''Based on a True Story'' is an album by the American band

the Del-Lords The Del-Lords are an American rock and roll band that formed in New York City, United States, in 1982,Cocks, Jay; L., ElizabethMusic: Where the Lifeline Is ''Time''. August 4, 1986. Retrieved November 9, 2010 founded by The Dictators' guitarist S ...

, released in 1988 on

Enigma Records Enigma Records (also known as Enigma Entertainment Corporation) was a popular rock and alternative American record label in the 1980s. History Enigma Records launched as a division of Greenworld Distribution, an independent music importer/dis ...

. The band supported the album with a North American tour.

Production

Recorded in Los Angeles, the album cost $120,000. It was produced by

Neil Giraldo Neil Thomas Giraldo (born December 29, 1955) is an American musician, record producer, arranger, and songwriter best known as the musical partner of Pat Benatar since 1979and spouse since 1982. He has also performed, written and produced for art ...

Pat Benatar Patricia Mae Giraldo (''née'' Andrzejewski, formerly Benatar; born January 10, 1953), known professionally as Pat Benatar, is an American rock singer and songwriter. In the United States, she has had two multi-platinum albums, five platinum alb ...

duetted with

Scott Kempner Scott "Top Ten" Kempner (born February 6, 1954, Bronx, New York, US) is the American rhythm guitarist with The Dictators since they formed in 1974 (only leaving the band for a few years starting in 2002). He is also a founding member of The Del-L ...

on "Poem of the River".

Critical reception

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' wrote that "Kempner spreads on the working-class persona a little thick at times, but this is still the equal of any previous Del-Lords set." The ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'' deemed the album "a rip-snorting, noisy, trashy little garage opus." The ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' determined that "the album, energy and polish notwithstanding, emerges as a good but not great package with a faintly 'generic' feel." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' concluded that "the straightforward, stomping rock songs on the band's third album ... insist on independent thinking and truthfulness."

Track listing

All songs written by

Personnel

;The Del-Lords *

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

Eric Ambel Eric "Roscoe" Ambel (Born August 20, 1957) is a New York City–based guitarist and record producer, originally from Batavia, Illinois. He has worked with a wide range of artists including Nils Lofgren, The Brandos, Steve Earle, the Yayhoos, ...

– guitar, vocals,

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

on "The Cool and the Crazy" and "River of Justice", lead vocals on "Judas Kiss" and "A Lover's Prayer" *Manny Caiati –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, vocals *

Frank Funaro Frank Funaro is an American drummer who has played with Del Lords, The Brandos, Camper Van Beethoven, Joey Ramone, The Dictators, Cracker, Nils Lofgren & Dion DiMucci. Funaro collaborated with Joey Ramone on his first solo record ''Don't Worry ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, vocals ;Additional musicians and production *Scotty Bem – gong *

– backing vocals on "Judas Kiss" & "Poem of the River" *

Lenny Castro Lenny or Lennie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Lenny (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Lennie (surname), a list of people * Lenny (singer) (born 1993), Czech songwriter Arts and entertainment Music * ''L ...

–

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

*Spyder Curtis James – keyboards on "Judas Kiss", "Poem of the River" and "Ashes to Ashes" *Frank Linx – vocals on "Cheyenne", "Whole Lotta Nothin' Goin' On", "A Lover's Prayer", "Judas Kiss" and "River of Justice" *Rev.

Mojo Nixon Mojo Nixon (born Neill Kirby McMillan, Jr.; August 2, 1957) is an American musician and actor best known for his humorous, irreverent Novelty song "Elvis Is Everywhere" which was an alternative staple on MTV. His style can generally be defined ...

– sermon on "River of Justice" * Johnny Powers – harp on "River of Justice" and "A Lover's Prayer" *

Kevin Savigar Kevin Savigar (born 9 November 1956) is an English session keyboardist, record producer, songwriter, and composer based in Los Angeles, CA. Perhaps most recognised for his longtime collaboration with Rod Stewart, Savigar has also contributed to ...

– keyboards on "Whole Lotta Nothin' Goin' On" and "Poem of the River" *

Kim Shattuck Kimberly Dianne Shattuck (July 17, 1963 – October 2, 2019) was an American singer, musician, and songwriter. She was the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the American punk rock band the Muffs, which formed in 1991. From ...

& Karen Blankfeld of

The Pandoras The Pandoras is an all-female garage punk band from Los Angeles, California with a run from 1982 to 1991. The band is among the first handful of all-female rock bands to ever be signed. From the beginning, the band found a strong following in the ...

– vocals on "The Cool and the Crazy" *

Syd Straw Syd Straw (born 1958) is an American rock singer and songwriter. The daughter of actor Jack Straw (''The Pajama Game''), she began her career singing backup for Pat Benatar, then took her distinct voice to the indie/alternative scene and joined ...

– backing vocals on "Judas Kiss", "River of Justice" and "Ashes to Ashes" *Gordon Fordyce –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

*Michael Frondelli – mixing *Neil Geraldo –

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

* Assistant engineers: Bill Cooper, Angus Davidson, Scott E. Gordon

References

External links

* {{Authority control The Del-Lords albums 1988 albums Enigma Records albums