Jeremy "Journey To The Center Of The Heart" and "Pop Explosion"

The prolific Jeremy Morris returns to the sublime and familiar here. The Michigan based guitarist/songwriter/producer has been a mainstay in the power pop and progressive genres for years. On Journey…, we get fresh pop where last years Pop Explosion left off. “Home” opens with a chugging guitar riffs, catchy drum beats and the Cheap Trick inspired “Where There’s A Will There’s A Way.” The guitar magic continues on the Byrds-like “Vanity Fare” with a perfect jangle-filled guitars building to the chiming chorus here. The title track “Journey To The Center Of The Heart” throws in a little Beatles inspired psychedelics and it’s another winner, my favorite on this disc. With the calming “Church of Byrds” it revels in the heavenly vocal chorals and 12 string textures that build to a wall-of-sound that envelops the listener. But it also gets into fast-paced Merseybeat with “No More Lies” that is a sister track to the Fab’s “Dizzy Miss Lizzy.” The only indulgence here is the seven minute opus “Sailing Homeward” which has elements of ELO and Lennon sonically, but tends to drag a bit. I’ll give Jeremy that one, as everything else here just shines.

In case you missed this last year, it’s another jam packed power pop disc. Unlike the newer Journey… the Beatlesque and Kinks tendencies are more pronounced here. The Davies-styled rhythm and multi-tracked vocals of “Come Clean” comes across like another lost nugget from the Merseybeat era. “Superstar” perfectly mirrors The Strawberry Alarm Clock “Incense and Peppermints” with Byrdsian flourishes throughout. The big beat and guitar chords of “You’re Gonna Get It” effortlessly channel “All Day and All of The Night.” It’s not all 60’s retro, and few tracks have a more modern 80’s sound like “I’m Still Waiting” and “My Heart Beats For You.” Unfortunately, these tunes tend to blend together for me. However the piano ballad “The Perfect Love” is a gentle Lennon-styled winner and easy to appreciate. With all this it’s easy to be spoiled by the quality and quantity of tracks. On top of all this you get a bonus disc of 24 covers that run from Big Star to the Monkees. Just on value you get a ton of bang for your music buck, and if you are fan of those classic rock sounds, this is a full course.