Thursday, March 18, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Irish Eyes Are Smiling!
St. Patrick's Day is Less than a week away and some of you might be celebrating this weekend (or all of next week for that matter), so I figured I'd drop the second Burn and Shine Irish Comp a little early. Kiss Me I'm Irish was one of the most successful (in terms of downloads) comps of the year, and I'm hoping you all enjoy the sequel as well.
Happy Listening!
Kiss Me I’m Irish Two!
01. Gary Moore, “Back on the Streets” (1978).
Okay there are some cheesy guitar solos on this (it is Guitar Gawd Gary Moore after all) but the song still manages to hold up. From his second solo LP, of the same name.
02. The Moondogs, “Who’s Gonna Tell Mary” [John Peel Session] (1980).
This actually predates the single version of this song, by about a year. Punky Power Pop at its finest.
03. In Tua Nua, “All I Wanted” (1988).
I’m pretty sure I bought this cassette because ITN was opening some dates for U2 in the U.S. I remember really liking it at the time, the production on this song is a little dated, but still makes me smile.
04. Future Kings of Spain, “Venetian Blinds" (2003).
Odd name for an Irish band. This song sounds a lot like Weezer—and I mean that in the best possible way.
05. Paul McCartney & Wings, “Give Ireland Back to the Irish” (1971).
Second generation Irish, this was the first single released in the States credited to Wings.
06. Radiators From Space, “Television Screen” (1977).
Issued on Chiswick records in April of 1977, this is one of the first Punk singles out of Ireland (or anywhere for that matter).
07. Horslips, “Dearg Doom” (1973).
If I had heard Horslips in seventh grade, I would have been all over them (what is it about junior high boys and prog?). From The Tain, a progressive rock opera based on an old Irish Saga.
08. Hothouse Flowers, “Don’t Go” (1988).
Another song that hasn’t aged quite as well as it should have, thanks to the cheesy 80’s production and the bad sax solo. Still, beneath all that gloss lies a fantastic song.
09. The Vipers, “No Such Thing” (1978).
As promised, this is the flipside of the Vipers lone, dynamite single “I’ve Got You” featured on BoPP Disc Four.
10. The Frames, “Sad Songs” (2006).
This is from The Cost, which was the first I’d ever heard of the Frames. I had no idea they had been around for about 15 years already.
11. Philip Lynott, “Dear Miss Lonely Hearts" (1980).
From Phil’s first, and best solo album, Solo in Soho. It might have been a bigger hit, had it been released as Thin Lizzy.
12. A House, “Call Me Blue” (1988).
Last time I made an Irish compilation, the year 1977 kept coming up. This time it’s 1988. This song has aged quite gracefully.
13. So Cow, “To Do List” (2007).
Brian Kelly is So Cow, and he was one of my favorite finds in 2009. I’m surprised Jason Reitman hasn’t used him on a soundtrack yet.
14. Bob Geldof, “Room 19” (1993).
A fun sing-a-long song from the former Boomtown Rats frontman.
15. The Outcasts, “Self conscious Over You” (1979).
Another great punk band from Belfast.
16. Bell X1, “Flame” (2006).
Okay, I’ll admit I have a soft spot for most of those neo-post-punk dance singles from the early/mid aughts. This one is particularly fun, and sounds kind of like Franz Ferdinand.
17. The Urges, “I Gotta Wait” (2007).
Seriously, if you’d never heard of this band and checked them out, you’d be forgiven for thinking they were a great lost garage band from the 60s. As far as I know, this track is from their album Psych Ward which is the only thing they’ve released. Hopefully, there’s something on the horizon.
18. Rory Gallagher, “Don’t Know Where I’m Going” (1971).
Rory does a nice Bob Dylan impression here, from his second album, cleverly titled Deuce.
19. Saint Vitus Dance, “Horse Sense” (1987).
Noel Burke’s-- the guy who replaced Ian McCulloch for that one (not very good) Echo and the Bunnymen record-- first band put out a very under-rated Brit Pop album called Love Me Love My Dogma, from which this track is culled.
20. John Lennon, “Maggie Mae” (ca. 1979).
Also second generation Irish, this is a nice, if a bit short acoustic demo that can be found on the excellent Lennon Anthology from 1998.
Total Time: 1:02:15
Download it here: Kiss Me I'm Irish Two!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Sunday, February 28, 2010
The Birth of Power Pop: The 1970s (Revisited) - Disc Six
Just a few quick words and on to Disc Six.
