The Soft Boys

There are two phrases that will never fail to make my record geek-trained ears prick up: "deluxe reissue" and "lost classic." Yeah, I've got a record player and obligatory vinyl copies of high school necessities like The Queen is Dead and Berlin. But I'm also a sucker for bonus tracks, digital remastering and extensive liner notes. It's a trade-off.\nSo it's a good thing Matador Records gave the CD treatment to The Soft Boys' Underwater Moonlight, since the original record, released on the obscure Armageddon Records in June 1980 to an indifferent critical and commercial reaction, is nearly impossible to find. As far as extras go, this one's a doozy. Besides the nine full outtakes tacked on to the original 10-track LP, there's an entire second disc of rehearsal tapes recorded just before the album sessions. Throw in a 30-page booklet with liner notes by Rolling Stone big wheel David Fricke and all sorts of pretty pictures, and you've got quite a package.\nThose are the logistics, but none of that would matter if the music was worthless. Luckily, the music is near perfect. The Soft Boys were an oddity in their own time. Lead singer and songwriter Robyn Hitchcock was an avowed fan of classic 1960s British rock like the Beatles and the Kinks, a stance none too fashionable during the punk heyday of 1976-1980. That's probably why Moonlight doesn't sound like anything that came out of England during that period.\nDon't be fooled by the title of the opening track: "I Wanna Destroy You" isn't latent punk aggression but an irresistible lyrical come-on riding a wave of guitar. Hitchcock won't settle for anything less than total obliteration, promising to leave you without a single atom left to call your own. On "Kingdom of Love," he describes how a girl has been laying eggs under my skin/Now they're hatching out under my chin. Vivid stuff. The album is equal parts Captain Beefheart, Syd Barrett and Beatles, and it's all top notch. \nThe Soft Boys broke up six months after the release of Underwater Moonlight, which was only their second LP. Hitchcock has attracted a sizable cult following during his 20-year solo career, but it's unlikely he'll be able to top the image of Underwater Moonlight's title track, which closes the album. A couple is so in love that the pair goes to the sea to drown together. Underwater moonlight/sets the body free, he sings, over a driving rhythm track. It's 20 years old, but Underwater Moonlight is the best record I've heard all year.