Back in 2019 Robin Lane & The Chartbusters released this incredible, comprehensive compilation of almost all of their material. The compilation’s title, Many Years Ago, taken from one of the band’s song titles, speaks volumes by only hinting at what was going on with this highly talented group. Just when this reviewer was about to write a comprehensive CD Review, tragedy struck. The band’s storied guitarist Asa Brebner passed away. With such a profound loss to the greater-Boston music scene, it seemed better to hold off on a review, lest it be colored by the emotions of the moment. Now, with a clearer head, one can address the large, glorious talent of this Boston band which had briefly, Many Years Ago, received a taste of fame during a brief stint of label support.
With a few jangly notes from guitarist Asa Brebner, we know we are dwelling inside of “When Things Go Wrong,” a gritty rock song from 1980 radios that opened the eponymous album Robin Lane And The Chartbusters album. Lane’s voice, both forceful and haunting, puts her lover’s back to wall while her band mates carry it home with twisting, turning changes along the way.
Lane and the Chartbusters make a pulpy march through “It Will Only Hurt A Little While.” Here, Lane wraps her rangy vocal around this barely comforting song as the rhythm section stomp things forward. The guitar magic happens here when gritty chords support a jittery lead guitar. One can feel some influences ranging from British punk to whatever was going on at CBGB’’s in New York City.
“Don’t Cry” lets Lane layer her voice around brittle guitar lines before drawing us in further with her tough girl chorus. Lane’s vocal assertions make her a force to be reckoned with, and the Chartbusters know when to make space for her with their understated series of notes and groove.
Robin Lane & The Chartbusters debut album
“Without You” is another tough girl anthem. Lane sings it with a nonchalant belt as her band mates keep their lines solid and perky. It’s uncanny how smooth sailing well Lane sang over these guys as they sped up their injections of loose, wild notes.
Second radio hit for Robin Lane And The Chartbusters was “Why Do You Tell Me Lies.” Her drawling chorus vocal makes it extra catchy. The tight, solid punch from the rhythm section as well as fancy fret work on the six string electric putting a nice, kicking presence into this song.
The band bursts into “I Don’t Want To Know” with feisty, knock down excitement in their high octane, uptempo pulse. Meanwhile, Lane sends her lead vocal soaring over the street rumble madness playing beneath her. Singer and musicians race each other to the song’s finish line while maintaining, somehow, a perfect measured pace together.
RL&TC publicity still
“Many Years Ago,” which is used as the title track for this compilation, gallops fierce with the rhythm section kicking it forward. The chorus allures, Lane’s haunting voice maintaining a street fight energy as her band mates support her with a punk music verve, plenty of feisty guitar notes over a palpable rhythm section that doesn’t hesitate to break the speed limit.
Third hit single “Waiting In Line” makes it first on Lane’s attitude, a woman who does not like being held back. Secondly, it also draws strength from the tight, melodic thrust of each instrumentalist emitting his own perky notes and chords. The rhythm section is particularly snappy here, injecting snap, crackle, and pop as they make their way to close with plenty of fills.
“Be Mine Tonight” has a jump up and down groove, a seesawing energy that lets Lane and the others wrap tightly woven lines of notes and voice around that bounce. It keeps the song catchy fun as each player injects a line of sparkly, hard hitting notes.
Heartfelt adoration can be felt within the sorrowful down tempo “Kathy Lee.” Lane’s emotive quality shows well in this considerate pace. She lifts the song with her vocal strength, making it rise up like a personal anthem. It’s interesting to hear all of the musicians playing with such tasteful self-restraint. It makes it easier to hear how each can inject just enough notes to make this one bleed with emotion.
Close out track “Don’t Wait Until Tomorrow” finds Lane and the Chartbusters again putting across a catchy chorus. Lane’s voice remains assertive and somewhat haunting until the end of this debut album. The band didn’t wait until tomorrow to start working on another album.
Robin Lane & The Chartbusters’ album Imitation Life
Imitation Life soon followed the debut album, offering even more of the magic that happens when Lane’s unique vulnerable tough girl vocal finds a good home a midst these proto-punk Boston rockers and their inventive spunk. Opening with the band’s forth single “Send Me An Angel,” the album is the band’s way of saying there is plenty more with the first album came from.
“Send Me An Angel” comes on strong with the confident air of a hit single. Lane’s forlorn vocal, the band’s dark chorus, and a brisk pace is brilliantly contrasted with light, shiny guitar notes, notes that dance along the surface of the song and balance the tensions in this piece. Lane’s coos and the drum fills are pretty sprinkles on top.
