As some of you might recall, I’ve got a lot of demo recordings and otherwise unreleased music up in the Popdose attic — a stash I’ve dipped into repeatedly for somewhat nefarious purposes. But there’s some good stuff in that dusty old box, too — including a well-worn 90-minute cassette containing the collected works of the late, great Hungry Dutchmen.

Unless you were a hardcore fan of MTV’s Basement Tapes, or have the world’s largest collection of Christmas music, you’ve probably never heard of the Hungry Dutchmen — but from 1986 to 1989, they prowled the budget studios and nightclubs of New York, polishing a series of power pop gems that, unfortunately, never shone bright enough to bring them the widespread acclaim (or even cult fandom) they deserved.

There was a lineup change early in the band’s history, but for the majority of its existence, the Hungry Dutchmen consisted of lead vocalist Tony Faske, bassist Alec Cumming, guitarist Paul “Pablo” Rose, keyboard player Cynthia Harden, and drummer extraordinaire Michael J. Bowman. Their songs ran the gamut from drunken, ‘Mats-esque noise to gummy, gooey Bacharachian pop, sometimes within the same song — and this being the ’80s, their demos reflected that ramshackle beauty perfectly, arranged on a handful of tracks, in a handful of takes, by living humans unassisted by digital technology.

It all started here…

That’s the Basement Tapes-winning video for the band’s first song, “Alone On a Saturday Night” — recorded on a whim at the suggestion of the video’s director, David Goldsmith. The Dutchmen weren’t really a band when they wrote and recorded the song, but it generated some unexpected buzz, and the group was off and running.

The Dutchmen produced a handful of videos during their time together; unfortunately, only two of them are online, and seeing as how I haven’t even laid eyes on the super-rare VHS compilation None of Us Are Dutch, But We’re All Hungry in almost 18 years, you’ll just have to go without watching the promotional clip for “Goin’ Crazee.” Here, instead, is the video for “Lookin’ for Santa,” the Dutchmen’s biggest “hit” by virtue of the numerous indie Christmas compilations it’s appeared on:

Unfortunately, the Dutchmen’s career never really took off, and by the end of the ’80s, the band was pulling in different directions. Cumming and Harden were a couple (they’d go on to get married and have a daughter), Bowman was turning away from the drums in favor of other instruments (and less pop-friendly song structures), and Faske would ultimately get into management and production. Most of the ex-Dutchmen continued to make music, for awhile anyway, and though none of the band’s former members seem to feel a great deal of nostalgic pull for these songs, they’re still among my favorite of the era. It’s terrific, messy, warm rock & roll, the kind you don’t often hear anymore, thanks to Pro Tools and the other assorted gewgaws that have helped make it easier for albums to sound “perfect.”

(Of course, the fact that my copies of these songs were dubbed onto a tape that already had music on it — and that has been lugged around the country for almost two decades — undoubtedly contributes to their sonic fuzziness. But I like it.)

Without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, I give you the complete What a Long, Hungry Trip It’s Been: 1986-1989. I hope you enjoy it halfway as much as I do.

Alone on a Saturday Night
Substance
C’Mon Down to My Boat, Baby
I Want It Around
Ain’t It Kinda Funny
Still in Love With You
I Wanna Kill Someone Tonight (first version)
The One You Feed (live)
14 Seconds of Love
Roosevelt Island
Whenever We Reminisce
Give It to Me
Caught Unprepared
Goin’ Crazee
Fancy Songbird
Quiet Times
Lookin’ for Santa
Too Hot for Words
I Wanna Kill Someone Tonight (second version)
T-H-E-R-A-P-Y
Slouchin’ Down
Shari’s on the Phone
The Rapper
Fighter
Letterbombs
Nutley Water

Tags: Jeff Giles, the Hungry Dutchmen

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 10th, 2008 at 5:30 pm and is filed under Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.