Screaming Blue Messiahs

Quirky with a kick. That's how I would describe this three-piece from the UK. Bowie was a big enough fan to request they open for him on tour in the mid-80s. One of their songs was used as the theme music for MTV's "120 Minutes" show. The great Vic Maile (The Godfathers, Motorhead) produced their first two proper albums, "Gun Shy" and "Bikini Red," which spawned the novelty almost-hit "I Wanna Be A Flintstone." Despite that song, there's nothing cute about the propulsive opening track "Sweet Water Pools," which sounds like driving a dual-carb muscle car through a desert highway at 120 mph after a sleepless 3-day bender.