Richard Barone

Since his days as the leader of the Bongos, the definitive band of the Hoboken pop scene of the 1980s, Richard Barone has pursued a sometimes low-key, but largely rewarding and acclaimed solo career. Barone formed the Bongos in 1980 and led the group through three albums, the singles compilation Drums Along the Hudson (1982), the EP Numbers With Wings (1983), which featured the title track, the group's definitive song, and Beat Hotel (1985). In 1983 Barone and James Mastro recorded a low-key, mostly acoustic duo album produced by Mitch Easter, 1983's Nuts and Bolts. Mastro joined the band the same year following their signing to RCA. After the Bongos parted amicably, Barone started his solo career in a peculiar fashion. Performing at the Bottom Line in New York City in 1987, Barone re-introduced himself in a musical lineup that prefigured the chamber pop mini-movement of a decade later, surrounding his voice and electric guitar with an acoustic guitarist, a cellist (Jane Scarpantoni of the Hoboken band Tiny Lights, who largely through this gig would establish herself as the leading cello player in alternative pop, gracing albums by Bob Mould, Victoria Williams and many others), and a percussionist specializing in vibes and Latin instruments rarely heard in other contexts. The resulting live album, Cool Blue Halo, is a brilliant combination of Bongos tunes, new material, and impressive Bowie, T. Rex, and Beatles covers that perfectly illustrates Barone's range and tastes, and remains his best work. Both Cool Blue Halo and 1990s Primal Dream were hampered by label woes (in both cases, the labels went belly-up not long after the discs came out, making them difficult to find). Barone quickly followed the album up with Primal Cuts, a German EP featuring remixed tracks,...