Richard Hell + The Voidoids (Part III) “Don’t Die” and “Time” b/w The Neon Boys “That’s All I Know (Right Now)” and “Love Comes in Spurts.” 1980. Shake Records. “Time” appears on Hell’s 1982 LP Destiny Street and has a great guitar solo by Robert Quine, though the version on this 7″ is much less produced than the one on the LP with a more jangly-guitar sound. “Don’t Die” is messy and feels unresolved, like it’s missing something. The track does not appear on any albums except for a 2002 retrospective comp.

The Neon Boys tracks are from much earlier, back when Tom Verlaine and Hell were still together (along with drummer Billy Ficca) but before Television formed (adding Richard Lloyd on guitar into the mix). The classic early punk track “Love Comes in Spurts” was recorded by the Neon Boys in ‘73 (probably “That’s All I Know (Right Now)” was as well). The tracks are raucous and raw, more garage rock than punk but with a definite snotty attitude. It’s especially interesting to hear the earliest version of “Love Hurts” – the guitar and brightness have a more 60′s psychedelic flavor than the more well-known later version of the song that appears on Blank Generation.