” (Ric Ocasek)
9. “Sneak Attack” (Ric Ocasek)
10. “Time Bomb” (Ric Ocasek)
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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.
Romeo Void: “Never Say Never” (Romeo Void)
From the U.S. 12″ EP Never Say Never
Columbia Records, 1982
Weezer: “Surf Wax America” (Rivers Cuomo/Patrick Wilson)
From the album Weezer
Geffen Records, 1994
No Doubt: “Don’t Let Me Down” (Gwen Stefani/Tony Kanal/Tom Dumont)
From the album Rock Steady
Interscope Records, 2001
The Analog Kid 
how could this be rare ?
The cd is rare.
I bought Beatitude upon release. It’s one of my all time faves. Somewhere along the way I picked up the cassette a well.
Sometime during the 90s I found it on cd. I really had no idea how rare it is. I used to pester Hip-O for an update.
Perhaps now UMG will reissue with all of the 12″ versions.
Rare? Not anymore.
Sorry, my last post took a wrong turn.
This CD is available on Amazon. New, not used.
This entry is 5 and a half years old, so it was rare at the time i wrote it! Glad it’s available again for a reasonable price. Rest in peace, Ric.