Boomtown Rats Fine Art Of Surfacing CD - Import

Additional Tracks

Boomtown Rats: Bob Geldof (vocals); Gerry Cott, Garry Roberts (guitar); Johnnie Fingers (keyboards); Pete Briquette (bass guitar); Simon Crowe (drums).
Released in 1979, THE FINE ART OF SURFACING was the Boomtown Rats' third album, and it's considered by many fans to be their best. "I Don't Like Mondays," probably the band's best-known song, is the key track. A dark and moving narrative that recounts a classroom murder story, "I Don't Like Mondays" was a Number One hit in England and went on to become the Rats' only chart entry in the U.S.
But there is a lot to appreciate on THE FINE ART, much of which demonstrates the band's restless spirit and their knack for combining the energy of punk and the quirkiness of new wave with a keen pop sensibility and a knack for musical drama. Though the elements of their style can be traced to the times, the Boomtown Rats simply come across--some decades later--as a good rock band, and this defining effort makes that plain. A beautifully remastered version of the album was released on CD in 2005.
Chock-full of new wave charisma and tamed by Bob Geldof's upfront wit, The Fine Art of Surfacing is novel in both its lyrical flair and modern pounce. Made famous by the colorful history of "I Don't Like Mondays," a true story about a 13-year-old girl who shot 11 people without showing any remorse, The Fine Art of Surfacing switches gears from this song's well-crafted harshness to the hectic pace of tracks such as "Nice N' Neat" and "Sleep," among others. "Diamond Smiles" jaunts along on a hiccup-like rhythm, while "Keep It Up" is downright frantic. "Someone's Looking at You" basks in a certain type of smug paranoia, and songs like "Having My Picture Taken" and "Nothing Happened Today" are beautifully lit up by Geldof's wide-eyed dramatics and explicit vocal swings. Sharing the same sort of stylishness as A Tonic for the Troops, The Fine Art of Surfacing bursts with florid pop genius, which in turn kept the Boomtown Rats from sounding like other new wave bands that existed at the time. ~ Mike DeGagne