Better Be Good

Whether you already have the pivotal 1977 eponymous debut by Boston’s The Real Kids, Better Be Good is a must-have collection of outtakes, demos, and rarities. Also, this comp boasts six more songs than the band’s first album. It opens with an alternate take on their most notable tune, “All Kindsa Girls,” which sounds looser and rougher around the edges with a longer breakdown in the middle. Though frontman John Felice aspired to play as tightly as his influences, a big part of The Real Kids’ charm was that they sounded like they could somehow pull it together after teetering on the edge of collapse. Capturing the band's shambolic essence pays off in fan favorites like a hungover rendition of the punk ballad “Just Like Darts” (especially when Felice spits out the lyrics “They want me to meet their boyfriends and I say, ‘Maybe not today’/Because I feel there’s something about those guys/They’re always trying to get in my way”). The band’s cover of Buddy Holly’s “Rave On” imports some wonderfully bastardized Chuck Berry riffs.