Quick: Mondo Deco

The Quick were the crucial link between the glam and punk eras in Los Angeles. Like The Runaways, they were brought to the Mercury label by local impresario Kim Fowley, but The Quick proved much less pliant than their distaff peers, resisting Fowley's demands for "more boogie" on their 1976 debut album and instead pursuing a power pop sound influenced by Sparks (ex-Sparks guitarist Earle Mankey engineered). The Quick's intricate harmonies, heavy guitar solos, sophisticated/sardonic lyrics and hooky melodies (both courtesy of songwriter Steven Hufsteter) deserved a much wider audience than they got; but Fowley, enraged by the band's defiance of his vision, pulled the plug on all promotional support and Mondo Deco sank without a trace commercially. But the band (and their rabid following) were undeterred; after ceremoniously setting their Mercury contract on fire in front of the label offices, there were soon opening for The Damned with such luminaries as Johnny Rotten attending their shows. But, alas, The Quick could not navigate the shift in trends, undercut by band infighting, record label indifference, and punk rock Puritanism. Now, over 40 years later, we at Real Gone Music are very proud to present, for the first time ever on CD, Mondo Deco in an expanded edition that features the original album remastered by Bill Inglot, plus ten demos produced for the album, and two unreleased outtakes. Quick fan club president (and future Frontier Records owner) Lisa Fancher writes the liner notes, while Quick drummer (and future Salvation Army/Three O'Clock member) Danny Benair contributes track-by-track commentary (with photos from Fancher and Benair's private archive as well). As Fancher puts it in the notes, The Quick were the right band, it was just the wrong time. Now their time has come.