The Real Kids

John Felice is one of rock’n’roll’s unsung heroes. A founding member of the Modern Lovers at the age of 15, he quit the band before the sessions that resulted in their classic album, and was subsequently written out of the history of one of the most influential bands of the ‘70s.

The band he left to form, the Kids, made some local waves but ultimately went nowhere, pretty much coming to an end when he went off to New York to audition for the Heartbreakers - a job he turned down.

Back in Boston, he formed the Real Kids, and finally wrote his own chapter in rock’n’roll history with an album for Marty Thau’s Red Star label that goes down as one of the greatest ever – a perfect blend of Eddie Cochran, the early Stones and the Velvet Underground, with killer tunes, energy and feel, and some of the most honest and affecting lyrics ever put to music.

Of course the Real Kids went nowhere, but a solid fanbase in France led to a new incarnation appearing in the early ‘80s. By the late ‘90s, under the patronage of #1 fan Miriam Linna and Billy Miller at Norton Records, the band’s reputation had grown enough to demand another reunion, this time of the Red Star-era line-up. Of course all the while Felice had had other bands – the Taxi boys, the Primevals, John Felice & The Lowdowns and the Devotion, and all had basically made Real Kids music, but without the name it seemed to not connect with anyone but the diehard fans.

Since the ‘90s reformation the band has been an off-and-on concern – the other three original members Billy Borgioli , Allen ‘Alpo’ Paulino and Howie Ferguson left one by one (and Alpo sadly passed away.) Felice and guitarist Billy Cole, of the early ‘80s band, have persisted as best they can, which given, Felice’s not-great health, has obviously been pretty difficult..

Up until now, the only new Felice music we’ve had since the late 80s really was a Devotions album, recorded in the early 90s but left unfinished until a few years back when it came out, effectively as a local Boston release. It was a killer record, full of great ‘new’ Felice originals. (Get it here.)

shake-outta-controlAnd now we have, finally, a new Real Kids record. "Shake... Outta Control". It’s a cracker. Age has wearied Felice a bit, but it rarely detracts from what was intended as, and what sounds like, a true follow up to the band’s Red Star debut. It’s simple and rocking stuff. Most of the tunes do in fact date from the immediate post-first album period, and live versions – some pretty primitively recorded – previously appeared on Norton’s revelatory "Grown Up Wrong" collection in the mid-'90s. This album doesn’t replace that collection, but it’s great to hear this stuff given a full-bodied studio treatment.

Producer and Ace of Hearts label boss Rick Harte ( a major figure on the Boston Rock scene from the late ‘70s and beyond) nails the band’s sound (the raunchy twang of Felice’s guitar sounds is instantly recognisable) and adds some neat touches, including harmonica and occasional mandolin, that give it an honest and rootsy vibe.

The album features an astoundingly faithful cover of longtime Felice fave "She’s Got Everything" by the Kinks (which sounds like a fun exercise in seeing if they could replicate the sound of the great original recording, which they managed to do), and, most significantly a drop-dead stunning version of the early Modern Lovers Jonathan Richman tune "Fly Into The Mystery" (which Felice took a loan of when he left the Modern Lovers – a mid-70s live version by the Kids appeared some years back). It might not have the tearaway energy of the band’s first album, but it’s got everything else – if you like the Real Kids you need to hear this record, regardless what you think of reformations.-David Laing