The Time Beings: An Overdue Debut

Some albums call out for thousands of words investigating the meaning of every lyric. Others demand you shut up, grab a beer, and go mental. It's About . . . Time, the Time Beings' self-released debut CD, falls in the latter group. Released almost two decades after the group's formation, the disc is just what you'd expect from a band who wouldn't be embarrassed to admit Keith Richards is their spiritual stepfather.

It's About . . . Time opens with "Why Don't You Love Me," a straight-ahead rocker with a sing-along chorus that ends up subliminally entrenched in your mind. This "beer fueled rave up" is heavy on guitars and short on philosophy, unless you're convinced that the world's wronged you and revenge is your goal. When Jay Martorano, whose vocals have the same attitude as John Felice's, screams, "I can't take it, I can't take it anymore," on "Gun Shop," he's singing a song millions of workers on the brink of going postal can relate to. "Got out of bed, it was 6 a.m./Jumped in my car back to work again . . . Got into work and I'm punching in a clock/Got to be here but I'd much rather rock."

That's been the law of the land for guitarist Preston Wayne, a member of the final line-up of the legendary '70s Boston garage band DMZ. When that group imploded, Wayne and guitarist J.J. Rassler formed the Odds, with whom he spent much of the '80s before hooking up with the Time Beings, a band who shamelessly recall rock and roll's great moments -- and, being from Massachusetts, the Bay State's great club-rock acts. There are touches of the Nervous Eaters on "I Think I Know" and Golden Earrings' "Chunk of Steel," and Real Kids-like moments throughout the disc. Like the Flamin' Groovies (who've spent a career answering charges of being too retro by responding, "Nothing can top the Beatles, Stones, and Byrds, so why try?"), the Time Beings are defensive of their rock-and-roll roots. And they should be.

Their take on the Mamas and the Papas' "Straight Shooter" sounds the way the original would have if it had been recorded in Swingin' London as opposed to sun-drenched California. "Got a Feelin'," a second Mamas and Papas tune (some sort of record), features waves-on-the-beach falsetto backing vocals and beautiful dueling guitars. When Wayne and felow guitarist Dave Roemer bond together in a chorus of bliss, they remind us that rock and roll may be an individual's ultimate outlet, but its most elated moments are those shared with others.

The instrumental "Hangman" borrows heavily from the Tornadoes and the Ventures, with a fuzz-guitar sound resembling early-'80s London garage-rockers the Milkshakes or the Prisoners. Surprisingly, It's About . . . Time lags during the MC5's "Future," a selection on which you'd expect a guitar-heavy band like these guys to reach their peak. Instead, they trade their normally frantic playing for bow-taking showmanship.

Neither the MC5 nor the Time Beings were intended for jazz fusion, so it's self-penned blitzkrieg numbers like "Louse House," driven by drummer Jim "Buck" Burbury, that raise the tension level. "The time is right, the time is now, there ain't a lot of time to waste anyhow," they declare on "Big Foot Sow." The fashion police may walk on by, but the Time Beings assure you the party will continue. "Sometimes I wonder what it's all about, but who really cares, let's scream and shout."

For the Time Beings, it's all about playing and paying tribute to those whose music made life worth living. Like the greatest groups, they remind you why you fell in love with rock and roll in the first place, complete with all of its exhilaration, wildness, individuality, and attitude. So grab a beer, push away the chairs, and go wild. It's about time.

-- Brian Goslow