Birth Comes To Us All
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Album Summary
Birth Comes To Us All came roaring out in 1978 on Charisma Records, and it was Good Rats doing what Good Rats did best — laying down that gritty, blues-soaked hard rock with the kind of conviction you just couldn't fake. Fronted by the one and only Peppi Marchello, the band recorded this record right in the thick of their relentless touring years, when they were known as one of the hardest-working live acts coming out of New York. The album landed at a crossroads moment in rock history, with prog on its way out and punk kicking down the door, but Good Rats weren't chasing any trends — they were just being Good Rats, and this record is the proof.
Reception
- Birth Comes To Us All did not achieve significant mainstream chart success upon its 1978 release, remaining largely under the radar of broader AOR markets despite the band's devoted regional following.
- The album found its most appreciative audience within the New York hard rock community, where Good Rats had already built a fierce and loyal fanbase through years of tireless live performance.
Significance
- Birth Comes To Us All stands as a testament to Good Rats' refusal to compromise their blues-driven hard rock identity at a time when the music industry was being pulled in every direction by punk, new wave, and the fading embers of progressive rock.
- The album embodies the working-class New York rock ethos — raw, honest, and built on musicianship rather than studio flash — with tracks like Ordinary Man and the title cut Birth Comes To Us All reflecting a grounded, street-level humanity that set the band apart from their more polished contemporaries.
- As part of Good Rats' late 1970s catalog, the record captures a band at a mature and confident stage of their career, deepening a body of work that earned them a cult status as one of the most underappreciated acts of their era.
Tracklist
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A1 You're Still Doing It 95
3:59
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A2 City Liners 164
3:27
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A3 Cherry River 133
3:22
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A4 Ordinary Man 120
4:04
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A5 Man On A Fish 76
3:39
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B1 School Days 136
3:41
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B2 Juvenile Song 124
2:24
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B3 Gino 149
2:39
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B4 Bed And A Bottle 130
2:16
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B5 Birth Comes To Us All 136
2:49
Artist Details
The Good Rats were a hard-working Long Island rock and roll band that formed in the late 1960s under the magnetic leadership of frontman Peppi Marchello, cranking out a raw, gutsy blend of rock, blues, and glam that never quite fit neatly into any radio format but earned them one of the most fiercely devoted cult followings the Northeast had ever seen. They were the kind of band that filled clubs night after night on the strength of sheer charisma and musical muscle, even as the major labels kept looking the other way, making them legends of the underground long before "cult classic" was even a phrase people threw around. Their story is a testament to the power of grinding it out on the road and staying true to your sound, and Peppi Marchello's outsized personality and tireless hustle made the Good Rats a beloved institution in New York rock history that still gets talked about with reverence by everyone who was lucky enough to catch them live.
