The young Go-Betweens briefly flirted with issuing a single on Beserkley Records, the label that brought Jonathan Richman to prominence. Appropriately so; Richman's love of the everyday met Robert Forster's cultural obsessions on the now-legendary Australian band's first single, which coupled an ode to Lee Remick with "Karen," a typically feverish declaration of love for a favorite librarian. In addition to that 45 and the subsequent "People Say"/"Don't Let Him Come Back," The Lost Album also features nine previously unreleased demo-quality tracks made in Forster's bedroom. The Go-Betweens would grow more sophisticated, but these 13 songs show their wit and force already in place. Not just an invaluable historical gap-filler, this CD is as another moving, entertaining entry in their discography. --Rickey Wright
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