The first the world heard from the Modern Lovers was this, a rather un-generous 9 tracks titled
simply 'The Modern Lovers', issued in the US in August(?) 1976 on the Home of the Hits label which was
later renamed Beserkley. Despite being issued 4
years after most of it was recorded, it still sounded ahead of its time and has since attained 'classic
album' status.
The original LP compiled the best of their first three sessions held between autumn '71 and spring
'72 where they recorded the best of their early songs while they were still fresh, resulting in
some great performances.
The tracks were remixed for the LP by Matthew 'King' Kaufman, Gary Philips and Glen Kolotkin, who
smoothed down the
rough edges in the process. The demo mix of 'Hospital' which has surfaced is a bit
rough, but retains more of the excitement of their live shows.
Listening to the LP nowadays, it's easy to forget that it is a compilation of demos and we can
only speculate on how it might sound if it had been worked on more.
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The LP made a big impact in Europe and the UK in particular where 'Roadrunner'
was issued as a single for the second time, reaching no. 11 in the charts in July. This time with the 'Chartbusters' version on the a-side and the Cale version on the flip (see label scan, right). Some UK copies came in a picture sleeve, as did the issue in the Netherlands (see scan, left) and possibly others.
The 1986 Beserkley reissue of the album added 'I'm Straight' from the '73 Fowley Session, lacking the
'obnoxious conviction' ( Ernie Brooks) of earlier performances.
The late 80's LP & CD reissue on Rhino
(USA) added 'Government Center' (also from the Fowley '73 session) and 'Dignified
and Old' (from the spring '72 A&M demos) and came in a new sleeve. The Revola reissue (UK) featured the same tracks and revamped artwork. 'I'm Straight' and 'Government Center' were both origionally issued on Warners 'Troublemakers' compilation in 1980.
'The Modern Lovers' was reissued on heavy weight vinyl by Get Back in Italy in 2000 with the original 9 tracks and a gatefold sleeve. It sounds great, but it's a shame Get Back just spread the original graphics over the gatefold instead of adding
a sleevenote or new pictures.
Hospital is listed on the back cover as being 'donated by Jerry Harrison' because he had the
session tapes.
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