I have a new batch of reviews this week, and hopefully a big surprise toward the end of the week. This weekend as I gathered some old CDs, I found a moldy old gem that I originally heard this on the “Nuggets” box set several years ago. After checking the web for information on this group I recently found out the identity of “Lyme” — the male half of Lyme & Cybelle was in fact Warren Zevon. This is a great mid 60’s pop track, shades of The Monkees “Last Train to Clarksville” with it’s own psyche-pop touches. Fans of Warren Zevon will have to listen very closely to detect any traces of that famous “Werewolves of London” voice. The record was actually a minor hit (Top 100, though it made into the Top 10 in some West Coast markets). They duo recorded a couple of 45s, though on some of the later ones Zevon is gone with Wayne Erwin taking his place. Thanks for the IronLeg blog for this tasty tidbit of trivia – and a cool obscure song!
Jim Boggia makes a welcome return with “Misadventures in Stereo” full of hooks and harmonies, with lush descriptive stories that beg repeat listens, in a similar way to Mike Viola. The album was planned as an LP with two distinct sides — the first five tunes focus on love, relationships, and other personal affairs, while the second half concerns itself with the bits and pieces of other people’s lives. The opener “Johnnie’s Going Down” is a catchy foot tapping single and the follow up “To and Fro” is more like Viola, with a variety of studio magic and sonic textures (like Spanish castanets). The song also features a steady beat and solid guitar riffs. Then the songs get slower and more bittersweet (“No Way Out” and “So”) about failed relationships, like a male Aimee Mann. The rockin’ “8 Track” is a Boggia classic with 70s styled guitars and shouted breaks – lots of fun to listen to. Fans of Emitt Rhodes will flip for “Listening to NRBQ” that includes a guitar solo from NRBQ’s Al Anderson on the fadeout. Then an excellent song about a geek getting even with the school bully (“Chalk One Up for Albert’s Side,” co-written with Beach Boys lyricist Tony Asher) It ends with the somber blues of “Three Weeks Shy” about a solider struggling to come to terms with the death of a young soldier who was due to be shipped home from Iraq in less than a month that feels a lot like a Black Crows ballad. Overall an excellent album that will feel at home in your power pop music collection.
Utter charming DIY power pop is what makes you root for Frank Marzano. The Edinboro, PA transplant has all the right influences (The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and Klaatu) “bands with a real emphasis on songwriting.” he says. The songs have sunny, cheerful melodies and the arrangements are top notch as well – best compared to Chris Breetveld (The Breetles). Opening with the Merseybeat of “A Girl named Sam” it jangles away and should put a smile on your face. Marzano’s vocals work best here, his slightly nasal delivery resembles Mike Love a bit, so it takes getting used to. The album is a hodge-podge of Beatlesque pop-rock, ballads, doo-wop, and folk, tackling such diverse subjects as romance, city life, divorce and single motherhood. The lyrics are fun and often full of dry humor – in fact, he most often sings in an earnest first person narrative. He tries to pick up a single mom in “Hot Mama” mentioning all the selling points including “I’m patient with kids.” Another highlight is the descriptive of “Bleecker Street” complete with idealized “homeless who discreetly ask for change.” All the instrumentation is quality too, from Phil Popotnik’s sax solo to Frank’s own guitar breaks. But it’s got it’s flaws, too. One can fault the length of many songs, for example “Hard To Get” is over four minutes and wears out it’s welcome after two. The ending piano epic “Matthew/Neurotica” clocks in at over eight minutes. Other tunes are just creepy (“She Does Math”). But when it gets it right like in “My Christmas Wish” – it’s a breath of fresh air and Frank’s honest sweetness comes through. This is a guy that just loves this kind of music and it shows – he played at The Baggot Inn in NYC and mentioned “If I’m capable of playing Carnegie Hall, then I want to do that. If the best I can do is a street corner in Edinboro, PA, then I’ll do that, too.” He certainly has talent. Fans of innocent sweet pop will overlook the lack of self editing here and revel in the quality melodies and musicianship.
Last year I reviewed Readymade Breakup’s debut album. I was impressed then, and they suffer no sophomore slump. In fact, the group has raised the bar and jumped over it. The rousing opening on “One by One” is full of great energy and Lead singer Paul Rosevear turns it into an anthem along the lines of U2 and Squeeze. Then you can groove to the Abbey Road guitar riffs of “Honey, you might be right” with a McCartney-like vocal wailing (somewhere, Lenny Kravitz is kicking himself that he’s not doing this kind of music anymore). The songwriting is steadier here and less of the debuts stylistic shifts, terrific bass-driven leads are all over the album. A perfect example is “Surrender” that plays like Glen Tilbrook backed by Jason Falkner. The mid tempo songs are mixed well between the heavier rock, so the album flows nicely from one style to another effortlessly. This is followed by the Queen-like ballad “I Don’t Mind” minus Brian May, but Rosevear gives his best performance. Another standout is “Stretch Your Head” with it’s 70’s rock ethos and blues falsetto. The Freddie Mercury style continues on “Quiet” and the band gets quite a smooth groove on the soulful gem “Ugly” which recalls Badfinger. It ends off on a high energy note with the “Back To The Bubble,” a rousing tune that recalls the Faces and Rooney combined. With not a single dud here in a very tight set of ten songs, this is crunchy power pop at it’s best. It also makes it easy to recommend as a top ten for 2008. Don’t miss it.
Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan – The self release of group Starling Electric’s debut record, Clouded Staircase, was back in 2006. The band has since been signed by Bar/None Records, who are re-releasing the album. the driving force behind it all is Caleb Dillon, who wrote everything and plays almost everything. The band has a pure indie pop sound similar to classic Guided By Voices with elements of Beach Boys instrumentation and bits of prog poking though. “The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” starts you off with hard electric guitar riff and Dillon’s floating Pollard-like vocals. Then the first of three-parts “The Clouded Staircase” opens with a very SMiLE like mix of piano and acoustic guitar playing, with some backwards looping for effect. This comes to a head on “Camp-Fire” which resembles Sean O’Hagen’s High Llamas with steady and catchy organ and banjo touches. It continues to get better, “Black Ghost/Black Girl” is classic 60’s pop similar to Pete Townshend’s “Who Sell Out.” By mid album the sunny ‘70s pop comes out on “Clouded Staircase Pt.2” with some wonderful piano, in a style similar to Tony Bank’s early Genesis. This bit of pop combination melts together perfectly. As the album continues Dillon’s vocals begin to resemble Nick Drake playing for Marillion on “New Era.” The folk prog influences come out more on the albums second half, with “Two Dreams” resembling early Genesis ballads, with dreamy flowing acoustic guitar. Add to this a wonderful instrumental “British Boots” with a gorgeous Rickenbacker rhythm. Posies/Big Star frontman Jon Auer gave it high praise as well, “Startling and superlative orchestral pop that reminds me of why I fell in love with music in the first place…” and I tend to agree. An amazing album that deserves a Top Ten nod.
