aka The Vinyl Villain incorporating Sexy Loser
#064: The Nails – ‘88 Lines About 44 Women’ (Rough Trade Records ’84)
Good morning friends,
yes, it’s education time again in this singles-series, for two reasons basically. The first one is that – again – there isn’t pretty much I know about today’s band in the first place, apart from below track. So I have to tell you something educational about the song itself, but this might indeed be of interest – so you should perhaps not just skip all of this, but listen to the tune instead.
Why? Well, because obviously ’88 Lines’ is a total classic of course. It has featured on numerous compilations, and rightly so, because it is absolutely awesome. But the version you know, at least the chances for this are near to 100%, is a later one, not the original version. The original one is the one you’ll get below, but let’s start from scratch:
The Nails were founded in Colorado in 1976 as The Ravers and The Ravers’ roadie was Eric Boucher who later became Jello Biafra of Dead Kennedys fame. The Ravers moved to New York in 1977 and there they recorded an EP, after that they changed their name to The Nails. And as The Nails it took them until 1981 before they released their first record, the ‘Hotel For Women’ – 12“ EP. Now, ‘Hotel For Women’ included the first version of ’88 Lines’, the one you’ll get below. Also, it was released as a 7“ one year later on Citybeat/Jimbocco.
The band went to RCA and had ’88 Lines’ re-recorded for the label, it then got included on their first full-length album, ‘Mood Swing’ from 1984 – and, to come to a point with all of this: this album version is the version you will all know by heart!
Obviously the question now is: which one is the superior version, the one commonly known or the old one, the one most probably new to you? Of course, I can only speak for myself, but very often I have severe difficulties in accepting a second version of a song which I have loved for decades in its first version. This might be the case here with you as well, nothing wrong with that.
Still, you should give the original version a chance, it certainly grew on me, at least it did after I listened to it for the third time or so:
mp3: The Nails – 88 Lines About 44 Women
My single is one of those in the Rough Trade Singles Club – series, from 1992. As I said, it’s the original version Rough Trade went for, albeit unauthorized – but hey, why not?!
Either way, as I said before, a total classic, regardless of the version you prefer. And, mind you, there aren’t that many songs so popular despite a number of double entendres and lyrical references to sadomasochism and masturbation. Then again, perhaps it’s exactly this which made it so popular, who knows … ?
Take care/enjoy,
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 