THE BLACKJACKS

“(That’s Why I Always) Dress in Black”

(Boston 1985)

I’m sure no one was more baffled by the Blackjacks’ lack of success than Johnny Angel himself.

After a brief stay in NYC with his punk band Thrills, singer Johnny Angel returned home in 1983 and put together the Blackjacks. I’m sure Johnny thought he’s formed the perfect Boston rock band, writing the sort of Clash/Springsteen hybrid songs that got local bands massive airplay on WBCN, the dominant commercial rock station.

“Dress in Black” finds the seam between the New York Dolls and the J. Geils Band. It’s hard to fathom now but, before Malcolm McLaren created “punk rock” as a marketing concept, the Ramones just thought they were another rock and roll band from New York City. My favorite bit in this song is the direct rip from The Lollipop Shoppe’s 60s garage 45 “You Must Be a Witch” that comes right before the guitar solo.

It’s a mystery why this didn’t connect and make the Blackjacks local headliners. Maybe Johnny Angel was just a little too good at figuring out the formula and the local Stompers fans just didn’t want that much math in their rock.

The Blackjacks broke up and Johnny Angel resurfaced in Los Angeles, where he became far more famous as a rock critic for the LA Weekly.

Bands always complain that critics are just jealous because they can’t write a song themselves. Every time I see Johnny’s name in print, I hear this song in my head and wonder if the band he’s writing about is a tenth as good as this one.

• Download “Dress in Black”

(Dress in Black LP - Throbbing Lobster Records Bisque-5)

This entry was posted on Monday, July 23rd, 2007 at 6:55 pm and is filed under Boston, Rock, 80s. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.