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With the possible exception of X, no band of the New Wave era expressed the highs and lows of life in Los Angeles as eloquently as The Motels did. The band, a quintet led by seductive-voiced singer-songwriter Martha Davis, was actually part of the L.A. scene as early as 1975. Over the next decade or so, they went through various personnel changes, Davis being the one constant. Their self-titled debut album arrived in 1979. Sporting a bizarre cover, The Motels contained 10 subtly edgy songs that drew from pop, rock and reggae. Highlights ranged from the slow-burning ballad “Total Control” (later a hit for Tina Turner) to the rocking “Kix,” an ode to downtown L.A. But the best song on the debut may have been “Celia,” an understated, bass-driven tune about a girl who had pissed off her volatile boyfriend. That track contained the infamous lines, “I heard him talking/I heard him say/He wasn’t gonna kill you/He was only gonna fuck up your pretty face.” Bear in mind, this was years before gangsta-rap; the F-word was not routinely used in songs back then, and rarely used by a woman in such a surprising context.  The Motels’ sophomore album, Careful, arrived a year later. The robotic title track was a keeper but on the whole, the disc failed to provide the band with the breakthrough they were looking for. However, their third effort, 1982’s All Four One, was an across-the-board smash. That album catapulted The Motels into the Top 10, courtesy of the lovely, change-of-pace ballad “Only the Lonely.” But that was only the tip of the iceberg. All Four One was a diverse effort that also included the opening rocker “Mission of Mercy,” the second single “Take the L,” a cover of the ‘60s girl-group classic “He Hit Me (and it Felt Like a Kiss)” and yet another ode to the City of Angels, “So L.A.” All in all, the album made The Motels pop stars of the MTV era. |
Highlights from This is the Story ranged from “Throw the ‘R’ Away’ – in which the brothers essentially made fun of their own accents – to the more serious “Letter from America,” an early version of which was produced by the great Gerry Rafferty. 
