Artist: The Go-Go’s
Song/Album: Lust To Love (Demo Version) / Return To The Valley Of The Go-Go’s
Writer(s): Charlotte Caffrey, Jane Wiedlin
Year Released: 1980 (Demo), 1981 (Album Version)
Genre/Sub Genre: Pop/Rock/New Wave/Punk

History:
The Go-Go’s are best known for their glossy produced hits stemming from early 80’s albums including Beauty and the Beat and Vacation. It’s not widely known, however, that they began their career as an edgy Punk band in Los Angeles in the late 1970’s. Early versions of some of their best known songs including We Got The Beat, He’s So Strange and the Penn’s Pick Lust To Love started out as raw, edgy, New Wave/Punk influenced gems that far surpassed their glossy album version counterparts in attitude and drive.

Take Note Of This:
Simplistic, infectious, fun, memorable Pop melody and harmony conveyed with a raw Punk influenced attitude.

Why it’s a “Penn’s Pick”:
In an age where the vast majority of today’s Pop and Rock hits are refined to a point where all of the natural edge is removed, leaving them sounding somewhat “antiseptic” in nature, I thought that it would be fitting to show the impact that raw, edgy production coupled with exceptionally strong Pop influenced melody can have.

This demo version of Lust To Love is the perfect example – it’s infectious with heavy Pop leanings and the edgy characteristics of the production and instrumentation enable it to connect with the listener on a deeper level than its album counterpart. Compare this version with the glossy album version and you be the judge.