I've written about The Toms at least 6 times over the years. The most recent mention was on a "Songs Of The Week" post:
The Toms are one Tom, actually. Tom Marolda from New Jersey. The 1979 self-titled debut is legendary, a power pop classic! The "Revolver" of one man bands. The "Pet Sounds"of DIY. My pal and old band mate FD13NYC picked this up at Rocks In Your Head records on Prince Street in SOHO, on a rec from Bob & Ira, the owners, and soon after, our band with CMEALHA was covering "Other Boys Do" from Side One. This whole album still holds up and I strongly suggest tracking it down if you've never heard it.
I still play The Toms and still love it. Marolda released a follow-up under the moniker Tom Foolery, this time with an additional member, a lead guitarist, who in my opinion, overplays his welcome. It wasn't very good. I assumed Marolda continued his career behind the scenes. But then yesterday, while picking up the first part of this record collection I mentioned earlier this week---don't forget to check the Discogs link for the new arrivals ;)---I saw "Applestation," a Toms record from 2017. After a few keystrokes on Discogs, I discovered he was a little more active than I thought, with two more records in the 80's, one in 2006 and in 2012, and then "Applestation" in 2017 and "Life Raft" in 2019.
Let's cut to the chase. "Applestation" is terrific!
The album cover states "in HALLUCINA-COLOR STEREO," which suggests a slightly more psychedelic collection of songs. And while a few lean that way, it is mostly more of what Marolda does best. I'll be checking out all I've missed, once I give "Applestation" a few more rides around the turntable.
8 comments:
These tracks are a ton of fun! I notice on Spotify that there are albums from 2021 (Tomplicated), 2022 (Stereo), and 2023 (Sunday Nite Fever), too. Looks like a busy weekend in a good way!
- Paul in DK
and the song of the day and today's cover are both killers, too.
- Paul in DK
Hole. E. Shit. Where has that stuff been all my life?
Thanks, Sal!!!!!
Just finished listening to the 2 LP re-issue you recommended. What a classic album. Great to have a clean copy. Haven' gotten around to the 1979 Sessions but this sounds pretty good as well. Thanks for the heads up.
This shit is ROCKIN’! Love these Tom records like crazy! Big thanks, Sal!
I actually bought through mail order the 1st Toms' album back in 79. It must have been mentioned in either Trouser Press, NY Rocker or Bomp magazine. Boy there were some great music zines back then. That was the only way to find out about stuff. But I never knew he released anything else until fairly recently. And the Toms 1st is now a double album with 32 songs on it!
Didn't care for the first two but really like Hello To Life. Will definitely check out more.
Thanks!
JG
Listened to the whole album today. Real sweet. It's different than the Toms album but still very accessible pop. Found a NM copy for $3. No brainer
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