Here are the final twenty-two tracks in my Birth of Power Pop series. Of all the volumes, this one might be my favorite, probably because it is mostly made up of songs that are relatively new to me. Many of which have not been widely available in a really long time. All of these songs are over thirty years old, and I hope people will be listening to them thirty years from now. Judging by the response to this blog, I think at least some of us will be! I hope you've enjoyed the series as much as I've enjoyed making it. Perhaps next February I'll tackle the Eighties!
Happy Listening!
Birth of Power Pop: The 1970s (Revisited) – Disc Six
Track by Track Commentary:
01. The Now, “What’s Her Name” (1979).
I don’t think The Now’s first (and only) album has ever been released on compact disc. It really is a lost, New Wave, Power Pop classic. They were from the Big Apple.
02. Bread, “Down on My Knees” (1972).
Bread is usually remembered as a bit of second rate Eagles, with a penchant for sappy love songs. What is lost in this revisionist history, is the fact that they really could craft a pop song, and some times flexed their muscles, as they do on this track from arguably their best, if a bit clumsily titled, album: Baby I’m a Want You.
03. Scientists, “Frantic Romantic” (1979).
If someone were to write the history of Australian Rock & Roll, Kim Salmon would probably take up a few chapters all on his own. This is the A-side, of the first single released by the Scientists. It does not foreshadow the noisier stuff the band would become better known for producing. Instead, it looks back to the garage-pop of the great Australian band, the Easybeats.
04. Roy Loney & the Phantom Movers, “Born To Be Your Fool” (1979).
The other half of the original Flamin’ Groovies’ writing team, Roy Loney produced a fine roots rock effort with more than a nod to Power Pop on his first post-Groovies album, Out After Dark.
05. Colin Blunstone, “I Want Some More” (1972).
Colin Blunstone has one of the most recognizable voices in Rock & Roll. Best known as the voice of the Zombies, his first two solo albums are also well worth tracking down.
06. Blue, “Someone” (1973).
I’ve only had the self-titled album by Blue for a little over a month (it was recently reissued by NCORPS.EU), but it is quickly making it’s way into my favorite albums of all time. Fantastic Power Pop from Scotland.
07. The Paley Brothers, “Stick With Me Baby” (1978).
One record is all we got from Boston’s the Paley Brothers, and it is notoriously hard to find on compact disc. Their best-known song, “Come Out and Play”, is a well known classic of the genre, and the one featured here should be.
08. Van Duren, “This Love Inside” (1977).
According to AMG, Van Duren auditioned for Big Star right around the time of that band’s demise, and later played in a band called The Baker Street Regulars in the Memphis area with Jody Stephens and Chris Bell, before producing his first album, Are You Serious? in 1977.
09. Rick Springfield, “On the Other Side” (1974).
RS had quite a career Down Under before he made it big in America. This track is culled from the soundtrack to a Kids’ cartoon called Mission Magic, which featured Springfield. A little bubble gum, but that’s not always a bad thing.
10. The Pop, “Walk in the Rain” (1977).
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think L.A.’s The Pop have ever been given the compact disc treatment—at least not domestically. Another cryin’ shame. I’ve added them to the list.
11. Klaatu, “California Jam” (1976).
How in the world could pop fans have been duped by the insinuation that Klaatu's debut was actually the Beatles? There are certainly some nice Beatle-isms going on here: well-crafted songs, with soaring harmonies (this track in particular), but in a blind taste test, I can’t believe anyone would think it was the Fab Four.
12. The Moondogs, “She’s Nineteen” (1979).
This is the A-side of the debut single from Northern Ireland’s the Moondogs, who were kind of like the Undertones’ modish, younger brothers.
13. Badfinger (Tom Evans), “Believe Me” (1970).
Now this brilliant Tom Evans penned Badfinger track could easily be mistaken as a Beatles' song.
14. The Cowsills, “On My Side” (1971).
The band which inspired the 70s TV show, The Partridge Family. By the 70s, the Cowsills were trying to break free of their bubble gum image, into more of a folk rock, Byrds-like outfit—to great effect.
