The first career-spanning best-of Blow-Up

1. Teenage News (from Teenage News)
2. Local Hero (Unreleased Version)
3. Kicking Up A Fuss (Single Mix) (from Up the Academy)
4. Just Like Anne Boleyn (from Teenage News)
5. Beat the Devil (from Up the Academy)
6. Souvenir (from Local Hero)
7. Hanging Out at the 7-Eleven (from Easy Knowledge)
8. There's A War Going On (from Easy Knowledge)
9. Easy Knowledge (from Easy Knowledge)
10. We're So Cool (from Groovy Dynamite Heavy Wow)
11. You're So Dangerous (from Groovy Dynamite Heavy Wow)
12. Reckless Hearts (from The Missing Loot)
13. Tell It to the Judge (from The Missing Loot)
14. Fatal Attraction (from Flashback)

Bonus Track:
15. Kicking Up A Fuss (Album Mix) (from Up the Academy)

Liner Notes
The group came together in Berkeley. The Oakland Tribune called it proto-punk. We called it Top Cat. We did some gigs around campus, and the Mabuhay Gardens. Bruce finagled us a booking at the Masque. So we made our Hollywood debut, December 28, 1977, rechristened Blow-Up. The Screamers thought we were cool, as we had a keyboard and no bass. Actually our bass player didn't show up. We wouldn't cut our hair, so Flipside called us "surf punks," though Bruce was the only one who ever went near the beach. We did the Masque again, then the Starwood, picking up bassist Barry McBride on loan from the Plugz. Kim Fowley or Jonh Ingham turned us onto Greg Shaw and Bomp Records, who signed us to a two single deal. We were whisked into Paramount Studios to cut the A sides. One was an unrecorded Dolls number entitled 'Teenage News', the other our own Dead End Kids-on-speed opus 'Hanging Out at the 7-Eleven' (available on the Teenage News CD). We played the track for Johansen, who was suitably bemused, but did express concern whether we were also hip to one he'd written with Syl called 'Wreckless Crazy', which he planned to record. We lied and said no. Why worry the guy? 

Greg Shaw decided he wanted both tracks on the first single, and follow it with '(It Isn't)1965', a song we hadn't decided to let him have. We were at the Bomp office when we met Pat DiPuccio (aka Pooch from Flipside). He played us some tapes of his guitar playing. We reckoned he sounded a bit like Bill Pitcock IV from Dwight Twilley Band, and invited him to join. Heretofore we'd had nothing but raves from Flipside. After Pooch came on they were snippy. 1978 saw gigs at the Whisky, Starwood, Troubadour, Mme Wong's, and a couple of chaotic trips up North. One set from the Fab Mab, broadcast on KALX-FM, can be found on the official bootleg Radio Free Berkeley. Bomp had cash flow problems, and the single stayed in the can. The lineup solidified with Dave Harrington on bass and Art Arroyo on drums. We recorded some with Alan Douglas producing, and some with Chas Ramirez, who did the early Social D stuff. A previously unreleased version of 'Local Hero' is included here.  So, upon reflection, is the Thin Lizzy like twin guitar solo ironic? What about the singer's leather pants? These are questions for the ages. A top exec at Chrysalis UK, who'd signed Generation X, wanted to sign us, leading to a six month merry-go-round that ended badly. 


We'd knocked together an "anthem of teen rebellion" called 'Kicking Up a Fuss' for the film Up the Academy. The mercurial Jack Nitzsche agreed to produce, and booked us into RCA Studio B, where the Stones cut 'Satisfaction' with him on piano. We planned four songs toward a Blow-Up album for Polydor, who'd proposed one in lieu of a soundtrack. Our friend, the musical prodigy Winter Lazerus, had an engineering gig at a studio. We went in with him to cut a demo of 'Fuss' for Jack, who'd declined to short-list our 'Just Like Anne Boleyn', because the harpsichord sounded "too Stones." So we laid down a version of that, a la 'Beast of Burden', with phased guitars, to change his mind. Somehow, Jack saw through our ruse. By the sessions, Jack had plead guilty to "rape by instrumentality" (Carrie Snodgress and a gun). But hey, he was on the wagon now and we had a good start. Day Two brought a case of Heineken and a visit from Joni Mitchell. By nightfall, Jack spilled beer into the $70,000 Trident console and wanted to replace the band with the Wrecking Crew. I demurred. This guy produced the Germs! The film's director Robert Downey Sr., who had hired Jack to begin with, came down and suggested I fire him. So we did the rest with the engineer while Jack got paid. He did give us some good ideas for 'Fuss' and the (admittedly) Clash-inflected 'Beat the Devil'. Dig the sound of those Mesa Boogie amps - talk about the Stones! The movie studio balked at not having a regular soundtrack so Shep Gordon, who'd made the Polydor deal, switched it to Capitol. The single and OST were released, buoyed by the efforts of promo man (and alleged mobster) Joe Isgro. Capitol requested more demos toward an album. Shep's partner Steve Wax said no, we'd play new songs for them live, so we spent six months locked in a rehearsal room. Bruce drifted away musically, becoming enamored of AC/DC. When the Capitol option expired, he split and formed a cover band with Art and the bass player. 

