The Undertones

One of the greatest rock debuts ever remains enchantingly entertaining. "Teenage Kicks" is widely considered one of the best pop tunes of all time, but the whole album is loaded with catchy punk gems to such an extent that fans undervalue the band's subsequent LPs. The CD reissue offers a mess of bonus cuts, including a superior version of "True Confessions."

Nice lads, nice lads--suddenly the world is teeming with nice lads. I like their punky speed and adolescent authenticity, but I'd prefer the reverse--among adolescents these days the speed takes care of itself, while finding something besides teendom to write about is a problem. (Grade - B+)