I must emphasise that while the Rats summon all those styles with sporadic traces of Dylan, Stones, Beatles, Feelgoods, Springsteen and much more besides, their adaptation is not one that can be called derivative. This band picks the cream and churns it to create their own identity - one that will become clearer with each album, I'm sure. But what is most heartwarming about the Boomtown Rats is that it shows that the band have left room for real artistic progress in the future at a time when very few new wave bands think about where they'll be five minutes from now (an admirable immediacy but one that leads only to a short lived existence).

The Rats have been compared heavily to Dr. Feelgood when, in fact they are time-warped (though great nonetheless). Feelgood's taken a vital and imaginative step further. The potential for this band is pretty unnerving.

For the present though we have this album to talk about. It encapsulates present (new wave), past (60's R & B) and future (the scintilating combinations of both, with well thought our lyrical and musical arrangements).

New wave followers will undoubtedly pick up on the '77 pop 'n' energy feel of 'Looking After No.1', 'Mary Of The Fourth Form', 'She's Gonna DO You In' and with slightly less enthusiasm 'Neon Heart' whlie staunch R 'n' B fanatics can get their fulfilment out of things like 'Kicks', 'Close As You'll Ever Be' and 'Never Bite The Hand That Feeds', the only duff track on the album - adequate but just not up to the set standard.

For the future we must look to the sharp arrangement of those tunes as well as referring to two beautiful ballads on the album, 'Joey's On The Street Again', one In The Morrison/Springsteen/Lynott/Parker/Costello mould, and the even more poignant 'I Can Make It If You Can', which seems to be heavily influenced by Dylan vocally. How encouraging it is to see a band tackle two such songs when the river is running, even gushing, in the opposite direction. Vocalist Bob Geldof is undoubtedly the main man in The Rats. His lyrics, particularly on 'Kicks' and 'Joey's On The Street Again' show acute awareness of what is happening on the street and in the home. The chauvenism and sheer bloody mindedness of 'Looking After No. 1' will no doubt win him a few enemies.

As a singer, his asset is knowing the limitations of his voice rather than stretching and blowing the gaff, so he works well within a set framework, embelishing the top vocal with some nifty harmonies (as on 'Neon Heart' and 'Mary Of The Fourth Form', with its great childish chant outro). He enjoys a healthy relationship with the rest of his competent band, trading vocal bursts for guitar licks with Cott and Roberts, a la Jagger and Richard. I'd like to see Johnny Fingers potentially exploited more. On this album, he seems a little tied down, playing a fairly predictable role rather than expanding the music to an even broader horizon. Naturally, with a neo-new wave band, the rhythm is solid with Pete Briquette and Simon Crowe providing the back-bone. This rates as one of the best debut albums in years. It'll certainly be recognised as one of this years' outstanding releases and the Boomtown Rats will be hailed as one of the best new bands to arrive in ages. I'd bet my Thin Lizzy collection on it. 

- H.D.