MAXIMUM ROCK'N'ROLL
DECEMBER 1986
"Second and Lust" LP

A softer but more imaginative LYRES? Maybe that's not really fair, "cause there's a lot more slow L.A. -type '60's pop-psych here, only occasionally getting to third gear. But they do have that bar band/grade B exploitation movie feel. TY

GOLDMINE
DEC. 5, 1986
THE CHEEPSKATES,"SECOND AND LAST"

Considered "too pop" by garage fans and "too garage" by pop fans, the Cheepskates broke up in 1985, after their masterpiece, RUN BETTER RUN, failed to find its audience.

SECOND AND LAST, recorded shortly before the breakup, should earn them belated fame. Some may not like the diversity (there are a couple of Mike Nesmith-style, countrified tunes), but most of the album is hook-filled pop with an occasional rave-up.

Standouts range from the hauntingly beautiful "About You" to bubblegum anthem "Every Man's A King". Anybody who doesn't buy this gem is a real cheapskate!
Dawn Eden


B SIDE
FEB - MARCH 1987
CHEEPSKATES - SECOND AND LAST


It was one of those long days, and I had it up to my cranium reviewing pieces of vinyl. So when I pulled the Cheepskates out I growled, "You better be worth listening to or so help me I'm putting new holes in you!" It had been a very trying day. But luckily the album was worthy. On their second (and last as an entire group) album the Cheepskates produce some smooth "groovy" pop sounds, with the four lead vocalists ( yes, everyone in the band sings!) ranging from upbeat countryish to that plaintive, haunting "little boy lost" sound. The lyrics have a surprising bite to them, especially in 'You Don't Belong Here,' or 'Around Here.' Fourteen polished gems, some rocking, some poignant, all in the tradition of the two to three minute burst of song. And there's a great Farfisa organ rounding out most of the mixes. SANDRA GARCIA


FORCED EXPOSURE # 11 winter 87
CHEEPSKATES - SECOND AND LAST

...the C-skates' first album was one of the lightest runts of the NY sockodelic litter. Crikes, it had more sweezy keyboard than a goddamn Rascals record and that is not the "way" to greatness, y'know? Like, buh. Now I guess the C-skates're no more and they say that absense makes the heart grow fonder, which may well be true. Either that, or the band improved some between recording sessions, 'cause there're a few good toots here. Not that it really swings much harder than the Mike Curb Congregation (and I swear I hear more CSN than Springfield in the tunes that would elicit any such comparison), but hey, in relative terms it's a fuckin' triumph.
BYRON



SWEETPOTATO FEBRUARY 18-25 1987
CHEEPSKATES - SECOND AND LAST

UNEXTRAORIDINARY SIXTIES-GARAGE-POP WHOSE SPECIALTY IS AN ECHOEY, FARFISA-STYLE ORGAN WINDING ITS WAY THROUGH THE SIMPLE SONGS. SHADOWS OF ? AND THE MYSTERIANS AND THE ROYAL GUARDSMEN ABOUND. ALSO, ULTIMATE SPINACH IS REPRESENTED HERE IN THE SPACY JAMS. -- Will Jackson


OPTION JAN-FEB 1987
CHEEPSKATES - SECOND AND LAST

Light, hypnotic rock. "Turn Around" is very reminiscent of 60's midwest garage rock. "Everything" features a nice hook and great swirling organ. "Yours and Mine" recalls the first New Colony Six album. "You Don't Belong Here" and "Every Man's a King" are both equally bouncy pop, and "T oo Tired " is very rocking, but way too derivative lyrically. "Tell Me I'm Wrong " is a refreshing change of pace, employing the "Foxy Lady " riff effectively. Two instrumentals are included, although this didn't seem to be the right band to be featuring them. A very moody album that grows with repeated listenings. --FRANK BEESON


SOUND CHOICE- April 1987
CHEEPSKATES: SECOND AND LAST LP
As the title suggests, this is the second and last release from this New York City band. That is, this is the last release from the original line-up, as two members will still continue with the Cheepskates' pursuit of tunneling their way back to 1965. These guys brag about their repertoire being exclusively originals, but there is precious little that is truly original about the Cheepskates. The concept is garageland 1965, with not even a hint of the 80's. Thing is, at times these guys are very convincing. The country rock of "The Good Life" is refreshingly straightforward, and it doesn't sound as if it was copped from anyone. The instrumental "Reel Dreams" is appropriately image-inducing. And take note, this garage band has definite pop aspirations.---Scott Jackson


BUSCADERO DEC1986
CHEEPSKATES -- 2ND AND LAST

(REVIEW COMPARING THE 'SKATES TO THE VELVETS!)


THE MORNING CALL- Saturday, January 24, 1987
Lyres...Tryfles...Cheepskates. Yeah, the spellings are correct. And the LPs by these three '60's inspired garage-rock combos deserve to be noticed, too.
The delightfully infectious debut by the Cheepskates enjoyed some success-- "Run, Better, Run" reached No. 7 on the indie radio charts. But "Second", the followup, is the last from the band's original lineup, and places the Cheepskates on the endangered list. Keyboardist and songwriter Shane Faubert has taken to the guitar, and in keeping with the experimental lust of the sixties, the 'Skates have come up with a carousel of melodies disguised as folk, power pop, surf instrumentals, psychedelic, country, and, OK, some grunge, too. Personal faves: the instantly necessary "Yours and Mine", the thoughtful, Neil Young-ish "Good Life", and the psych-colored "Tell Me I'm Wrong". That leaves 11 others that are just as good, memoirs of a sadly overlooked group.--Tana Valois


THE MICHIGAN DAILY
CHEEPSKATES-SECOND AND LAST
Two NYC-based outfits, both falling under the broad catagory of psych-pop, altough occupying opposite ends of that spectrum of sound.
The Cheepskates, now defunct, played eerie revisionist pop. On record they frequently bear a sonic resemblance to a psychedelified dB's, and also display a dB's-esque knack for pure pop composition. The Cheeps, however, lack the dB's skewed wit, pulling fewer musical and lyrical punches. This reduces their appeal, confining SECOND AND LAST to the category of merely good pop records as opposed to really great ones. The unfortunate thing about SECOND AND LAST is that the raw materials for a great, cohesive record are so obviously present and not quite utilized. There are a number of individually distinguished tracks, particularily "Every Man's a King", and the instrumental "Reel Dreams". SECOND AND LAST indicates that the Cheeps were onto something good, but they may have quit too early to fully realize their potential.--Julie Jurrjens


EAST COAST ROCKER- November 19, 1986-
INDIE UPDATE
....The truly swell Cheepskates have a new Midnight album, the tantalizingly titled "Second and Last"....

LA HERENCIA DE LOS MUNSTER #5&6...A Real Creepzine!!-
CHEEPSKATES-"Second and Last"-
(A short review calling the band "grandes muchachos!" He mentions the songs: "Turn Around", "Everything", "Good Life", "You Don't Belong Here", "Everyman's A King", "Kustom Shuffle", "Tell Me I'm Wrong". Written by G.)

DUCKBERG TIMES- DECEMBER 23, 1986-
CHEEPSKATES- SECOND AND LAST-
...too damn bad that one accepts this title for what it is, a swan song from one of the better poppy-delic units of years past. This is not as classic '60s riff remodel as the band's archetypal last release, the 1984 RUN BETTER RUN album, but a more saturnine and moody seepage that one accomodates with growth and change, foreshadowing the inevitable break-up from a group whose brilliant past makes them such an easy pigeonhole...--BILL ASP