The Purple Toads - Love Songs for the Hard of Hearing

The Toads' sophomore effort showed some growth in the sound and especially in the songwriting department. Same four cats, but the production is much improved and the originals are even better than before!

Opening with the fantastic "Wildtime", a 4/4 time head-bangin' party number, they are pretty relentless throughout the album. "All I Want" continues in the same vein before tacklin' the Pleasure Seekers' ode to alcohol "What a Way to Die". Based around a darker, metal-y riff, "Troubled Mind" still stomps and "You Gotta Believe Me" updates "You're Gonna Miss Me". Side one concludes with the 70's punk energy of "Love's All Gone".

The fuzz-riff-rockin' "Don't Understand Your Love" opens side two with more incessant drums and one of their catchier melodies. Showing that they haven't forgotten their garage roots, they pull out "Ain't No Friend of Mine" and this segues right into another hep riffer, "Love On Your Back". "Too Much of You" shows off some fine lead guitar work and they actually do one of my favorite versions of "Tobacco Road". The bubblegum geniuses Katz/Kasenetz provides the closer, "Everyvbody", which is given the Purple Toads' treatment for a upbeat r'n'r conclusion to the album.

Another blast of updated garage rock'n'roll that even came with a limited edition comic book! It's a shame that these LPs don't seem to have been reissued on CD, but search 'em out!