A Tonic for the Troops

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A Tonic for the Troops

Studio album by The Boomtown Rats
Released	June 1978
Recorded	1978
Genre	Rock
Label	Columbia Records
Producer(s)	Robert John Lange and The Boomtown Rats
All Music Guide [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:orhqoaeaeijx link
The Boomtown Rats chronology
The Boomtown Rats (1977)	A Tonic for the Troops (1978)	The Fine Art of Surfacing (1979)

A Tonic For The Troops was The Boomtown Rats' second album and included the hit singles "She's So Modern", "Like Clockwork" and "Rat Trap".

1 Track listing
- 1.1 British version
- 1.2 American version
2 Track by Track
3 Audio sample

[edit] Track listing

[edit] British version

"Like Clockwork"
"Blind Date"
"(I Never Loved) Eva Braun"
"Living In An Island"
"Don't Believe What You Read"
"She's So Modern"
"Me And Howard Hughes"
"Can't Stop"
"(Watch Out For) The Normal People"
"Rat Trap"

[edit] American version

"Rat Trap"
"Me and Howard Hughes"
"(I Never Loved) Eva Braun"
"Living in an Island"
"Like Clockwork"
"Blind Date"
"Mary of the Fourth Form" (from the UK The Boomtown Rats)
"Don't Believe What You Read"
"She's So Modern"
"Joey's on the Street Again" (from the UK The Boomtown Rats)

[edit] Track by Track

The Boomtown Rats start off 'Tonic for the Troops,' which many Boomtown Rats fans consider to be their greatest album and undoubtedly the most punk-influenced, with trademark backing vocals. The rhythmic "tick-tock" leads easily to a classic Gerry Cott guitar riff which, coupled with a very stacatto drum beat, adds to a very disconnected feel which leads to the first of many puns on the first line of the first track. "I'm not disconnected," Bob declares in a very disconnected manner. Lyrically the song is about a reaction to the very time-based, scientific and unemotional world he had come to know as a performer. This reaction reaches its most pivotal point during the bridge with the line "You're born in tears and you die in pain that's your limit." Like Clockwork reached Number 8 on the British pop charts.

The Rats follow up the opening to their album with another punk song, "Blind Date." Used to open up tour dates on their British tour to promote the album, it starts with a very simple drumbeat and develops it further by adding instruments slowly, each playing their own simple and catchy riff that all melds together into one beat that builds and builds until Geldof's nasal voice takes the melody from the rest of the band. Barely understandable and backed by Simon Crowe, this song can is best when seen live, with Bob on stage.

The next track, "(I Never Loved) Eva Braun" was described by one critic as "the happiest, cheeriest, best upbeat song about Hitler ever written." In this track, Bob takes the persona of Adolf Hitler explaining his story to a group, how he had never truly wanted to militarily conquer the world, but rather was in it for "the big parade." The Boomtown Rats double the tempo of the entire song and reserve a minute and a half of instrumental, a first for the Boomtown Rats to reserve that much time for anything but vocals. The long instrumental on "Eva Braun" have been cited by some `punks' as to be proof of a more rock-pop influence than true punk.

Their next track, "Living in an Island," is a prelude to their 4th Album 'Mondo Bongo.' Again an extremely happy, poppy song about suicide in this case, and how suicide would be easy when living on an island, without social norms to the contrary. The true hidden-in-plain-sight secret of this song lies in Pete Briquette's simple desecending then ascending bassline. It is a Caribbean-based punk song about the social norms related to suicide. There is a guitar solo by Gerry Cott.

As if for the sole purpose of quelling anti-punk rumors they follow "Living in an Island" with the tremendously punk-influenced "Don't Believe What You Read." The lyrics tell a traveler's tale of not trusting the media. The aggressiveness of all instruments help to cement Tonic for the Troops as the defining 'punk' album for the Boomtown Rats. The Rats make a subtle but noticeable reference to the one topic they rarely discuss until Gerry Cott exits the band after Mondo Bongo: love. The lines "If you wonder why your letters never get a reply/'cuz when you tell me that you love me, I wanna see your eyes" is possibly the first lyric to mention love in anything but a negative light.

Next, in the true punk tradition of attacking the mainstream, comes the delightful track "She's So Modern." The opening stacatto "Ga-ga-ga-ga" set a tone of aggressive fast paced singing that accompanies Geldof and the rest of the band. The lyrics simply run as a sarcastically shallow list on why each girl is favored in a 'modern' world. Hitting number 12 on the British pop charts, this song titled the entire album when describing how Charlie is 'modern' with the lines "And Charlie ain't no Nazi/ she likes to wear her leather boots/ 'cuz it's exciting for the veterans and/it's a tonic for the troops."

The next song is considered by many to be a precursor to the style on the Boomtown Rats' next album The Fine Art of Surfacing. "Me and Howard Hughes" is a biographical tale of Howard Hughes and his slow decline into paranoia. Once Geldof starts singing, all hell breaks loose. Pete Briquette's bassline clashes with Simon Crowe's drumming, as do Gerry Cott and Garry Roberts' guitarwork. Only united by Geldof's singing, there are at least seven different songs to be heard, depending on where you place the focus of your listening.

Having previously dealt with suicide and mass murder, it seems only fitting that the next track, "Can't Stop" deals with euthanasia. All six members work together to create a wall of panicked aggression during the entire song. Dissonance is the name of the game. Crash cymbals, out of place high-pitched organ notes, and a building bassline all lead to an overall feel of uneasiness.

With another demand like "Don't Believe What You Read," "(Watch Out For) The Normal People" tells the tale of two 'abnormal' people hunted down by 'the normal people' who use their plurality to oppress the minority.

The album ends on its highest note with "Rat Trap," which made it to Number 1 on the British Pop Charts. The story of Billy in a state of perpetual sorrow follows Joey's similar story in "Joey's on the Street Again" from their Debut album, and, when taken with Frankie's story in "When the Night Comes" from The Fine Art of Surfacing create what Boomtown Rats fans call the "Dublin Trio" all focused around how bad it is to be from Dublin. Billy's story is one of gang violence and drunkenness. The universality of the story is seen through three other characters in the song (the most of any to date) Judy and her parents. Musically the song starts off with a brilliant repetition of a simple piano chord at a quick tempo, then is added to by a few high pitched notes of the guitar, eventually giving way to saxophone. One of the most complex songs the Boomtown Rats have ever recorded, "Rat Trap" is easily ranked with "I Don't Like Mondays" as the height of the Boomtown Rats' commercial success.