The Lost Boys: Hard-To-Find ’80s Albums (The Hawaiian Pups’ “Split Second Precision”)

“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!

Every now and then, the Analog Kid receives a nice email from someone who really likes the site. Correspondence of this nature always makes me feel good, as I put in a lot of time and effort for this blog and it’s always nice when your hard work is appreciated.

I have noticed that most of the readers who take the time to contact me seem to share a few common traits:

a. They are usually male.

b. They are usually in their mid-to-late forties.

c. They have very eclectic musical tastes.

d. They loved vinyl growing up.

e. They can’t believe someone else in the universe loves some of the crap I post as much as they do.

A few months back, I received one of these emails from a guy named Jef. He was responding specifically to my post of the unedited vinyl version of U2’s Under A Blood Red Sky EP, but he also mentioned a few ’80s obscurities that he would love to hear again. One of the bands he mentioned was The Hawaiian Pups.

If Jef had emailed me six months earlier, I would have had no clue what a “Hawaiian Pup” was. However, I happened to stumble upon a beautiful shrink-wrapped copy of their first (and only) album at my local Half-Price Books shortly before he wrote to me. The name of the band didn’t ring a bell, but one look at the artwork and song titles told me all that I needed to know. I think the record cost me $4, and of course I ripped it immediately. I seemed to recognize “Baby Judy,” the one song off the album that actually received some radio airplay– but I can’t confirm that I really remembered it from the ’80s. I just knew that it was bizarre and kooky and sounded like 1983, and I loved every second of it.

I responded to Jef’s email and told him that I actually owned Split Second Precision and promised to post it soon. And then, of course, I forgot to do it–while I can still remember who opened for Pat Benatar in Dallas on the Get Nervous tour in early 1983 (that would be Red Rider), I can’t tell you what I had for lunch yesterday. Jef was nice and patient, though, and he eventually wrote me back and gently reminded me of my promise. I swore to him that I would post The Hawaiian Pups this week, and now I have! I even created a brand-new 320 kbps vinyl rip so that Jef (and you) can enjoy this tasty ’80s relic in the best possible quality.

Meanwhile, back in India…

The Hawaiian Pups: Split Second Precision

Portrait Records, 1983

320 kbps vinyl rip courtesy of The Analog Kid

1. “Infinite Roads” (John Klett/Tara Shanahan/John Terelle)

Infinite Roads

2. “Trash” (John Klett/Tara Shanahan/John Terelle)

Trash

3. “Young Boys” (John Klett/Tara Shanahan/John Terelle)

Young Boys

4. ‘Baby Judy” (John Klett/Tara Shanahan/John Terelle)

Baby Judy

5. “Baby Judy” [Extended Version] (John Klett/Tara Shanahan/John Terelle)

Baby Judy [Extended Version]

6. “Overture To Young Boys” (John Klett/Tara Shanahan/John Terelle)

Overture To Young Boys

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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.

U2: “The Electric Co.” [Original Unedited Version] (U2)

From the album Under A Blood Red Sky

Island Records, 1983

320 kbos vinyl rip courtesy of The Analog Kid

The Electric Co. [Unedited] [320 kbps]

Pat Benatar: “Little Too Late” (Alex Call)

From the album Get Nervous

Chrysalis Records, 1982

Little Too Late

Red Rider: “Human Race” (Tom Cochrane)

From the album Neruda

Capitol Records, 1983

Human Race