by Dave ThompsonAlthough they were swiftly overtaken by the emergence of a custom-crafted power pop movement, for much of 1977-1978 the Boys reigned supreme in the bright and breezy bubble punk stakes, simply churning out a succession of two-to-three-minute gems that flooded not only their albums and singles, but also the realms of the alter-ego Yobs. Patently influenced by the Ramones but readily avoiding the most obvious traps by virtue of their own understanding of what made a pop song tick, the Boys' first two singles, I Don't Care and The First Time, remain period classics, while their debut album, September 1977's The Boys, went on to nibble the U.K. Top 50 at a time when such glories were still a rare achievement. Tightly scything guitars, sharply embroidered keyboards, and Kid Reid's contagiously imploring vocals dominate the proceedings, a relentlessly crisp buzzsaw whine that is as melodic as it is fast and as irresistibly singalong as it is either. Time, the enemy of so many punk-era artifacts, hasn't dented the album's pleasures; indeed, it might even have heightened them, as a direct line of descent to the modern likes of Green Day is revealed in living neon. Several early CD reissues did little justice to the album; the Captain Oi release, however, is essential, not only for the mastering and packaging, but also for eight bonus tracks that include the first stirrings of the aforementioned Yobs, a pair of non-album B-sides, and two songs (Lonely Schooldays and Take a Heart) that have never previously seen the light of day, but slide straight into the soul of the album regardless.