ARTIST: The Records 
TITLE: Smashes, Crashes and Near Misses
YEAR RELEASED: Compilation
CHART ACTION: None
SINGLES: Starry Eyes (#56), Rock & Roll Love Letter, Teenarama, Hearts in Her Eyes, Imitation Jewellry
OTHER SONGS YOU MAY KNOW: Sadly, no
LINEUP: Will Burch, John Wicks, Phil Brown. Huw Gower, Jude Cole, Dave Whelan and Chris Gent all spent a brief time in the band.
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT: Underrated and unheard power-pop UK band released three albums, compiled here, of varying quality. Some of the songs are pretty timeless.
SOME WORDS, PHRASES AND CLAUSES ABOUT THIS RECORD: “Starry Eyes” was enough of a hit and got enough radio play in the US to almost put the album in the Top 40. Unfortunately, that was the high water mark of The Records. Their debut album Shades In Bed (known as The Records in the US) was a great work of power-pop craftsmen. “Girls That Don’t Exist”, “Teenarama”, “Affection Rejected” and others were fantastic.
Their second and third albums were spottier, and without sales or singles, and switching second guitar a few times, they split.
This compilation takes twenty of their tracks – some B-sides and spare tracks – that give a great overview of the band. The sound is a bit thin, but the melodies, hooks and harmonies are there. Power pop either hits, or fails to capture radio’s fancy. This group fell into the latter category.
NOTES & MINUTIAE: Their three albums aren’t streaming, but this collection pretty well covers all of the highlights.
IS THERE A DELUXE VERSION: No
GRADE: B+: Their best songs were fantastic power-pop, but there’s a pretty large chasm between their best and other songs.
But Is It Any Good? 