Back in the desperate-for-rock, pre-punk days of 1976 we played Graham Parker & the Rumour’s Howling Wind and Heat Treatment (both produced by Nick Lowe) albums to death.  Sounding like a mix of Jagger and Van Morrison, Graham Parker brought a powerful grit and ferocity to his driving, passion-filled songs, and the Rumour was a tightly knit and phenomenally skilled ensemble.  Lyrically, Parker fit us like a glove with his sarcasm and vitriol, not to mention his confessional ballads.  Unfortunately, Parker and the band broke up in 1981 after putting out their mostly highly-regarded album, Squeezing Out Sparks.  And unfortunately for Parker, the incomparably talented Elvis Costello came along in 1977 in a similar vein and eventually eclipsed Parker (who continued to record without the band in the ’90s).  Parker & the Rumour are still held in high regard, however, and championed by many (see below) as one of the best bands ever.

Now Parker and the band have unexpectedly reunited (including Brinsley Schwarz) and recorded a great new album entitled Three Chords Good.  The reunion album was released in November in advance of Judd Apatow’s This Is Forty movie, in which Graham Parker & the Rumour provide a plot point.  As a result of the push by their fan Apatow, Parker and band have made it into the mainstream spotlight for the first time in decades.  Watch them below on Conan last night performing a beauty (Long Emotional Ride) off their brand new album Three Chords Good.  After, check out a relic from ’77.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtVKd7wz0Uk&feature=em-uploademail