THE ROMANTICS, 'LITTLE WHITE LIES' (Spider, 1977) AR SPDR 101A - RED WEB
v.
THE ROMANTICS, 'LITTLE WHITE LIES' (Spider, 1977) 101-A - WHITE WEB
A tale of two COMPLETELY DIFFERENT recording sessions.
...which, to this point, no one has cared about because:
1 - It's THE ROMANTICS
AND
2 - The record - in all its incarnations - has always been common and affordable
However, inspired by PATRICK LUNDBORG's recent research and championing of the original, non-hit version of THE STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK's 'Incense & Peppermints' on All American Records v. the more familiar and staid hit arrangement on UNI, I figured it was high time to definitively diagnose this depressingingly uncharted discrepancy hitherto only whispered about in the language of wind and ghosts.
First hinted at briefly in a short review of THE ROMANTICS' follow-up single on BOMP! in issue 29 of BLITZ (formerly BALLROOM BLITZ) magazine out of Detroit, Michigan, Nov. '78, which reads:
'In the face of accusations of "sell out" and "commercialism" from many of their fans who were disappointed with their re-recording of their classic "Little White Lies" last year, Hamtramck's Romantics bounce back with a masterpiece that easily qualifies as one of the year's best.'
...an incorrect assessment; nevertheless, I became intrigued.
Not least because I found any allegations of insincerity aimed at the future Budweiser/T.G.I. Friday's commercial kings of poodle-perm, leather-suit, schlock-rock laughable, but also because I've always wanted to see what all the early taste-makers ever saw in THE ROMANTICS anyway.
Cue Young Steve and the Japanese.
Tentatively mentioned on the PoP "n" RoLL blog (home of THE CHOOSERS among many others), Atsushi and Co. pondered:
'This can certainly be called a pop 'n' roll classic. But did you know that there is a different version of the a-side 'Little White Lies?'
As far as appearance goes the difference is the color of the spider web. The regular version is white and the special version is RED. The matrix number for the white version is 101-A and for the RED version it's AR SPDR 101A.
As far as the difference in sound, the intro is cut on the special RED version. It starts suddenly from the vocal. The tempo is faster than the usual version, and more than anything, it's a raw, rough performance that is very exciting to listen to.' *
Which says just about as much as I need to. As ridiculous as it may sound (and they look), maybe THE ROMANTICS' debut album cover was meant to be a red-leather post-it note pointing back to this earlier recording.
As irreconcilable to their later, major label facelessness as 20/20's early sides and demos on BOMP!, the original version of 'Little White Lies' is as jumping with vitality, energy and an argument for POP! as anything by THE NERVES, SHOES, or DWIGHT TWILLEY.
Too bad the b-side recording on both pressing - featuring some HORRENDOUS Dad-Rock, Blueshammer harmonica - didn't benefit from any second thoughts or re-record re-considerations
Enjoy then, the ORIGINAL, non-hit, RED web version of 'Little White Lies' and the later, tamer, more new-wave ready rendition and decide for yourself which is superior.
SING SING NEWS - YOU HEAR IT...
FIRST!
'LITTLE WHITE LIES' - RED VERSION (ORIGINAL)
'LITTLE WHITE LIES' - WHITE VERSION (RE-RECORDING)
* PoP "n" RoLL blog translation work courtesy of every one's favorite MMA documentarian, Young Steve 'Don't Call Me Mark' Borchardt