The low guttural swagger of “What The People Are Doing” shows the badass side of RL&TC. Lane’s tempered belt suggests trouble while Brebner’s dark guitar tone gives off a foreboding tone. Lane means business when she sustains a vocal note, and, the lead guitar grinds out plenty of spark with a burning edge. It all comes together with stove top heat at the end, all of these elements getting feistier while remaining in perfect sync.
Robin Lane
Title track “Imitation Life” shows how well the band can crank out the energy at a frenetic pace. The urgency here keeps the listener at the edge of his seat. Just when the tension feels about to boil over, a lead guitar screams like a police siren piercing the night. This tune would work wonders on an action movie soundtrack.
“Say Goodbye” oozes with forlorn emotions. Lane’s mellow vocal glides through different shades of sorrow. Shiny guitar parts and the pumping groove Lane cruises over like a bridge make a perfect contrast with her bleeding, down tempo emotion.
“No Control” entertains well with its brisk pace. Lane’s speedy vocal delivery through tongue twisting lyrics shows even more of her talent. Intervals of sweet, brittle guitar, interspersed with Scott Baerenwald’s dollops of bass notes and Tim Jackson’s live for today drum work add another dimension of cool here.
Robin Lane publicity still
Running through “Rather Be Blind” like deers through a forest, this band dazzles with how they can keep Lane’s urgent vocals in line with the ragged cool, rapid pace of the instrumentalists. One can picture Tim Jackson maintaining a busy fixed skin smack while the guitars dash through it all with quick, quirky motions.
“Solid Rock” makes its way on an interval of pretty electric guitar notes, Lane’s vocal sustains, and a revolving groove makes one feel like he’s taking a walk with this band. Similarly, “Pretty Mala” builds upon a simple groove framework and is torch lit by a toneful lead guitar. It’s beauty is the feel of this song, a feeling conjured by tones, appropriate vocal touches, and simplicity.
Catchy riffs and a snappy percussion track make “Idiot” a song not to be ignored. Its jaunty groove, brittle guitar lines, and Lane’s softer timbre, gently delivered, makes one think of the ex who helplessly, wistfully looks on as his former lover keeps walking away.
Imitation Life closes out with a slower ballad, part modern, part old timey. “For You” showcases Lane’s ability to torch sing like the best of them. She builds this one up by asserting and projecting ever greater strength than even she had on her hit singles. This one could have been slow danced to or enjoyed for the way Lane mounts the song’s architecture with her technique.
Robin Lane’s EP Heart Connection
A 1984 five track EP titled, Heart Connection, released in 1984 served as a vehicle to remind fans the band still has it. Its opening cut “Hard Cover” features many of the band’s finest traits. Lane’s tough/vulnerable female vocals fulfill her yearning to emote; the players infusing the song with all of those quirky, perky notes, the rhythm section slyly moving the song through its changes.
“Believe In You” lets the guitars and bass press out thin, beguiling lines. Hinting at something ominous, the guitars seem hesitant to move forward but rather move in circular motions. Meanwhile. Lane sings with an eerie self-restraint, letting a lot of emotion seep out with a less assertive vocal line than usual. Like many RL&TC songs, this one has deep cool structure.
Lane sings with more of a cocky attitude in “Shot In The Dark,” maintaining a confident verve. Guitarist Asa Brebner offers up a thin, stabbing guitar surrounded by a plethora of punchy rhythmic work. It hard to decide whether to listen closely to the music or just dance to it.
“True Confessions” busts through the doors with an especially emotive vocal from Lane. She sounds higher than life and her vocal line pours forth with an accurate beauty. Beneath her voice, the Chartbusters percolate with little nudges from each instrument as an otherworldly keyboard sound bleats in the background. A rumbling rhythm section keep the whole thing spinning with a speedy beat and groove that could inspire Olympic sprinters.
This compilation continues with Heart Connection Sessions, offering outtakes from those 1984 sessions. Its opening cut “Looking For Hard” blends Lane’s rangy, assertive vocal with the bands ever running energetic phrasing. The guitar tones here are priceless, offering a fine sound within a tight performance.
RL&TC in concert
“The Irish Song,” a generally solid song, keeps things mid-tempo so Lane can show how much emotive value her voice can bring to a song. The Chartbusters keep it pleasantly light beneath her, adding an accordion line to flavor this one.
“Holy Man” too keeps things in a mellow mood within an easy going groove. Lane and the Chartbusters give this light piece a mild bounce, something that feels accessible, jaunty, and in sweet motion.
