bigbosscentral wrote:

The thrill of being able to download new Boomtown Rats material is wonderful. And I personally think 'The Boomtown Rats' is pretty cool and it really grows on you. It's cool for a band to make new sounding records rather than just nostalgia. So let's lay off the new songs- I personally think it's great.

Very impressed with the dedication of being up at 1am downloading Boomtown Rats songs when released  

I will resist the temptation to buy the CD at HMV this lunchtime, but will definitely have a look at it.  Along with Arctic Monkeys and Clash.  The Clash vinyl LP box set looks very tempting.  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Studio-Album-LP-Set-VINYL/dp/B00DYK3B7W/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1378720928&sr=1-3  If only the Rats did one of these.

Jules wrote:

Oh how I'd love to have a Clash box set and I NEED the Arctic Monkeys' latest album. Cash flow is a major problem, however.

Too many interesting things getting released.  Having bought the suede vinyl box, I need to think about these, but then again, if I only go to Dublin on Sunday, then I'll save enough

Jules wrote:

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I heard a snippet of Back to Boomtown on Amazon, didn't download it. It is sounding much much better than The Boomtown Rats. It is a proper song to me. Hope my copy of the album appears in the post today.

Oh how I'd love to have a Clash box set and I NEED the Arctic Monkeys' latest album. Cash flow is a major problem, however.

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 HMV has reopened in Henry St Dublin at the weekend. The new greatest hits is selling for about 15 euro, and the older version for half the price, with a better track selection in my opinion. 

I agree with Jules, the song Back To Boomtown sounds better. I too have only heard the sample mp3 on Amazon. Simon's backing vocals sound 'suspiciously' like a very famous song by Arcade Fire, but maybe that's just my imagination. 

Derek The Dane wrote:

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Downloaded both new songs today,Back to Boomtown is far the better of the 2 new songs.

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 It is better, but sounds like dare I say it a Springsteen knock off...

...anyway the album is on Spotify so listen to it for free and save your mp3 credits.

manatthetop wrote:

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Have to agree with you Think both new songs are very good. Got the new cd today and i have to say the sound is much improved

Also ordered box set. Lets hope it comes with all the b sides as well

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I think the two songs are OK, but not really impressive.  Had say Systematic 6 - Pack being a bonus track (and not on Geldof's last album) I would have been eulogising that the Rats were back, but not with these songs.  Not as bad as Charmed Lives or Another Piece of Red, but not a patch on anything off the first three LPs and most of the others.

The wife liked The Boomtown Rats whereas I much preferred Back to Boomtown before this week-end started. We had 3 listens of the former on the way back from Blackpool and 5 of the latter (I drove, steering wheel controls). I had not really felt The Boomtown Rats went up on my likeability scale but she thinks Back to Boomtown is a real grower and rates them equally good now.

Only thing is she asked me what a 'stolen dream' is, as if I know the meaning of all their lyrics, and then seemed disappointed when I didn't know.

Makes sense - thanks Noel

Turns out this track was played 2 weeks ago today on Radio 2's breakfast show - there's a small of clip of it available and unless the Beeb's played about with it, there's a truncated version of this track about which goes:

It lies bleeding

Boomtown's lying bleeding

It felt the sun for a second shine down upon it's face

The streets like trees stripped bare

and so misses out the heavy rains coming/sun not shining on Billy's face no more/stolen dream/nightmare scene lines

this detracts enormously from what is really a very good track

Was listening to 'The Boomtown Rats' and couldn't help but think if those words were replaced with something like 'Ibiza Nights' and band name changed this would get played and stand half a chance. Ok so lyrics might need adjusting too but you get my drift I hope.

Prejudice - never a good thing. 

But point is the 'sound' is contemporary enough to warrant some attention, so removing the giveaway bits would ambush any snobby prejudiced playlist guy at radio stations, and maybe even club DJs.

Sad that the guys are on a hiding to nothing. Make them like they used to, no one plays the songs, make them relevant to today, dismissed for who they are and what they represent.

I don't think it's ****e at all - just doomed.

suss wrote:

... just doomed.

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 Has any 1970s band come back and had a new hit? Selling out Vicar Street and The Roundhouse is a very good sign. If nothing else twenty to thirty thousand or more will see them and maybe listen to the new songs. I don't want them to have hits for the youth, I want them to make music for coffin dodgers. There's a club they may get played at.

Just checked - exactly 20 years after Heart of Glass apparently.

suss wrote:

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Only one I can think of is Blondie and Maria, which must have been 20 odd years from heyday.

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I should have qualified my question with this century as even 1999 was a long time ago now.

For the Rats to break the top 100 would be unlikely.  Looking at the current rundown, Arctic Moneys, Kings of Leon and Jake Bugg are in the top fifty with music not unlike The Rats, but the rest is the sort of thing no self ctingult should listen to.   Bowie breaking the top 10 is the only reall ssault on the top ten by any oldie in recent years.  Paul Weller with a pretty hard core following occasionally makes the top 100 and even then needs to collaborate with the likes of Graham Coxon to do that.  Even bands like Franz Ferdinand don't make a dent on the top 100 with a fair amount of radio play.   

It would be good to get some radio play, but the only stations I can see playing new Rats music are BBC Radio 6, with a very small audience, BBC Radio 2 and at a stretch, XFM.    Absolute will play the old stuff, but that's about it. 

The only important thing for me is do I think the songs are any good. 

On repeated listening, Back To Boomtown is quite enjoyable and acceptably stands alongside anything post-Tonic.  The Boomtown Rats! is more ambitious, a good for the band to come on stage to if the crowd get chanting, but that's it.  I'm not really qualified to say what does or doesn't work in clubs but from my limited exposure to dance/club music it sounds like old geezers trying to hard to be down with the kids.