Lyres – ‘On Fyre at the Rusty Nail 1985’ (2025)
At the precise juncture of this recording, Boston-based combo Lyres were more or less at the very peak of their powers, having been touring across parts of Europe and the U.S. with non-stop vigour over the previous couple of years or more, bringing audiences starved of garage-style rock’n’roll and beat boom coolness something to get really worked up about; something really special that they could all dance and shout about.
It’s all here, in the dizzying covers of ‘Money’, ‘Nobody But You’ and Bobby Roberts and the Ravons’ unforgettable hip-swinger ‘How Can I Make Her Mine’ — all of which they stack up into a supremely joyous and manic medley that comes towards the end of this positively glowing set — and the howling whirlwind of sound that signals the group’s own, seldom-bettered originals, like relative newcomer ‘Someone Who’ll Treat You Right Now’. Of course, they couldn’t not include at least a few of the stellar choices from that first Lyres LP, the vibrant, intoxicating ‘On Fyre,’ so they lay on us the likes of ‘Help You Ann’, the hypnotic pulse of ‘I Really Want You Right Now’ and, too, the drop-dead authentic 60s punk thriller ‘I’m Tellin’ You Girl’.
All through this terrific onslaught that’s been captured on tape from the Rusty Nail in Sunderland, Massachusetts on 29 March 1985, then brought to us mere mortals some four decades down the line by a team that includes co-producer Mal Thursday and Italy’s Teen Sound label, an imprint of Misty Lane Music, the group’s performance just gets better and better. Jeff Conolly, out front on his trusty Vox Continental organ, tambourine bashing and wild Roky Erickson- and Ray Charles-infused vocal exhortations, leads the Lyres pack, ably (extremely so, I might add) assisted, aided and abetted by guitarist Danny McCormack — who can make sounds on his Danelectro six-string that make you think you must be listening to the Sonics — bassist Rick Corracio, who further contributes with a wealth of perfectly in-the-zone backing vocals. And then there’s the human dynamo that is drummer Paul Murphy, whose rhythmic measure, timing, placement of off/on-beat snare cracks and other surefire kit wizardry (with just a basic four-drum set-up) is off the scale, and who, needless to say, is integral to keeping everything here moving and grooving!
There are many standout numbers across both sides of ‘On Fyre At The Rusty Nail 1985’; these include the group’s 1979 debut single ‘Don’t Give It Up Now’, plus one or two I already mentioned, such as ‘I’m Telling You Girl’. However, the idiosyncratic way in which Lyres present such as the Dave Davies-penned flipside (to his 1967 solo single ‘Death Of A Clown’), the extraordinary ‘Love Me Till The Sun Shines’, as well as their twisted treatment of Bo Diddley’s ‘Diddy Wah Diddy’, are further instances where the group’s artistry and originality are demonstrated in a way that’s markedly different from the many, similarly 60s-obsessed groups that were happening at that time, or at any time really! Probably one of the very best live Lyres recordings to wrap your lugs around for sure, oh yeah!
Lenny Helsing
Lyres – On Fyre At The Rusty Nail 1985 (Teen Sound LP, 2025)
