CREEM ONLINE: The Romantics

One could be rather skeptical of the Romantics on tour in support of a new album. Enough time has gone by since their last studio effort and Behind-the-Music-worthy story (which features departed members and lawsuits) to warrant a negative response. Are these guys cashing in on the current garage rock revival in the hopes someone has heard their music peddling Chili's?

Well, if you fall into the camp that thinks this whole thing is sad and pathetic, a joke equivalent to an a-Ha reunion, you're wrong.

About three songs into their set at a small club in Grand Rapids, which included new material, it became apparent that not only are the Romantics still alive and kicking, they are as good as they ever were. Hell, they may be better. There's no '80s production style or overtly commercial pop this time around. And live, free of background singers, horn sections and ridiculous pyrotechnics, they're not as big as the Stones still manage to be, but at least there is credibility to what they are doing.

"Some people have a certain perception of the band… you hear the name 'the Romantics' and you think, 'Oh great, another '80s band trying to make a comeback,'" said lead singer and founding member Wally Palmar. "We decided to just get back into it, record an album, and let it stand out on its own merits."

The album in question, 61/49, named after the famed crossroads where blues legend Robert Johnson sold his soul to Satan, is the biggest surprise from these rock elder statesmen in years.

"We stuck to the basic, raw, straight ahead rock thing," said guitarist/bassist Mike Skill, who was with the band at its inception. "We didn't have to please anyone; no producer, no manager, so we just laid the cards on the table."

And what the former MTV darlings produced almost twenty years later is not only an impressive, solid effort, but also an album that's completely relevant. They fit well into the Detroit garage rock scene that exists today with the White Stripes, Detroit Cobras and Dirtbombs.

"We have the same attitude and energy as those bands do," said Skill. "It's not so much we all sound alike, it's our attitude. It's the way you hit the drums, the way you play your guitar, the way you attack the vocals."

"We've always been this way," added Palmar, who believes it was just the commercial aspect of their catalogue that puts a stigma on the band. Not that any of that matters these days. The band fits so well into the Detroit scene it doesn't come as a shock that they recently recorded a split record with The Dirtbombs, doing covers of each other's material. The Romantics tackled "I Can't Stop Thinkin' About Ya," and the Dirtbombs recorded "Mystified." The disc, originally to be released on In The Red Records, is on a momentary hiatus, but Palmar says they will get it out by any means necessary.

But wait! There's more!

"The younger crowd probably only know us from 'Talking In your Sleep' maybe, and 'That's What I Like About You' on TV, not even hearing it on the radio and saying 'Oh, I'm going to go buy that,'" said Skill. "It's a weird situation, but we're going to continue playing straight-ahead rock shows and seeing where it takes us.

"We're fortunate that we can play clubs," said Skill. "It's not like when we played arenas with the Knack, but it's a new start."

The band recently had a break playing in Cleveland at a show put together by radio personality and resident of E Street Little Steven. Hobnobbing with major record label suits and playing with Cobra Verde, The Fondas, The Reigning Sound, and old-timers the Chesterfield Kings was quite experience said Palmar.

"It was definitely a happening," said Palmar. "The place was packed, there were go-go dancers everywhere, it was a lot of fun."

Next up, the band currently plans on playing the West Coast, followed by a tour across Canada, and then Europe.

Before the needle stops on 61/49, one can hear the seemingly autobiographical "Still We Remain." Yes they do, which ain't a bad thing.

—Luke Hackney
March 2004

Photo by Robert Matheu