Dominic Ierace was a barkeeper's son from Pennsylvania. In 1970, he became Donnie Iris--the guitarist and frontman for The Jaggerz, hitting the top of the charts with "The Rapper." It wasn't until a decade later that he found his next success with the smash single, "Ah! Leah!" It was at the height of 'new wave,' and this song was all over the radio. Iris' attention-getting overdubbed vocals were the focal point, but above all, this was a great power-pop tune. The album's rocking title track, "Back on the Streets" (unfortunately missing from this collection) received airplay at the time as well, but it never attained the same degree of success. The following year, Iris released King Cool, which featured the hits "Sweet Merilee" and "Love is Like a Rock." After that, there were two more albums, but both quickly took up residence in the cutout bins.

The Best of Donnie Iris collects all the singles from the four albums, along with a few album tracks and a live version of "The Rapper." It's not perfect, but aside from the omission of "Back on the Streets," it's the only Donnie Iris CD you need.

TRACK LIST:

Ah! Leah! * I Can't Hear You * Agnes * Sweet Merilee * Love is Like a Rock * That's the Way Love Ought To Be * My Girl * Tough World * This Time it Must Be Love * Do You Compute? * She's So European * The Rapper (live)