The Celibate Rifles - Roman Beach Party (1987)

This record was bound to be the LP that broke the Rifles with the college radio crowd (pre-alternative rock) in America. It was more direct and hard-hitting than Miasma, but it didn't sacrifice smarts, nor did it pander to a punk rock crowd that was evolving into a neo-heavy metal crowd. It was around the time of this LP that MTV's early alternative rock show The Cutting Edge (hosted by Fleshtones lead singer Peter Zaremba) had the Rifles play live. Of course they were last, and that meant staying up until the wee hours of the morning, but if you did, you saw a ripsnorting version of Roman Beach Party's opening track, the anti-televangelism ode "Jesus on T.V." Unfortunately, this appearance didn't translate into huge record sales, and those who missed out on Roman Beach Party ignored one of the classiest hard rock records of the '80s.~ Review by John Dougan