“Look The Other Way” grooves mellow while maintaining a cool tone. Lane’s vocal sprawls confidently over nudges from the guitars as well as Tim Jackson’s perfect time drumming. The instruments come together to suggest mischief as Lane’s timbre hints at mystery and wonder.
The pop flavored “Save Your Tears” spins on Lane’s large, and continually growing vocal. There is a sweet keyboard flavoring this with bright, shiny notes, notes that work a midst a two punch drum fill from Jackson and light chord work from the guitarists.
“Take Back The Night” has a hint of the 1980s in a thick keyboard line. The rest sounds like this band’s usual old school charm, serious playing with no cheap thrills. Lane moves her vocal line well through this tight, mid-tempo charmer. She finds just the right places to shift dynamics to spread another layer of emotive value over the soundscape.
Robin Lane at the microphone
“Words Of Love” swaggers in with the coolest drum fills from Tim Jackson, skin smacks that sound and feel primitive. Above that interesting drum pattern, guitars and bass interact with intimate familiarity, a chemistry not often found. Lane adds another layer of intrigue, spreading her voice far and wide, sealing it all up with masterful control over everything going on in this piece.
The next section of this collection, Demos And Studio Rarities,” begins with a rough draft of “When Things Go Wrong.” While not as fetching as the final product, this demo shows insight into how the band layered their musical parts by making them so intricate and enticing before Lane comes in to mix it up with the assertive music while also cruising over it.
“Why Do You Tell Lies?” reveals the punch the Chartbusters bring to the table. Whether laying the smooth groundwork for Lane’s vocals to travel across, or, Lane batting the verse vocal out of the ballpark with muscular oomph, this song has something powerful welling up deep inside.
“The Letter,” a Deli Platter Single release, unveils more of Lane’s strengths as a songwriter. Her chorus focuses on a letter before depicting the issues that sprung from that letter. This piece also stands up as a fine 60s style singer-songwriter piece. “I Found Out,” a 1979 demo features Lane belting it out like the best of them, adding emotive value to her vocal power with a tenderness inside her projection. The Chartbusters riff and groove with feisty playing and clever inventiveness. One can almost picture the guitarists jamming until they got their parts just right.
The compilation also features pre-Chartbusters songs. “Rose For Sharon” Kicks off with a solid back beat and evolves into a choir of pretty voices in the chorus. It is interesting to hear what Lane was doing in her previous years. “Never Enough” is an acoustic guitar, piano driven soft rock version of “When Things Go Wrong.” A faint honkytonk influence can be heard, and it shows how songs can start off from scratch. Lane’s voice is the strongest point in this early rendition, followed by an edgy lead guitar line.
A 1990 demo “The Thinnest Longest Thread” is a mellow mood piece, solo acoustic style. Lane’s voice shows true beauty here. She reaches up high and pretty, smooth as silk, making the most of the open space left by her sparse accompaniment.
Likewise, close out track “Little Bird” informs the listener of Lane’s full artistic range. Her tender rendering of their lyrics adds tremendous emotive context while delighting the ear with her lovely voice.
The compilation continues with Robin Lane & The Chartbusters’ 1980 five song Live EP. “When Things Go Wrong” is strongly represented live. Lane and the Chartbusters play it with note for note precision. Yet, they deliver it with more dispassionate cool than the studio version. Their message seems more serious and sharper here.
“Lost My Mind” gets an icy cool treatment from the guitarists. Sharp lead guitar phrasing supported by perky rhythm work keeps things hoppin’ and boppin’. There is a thickness in the rhythm section that make this rock, and Lane’s firm delivery of vocal and message brings it all home.
“When You Compromise” stomps forward with grungy guitar playing that presaged grunge. A lean, mean guitar phrase grinds out emotion, color, and tone before being replaced with one that winds around the groove with speedy confidence.
“8.3” refers to the Richter scale measurement of the earthquake everyone on the west coast has been waiting for. An aggressive song, Lane sings with a hint of menace in her glorious sustains, and the Chartbusters inject plenty of accented note nudges. It all comes together to make the listener feel the possibilities within this band’s music. Electric guitar mania takes over this song, taking us along for a meeting with a dire fate.
A cover of “Shakin’ All Over” lets the band cut loose, Lane belting this golden oldies, pausing to make a dramatic finish to the chorus, which makes it sound like she was born to sing this song. The band nails the raucous groove and the brisk electric guitar phrasing this tune requires.
RL&TC publicity still
The remainder of this compilation is Other Live Performances, which follows the Live EP to make for a long play live album experience.
Driven by a bleeding heart guitar line, “Caught In The Act” has a dramatic build up to the revealing chorus. A touch of anger in Lane’s timbre makes this one come alive with a sorrowful lover’s lament.
