The Nervous Eaters had a time of legend in the Boston music scene in the late 70s featuring one half of The Paley Brothers and multi-talented punk popper Steve Cataldo. They were a ripping punk band that knew their way around poppy hooks so when their major album arrived in 1980 on Sire Records and was a light-hearted, soft-ish affair, I was crestfallen. Their edge had been totally lost and left me cold. I promptly sold the LP and picked up something else hoping someday to hear an proper album of their glory days(which would never come). Now, 30 years later I revisit this experience again - or not. The fact is march of time has given my harsh reaction years before a bit of tempered enjoyment and modest praise. Further, in fact, fans of soft power pop sounds will quite love this record(I`m always a punker at heart) and there is NO denying the wonderfulness of songs such as "Loretta" and "Get Stuffed"( soundbites #1 and 4 below). "3 stars. Nervous Eaters is a very good record on its own. That producer Harry Maslin did not know what to do with the band is an understatement. "By Yourself," the second track on their 1980 debut, is exquisite pop/rock by a band that wrote a classic underground riff rock anthem, "Degenerate," not on this recording. "Loretta," "Get Stuffed," and "Girl Next Door" are R-rated and lovingly sexist. But the Eaters` people knew and loved were a gritty, down and dirty Boston band. Cataldo`s jangly guitar is not up in the mix enough, his wonderful axe underlines buoy the songs, but are downplayed. They were the Rolling Stones of Boston, and this album sounds like the group trying to be -- The Eagles, or, dare it be said, the Hollies. The hard rocking, riff-blasting, tongue-in-cheek rock band created a long-player with tunes that fall somewhere between the Ronettes and the Four Seasons. When you expect a band to crunch with the enthusiasm of Mott the Hoople and hear pure pop, it is culture shock. This album is kind of like dressing Charles Manson up like Mother Theresa. The pervert lyrics that made them famous regionally are replaced by something else. The verdict on the album? Surprisingly, like Farrenheit, released on Warners in 1987, the disc works despite being a slight misrepresentation of the artist. It is still Steve Cataldo writing and singing "Walkout"; there are 12 songs from a prolific Boston artist." - AMG.
 Song #1 - mp3
Song #2 - mp3
Song #3 - mp3
Song #4 - mp3 | 
