LOST TREASURES

DONNIE IRIS

“Back On The Streets”

By Peter Marston

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Virtually every article, review or blog post about Donnie Iris begins with the same factoid and this Lost Treasures entry will not deviate from that trend. While many pop fans may not be familiar with Iris’ new wave/power pop albums from the ’80s, nearly all will recall the 1970 smash single “The Rapper” by the Jaggerz―and Donnie Iris was the lead singer on that record, though at that time he was going by his real name, Dominic Ierace. A decade later, Iris released his debut solo LP, Back in the Streets, and it’s one of the best new wave/pop albums of the time, and certainly one of the best little known albums.

Iris began singing at a very early age, prompted and guided by his mother who had him on the wedding band/talent show circuit when he was still in grade school. In the early ’60s, Iris was in and out of various high school and college bands and in 1964, settled in as the frontman for the Jaggerz. After a few years playing college dances and local bars, the Jaggerz were signed to Gamble Records and, in 1969, Introducing the Jaggerz was released. The band switched labels—to Kama Sutra—and the follow-up, We Went to Different Schools Together, was released in 1970. With Kama Sutra’s superior promotion machine behind it, “The Rapper” hit nationally and made it all the way to #2 on the Billboard charts. The Jaggerz recorded one more album, but seemed destined to retain their status as one-hit wonders. Later, in 1978, Iris joined up with Wild Cherry (yes, of “Play That Funky Music” fame) and it was during this stint that Iris met up with his future producer and collaborator Mark Avsec. Shortly after Wild Cherry broke up, Iris and Avsec formed Donnie Iris and the Cruisers and, once signed to MCA, began work on Back on the Streets, ultimately released in July 1980.

The album is a great mix of power pop and new wave and includes touches that recall virtually all the various trends of early ’80s, from Gary Numan to John Cafferty. The opening track, “Ah Leah” is one of the standouts, featuring a hypnotic chorus—the chords barely move—with layered vocals and perfectly crunchy rhythm guitars. It is one of the more unique power pop tracks of the era, as distinctive as Nick Lowe’s “So It Goes” or Joe Jackson’s “Is She Really Going Out with Him?” “I Can’t Hear You” brings in the same layered vocals in the chorus, but here the chord changes are a bit more standard rock ’n’ roll which is perhaps why Iris adopts a distinctly Presley-esque tone in the lead vocal. “Joking” is more frenetic, not unlike the Vapors or the Cars, with a chorus built on a pure pop chord progression and answering backing vocals. It closes with an abstract sound collage that is self-indulgent, but mercifully brief. “Shock Treatment” is another Cars-influenced track, with Iris’ vocals often approximating an impression of Ric Ocasek, though the chorus has a decidedly Euro-pop flavor. The title track is a driving rocker that reminds me more of the AOR of the time, even recalling Journey and Styx at times. “Agnes” is the closest thing to straight new wave on the album, but is saved by great layered answering vocals that are reminiscent of ELO. “You’re Only Dreaming” recalls Roy Orbison , complete with some catchy “shoo-doo-bop-doo-wop” backing vocals.

Two singles were released from Back in the Streets. “Ah Leah” appeared at the end of 1980 and reached #29 in early 1981. It remains Iris’ best-know song. “I Can’t Hear You” was issued nearly a year later and failed to chart. Iris released a number of follow-up albums in the ’80s, with 1981’s King Cool generally the best regarded. Though personnel changed here and there, Donnie and the Cruisers continued to tour in the ’90s and still perform occasionally today.

Back on the Streets was reissued by Razor and Tie in 1993 and later by American Beat Records in 2008 (as a two-fer with King of Cool). Both are currently out of print and somewhat pricey on the second-hand market. The merely curious, though, will find Iris’ entry in MCA’s 20^th Century Master series readily available, very affordable and including most of his best tracks. Check ’em out!

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Pop Pioneer and “Lost Treasures” writer, Peter Marston is the leader of long-running power pop band, Shplang, whose most recent album, “My Big Three Wheeler” has been described as “the Beatles meet Zappa in pop-psych Sumo match.”  You check it out at this link:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/shplang

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LINKS:

Wikiepedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donnie_Iris

AMG:  http://www.allmusic.com/album/back-on-the-streets-mw0000313142

Donnie Iris Home Page:  http://www.donnieiris.com/donnie/

Unofficial Donnie Iris Site:  http://www.parallel-time.com/

VIDEOS:

“Ah Leah”

“Love Is Like A Rock”