15. Poptarts, “Jealousy” (1979).
The very last track selected for my BoPP series, as I was looking for some more female artists to showcase. Allow me to explain: I only just recently discovered the Poptarts, thanks to a line in Carl Cafarelli’s essay, “The History of Power Pop”, featured in John Borack’s book, Shake Some Action: The Ultimate Power Pop Guide. Here’s the line: “I submit to you that the world’s first avowed all-female power pop group was the Poptarts, a still-unknown quintet that formed in Syracuse, New York in 1978.” I was intrigued. A quick Google search, led me to a website and an email address. A few pleasant email exchanges quickly transpired, and I sent my money order off to Syracuse. What I got back for my measly fifteen bucks, is quite a Power Pop relic. “Jealousy” is just the tip of the proverial iceberg. I urge all of you to contact Gael Sweeney and snatch up your copy before they are all gone!
16. The Flashcubes, “She’s Not the Girl Anymore” (1979).
If I were to rank the greatest Power Pop songs ever recorded, Gary Frenay’s “It’s You Tonight” featured on the original Yellow Pills compilation, would be at or near the top. This song is nearly as good. The Flashcubes were also from Syracuse.
17. Fast Cars, “The Kids Just Wanna Dance” (1979).
Power Pop from Manchester, this song was written using the Fast Cars’ fans as the muse.
18. Excel, “If It Rains” (1979).
The title track from a four-song, self-released EP by these Yorkshire Power Poppers. One more single for Polydor followed in 1980, before the original band broke up.
19. Bram Tchaikovsky, “Sarah Smiles” (1979).
Although I’ve known the fabulous “Girl of My Dreams” for what seems like forever, I hadn’t ever listened to any long players by BT until last summer. A buddy mentioned that he couldn’t believe Strange Man, Changed Man didn’t make Borack’s top 200, nor did it make the fan’s response Shake Some Action Revisited. It is indeed worthy.
20. B-Girls, “‘b’-Side” (1978).
The flip side of the B-Girls debut single for Bomp!, “Fun at the Beach”, and a nice little anthem.
21. Gary Charlson, “Not the Way It Seems” (1978).
Kansas City’s Gary Charlson was part of the amazingly talented stable of artist on Titan Records! Pretty much everything he recorded is worth a listen.
22. Artful Dodger, “Scream” [Single Version] (1976).
From AD’s second, more hard-rock influenced album, Honor Among Thieves. This is a nice little Power Pop ballad, and a fitting end to my BoPP series.
Total Time: 1:05:28
Download it here: The Birth of Power Pop: The 1970s (Revisited) - Disc Six
Find Discs 1, 2 & 3 here: Birth of Power Pop - Discs 1, 2 & 3
Find Disc 4 here: Birth of Power Pop - Disc 4
Find Disc 5 here: Birth of Power Pop - Disc 5
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Twenty for Tennessee.
My last geographical tribute goes to my home state, and it takes the form of a playlist. Since we had a Nashville compilation yesterday, I stayed away from the Music City with one exception (the incomparable Who Hit John of course!). The Shazam also makes another appearance, but they're really from Johnson City. It's dominated by Knoxville bands, most likely because I lived there for about nine years. I know a lot of the people in those bands, and I didn't ask any of them if it was okay to put their songs up (not even the one penned by Mrs. Maximum Jack!). Apologies to anyone who might not think it's cool. Let me know and I'll take it down immediately. Hopefully, those of you who are diehard Power Pop enthusiasts will find a few unknown treats on here. The Taoist Cowboys or Smokin' Dave for instance, who should have been much bigger. Apologies to any band I missed. Enough babbling, and on to the compilation.
Happy Listening!
Tom Pappas (Flying) of Superdrag and Flesh Vehicle and Don Coffey, Jr of Superdrag and Producer extrodinaire (Drumming) pictured!
Tennessee Power Pop!
01. "Remain Yer Strange" by Superdrag (Sam Powers)
02. "Every Summer" by Smokin' Dave & the Premo Dopes
03. "Amy 88" by the V-Roys
04. "Super Tuesday" by the Shazam
05. "I'll Cry" by Reigning Sound
06. "American Chrome" by Stewart Pack
07. "Motley Who" by The High Score
08. "I've Got a Way" by The Scruffs
09. "Something to Let You Down" by Mic Harrison
10. "In the Street" by Big Star
11. "It's So Hard" by Geisha
12. "Steppin' Out" by The French Broads
13. "Ready to Go" by The Faults
14. "Back With You" by The Taoist Cowboys
15. "Singing in Your Ear" by Flesh Vehicle
16. "California Waiting [EP Version]" by Kings of Leon
17. "I Know a Place" by Jay Reatard
18. "Andrea" by Westside Daredevils
19. "Fan Club" by Who Hit John
20. "Lighting the Way" by Superdrag
Total Time: 58:40
Download it Here: Tennessee Power Pop!
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