Better Luck (album)

Better Luck
Studio album by
the Plugz
Released1981
GenrePunk rock
LabelFatima
ProducersThe Plugz, Gustavo Santaolalla
The Plugz chronology
Electrify Me
(1979)		 Better Luck
(1981)		 Los Angelinos – The Eastside Renaissance
(1983)

Better Luck is the second and final studio album by the American band the Plugz, released in 1981.[1][2] It was released by the band's own Fatima Recordz.[3] The first single was "Achin'".[4]

Production

The album was produced by the band and Gustavo Santaolalla, who also played guitar, bass, and charango.[5] Bruce Fowler played trombone on the album; Steve Berlin contributed on saxophone.[3] The band had recorded an album's worth of material after releasing their debut but decided it was too similar in sound.[6] The cover art was created by Gary Panter.[7] "Touch for Cash" is a narrative about the lives of prostitutes.[8] "Cesar's Song" describes life as an Los Angeles gang member.[8] "Gas Line" is about the 1979 oil crisis.[9] "El Clavo y la Cruz" later appeared on the Repo Man soundtrack.[10]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarStarHalf star[11]
LA WeeklyB+[12]

The Los Angeles Times said, "Sounding like a transitional work, Better Luck is an uneven record, the clean studio sound depriving many songs of their potential intensity"; the paper later listed it as the 10th best Los Angeles album of the year.[8][13] LA Weekly opined, "While lapses are evident—[Tito] Larriva's lyrics are at times uncomfortably close to the X school of poetic anguish—Better Luck is a remarkably vital, astute and listenable record."[14] The paper, in a year-end holiday guide, noted that the album possessed "too much reserve, too little simplistic punk".[12] The Argonaut called it "heartfelt but clear-eyed, guitar-driven and spare".[15]

The Trouser Press Record Guide said, "The more mainstream Better Luck ups the Plugz' folk and country sides for a blend of Rank and File ... and Tom Petty, displaying a promising rock talent enervated to the point of tedium."[16] In 2018, John Doe listed it as one of the "best punk rock albums ever", calling it an "unbelievable record... Best recorded record."[17]

Track listing

Side 1

  1. "Better Luck"
  2. "Red Eye #9"
  3. "Achin'"
  4. "American"
  5. "In the Wait"
  6. "El Clavo y la Cruz"

Side 2

  1. "Blue Sofa"
  2. "Touch for Cash"
  3. "Gas Line"
  4. "Cesar's Song"
  5. "Shifting Heart"
  6. "No Love"

References

  1. ↑ Greenstein, Jane (December 26, 1985). "Cruzados: Band Keeps Its Show on the Road". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 2.
  2. ↑ "L.A. Dee Da". LA Weekly. October 15, 1981. p. 19.
  3. 1 2 Pullen, Doug (September 11, 1981). "Passages". Accent. El Paso Herald-Post. p. 14.
  4. ↑ Gimarc, George (2005). Punk Diary: The Ultimate Trainspotter's Guide to Underground Rock 1970–1982. Backbeat Books. p. 551.
  5. ↑ Karush, Matthew B. (2017). Musicians in Transit :Argentina and the Globalization of Popular Music. Duke University Press. p. 194.
  6. ↑ Spurrier, Jeff (January 10, 1982). "Plugz: Back in Business". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 70.
  7. ↑ Wyszpolski, Bondo (July 1, 1982). "A taster's guide to a wet picnic and other outings". The Argonaut. p. 13.
  8. 1 2 3 Lee, Craig (December 13, 1981). "Plugz 'Luck' into Calmer Currents". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 101.
  9. ↑ Jones, Kellie (2011). Now Dig This! Art & Black Los Angeles, 1960–1980. Hammer Museum. p. 78.
  10. ↑ Reardon, Tom (September 24, 2024). "Repo Man soundtrack showcases '80s punk acts from L.A. 40 years later". Music. Phoenix New Times.
  11. ↑ "Better Luck Review by Dan Heilman". AllMusic. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
  12. 1 2 "Records". LA Weekly. December 31, 1981. p. 16.
  13. ↑ Hilburn, Robert (January 3, 1982). "Pop Music". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 53.
  14. ↑ Seay, Davin (December 17, 1981). "The Plugz' Pathology of Progress". LA Weekly. pp. 26–27.
  15. ↑ Wyszpolski, Bondo (January 28, 1982). "Record Review". The Argonaut. p. 23.
  16. ↑ The Trouser Press Record Guide (4th ed.). Collier Books. 1991. p. 504.
  17. ↑ Harrington, Jim (November 22, 2018). "X's John Doe Lists the Best Punk Rock Albums Ever". The Mercury News. p. E24.
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