Terry Carolan “Flights Of Fancy”
Terry Carolan has had a long musical career under the radar, but when old friend Gary Littleton asked him to contribute songs for a compilation album for the pop magazine Audities, Carolan delivered “Solo Rita” a simple Beatlesque tune that proved to be popular with the Not Lame crowd. Carolan did end up playing with Raspberries bassist, Scott McCarl for his solo LP Play On, played IPO in 2002, and eventually joined power pop band Blue Cartoon. Over the years he has released several solo LPs that reflect his talents including Heirs of Fortune.
Flights of Fancy brings back “Solo Rita” and adds similar power-pop gems. “The World Keeps Turning” is a more sophisticated melody about repressive feelings that hits all the Beatle-isms at over 4 minutes. The slow jangle of the ballad “I’ll Go Home (Elysian Fields)” name drops “Penny Lane” and “Strawberry Fields” in a dreamlike state, which encourages you to tune out and re-live the past. It’s the majestic bittersweet ballads that ring true here, the Lennon-inspired “Fade” and the slice-of-life gem “Watching Me.” As a bonus, Carolan is offering this album as a free download on his site. Don’t let it pass you by.
Trevor Blendour “Falling In Love ”
Musician Trevor Blendour (aka Trevor Treiber) takes the 1960s-era rock and roll playbook and makes it his own with Falling In Love. Similar in style to Johnathan Pushkar, but Trevor’s sound sticks closer to Buddy Holly, as opposed to The Beatles. The music is short, sweet, and addictive. Starting with “I Don’t Mean Maybe” it’s got the bouncy rockabilly guitar lead and Trevor’s bright vocal. “Falling In Love” and “Carly Please” are stuffed with overlapping choruses, the latter especially memorable with a big melodic hook that reels you in.
Some compositions clearly take inspiration from early ’60s teenage tragedy songs like “Win Back That Girl,” “Him Instead of Me,” and “Tough Guy.” Trevor updates the sound for today’s audience by dialing up the tempo to punk proportions on songs like “Another Guy” and “Cold Heart.” If there is a criticism here, it’s that several songs sound alike and blend into each other. Style shifts like “Rena” and the Elvis clone “A Paradise” are welcome but few and far between. However, there is no filler here, and all 13 tracks shine. Highly Reccomended.
