Very happy to FINALLY get my hands on this record after more than a decade of searching. The Tweeds were an obscure Boston power pop uband around 1980 or so, and this self-released EP of five songs is the closest they ever got to putting out an album. They recorded this and a few singles and then called it quits, but they left behind The Best Song Ever about vinyl collecting—a hectic rocker simply called “I Need That Record.” It became their calling card at the time, so much so that they recorded it twice—the second version, which is too fast IMHO, is the version you’re most likely to find on compilations and the web. This EP has the far better original, plus some great tracks that draw from The Beatles, The Who, Tom Petty and other masters of the 3-minute pop-rock single. I really DID need that record, and to get it, I had to drive into Brooklyn to Academy Annex. They had listed it online on their Discogs shop, where it had come down in price over the last few months (it typically goes for $50 and up, and that’s nothing I could even begin to rationalize paying). Driving into BKLN is a hassle but paying for shipping from 45 minutes away is stupid, so I waited until I had a day where the rest of the household was out doing stuff and I was actually in the mood for a drive. No sooner did I squeeze into a parallel parking spot the size of a postage stamp than I got a call that I was needed back home immediately for an easily resolved non-crisis, so I basically ran in, bought the record and split. Worth the drive though—it’s a rockin’ EP that will be getting a lot of spins!
