On June 1, Real Gone Music will give the world a second chance to discover a lost classic with the reissue of Mondo Deco, the only album by the Quick. Originally released in 1976 on Mercury Records, Mondo Deco is pure pop heaven, with a glam shine and a '60s beat group sensibility. This is its first appearance on CD, and will also include 10 demos as well as a previously unreleased outtake from the sessions. The booklet will include photos, an essay and detailed liner notes.

After the Runaways were launched, Svengali Kim Fowley turned his attention to this moptopped group of teenage boys to try to make them the next big thing. Though that was never to be, they left behind one shimmering classic that merges the '60s influences like the Who, the Move and, of course, the Beatles with an obvious tip of the hat to Sparks and others of the glam era. The album was produced by Fowley with engineer Earle Mankey, formerly of Sparks.

"We were really attempting to be 20 things and ourselves at the same time," drummer Danny Benair recently told us. "I have always been close to the record as it was my first band. It is unique in the fact that it is really what five young guys got to do with one month’s studio time, a week later we were already changing."

The band fell apart within a couple of years, but left its mark on the Los Angeles music scene, influencing many young bands including the Dickies and Redd Kross, both of whom would cover Quick songs. Drummer Danny Benair would go on to join the Weirdos and later, paisley popsters the Three O' Clock, while singer Danny Wilde would score a major hit with the Rembrandts and their song, "I'll Be There for You,"  the theme song from Friends. The shimmering, revved up pop found here sounds as fresh today as it did over 40 years ago.

"Does it hold up? Well it is a record you either embrace or want to throw across a room," Benair continued. "I have kids in their 20s and 30s telling me what it means to them, which is really great to hear. When we formed there was no scene, and when we broke up there where great punk bands and many horrible new wave bands. It changed in a couple of years."

The Quick, 'Mondo Deco' Track Listing

1. "It Won’t Be Long"
2. "No No Girl"
3. "Playtime"
4. "Hillary"
5. "Anybody"
6. "Hi-Lo"
7. "Rag Doll"
8. "Last in Line"
9. "My Purgatory Years"
10. "Don’t You Want It"
11. "No No Girl" (demo)
12. "Teacher’s Pet" (demo)
13. "Hi-Lo" (demo)
14. "Hillary" (demo)
15. "Rag Doll" (demo)
16. "My Purgatory Years" (demo)
17. "It Won’t Be Long" (demo)
18. "Heaven on Earth" (demo)
19. "Born Free" (demo)
20. "Don’t You Want It" (demo)
21. "Anybody" (outtake)

 

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