The Fools – Sold Out / Heavy Mental (Reissue) (1979-81/2009)

With their wild and fun live show, Boston's the Fools brought the Tubes' sense of humor into the age of new wave and, like their New York City competition Blotto, had a minor novelty hit in the early '80s. Formed in 1975, the Fools became a favorite of Boston radio in 1979 when they released the song "Psycho Chicken," a parody of Talking Heads' "Psycho Killer." A longtime centerpiece of their live show, the song originally featured some nasty language, but the version radio received was edited or "clucked," as the 45's label pointed out, with every swear word replaced by a chicken clucking. The major label EMI soon signed the band and released the single nationally in 1980. The slightly more serious single "It's a Night for Beautiful Girls" followed that same year along with their debut full-length, Sold Out, which didn't feature "Psycho Chicken" on the album proper but on a bonus white vinyl 45 stuck into the album's jacket. A tour with the Knack was followed in 1981 by Heavy Mental, an album supported by a tour opening for Van Halen.
In 1985 they moved to the indie PVC label for the album World Dance Party. Singles from the album included a cover version of "Doo Wah Diddy" plus the title track which, when released as 12", gave "Psycho Chicken" new life thanks the song's appearance on the B-side. The Rhino label would remember the group in 1994 when "It's a Night for Beautiful Girls" landed on Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the 80's, Vol. 3, but otherwise they returned to being a local concern and cult act for the rest of the decade. The 2001 EP Coors Light Six Pack launched a new series of recordings, including the "adults only" Rated XXX and the album 10, which kicked off with the ever so appropriate "Time Will Not Erase Us." In 2009, as the band continued its regular gigging around the Boston area, EMI reissued the first two albums on one CD. Shockingly, this "two-fer" only featured the 12" portion of Sold Out and did not include either side -- clucked or unclucked -- of the "Psycho Chicken" bonus 45. ~ David Jeffries