Every now and then on these pages, I'll mention something you just gotta have but will have trouble getting. The debut album by The Beat is one of those albums. Led by Paul Collins (ex-Nerves), the group put out several worthwhile albums and e.p.'s (as has Collins as a solo artist), but the first LP (1979) is an undisputed classic classic. Featuring such instantly memorable tunes as "Rock & Roll Girl," "Working Too Hard," and "You Won't Be Happy," the album spearheaded a brief L.A. pop renaissance that also gave birth to the Plimsouls, The Pop, and others. The Beat crackles with punk energy filtered through pop classicism, and it really has no equal in the power pop pantheon.

The Beat was reissued on on CD by Wagon Wheel Records awhile back (as was the follow-up, The Kids Are The Same), but most websites no longer list it (or virtually anything else) as available. In 2004, Wounded Bird records released a 2-for-1 CD compiling the Beat's third and fourth releases To Beat Or Not To Beat and Long Time Gone (both of them e.p.'s). While it's great to have the rare recordings available, they are not - by a long shot - the best of the Beat.

Consumer Note: Paul Collins recorded under a rather confusing succession of names. A search for Paul Collins will probably snare most of his available recordings, but intrepid Beat shoppers will search not only for the Beat but also Paul Collins' Beat and the Paul Collins Band. Visit www.paulcollinsbeat.com to keep up with this trailblazing popper. top of page