The Very Best of Moon Martin

Perhaps best known for penning ROBERT PALMER's toughest hit BAD CASE OF LOVING YOU and the MINK DEVILLE cult classic CADILLAC WALK, four-eyed, BEATLE-coiffed new waver MOON MARTIN had a way with a wry, twisted lyric...even album titles like SHOTS FROM A COLD NIGHTMARE and ESCAPE FROM DOMINATION evoked dark, vivid imagery. Comparing favorably to better known nerd-rockers GRAHAM PARKER and ELVIS COSTELLO, MARTIN dished out aggressive, sinewy axe licks and oddball high-pitched vocals on the chugging, rhythmic ROLENE (his only TOP 40 hit), the skin-tingling sweat-fest HOT NITE IN DALLAS, and painkiller ballad NO CHANCE. The first half of VERY BEST reels off like a volley of power poppin' shotgun blasts form his peak period seventies platters, (including dandy versions of the PALMER and DEVILLE faves), tempered by a less acerbic set of eighties material. This is slick, catchy stuff delivered by a consummate artist with an ear fine tuned to harmonic hooks...it's a shame more people weren't exposed to these lunar samples.