#roy ward

This is one of my favorites stories to tell.

At the time, when I first saw this album, I had never heard of City Boy before.

I recall seeing two of their albums, “Book Early” which was an open copy in shrinkwrap and “The Day The Earth Caught Fire” which was sealed.

I left them. Oddly, the next time I went, they were still there.

I’m something of the person who believes there’s signs in life, certain hints that should be taken. 

So, I stopped playing games. I got both of them.

After doing so, I said the following now iconic quote, “I hope they’re good, because now I’ve got two of their albums.”

When I got home, I spun Book Early for the first time. It was the coolest thing I ever heard and City Boy has been one of my favorite bands ever since.

Essential Tracks: Summer In The Schoolyard, Cigarettes, Do What You Do, Do Well

Do you know what the internet says about City Boy?

It says that they were a moderately successful rock band. Someone actually had the nerve to write that. If you look up literally any band on Wikipedia, it doesn't say what their level of success was in the first line.

This basically says to anyone who reads about them that they were kind of successful. Their level of success is irrelevant.

If they ended up only being mildly successful for any reason, it would be because they were too good for their own good.

I found City Boy by accident, and there is no band that even comes close.

The closest comparison you'll ever hear is Toto, which is interesting because City Boy was around a few years before Toto even existed.

If anybody broke ground, City Boy did.

I don't want to write this angrily, I'm just a little upset by the fact that they are acknowledged this way.

Anyway. Let me get back to my insanely enthusiastic disposition.

City Boy is awesome.

They have all these little vibes of the era they come from, and they somehow don't sound anything like anyone else too. They were in their own realm.

They had so much going on in their music, and they are massively overlooked for being such an amazing band.

You listen to songs like "Dear Jean (I'm Nervous)", "Cigarettes" and "Rat Race", and tell me that they aren't awesome.

Artwork by Roy Ward, 1969.