Sorrows now: Arthur Alexander, Joey Cola, Ricky Street and Luis Herrera
In the late '70s and early '80s, SORROWS – sprung from the seeds of the equally beloved POPPEES – cut a swath across the New York rock scene on stages like CBGB and Max's Kansas City with a thrilling stage presence and a unique sound: three lead singers, a twin-guitar attack, and immediately unforgettable, hook-propelled tunes. By '81 they had had their rapturously-received debut album TEENAGE HEARTBREAK under their belts and a clutch of world class, stage-tested songs at the ready for the followup album. With the post-punk era opening the airwaves to guitar-fueled pop rock acts like The Cars, The Romantics and The Plimsouls, it seemed that SORROWS' time had come.
What happened instead is down to a familiar story encapsulated by two little words: “label interference”. The followup album, Love Too Late, wasn't the record Sorrows wanted to make, and it wasn't the record Sorrows fans wanted to hear. In fact, it's barely Sorrows on the original album at all, with the players and singers summarily replaced in the studio in a misguided bid at commercial success, with only the songs surviving intact. The band weren't having any of it and went back to playing the tunes as they were meant to be played, the label wasn't able to sell the results to anyone expecting the true successor to Teenage Heartbreak, and to all intents the story might have ended there, with the original album never receiving a CD release and the band going their separate ways shortly thereafter.
After four decades and a protracted legal battle, original SORROWS members ARTHUR ALEXANDER (vocals, guitar), JOEY COLA (vocals, guitar) and RICKY STREET (vocals, bass), joined by next generation powerhouse drummer LUIS HERRERA bring you LOVE TOO LATE... the real album. It is, as Arthur says in the sleeve notes, “real Sorrows, playing real Sorrows music, as only Sorrows can”, and those who were there to hear these songs performed live in the band's heyday will attest that the newly-recorded Real Album is the real deal indeed.
While the music speaks for itself, the decades-long journey of Love Too Late... the real album is a story of its own and the subject of a documentary, featuring interviews with Arthur Alexander and Joey Cola, that will accompany the release. There'll be a series of singles commencing with “Christabelle,” and fans can anticipate Alexander making the interview rounds and telling it like it is. With the highly anticipated arrival of Love Too Late... the real album, it's time to set the record straight, and what a record it is. SORROWS are back, just in time… and not a moment too late!
Limited edition (100 copies) red vinyl with picture sleeve of the legendary band's all new 2021 recreation of their long lost 1981 LP. Track list: A1. Christabelle A2. Love Too Late A3. Crying Time A4. Rita A5. Play This Song (On The Radio) A6. So Much Love B1. Breaking My Heart (Over You) B2. Tired Of Waiting For You B3. What I Used To Know B4. It's Not Love Any more B5. Street Punk Blues
The legendary band's all new 2021 recreation of their long lost 1981 LP. Track list: A1. Christabelle A2. Love Too Late A3. Crying Time A4. Rita A5. Play This Song (On The Radio) A6. So Much Love B1. Breaking My Heart (Over You) B2. Tired Of Waiting For You B3. What I Used To Know B4. It's Not Love Any more B5. Street Punk Blues
The legendary band's all new 2021 recreation of their long lost 1981 LP. Track list: 1. Christabelle 2. Love Too Late 3. Crying Time 4. Rita 5. Play This Song (On The Radio) 6. So Much Love 7. Breaking My Heart (Over You) 8. Tired Of Waiting For You 9. What I Used To Know 10. It's Not Love Any more 11. Street Punk Blues
While supplies last, Big Stir is happy to offer the 2010 Sorrows compilation "Bad Times Good Times" on vinyl courtesy of our friends at Bomp! Records, summing up the band's "Teenage Heartbreak" era and
The new album from Arthur Alexander on Limited Edition Red Vinyl.
The new album from Arthur Alexander on black vinyl LP in a picture sleeve.
Arthur Alexander's solo debut on red vinyl. Please note: The CD version contains five bonus tracks not available on this vinyl edition!
The solo debut of Arthur Alexander (Sorrows, The Poppees) on vinyl. Please note: The CD version contains five bonus tracks not available on this vinyl edition!
The solo debut of Arthur Alexander (Sorrows, The Poppees) on CD... including five bonus tracks not available on the Vinyl edition!
CD Download |
$12.00
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Black Vinyl Download |
$20.00
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Red Vinyl Download |
$25.00
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BIG STIR RECORDS happily announces the return of SORROWS! The legendary NYC power pop band is back, and we're thrilled to be releasing their all-new single, “Christabelle” (out now at www.bigstirrecords.com/sorrows and www.bigstirrecords.bandcamp.com and streaming everywhere this Friday). It's the song that might have catapulted them up the charts
BIG STIR RECORDS happily announces the return of SORROWS! The legendary NYC power pop band is back, and we're thrilled to be releasing their all-new single, “Christabelle” (out now at www.bigstirrecords.com/sorrows and www.bigstirrecords.bandcamp.com and streaming everywhere this Friday). It's the song that might have catapulted them up the charts and cemented their place alongside the likes of The Cars, The Plimsouls and The Beat in the power pop pantheon in 1981. One listen to the new recording, from original members ARTHUR ALEXANDER, JOEY COLA and RICKY STREET with next-generation powerhouse LUIS HERRERA on drums, makes it clear why that should have happened... so why are we only hearing it now, forty years later?
Thereby hangs a tale, and one that will unfold over the coming days to the mutual delight of longtime fans and those who've only heard the legends. In the late '70s, SORROWS sprang from the seeds of the equally beloved POPPEES and established themselves as one of the sharpest and most unique melodic rock acts treading the stages of New York clubs like CBGB and Max's Kansas City, with three lead singers, a twin-guitar attack and immediately unforgettable, hook-propelled tunes. By 1981, the band had their rapturously-received debut album TEENAGE HEARTBREAK under their belts and a clutch of world class, stage-tested songs at the ready -- “Christabelle” is only the tip of the iceberg. With catchy guitar-based pop rock back on the charts, SORROWS had everything they needed to take on the world.
What happened instead is down to a familiar story encapsulated by two little words: “label interference”. The followup album, LOVE TOO LATE, wasn't the record Sorrows wanted to make, and it wasn't the record Sorrows fans wanted to hear. In fact, it's barely Sorrows on the original album at all, with the players and singers summarily replaced in the studio in a misguided bid at commercial success, only the songs surviving. The band weren't having any of it and went back to playing the tunes as they were meant to be played, the label wasn't able to sell the results to anyone expecting the true successor to Teenage Heartbreak, and to all intents the story might have ended there.
But after forty years, countless legal battles, and an ever-growing reputation for the band among the underground guitar pop cognoscenti, the band is back, better than ever, to present “Christabelle” as it always should have been. And if you're guessing that that's not the end of the story, you'd be right. There's more to come from SORROWS... proof that you can't keep a superb set of songs in limbo forever, and that it's never too late for LOVE TOO LATE (the real album) to take the world by storm, sounding just like it was always meant to sound.
A while-supplies-last LP offering of SORROWS's "Bad Time Good Times", the 2010 Bomp! Records collection of the band's "Teenage Heartbreak"-era recordings!
