Personnel: Marshall Crenshaw (vocals, various instruments, guitar, bass, percussion); Chris Donato (vocals, bass); Robert Crenshaw (vocals, drums); Tony Garnier (bass); Michael Osborn, Richard Gottehrer (percussion).

Producers: Richard Gottehrer, Marshall Crenshaw, Scott Miner.

Principally recorded at the Record Plant, New York, New York in January 1982.

Originally released on Warner Brothers (3673). Includes liner notes by Marshall Crenshaw & David Gorman.

Digitally remastered by Bill Inglot.

Personnel: Marshall Crenshaw (vocals, various instruments, guitar, bass, percussion); Chris Donato (vocals, bass); Robert Crenshaw (vocals, drums); Tony Garnier (bass); Michael Osborn, Richard Gottehrer (percussion).

Producers: Richard Gottehrer, Marshall Crenshaw, Scott Miner.

Principally recorded at the Record Plant, New York, New York in January 1982.

Originally released on Warner Brothers (3673). Includes liner notes by Marshall Crenshaw & David Gorman.

In retrospect, 1982 was a brief, exhilarating moment in between the fall of disco and the rise of MTV, when the eternal verities of real rock & roll broke through once again. The punk and new wave music of the late '70s had given way to power-pop, a return to catchy, relatively unadorned guitar rock. In that context, it was easy to see Marshall Crenshaw and his self-titled debut album as the Next Big Thing. Hailing from music-rich Detroit but based in new wave mecca New York City, Crenshaw looked like Buddy Holly by way of Elvis Costello, and sounded like that combination too. His short, simple songs had an obvious lineage, but Crenshaw further updated the sound and added a lightly sardonic tone à la Costello, giving it a smart-alecky New York edge. Not only did critics love the result, but the immediate surface charms of the music seemed to bode for a quick trip to the top. But although "Someday, Someway" reached the Top 40 and the LP got halfway up the Top 100, that did not happen. Maybe because Crenshaw was perhaps a little too faithful to his old records. Any record collector had to love a guy who knew enough to cover Arthur Alexander's "Soldier of Love." Yet Holly and Costello got away with their essentially nerdy appearance by working against it, always seeming about to break out of the image; Crenshaw, from the art deco cover of his album to his perfectly echoed vocals, seemed to fetishize the look and sound, more a formalist than a stylist. Or maybe it was just that by the end of 1982, Michael Jackson had released Thriller and Duran Duran was cavorting on MTV. In any case, Marshall Crenshaw remains a great album. ~ William Ruhlmann

Marshall Crenshaw's self-titled debut was a great breath of fresh air when it appeared in 1982. Full of pop smarts, it drew on the chimey pop melodicism of the '60s without sounding the slightest bit "retro." Crenshaw came to public attention in the cast of Beatlemania in the late seventies (playing the part of John Lennon), a circumstance born of his long-standing love of the Fab Four.

Millions cut their teeth on British Invasion bands, but for Crenshaw, the lessons became part of his musical foundation--which is why it doesn't sound like he's aping his idols. Crenshaw is a music fan who developed into a first class songwriter. The flawlessly tight band runs through these dozen songs--churning out a hit parade of their own device. Catchy and infectiously hook-filled, this album can make friends with anybody. Start with this one, then move onto his next, and his next, and his next...

Marshall Crenshaw's self-titled debut was a great breath of fresh air when it appeared in 1982. Full of pop smarts, it drew on the chimey pop melodicism of the '60s without sounding the slightest bit "retro." Crenshaw came to public attention in the cast of Beatlemania in the late seventies (playing the part of John Lennon), a circumstance born of his long-standing love of the Fab Four.

Millions cut their teeth on British Invasion bands, but for Crenshaw, the lessons became part of his musical foundation--which is why it doesn't sound like he's aping his idols. Crenshaw is a music fan who developed into a first class songwriter. The flawlessly tight band runs through these dozen songs--churning out a hit parade of their own device. Catchy and infectiously hook-filled, this album can make friends with anybody. Start with this one, then move onto his next, and his next, and his next...