The summer of Sunburn

By Henry Lipput

The vinyl reissue of Blake Babies’ second album, the wonderful 1990 Sunburn, by American Laundromat Records is a reason to upgrade your original CD with a record that you probably couldn’t buy when the album was released. I bought the Sunburn CD around the time it came out but even my local independent record store (shout out to Siren Records of Doylestown PA!!) mostly carried compact discs. In fact, as of the late 80s most “record” stores suddenly only carried CDs and for someone who grew up on vinyl it was a game changer and not in a good way.

So why did I buy the Sunburn reissue? When I found out about it, I pulled out my CD copy and played it on my stereo. It sounded just as good as it always had but something in the back of my mind told me perhaps it would sound even better on vinyl.

And it does,

One of the great things about reissues (if they are done well) is that you hear things you didn’t hear before and that’s the case with this marvelous release. In addition to the care American Laundromat has taken in the album’s packaging as well as the mastering and pressing, this edition of Sunburn is for more than long-time fans of the album; it’s a must-have for lovers of great pop music. And this reissue is the first time the album has been available on vinyl for over 30 years.

What have I heard that I didn’t notice before? First of all, there’s a new clarity to the mix and the reissue highlights what made Blake Babies so special.

From the start of “I’m Not Your Mother” Juliana Hatfield’s bass playing is even more impressive, the many phases/faces of John Strohm’s guitar work continues to amaze (a blast of sound at the opening, a glistening solo, and jangle fills), and Freda Love Smith’s simple but consistently high-quality drumming is the glue holding the whole thing together. There’s the full band freakout on “Look Away” and “Sanctify” as well as a "girl-who's-boyfriend-just-left-with-another-girl" vocal from Hatfield on "Look Away." There's the simplicity and underlying horror of “Girl in a Box” and the joyous pop of "I'll Take Anything" and "Kiss and Make Up" just because.

There are also lyrics I may not have fully appreciated the many other times I’ve listened to the album (but isn’t that the magic of songs?). I certainly wasn’t a kid when I first heard the album, but the reissue has given me a completely different take on one of my favorites from Sunburn, the brilliant, multi-part “Train.” For the longest time I thought it was about a breakup with the sadness at seeing a former loved one leaving to joy at their departure. Now, hearing lines like “strung out on the floor” and “my blood runs free from an open vein,” I’m coming around to thinking it’s a drug song and, with the line “this is the last time,” turns into a song about recovery with Hatfield’s full-throated vocal celebrating freedom on “runaway (run away?) train.” 

The reissue of Sunburn is only limited to 2000 units worldwide and some of the different vinyl colors have already sold out. You can find out which ones are still available on the American Laundromat website.