The 1982 Listening Post - Teenage Head - Some Kinda Fun

 Reviewed by Geo Rule / LISTENING POST DISCOVERY

Released: 1982 Teenage Head Some Kinda Fun Genre: Rockabilly With ‘80s ‘Tude Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Highlights: (umm, all of it) Kick-Ass Cover: “Some Kinda Fun” What, all it takes is a couple concert riots and a naughty sophomore kind of band name to get yourself labeled as “Punk” in Canada? Are they that nice up there? I guess so. Teenage Head was a Canadian group of the early ‘80s that did quite well north of the border, but as much as anything American parents hang-ups over the band name limited their US presence. They finally got an American label for the album after this one, but were forced to change their name for US purposes to “Teenage Heads” to mollify the parents of teenage daughters. Fun historical fact: The age of consent in Canada at the time was 14 (and would remain so until 2008), so by local standards while naughty, it wasn’t necessarily the kind of “San Quentin Quail” (to use a phrase from my California youth, where to this day the age of consent remains at 18) situation many Americans perceived. I know I’m not a Punk afficionado, but these guys can play their instruments quite well, the lead singer can sing, there’s little sign of politics, or general screw authority, here ... just the teenage holy trinity –sex, drugs (or more accurately, beer), and rock ‘n roll. Sure, this is the kind of music your parents were afraid you were listening to, but “Punk” I just don’t get. “Some Kinda Fun” (which I actually listened to first, before streaming the whole album) is a cover of a Chris Montez song from 1962. Chris’ first hit is one you’ll all remember, “Let’s Dance”. This was his second release, and was a minor hit. The Teenage Head version replaces the original organ melody with driving guitar, and yes, it kicks all kinda ass. Being introduced to Teenage Head through that song, certainly bent me –hard—towards an initial “Modern Eddie Cochran” kind of assessment. As I listened to the rest of the album in order, there wasn’t as much of that sensibility, tho it could be detected here and there ... until I got to “Don’t Toy With Me”, which if Jerry Lee Lewis and Eddie C. ever did a collab, that’s what it’d sound like. So I’ll stick with my assessment, yes there’s certainly modern elements here, and naughtier lyrics than one could have gotten away with in the early 60s, but at heart I’m still hearing modern rockabilly with the usual concerns –getting laid, and getting drunk. Punk, not so much. I loved, loved, loved this album, and now I’ll have to go back and listen to the first two as well.