ALBUM OF THE DAY:
A Tonic for the Troops - The Boomtown Rats
-the second album by Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats, released in June 1978.
*It remains one of the best albums of ‘78 & a favourite of mine.*
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpUCFkfspE3Nj-Q8pne5h2D1P9FXwGM5j
A Tonic for the Troops peaked at No. 8 on the UK Albums Chart in 1978. The album included the singles "She's So Modern", "Like Clockwork" and "Rat Trap". “She's So Modern" reached number 12 on the UK Singles Chart.
The most commercially successful track on the album was "Rat Trap", which made it to Number 1 on the UK Singles Chart.
The album featured dark themes in an often upbeat, pop-punk style. One of the album's tracks, "(I Never Loved) Eva Braun", was described by one critic as "the happiest, cheeriest, best upbeat song about Hitler ever written.".
The lyrics of other songs discussed suicide ("Living in an Island") and euthanasia ("Can't Stop").
The album's title was taken from a line in "She's So Modern": "And Charlie ain't no Nazi/ she likes to wear her leather boots/ 'cuz it's exciting for the veterans/ and it's a tonic for the troops."
"Rat Trap" was the final cut on the UK version of the album but the opening track on the US version.
Robert Christgau of The Village Voice was positive, remarking that while the album "does turn rather campy at times... it will certainly do." He concluded: "I'll take a good calculating song about Adolf Hitler over an ordinary calculating song about the perils of romance any day, and if you're heading your music toward the rock mainstream, wit and flash don't hurt."
The Boomtown Rats:
Bob Geldof – vocals, saxophone
Pete Briquette – bass, vocals
Gerry Cott – guitar
Johnnie Fingers – keyboards, vocals
Simon Crowe – drums, vocals
Garry Roberts – guitar, vocals
Thats why I love the rats they are unique and brilliant
When I was little, I was completely intrigued by "Tonic For The Troops" ' album art & the full~page ads that began popping up in "Rolling Stone" and other magazines. In a time when several bands had emerged or were about to emerge that weren't like anyone that had come before, the Boomtown Rats were the most "just not like everyone else" of everyone! Musically & visually, they're completely captivating!