 Such
power pop founders as the
Raspberries and Big
Star may have been woefully underappreciated during their initial run
in the early '70s, but by the end of the decade, several of their
offspring had taken the style to the upper reaches of the charts —
including Cheap
Trick, the
Knack, and the Romantics.
But what set the group apart from their
similarly styled peers was their inheritance of the high-energy attack of
their Detroit forefathers, as well as their affinity for bouffant
hairstyles and matching retro outfits. Formed on the east side of Detroit
during 1977, the Romantics' original lineup consisted of singer/guitarist Wally
Palmar, singer/drummer Jimmy Marinos, guitarist Mike
Skill, and bassist Richie
Cole.
In Heat (1983) would become the Romantics' best-selling album
(going gold shortly after its release) on the strength of such Top Ten hit
singles as "Talking in Your Sleep" and "One in a
Million" and the quartet shed its early raw energy in favor of more
streamlined songwriting. Although they had finally obtained breakthrough
success, problems between the band and their management became an issue,
leading to Marinos'
departure. The Romantics decided to soldier on with a new drummer, Dave
Petratos, resulting in 1985's Rhythm Romance, an album that saw
the group move even further away from their power pop roots and embrace
more mainstream rock (both musically and, judging from the album's cover,
visually). Rhythm Romance would also prove to be the Romantics'
last studio album issued via Nemperor/Epic as a complete falling out
between the band and its management led to a lawsuit that prevented the
group from touring or recording on a regular basis, leading many to assume
that the group had split up. During this period of downtime, a ten-track
best-of set was issued, 1990's What I Like About You (& Other
Romantic Hits). — Greg Prato
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