POWER POP ICONS THE RUBINOOS REVISIT THEIR RAUCOUS EARLY DAYS AS THEY REWIND THE PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED THE CBS TAPES, ARRIVING JUNE 25 ON YEP ROC.

Listen to single “I Want Her So Bad” and pre-order the album!

On November 2, 1976, Jimmy Carter was elected President of the United States. The events of November 3 were less earth-shaking, although it was the day the power pop pioneers The Rubinoos recorded this album. The group walked into CBS Studios on Folsom Street in San Francisco to, as band co-founder and singer Jon Rubin recollects, “have a ‘set up and get comfortable in the studio’ kind of affair.” Guitarist Tommy Dunbar, who started the group more than 50 years ago with his childhood pal Rubin, recalls they were told “something like, ‘okay, the tape is going to run, just go ahead and play anything you want’.”

The CBS Tapes chronicles that occasion, and its previously unreleased 11 tracks certainly reveal a wildly diverse set list that includes, yet reaches beyond, the power pop that the band is well known for. Selections range from the Modern Lovers (“Government Center”) to the Meters (“Cissy Strut”); King Curtis (“Memphis Soul Stew”) to the DeFranco Family (“Heartbeat, It’s a Love Beat”). The Rubinoos also tackle the bubblegum classic “Sugar, Sugar,” the iconic surf instrumental “Walk Don’t Run,” and a couple Beatles tunes (“She Loves You” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand”), along with a trio of now-rare originals  (“All Excited,” “I Want Her So Bad,” and “Nooshna Kavolta”). 

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The album captures something unusual — a look into the recording process before it begins in earnest. This isn’t a lo-fi sloppy rehearsal tape, a stripped-down demo, or a polished finished product.

Done without second takes and overdubs, the band’s loose, unencumbered live performances exude a joyful energy that embodies the band’s spirit. These recordings do benefit from Glenn Kolotkin’s engineering and mixing on the fly. By 1976, Kolotkin had already worked with acts like Janis Joplin, Journey, and Jimi Hendrix, and would go on to produce Santana, Joan Jett, and the Ramones.

The Rubinoos’ performances also are rather rude and juvenile; not really surprising since Rubin, Dunbar, and drummer Donn Spindt were still in their teens, only bassist Royse Ader had finished high school. Listening to these tapes after so many years made Dunbar think, “What a bunch of foul-mouthed little punks we were,” while Rubin felt their obnoxious behavior and crude language reflect the irreverent, bratty attitude that has always been part of the Rubinoos’ makeup.

With The CBS Tapes, you can experience the Rubinoos’ unadulterated boyish innocence in all its unfiltered glory.

Tags: New Release, Rubinoos, the cbs tapes