The Neighborhoods--The Last Rat--Beantown Idols Incendiary Last Show on Cd

The Neighborhoods were a great Boston band with a huge local following, replete with a lot of airplay on radio stations in the 80's. The song Prettiest Girl which was originally issued by Ace of Hearts was very familiar to anyone who lived in the Boston metropolitan area. They were one of the top bands in the area. The original lineup was Dave Minehan on guitar and lead vocals, John Hartcorn on Bass, and Mike Quaglia on Drums. I was lucky enough to see them perform, probably in the winter of 1983-84 in a small bar in Auburn, Mass. just outside of Worcester. The name of the venue escapes me as it was the only time I was there.

I have to say they were simply excellent. Dave Minehan had amazing guitar chops and electrifying stage presence. The band had that charismatic star quality that every aspiring band wishes they had. I was certain that this was a band that was destined for success. But that did not exactly happen. Certainly they were given a shot to some degree. They were signed to a major label, at some point it seemed that Brad Whitford of Aerosmith became a fan of what they were doing and tried to put some of his influence on their behalf. I don't pretend to be an insider here, but it does seem that something happened to the band in their quest for the brass ring, to be megastars. Somehow all of the great things that band did, all of the things that made them such a revered band in their hometown, were pushed aside in favor of a more commercial, hard riffing,
hard rock style. Say Aerosmith Lite. Their earlier material was what got them noticed, and I think the new trend made them sound undistinctive and less charming, less fresh. And with the stylistic changes they still never got to do the beer commercial.

And so it goes with this 1992 Live Album released in 2010 on 2 discs. The band was in fine form that evening, playing at Boston's Rathskeller in Kenmore Square in front of a legion of adoring fans. The quality of the live recording is excellent. I like a lot of the music here, though on both discs I find that in general the quality is better at the end. The lineup of The Neighborhoods at the time was Minehan with Lee Harrington on Bass, and Carl Coletti on Drums. Tracks 10-17 on the first disc have Dave reuniting with his original cohorts Quaglia and Hartcorn. Not to disparage the other musicians, who are terrific here, but I really enjoyed this part of the album. Some of the other music doesn't move me as much, though I don't wish to overgeneralize.

Certainly on the first disc, Pure and Easy is one of the standouts. In my opinion, it's the best thing they ever did, a bona fide classic rock tune, as good as anything you could ever expect to hear. The opening cut Real Stories is another super song in the vein of The Replacements. Great Great Great!! The minute I heard this song I knew that this Cd was a worthwhile purchase. At their very best they were like America's answering salvo to the Jam, as can be seen on the heart pounding pop of No Place Like Home. With a song like that, I'm not surprised why Boston loved this band so much. The band does a nice cover of Ready Steady Go during this set, but it actually pales in comparison to their A-list originals like She's So Good.




Of course they perform Prettiest Girl and it is wonderful, as you would expect. An irresistible song that always forces a smile out of me. Terrific harmonies. From the demeanor of the crowd, you would have thought the Celtics just won another ring during the set. And right before that Milestone, you get to hear Monday Morning and Innocence Lost. I guarantee that when you hear this portion of the set you will wish you had been an eyewitness to this night. I really wish there was a DVD for this.

But with the good, there are some of the more pedestrian hard rockin' songs of their latter days. It may be to the taste of some, but I'm not that thrilled with Nancy, Hookwinked, Roxxanne, Diane, their version of Walkin' The Dog, their particularly crude song The Pipe. I do like Tommy though, and also Arrogance and Hangin', and the Burma-ish mess. The disc concludes with an apparent tribute to some of the other great Boston bands of the day. They perform Spymaster by La Peste, Hot Steel and Acid by Nervous Eaters, and That's How I Escaped My Certain Fate by Mission of Burma. All in all a very good and well recorded set by a band that more people should know about. For just a 3 piece band, they certainly raised a ruckus live. If you go to hoodsnoise.com you can buy a copy and find out for yourself.




This post is dedicated to my legendary college roommate, Boston's truest son.