Blind Date

The front cover of Blind Date's self-titled debut album of 1979 is a real attention-getter; it depicts a green-skinned female alien who is getting dolled up in anticipation of a blind date. The alien woman is talking on the phone, presumably to her date, who has no idea that he is getting ready to go out with a woman from another planet. More important than the amusing front cover, of course, is Blind Date's music, which is competent power pop. This vinyl LP has all of power pop's trademarks: bright melodies and pop sweetness combined with loud, shiny guitars and rockin' aggression. But Blind Date doesn't do it as well as the true masters of power pop. While tunes like "Hollywood Girl," "Boys Will Be Boys," and "I'll Take You Anywhere" aren't bad, they aren't first-rate either. The best power pop contains unforgettable hooks that refuse to let go of you; the Beatles, Blondie, the Go-Gos, Cheap Trick, Tommy James & the Shondells, the Romantics and the Raspberries all had that in common. Blind Date, however, still needed some work in the hooks department. Nonetheless, this LP demonstrates that the band had potential, but that potential went unfulfilled because they broke up without ever recording a second album.