Our people made a production deal with Pasha Records, who assigned Devin Payne (Phil & the Frantics) to produce three sides, which became the Local Hero EP. 'Souvenir' is included here, hopefully bringing with it the spirit of Guy Stevens. We started to gig again. Highlights are on the official bootleg series. Ed Cirino took the drum stool. We continued to record and assembled an album for Greenworld, lauded by Mikal Gilmore and Robert Christgau. We got college and alt-radio airplay for title track 'Easy Knowledge'. The LP included a much revamped 'Hanging Out at the 7-Eleven', and our wink to New York street rock, 'We're So Cool'.  I wrote 'There's a War Going On' with Devin for his next album. Pooch, Christian and I joined his crack group of sessioneers, including our friend Steve Hunter, to record it. Pat's solo sounds a bit 'Torn & Frayed". We chose to keep it for ourselves.  

Chuck Plotkin wanted us for a label imprint he was negotiating with RCA. We set up recording in his studio, but while he stayed in his office with a fifth of Stoli, some engineers (and musicians) were freebasing between takes. Not me, but I was distracted enough by the Nellcote-style scene, which was going 24-7, that I couldn't hear the mixes right. On 'You're So Dangerous', the recently-joined Spyder Mittleman complained his sax sounded like a kazoo. So we grabbed up the tapes and repaired to Rock Steady with studio ace Mike Carnevale. Mike got good mixes out of 'Dangerous' and 'Reckless Hearts', and we cut a reworked version of 'Tell It to the Judge' we had been opening with live. Unfortunately, Chuck's deal with RCA went south. I'd known the terrific Steve Hunter since he worked on The Rose. He wanted a crack at producing us, with his mentor Bob Ezrin serving as exec. This was to be a new sound, so we thought up a new name: Ultraviolets. The tapes were well received, but a live showcase didn't bring any solid offers. So we broke up. 'Fatal Attraction' was released on the soundtrack for Flashback. A live reunion of the '79 lineup aside (available on official bootleg There's the Door), it's been only a series of reissues since, which conclude here now with Boom! Drop the mic. That's All Folks...

Credits
1. Teenage News (Sylvain/Johansen) 
Recorded March, 1978 at Paramount  Recording Studios • Unreleased Bomp single #126A • Previously released on the Polar CD Teenage News • Jody Worth/Vocals • Bruce Nicholson/Guitar • Christian Super/Keyboards • Barry McBride/Bass • David West/Drums • Produced by Greg Shaw.

2. Local Hero (J. Worth) 
Recorded February, 1979 at Casbah Studios • Previously unreleased version • Jody Worth/Vocals • Bruce Nicholson/Guitar • Pat DiPuccio/Guitar • Christian Super/Keyboards • David Harrington/Bass • Arthur Arroyo/Drums • Produced by Alan Douglas.

3. Kicking Up A Fuss (Worth/Nicholson) 
Recorded March, 1980 at RCA Hollywood • Originally released on Capitol single #P4890 • Jody Worth/Vocals • Bruce Nicholson/Guitar • Pat DiPuccio/Guitar • Christian Super/Keyboards • Don Walton/Bass • Arthur Arroyo/Drums • Produced by Jody Worth & Bill Evans.

4. Just Like Anne Boleyn (Worth/Nicholson) 
Recorded January, 1980 at One Step Up • Originally released on Teenage News • Jody Worth/Vocals • Bruce Nicholson/Guitar • Pat DiPuccio/Guitar • Christian Super/Keyboards • Don Walton/Bass • Arthur Arroyo/Drums • Produced by Winter Lazerus.

5. Beat the Devil (Worth/Nicholson) 
Recorded March, 1980 at RCA Hollywood  • Originally released on the Capitol LP Up the Academy • Jody Worth/Vocals • Bruce Nicholson/Guitar• Pat DiPuccio/Guitar • Christian Super/Keyboards • Winter Lazerus/Keyboards • Don Walton/Bass • Arthur Arroyo/Drums • Produced by Jody Worth & Bill Evans.

