Milk 'N' Cookies [Bonus Tracks]

by Milk 'N' Cookies

Overview

There's a long, rich tradition of power pop groups being obsessed with teenage girls (the Scruffs even named an album Teenage Gurls). But you'd be hard-pressed to find a band whose mania for the adolescent female matched that of Milk 'N' Cookies. On their first (and only) album, 1975's Milk 'N' Cookies, the Long Island band sounded like some vaguely lascivious fusion of U.K. glam rock guitars, stripped-down rock & roll stomp, and the preening style of the Bay City Rollers. However, while the Rollers at least tried to play as nice boys, lead singer Justin Strauss was all breathy, sexually ambiguous pout as he made it clear he had something very special in mind for his female fans. Strauss' doe-eyed stage whisper astounds on "Little, Lost and Innocent," "Chance to Play," "Not Enough Girls (In the World)," and the truly remarkable "Rabbits Make Love." In their way, Milk 'N' Cookies were every bit as subversive as the New York Dolls and as blatant as Kiss. But their outrage was dressed up in hooky pop tunes with crunchy guitar figures and an attack that was a few shades away from punk rock. (The latter comes as no surprise, as the CBGB scene was emerging in New York around the same time.) Ian North's songs were genuinely inspired more often than not, while his guitar work would have done the Sweet proud. And bassist Sal Miada and drummer Mike Ruiz gave these tracks the heavy stomp they needed and deserved. There might have been a place for Milk 'N' Cookies on the new wave and power pop scenes that took hold a few years after their album came out. But in 1975, this album was a witty and deliberately eccentric cult item that still sounds gloriously weird more than four decades later. Perfect for your next teen dance; just see to it these guys don't put an aspirin in someone's cola. [The CD was re-released in 2016 and added six bonus tracks.] ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	06/03/2016
Label:	CAPTURED TRACKS REC.
UPC:	0817949011154

Tracks

Disc 1

1. (Dee Dee You're) Stuck on a Star
2. Little Lost and Innocent
3. Six Guns
4. We Go on Dancing
5. Rabbits Make Love
6. Not Enough Girls (In the World)
7. Chance to Play
8. The Last Letter
9. Just a Kid
10. Ready Steady
11. Nots
12. Broken Melody
13. Tinkertoy Tomorrow
14. Good Friends
15. Wok N'Woll
16. Not Enough Girls (In the World)
17. Typically Teenage
18. Buy This Record

Disc 2

19. Not Enough Girls (In the World)
20. On the Out
21. Girls in Gangs
22. Naked City
23. Why Is Life
24. Randy Slut
25. Auto Fade [1983 Band Practice]
26. Bop the Do [1973 Band Practice]
27. English Tea [1973 Band Practice]
28. Hitter [1973 Band Practice]
29. Move Fast [1973 Band Practice]
30. I Don't Want to Know [1973 Band Practice]
31. Good Enough to Eat [1973 Band Practice]
32. Hello Girlie [1973 Demo]
33. You Got My Shoes [1973 Demo]
34. Space Drag [1973 Demo]
35. We Go on Dancing [1973 Band Practice]
36. Chance to Play [1973 Demo Tape]
37. Last Letter [1973 Demo Tape]
38. Wok N Woll [1973 Demo Tape]
39. Just a Kid [1973 Demo Tape]
40. Not Enough Girls [1973 Demo Tape]
41. Stuck on a Star [1973 Demo Tape]
42. Good Friends [1973 Demo Tape]
43. Six Guns [1973 Demo Tape]

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Milk 'N' Cookies   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Muff Winwood   Producer
Philip King   Producer
Ed Sprigg   Producer
Nina Antonia   Liner Notes
Mark Stratford   Producer
Lora Findlay   Package Design,Artwork