Shoeshine Boy's FireFly Review

Ed's Redeeming Qualities' were once Boston-based, but lately have spanned the country, hitting Dayton OH, San Francisco, and points in between.

They play intelligent, clever folk songs, and proudly list "rice in a coffee can" as one of their instruments. They released several records on an independent Boston-area label in the mid- to late-80s, with "Ed's Kitchen" the one to garner the most notice.

In 1989, they won the Boston Phoenix/WFNX Best Music Poll's "Best Local Rock Song" for "Lawn Dart," featuring the classic chorus: "She was pegged in the head with a lawn dart/her dad didn't see her, that's the worst part/she was pegged in the head with a lawn dart/so they're now off the shelves at the Kmart."

Sadly, one of the founding members of the band, Dom Leone, died in 1989, and the band didn't release another album until late 1990, More Bad Times on Flying Fish Records. The title track was a song that Dom never finished writing, and was completed by the rest of the band after his death.

Then, the minstrels left Boston and released It's All Good News in late 1991. The band is off-and-on now, releasing only "Guess Who This Is" and the live Big Grapefruit Cleanup Job in the last 5 years, but if you ever get the chance to see their show, do yourself a favor and experience the joy of Ed's.

Back to the ERQ Homepage

Get YOUR free personal webpage at GeoCities.

1