Posted on: February 6, 2016 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

When folks do the roll call nowadays of bands that stalked the stages at CBGBs and Max’s Kansas City in the ‘70s the Ramones, Blondie, Television and Talking Heads almost always get mentions. Sadly, The Miamis, a brilliant five piece that played those venues and helped shape New York punk rock and new wave before the genres had proper names, is too often overlooked.The Miamis – We Deliver: The Lost Band of the CBGB Era

They never signed to a label, despite having their songs covered by Teenage Lust and Wayne County, and eventually split up out of frustration, but in 2009, they pooled their resources and self-released a collection of studio tracks recorded decades before; but few noticed. Omnivore Recordings, however, is finally bringing the band to the masses, with “We Deliver: The Lost Band of the CBGB Era (1974 – 1979).” This 23-track album includes the 10 songs from the band’s 1970s studio sessions, demos of “She Sure Works Hard (At Lovin’ Me)” and “I Want a Girlfriend,” a couple of other alternate versions of their songs and nine live takes, capturing the band at their peak.

While “We Deliver” would have been the obvious single, the record is crammed with just as many tracks that would have fared well regardless of when they were released (ok, maybe not the goofy “We Need a Bigger Navy,” but many of the others here). The band may have only existed for five years (1974 – 1979), but they left an album’s worth of should-be classics that will now hopefully get their due thanks to the folks at Omnivore.

The Miamis – We Deliver: The Lost Band of the CBGB Era (1974 – 1979)/23 tracks/Omnivore Recordings/2016

 

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