The Shirts - The Shirts (1978)

The Shirts are a New York-based American Punk Band, which was formed in 1975. The band’s early existence (1975 to 1981) was closely linked with CBGB, a music club in the Bowery, but it reformed with many of the early members in 2003 and is currently active.
When most people recall the dawning days of New York punk and the early CBGB scene, they think in terms of bands like the Ramones, Blondie, and the Dead Boys, but the sound of what Hilly Kristal first called "street rock" was significantly more eclectic than that, and the arty pop of the Shirts was as much a part of the scene as the more aggressive stuff that would in time become punk's hallmark. the Shirts were certainly capable of doing the fast-and-loud thing on tunes like "Lonely Android," "Poe," and "Teenage Crutch," but the tricky chord changes and melodic shifts that pop up in these songs (and the moody keyboards and massed vocals of "Android"'s coda) set them apart from the three-chord thrash that was all the rage on the Bowery, and the smart, angular push and pull of "Reduced to a Whisper" and "Empty Ever After" isn't especially far removed from what their pals the Talking Heads did on their first album, with the artier stuff aided considerably by Mike Thorne's crisp but unobtrusive production. There's a confident professionalism to the Shirts' debut that few CBGB bands managed on their first visit to the studio; Annie Golden's vocals were more Mary Weiss or Ronnie Spector than Patti Smith, while "Tell Me Your Plans," "10th Floor Clown," and "The Story Goes" play more like mainstream pop with the slightest dollop of progressive rock around the edges than anything most folks would consider new wave.
The Shirts is an album that rests somewhere between the old and new waves of the year it was recorded (1978), but the band's intelligence and skill invariably shine through and it deserves its place in the pantheon of notable albums of the first new wave.

Track listing

01. "Reduced To A Whisper" - 3:28
        Written-By – The Shirts 
02. "Tell Me Your Plans" - 3:10
        Written-By – Artie La Monica 
03. "Empty Ever After" - 3:52
        Written-By – Robert Racioppo
04. "Teenage Crutch" - 3:00
        Written-By – Robert Racioppo, Ronald Ardito 
05. "10th Floor Clown" - 4:24
        Written-By – Artie La Monica, Robert Racioppo, Ronald Ardito
06. "The Story Goes" - 4:00
        Written-By – Artie La Monica, John Piccolo
07. "Lonely Android" - 3:55
        Written-By – Artie La Monica, Robert Racioppo
08. "Running Through The Night" - 3:46
        Written-By – Ronald Ardito
09. "They Say The Sun Shines" - 3:29
        Written-By – Robert Racioppo 
10. "Poe" - 3:47
        Written-By – Robert Racioppo, Ronald Ardito

Credits
Vocals – Annie Golden
Bass, Guitar, Vocals – Robert Racioppo
Guitar, Vocals, Keyboards – Arthur La Monica, Ronald Ardito
Keyboards, Guitar, Vocals – John Piccolo
Drums, Vocals, Percussion – John (Zeeek) Criscione
Art Direction – Brian Palmer 
Artwork By [Illustrations] – Conny Jude
Design [Shirts Logo] – Larry Racioppo
Engineer [Additional Overdubs] – Pat Stapley
Engineer [Backing Tracks, Lead Vocals] – Gary Edwards
Engineer [Backing Vocals, Instrumental Overdubs] – Roger Bechirian
Mastered By [Cutting] – Ken Perry
Mixed By – Paul Hardiman
Photography – Peter Vernon
Producer – Mike Thorne

Notes
Backing tracks and lead vocals recorded at Wessex.
Backing vocals and instrumental overdubs recorded at Eden.
Recorded At – Wessex Sound Studios
Overdubbed At – Eden Studios
Additional overdubs recorded at Abbey Rd. Studio 1.
Mixed At – Advision Studios
Lacquer Cut At – Capitol Mastering
Genre: New Wave, Pop
Length:  36:52
© 1982

Label - Harvest Records