The first thing the world at large heard by Jonathan Richman didn't feature the Modern Lovers at all.  These four tracks are credited to just 'Jonathan Richman', though he is backed by Earth Quake on 'RoadRunner' and 'It Will Stand' and by The Rubinoos on 'The New Teller' and 'Government Center'.

Shortly after the LP was released, a single coupling the Chartbusters version of 'RoadRunner' with 'Friday On My Mind' by Earthquake was released in the US in the picture sleeve on the left.  It made another appearance late in '76 as part of the 'Beserkley 6 pack' of 7"s (Earthquake 'Friday On The Mind'/Jonathan Richman 'Road Runner' // Rubinoos 'I Think Were Alone Now'/'As Long As I'm With You' // Jonathan Richman 'Here Come The Martian Martians'/'New England' // Greg Kihn 'Love's Made A Fool Of You'/'Sorry' // Son Of Pete 'Silent Night'/'Disco Party pt. 2' // Earthquake 'Kicks'/'Trainride').

'Roadrunner' was also released as a 7" in the UK by United Artists in August '75 (see promo issue, right), this time with 'It Will Stand' on the b-side.  It become a cult favorite, but nothing more. The arrangement of 'RoadRunner' loses the organ and uses acoustic guitars, taking it is a long way from 'Sister Ray'.  It was recorded live (with one overdub), features some great ad-libbing and is a fantastic performance.  'Government Center' (also cut live, this time with no overdubs) is more suited to this new arrangement, while of the new songs, 'The New Teller' is a fab song about Jonathan's crush on a bank teller sung with such verve and feeling it becomes irresistible.  Finally, 'It Will Stand' is a cover of a soul/doo wop track by the Showmen which may seem odd until you realise 1) it's about rock 'n' roll, and 2) it's a favorite of Iggy Pop that was introduced to Jonathan by Kim Fowley.

These four tracks are not the only ones on the LP featuring Jonathan - he can be heard clearly singing back up on Kihn's 'All The Right Reasons'.

Beserkely's set up was incestuous, with either Earthquake or the Rubinoos playing on every track, giving the LP a unified sound.  It was a simple power-pop sound that harked back to the bubblegum era and heralded punk and new waves return to simplicity.  It was both out of date and ahead of it's time.  Jonathan would sometimes sing live with the Rubinoos around this time, coming on for a few songs, often including 'The New Teller'.

The LP was reissued on Rhino in '86 (see sleeve, left), retitled 'Chartbusters - The Best Of Beserkley 1975-1978' with a revised track listing.  'Hit The Floor' by Earth Quake replaced their 'Mr Security' while two tracks from the Rubinoos were added - a cover of 'I Think We're Alone Now' and the fantastic 'I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend'.  It was reissued on CD by Revola in the UK in the early '90s.