6. Souvenir (Worth/Nicholson) 
Recorded October, 1981 at the Pasha Music House • Originally released on the Local Hero EP • Jody Worth/Vocals • Pat DiPuccio/Guitar • Christian Super/Keyboards • Randy Kerber/Keyboards • Devin Payne/Bass • Steve Polto/Drums • Produced by Devin Payne.

7. Hanging Out at the 7-Eleven (J. Worth) 
Recorded February, 1984 at Present Time Studios • Originally released on the Greenworld/Polar LP Easy Knowledge • Jody Worth/Vocals • Pat DiPuccio/Guitar • Christian Super/Keyboards • Kenny Ray Padilla/Saxophone • Michael Rummans/Bass • Ed Cirino/Drums  • Produced by Devin Payne.

8. There's A War Going On (Worth/Payne) 
Recorded February, 1983 at Salty Dog • Originally released on Easy Knowledge • Jody Worth/Vocals • Pat DiPuccio/Guitar • Christian Super/Keyboards • Gabriel Katona/Keyboards • Steve Hunter/12 String Guitar • Jimmy Johnson/Bass • Gary Ferguson/Drums • Produced by Devin Payne.

9. Easy Knowledge (Worth/Payne) 
Recorded February, 1984 at Present Time Studios • Originally released on Easy Knowledge • Jody Worth/Vocals • Pat DiPuccio/Guitar & Harmonica • Christian Super/Keyboards • Michael Rummans/Bass • Ed Cirino/Drums • Produced by Devin Payne.

10. We're So Cool (J. Worth) 
Recorded January, 1983 at Preferred Sound • This version previously released on the Triple X/Polar CD Groovy Dynamite Heavy Wow • Jody Worth/Vocals • Pat DiPuccio/Guitar • Christian Super/Keyboards • Kenny Ray Padilla/Saxophone • Devin Payne/Saxophone  • Greg Oakland/Bass • Steve Polto/Drums • Produced by Devin Payne. 

11. You're So Dangerous (Worth/DiPuccio) 
Recorded November, 1985 at Clover Studios • Originally released on Groovy Dynamite Heavy Wow • Jody Worth/Vocals • Pat DiPuccio/Guitar • Christian Super/Keyboards • Spyder Mittleman/Saxophone • Paul Hilton/Bass • Ed Cirino/Drums • Produced by Blow-Up.

12. Reckless Hearts (Worth/DiPuccio) 
Recorded November, 1985 at Clover Studios • Previously released on the Polar EP The Missing Loot • Jody Worth/Vocals • Pat DiPuccio/Guitar • Christian Super/Keyboards • Paul Hilton/Bass • Ed Cirino/Drums • Produced by Blow-Up.

13. Tell It to the Judge (Worth/DiPuccio) 
Recorded November, 1985 at Rock Steady Studios • Previously released on The Missing Loot • Jody Worth/Vocals • Pat DiPuccio/Guitar & Harmonica • Christian Super/Keyboards • Spyder Mittleman/Saxophone • Paul Hilton/Bass • Ed Cirino/Drums • Produced by Michael Carnevale and Blow-Up.

14. Fatal Attraction (J. Worth) 
Recorded November, 1987 at 440 Studios • Originally released on the WTG/Columbia LP Flashback • Jody Worth/Vocals • Pat DiPuccio/Guitar • Christian Super/Keyboards • Greg Oakland/Bass • Steve Hunter/Guitar & Linn Drum programming • Produced by Steve Hunter.

Recorded and Mixed by E.J. Emmons (1) • Gabe Veltri (2) • Bill 'Bleu' Evans (3,5) • Winter Lazerus (4) • Duane Baron (6) • Larry Brown (7-10, 14) • Michael Carnevale (11-13). Additional Engineering: Chas Ramirez, Tom Nellen, David DeVore, Bruce Ablin & Bobby Fernandez.

 All songs © Blow-Up Music (ASCAP) except 1) © Subway Rhythms (BMI) • 3,5) © Warner Bros. Music (ASCAP) • 9) © Blow-Up Music (ASCAP)/Mascon Fusion (BMI) • 14) © Famous Music Corp/Blow-Up Music (ASCAP). Notes by Jody Worth. This compilation ©2015 Blow-Up Music.
Download the Boom! liner notes and credits here.
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