"Shout Above the Noise" Radio Show

The Speedies - Speedy Delivery CD
(Radio Heartbeat Records)
(REVIEW BY DAVE GETZOFF)

The Speedies were a very popular powerpop band in the late seventies and early eighties. They released two singles back in the day ("Let Me Take Your Foto"/"No Substitute" in 1979 and "Something On My Mind"/"Time" in 1981). A few years ago I heard three of the four songs on popwerpop compilations. The songs "Let Me Take Your Foto" and "Something on My Mind" were featured on Hyped to Death's Teenline Volume 1, and the song "Time" was on Powerpearls Volume 3. I thought that all three of these songs were fantastic and were all so good that it was difficult to choose a favorite of the three. About a year ago, I was pleasantly surprised to hear "Let Me Take Your Foto" in a Hewlett Packard commercial. I cant think of a better song to advertise a printer for printing out your photographs.

Speedy Delivery has been released on Radio Heartbeat Records, those fine people who organized the Radio Heartbeat Powepop Festival in Brooklyn, New York. While I was there a few weeks ago, Speedy Delivery was the first CD I bought on my two day, fifty dollar spending spree on CD and records. I could have easily spent over one hundred bucks on music, but I had to save some money for gas, food, and of course the world's finest beverage, beer!

It is great to finally hear some more music by the Speedies. This CD features ten studio tracks and nine live tracks, which were recorded at the Bottom Line in New York City on April 15, 1980. This is a very nice collection of music. Along with the obvious four songs from the singles, some of the other songs I really like are "1-2-3", "Avid Fan", "Countdown", "You Need Pop", and "Waiting For Your Love".

When retrospective releases of older music are released, they often tend to be named after one of the songs by the band that would make a suitable title for the album. "Speedy Delivery" is one of the Speedies' live tracks on the album. Maybe this was chosen for the name of the album for humorous reasons. It may have taken over 25 years for some of these songs to be reissued as well as a lot of songs being released for the first time. It was well worth the wait. This album is essential for Speedies fans and powerpop fans. It really captures the sound of 1979-81 powerpop very well.
Dave Getzoff April 15, 2007

(originally posted on Now Wave Webzine on April 15, 2007)