“Somebody Else” rocks out with a sharp lead guitar phrase and its cool tone. Interplay between lead and backing vocals adds the hook and that compliments both vocal lines. “Many Years Ago” feels more dire in this live rendition and Lane’s forlorn vocal on this chorus is more harrowing here.
“Talk To You” kicks and punches its way forward with a bossy beat and hefty low end. Guitar chords contribute to the action and a lead guitar zig zags over all with its mercury rising, getting hotter as it progresses.
“Are You A Hero Now” benefits from the live concert setting. Tim Jackson’s rapid beat and fulsome fills makes you want to get out of his way. Lane’s timbre is uniquely suited to her sarcastic lyrics, and a grinding guitar lead increases the tension in this song tremendously.
The snappy “Last One To Know” layers a spiraling lead guitar phrase over a bulbous groove from Tim Jackson-Scott Baerenwald. Lane’s whispery vocal slides over all with silky smoothness, once again contrasting, successfully, the motions of voice and instruments.
RL&TC later years
“In My World” is Lane at her tough mama best. She means business here, and she belts with mighty sustains and a feisty attitude. Aggressive guitar phrasing beneath her vocal furthers the street fight vibe here. This one draws one in with its bold musical and lyrical statements. The action keeps one glued to see how this will all end.
“Rather Be Blind” stomps to a perfect Tim Jackson backbeat who continues powering this with his rapid fills. Everyone else goes to town. Lane punts the song forward with heartfelt emotion. The guitars and bass rock hard within a tight rhythmic framework and that makes the tension here ready to boil over.
The riffing, catchy “I Don’t Want To know” draws the listener in with Lane’s belty assertion and tender sustains. The aggression from the Chartbusters keeps our attention by playing with a volatile chemistry. The players are all pushing for their own space, creating a perfect balance of feisty tension.
Lane leaps into “Keep Searching’ (We’ll Follow The Sun)” with a mighty vocal line. The band’s punk rock energy keep up with her by impressing in their own way, slamming out riffs and lines over Jackson’s mercilessly driven beat.
With a fractured groove and a wormy wiggle guitar line that conjures its subject matter, “Psychotic Disorders” lets Lane cut loose with some assertive shout-sing belts as the band goes neurotic beneath her, playing lines that contrast each other to create beautiful dissonance.
The slow, deliberate swagger of “Little Lies” lets Lane sing in a Julie Newmar hint of crazy menace. She persistently accents each syllable in her chorus to show something dangerous is on the verge of coming to fruition. A moody, forlorn guitar laments someone’s fate. This tune works perfectly with its mood thickened by each band member injecting a halting, self-retaining quality that keeps us just on the edge of big trouble.
“Waitin’ In Line” feels more raw in this live set. We can actually feel Lane’s annoyance with this topic, her timbre loaded with sarcasm, her delivery restrained enough to make you picture ready to push the people in front of her. A stabbing guitar line am-dist quirky rhythmic assertions contributes to the frustrated blues of waiting.
The dire funeral dirge pace of “What The People Are Doing” is another song that shows how well RL&TC can establish and carry a mood. A thick bass line from Scott Baerenwald creates the mopey existence vibe as Lane’s vocal drawl and the guitars persistent march of chords pull one even deeper into this mournful quagmire.
“Send Me An Angel” gets extra kick in concert. One can feel Tim Jackson’s mule kick pushing this song forward. Tightly woven guitar quirks conjure a feeling of need. From there, Lane only needs to let her desperation-laden timbre do its thing.
Robin Lane entertaining at club
A groovy 1960s groove hops along in “Way Over There,” lending Lane the perfect platform to hopscotch her voice. The jaunty motions of this piece is highlighted by Lane’s higher pitched, smoother delivery. It shows the bands ability to stretch themselves into different territory.
Close out track “Violent Love” gives us this compilation’s final glimpse into the multi-dimensional talent that is Robin Lane & The Chartbusters back in their day. Dual lead vocals and a grinding lead guitar phrase contrast smooth flow with sparking musicianship. Contrasting lead and rhythm guitar with Lane’s rangy vocal assertions creates tension here and as with all their material, there is a tremendous sense of motion, like the song is traveling and taking us along for its joy ride.
Robin Lane & The Chartbusters’ 2019 compilation works greatly on two levels. It offers a lot of good, fun music one can listen to over and over again. It also provides valuable insight into the talent caliber and future potential this band was bursting with in the 1980s. Creativity, inventiveness, and talent come together from contrasting angles and often erupt into compelling songs.
