Back to the Drawing Board! explained

Back to the Drawing Board!
Type:	Album
Artist:	the Rubinoos
Cover:	Back to the Drawing Board.jpg
Released:	1979
Recorded:	Ramport Studios and Wally Heider Studios
Genre:	Power pop
Length:	31:44
Label:	Beserkley
Producer:	Matthew King Kaufman, Gary Phillips
Prev Title:	The Rubinoos
Prev Year:	1977
Next Title:	Party of Two EP
Next Year:	1983

Back to the Drawing Board! is the Rubinoos' second album, released on Beserkley Records.^[1] Back to the Drawing Board! is a power pop album and fit well with the other power pop bands on Beserkley. It is known for the single "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend", which gained notoriety when Rubinoos members Tommy Dunbar and James Gangwer sued Avril Lavigne, alleging that her hit "Girlfriend" had too much in common with it.

The Rubinoos re-released the album with bonus tracks on their own label in 2011.

Critical reception

Trouser Press wrote: "Except for one superb Raspberries soundalike ('I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend'), the record seems too anxious to please, and suffers from noticeable timidity and fewer memorable songs."^[2]

Track listing

All tracks composed by James Gangwer and Tommy Dunbar; except where noted.

1. "Fallin' in Love" (2:48)
2. "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" (3:16)
3. "Promise Me" (3:22)
4. "Hold Me" (Dave Oppenheim, Ira Schuster, Jack Little) - (3:01)
5. "Ronnie" (2:38)
6. "Drivin' Music" (Jack Gangwer, Jon Rubin, Tommy Dunbar) - (3:13)
7. "Operator" (2:57)
8. "Jennifer" (Gary Phillips, Jack Gangwer, Tommy Dunbar) - (2:33)
9. "Arcade Queen" (2:27)
10. "Lightning Love Affair" (Jon Rubin, Rose Bimlet, Tommy Dunbar) - (2:46)
11. "1, 2, 3 Forever" (Tommy Dunbar) - (2:43)
12. "Rendezvous" (Bonus Cut)
13. "Warm Summer Night" (Bonus Cut)
14. "Red Light Green Light" (Bonus Cut)
15. "Rumble" (Bonus Cut)

Personnel

The Rubinoos

• Royse Ader – bass, vocals
• Tommy Dunbar – guitar, keyboards, vocals
• John Rubin – guitar, vocals
• Donn Spindt – percussion, drums, vocals

Technical

• Mark Dodson – engineer
• Matthew King Kaufman – producer
• Gary Phillips – producer
• Michael Zagaris - photography

Releases

• LP Beserkley 1979
• CD Air Mail Recordings 2007

External links

• The Rubinoos Discography

Notes and References

1. Web site: The Rubinoos Biography by Mark Deming . AllMusic . 20 December 2023.
2. Web site: Rubinoos . Trouser Press . 20 December 2023.