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11
The Smithereens
Enigma / Capitol Records, 1989
REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 04/27/1997
Long-time readers of "The Daily Vault" know I often wax
nostalgic about the times I discovered some bands, most often in my
time in radio, a period of time I call Alcatraz without the guards.
The baskets of mail that arrived every day each held some new
treasure that would be ambrosia to my ears after listening to so
much other dreck.
It was that way when, in 1989, the station I worked at received
the latest album at the time from The Smithereens,
11. Though the vinyl copy we received was warped to the
point of it being unplayable, the few songs I was able to listen to
were absolutely incredible. Within a matter of days, I was at the
local record store picking up a CD copy of
11, and adding it to the Pierce Memorial Archives.
Pat DiNizio and crew merge the sensibility of '60s power pop
with the recklessness of '80s alternative, creating one very
pleasant mix. If there was an album that defined The Smithereens,
11 is the one.
The first single off the album, "A Girl Like You," is proof of
the talents these four young musicians have. The staccato guitar
lines of Jim Babjak, rhythmic bass lines by Mike Mesaros and the
marching backbeat provided by Dennis Diken all serve as the perfect
foil for DiNizio's vocal delivery. The song is an upbeat love song
that seems almost impossible to get tired of hearing.
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