front cover vintage photographs,
photographers unknown
Sometime in the early eighties my friend, Glen, gave me what became my favorite
EP. It was titled,
Hotel For Women by the
new wave band
The Nails. One of my favorite songs ever,
88 Lines About 44 Women, was one of the cuts on it (
link below). The only other song that comes anywhere close to my liking as much is the quirky
Underwear from the 1999 album,
69 Love Songs, by
The Magnetic Fields.
The Nails were originally a five-piece
new wave band that formed in
Boulder, Colorado in 1976. In Colorado, they were originally named The Ravers, and their roadie, Eric Boucher, later became known as
Jello Biafra of the
Dead Kennedys.
The band members were Marc Campbell (lead vocals, guitar), Dave Kaufman
(keyboards), Al Leis (drums), Artie Freeman (lead guitar), and Jon
Cormany (bass).
back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
In 1977, the Ravers recorded an
EP in Boulder with Screwball Records. The Ravers moved to
New York
in June 1977 and played the showcase clubs
CBGB and
Max's Kansas City.
Shortly after arriving in NY, The Ravers changed their name to The Nails
(there was a local band named Raver). A '45 with the band's original
lineup was recorded in
New York City in 1978. By mid-1978, Leis (now
deceased), Cormany, and Freeman (now a medical school professor) had
left the band.
record sleeve
photo by Teri Bloom
photo of record sleeve by Styrous®
By the late 1970s,
The Nails had established themselves on the club
circuit and were now composed of vocalist Marc Campbell, bassist George
Kaufman, saxophonist Douglas Guthrie, drummer Mike Ratti (Dennis
McDermott on
Mood Swing), keyboardist Dave Kaufman, and guitarist Steve O'Rourke.
Hotel for Women, an
EP recorded in 1981, contained an early version of
88 Lines About 44 Women, a song that caught the attention of
RCA.
The Nails were signed to RCA by Bruce Harris, also known for bringing
The Clash to America. In 1984
88 Lines was re-recorded
for RCA and included on The Nails' full-length debut LP,
Mood Swing. The song received regular airplay despite a number of
double entendres and lyrical references to
masturbation and
sadomasochism.
record sleeve detail
photo by Teri Bloom
detail photo of record sleeve by Styrous®
Two years later they released
Dangerous Dreams, also on RCA. Both
Mood Swing and
Dangerous Dreams made the
Billboard top 200 album chart and were critically acclaimed. But after the release of
Dangerous Dreams
The Nails left RCA. RCA did not release either LP on compact disc.
In 1988, the band reconvened (without Guthrie and Dave Kaufman) to record a third album,
Corpus Christi,
which was not released until 1993 and received little exposure.
The Nails deny ever receiving any proceeds from this album, citing a rift
with their former producer, claiming that he swindled them of their
rights. They posted re-recordings of these songs on the late George
Kaufman's site, along with the explanation of the dispute. They strongly
discourage fans from purchasing the album, as they will never be
compensated.
In 2007, the band licensed Mood Swing and Dangerous Dreams from RCA parent company Sony-BMG Entertainment and released these albums on compact disc for the first time.
Former lead singer Marc Campbell has an album,
Tantric Machine released in 2014. In March 2009, bassist George Kaufman died of complications following
heart surgery. He was survived by his wife, Sharla, and his children,
Isabel and Michael Kaufman.
record sleeve detail
photo by Teri Bloom
detail photo of record sleeve by Styrous®
It is interesting to note that the side which has
Hotel for Women is labeled "side A" whereas the side which contains
Cutting Edge and
88 Lines About 44 Women is labeled, "side 1"; go figure. Also of interest is the label placement on "side 1".
Tracklist:
Side A:
A - Hotel For Women - Engineer – Doug Epstein, Producers – Doug Epstein & Jim Reynolds (3), Vocals – Connie Garcia - 6:07
Side 1:
B1 - Cutting Edge - Engineer – Doug Epstein, Producers – Doug Epstein & Jim Reynolds (3) - 3:46
B2 - 88 Lines About 44 Women - Engineer – Peter Darmi, Producer – The Nails - 4:30
Companies, etc.
Mastered At – Executive Recordings
Credits:
Bass, Guitar, Trombone, Vocals – George Kaufman
Drums – Tommy Cotogna
Keyboards, Guitar, Vocals – David Kaufman
Mastered By – Gene Sayet
Saxophone – Douglas Guthrie
Vocals, Guitar – Marc Campbell
Notes:
Labels and runoff grooves are labeled A side and side 1.
Contains the original version of "88 Lines About 44 Women".
The Nails – Hotel For Women
Label: City Beat (2) – CJN-111, Jimboco Records – CJN-111
Format: Vinyl, 12", 33 ⅓ RPM, EP
Country: US
Released: 1981
Genre: Rock
Style: New Wave
Viewfinder links:
Good things come in small packages!
