Friday Night Rock-Out: “Welcome to the Boomtown”

If you took the entire West-Coast noir mystery genre and made it into a great 1980s song, “Welcome to the Boomtown” by David and David would be the result. When I first heard it on the radio in 1986, I went straight out and bought the album. It’s one of the most haunting rock songs ever made, right up there with “Hotel California” (another song about California’s own particular kind of purgatory). 

I love the way David Baerwald’s dark, ravaged voice seems to meld with David Rickett’s equally dark, slightly atonal guitar playing. And the lyrics sound like something Ross Macdonald might have written. “Welcome to the Boomtown” is a minor classic.

Enjoy, and rock on…

Author: Ashley Clifton

My name is Ash, and I’m a writer. When I’m not ranting about books or films, I’m writing. Sometimes I take care of my wife and son. View all posts by Ashley Clifton