RUBBER RODEO - Heartbreak Highway

New wave and country might seem like an unlikely combination, but Boston-based Rubber Rodeo attempted the fusion in the 1980s over the course of two LPs and an EP.

The band is best remembered for its excellent 1984 single Anywhere With You, which was definitely more straightforward pop than country. The song appeared on their debut LP, Scenic Views, which also yielded a minor hit in The Hardest Thing. Prior to that, Rubber Rodeo stirred some attention with an EP that featured a new wave take on the Dolly Parton hit, Jolene.

Scenic Views didn't break the band to the level that was probably hoped, and it's apparent that with their follow up LP from 1986, Heartbreak Highway, Rubber Rodeo was aiming to lasso major pop success. The songs are hookier and more developed, and while Scenic Views included lead vocals split pretty much evenly between core members Trish Milliken and Bob Holmes, Milliken's memorable singing is the emphasis on Heartbreak Highway.

Side 1 features the album's strongest cuts, starting with the storming title track. If You're Ever Alone is a gorgeous pop tune sung by Milliken that was criminally not released as a single. This one could have done really well for them. Holmes does a worthwhile take on Fred Neil's Everybody's Talkin'. The lead single, Souvenir, is an infectious, upbeat duet that should have been a commercial smash. The Civil War is a melodic, Western-influenced instrumental.

The brief side 2 includes highlights in Look Who's Back, another fine pop song with lead vocals by Milliken, and the hopeful Maybe Next Year.

All of Rubber Rodeo's releases remain unreleased on CD. You can check out my vinyl rip of Heartbreak Highway at the link below, and head here for the EP and here for Scenic Views.

Rubber Rodeo - Heartbreak Highway (LP, 1986)

Track listing:
1 - Heartbreak Highway
2 - If You're Ever Alone
3 - Everybody's Talkin'
4 - Souvenir
5 - The Civil War
6 - Deadtown
7 - When Words Collide
8 - Look Who's Back
9 - Maybe Next Year