1970s Pop agony from days gone by

powerpopaholic 5 Comments

I saw this on the Bolus Blog a few days ago. It listed You Tube Videos for the most painful pop music ever. I disagree here, as all these are basic “one-hit wonders” from the seventies that became extremely uncool to listen to soon after they fell off the charts. To some this is a guilty pleasure, but to most who lived through 1970’s pop music this is torture by extreme pop schmaltz. It’s difficult to differentiate between true badness and an acquired taste.

White Plains “My Baby Loves Lovin”
Terry Jacks — Seasons in the Sun
Bo Donaldson & the Heywoods — Billy Don’t Be a Hero
Captain & Tenille — Muskrat Love
Tony DiFranco & the DiFranco Family — Heartbeat (It’s a Love Beat)
Bobby Goldsboro — Honey
Sammy Johns — Chevy Van
Debbie Boone — You Light Up My Life
The Buoys — Timothy (written by Rupert Holmes, a pop ballad about cannibalism?)
Rupert Holmes – Him (I kinda like this one)
Rupert Holmes – Escape (The Pina Colada Song)
Tony Orlando “Tie a Yellow Ribbon”
Charlene “I’ve Never Been To Me”
Coven “One Tin Soldier”
Starland Vocal Band “Afternoon Delight”
Vicki Lawrence “The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia”
Paper Lace “The Night Chicago Died”

Now if we started talking about painful songs with the worst lyrics… It’s a whole new list – I’ll start it with:
Donna Summer “MacArthur Park” (someone left the cake out in the rain) and I like the Richard Harris non-disco version better.

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Dave Dill "Follow The Summer"

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Saving the best for last (end of the month)? Many other power pop sites have raved about Dave Dill this month, so now it’s my turn. Dave’s musical development has improved by leaps and bounds with “Follow The Summer” Starting with “Today,” it’s a perfect sunny summer pop song that evokes “Runt-era” Todd Rundgren with Brian May guitars. The harmonies and dreamy guitar swirls are accented by tamborine smacks, like early 10cc singles for AM radio. Next, “Miss America” is the ultimate McCartney meets Eric Carmen ballad with lush melodies that’ll make classic pop fans swoon. “Happily Ever After” is another amazing mid-tempo number with a blistering guitar solo on par with classic Badfinger. “Never So Beautiful” has a playful bit of XTC styled chord changes and uses all those classic rock influences to fashion out a true masterpiece along the lines of Andrew Gold’s “Fraternal Order OF The All.” Other songs “Don’t Remember” and “You Don’t Believe it” also resemble Gold’s best work. After the album mid point it ventures into Beach Boys land with “Pink Skies.” I will stop here, as you could keep reading raves all day about Mr. Dill. Every song is strong here and easily gets a nod for Top Ten for 2008. Sunshine pop fans shouldn’t even hestitate here. After you buy this album, put it in the player, listen to it, rinse and repeat.

Dave Dill’s web site | My Space | CD Baby

Dave Dill’s “Follow The Summer” Video

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Supergrass "Diamond Hoo Ha"

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Did people just forget about Supergrass? One of the best British bands of the mid 90’s has returned to form. The buzzing bass in the opener “Diamond Hoo Ha Man” reminds you why they can still school bands like Jet, The Strokes and The Hives. Lead vocalist Gaz Coombes hasn’t missed a step either, he still has that 70’s T-Rex swagger down pat. The Guitars and drum beat on “Bad Blood” bounce along to the chorus, and then rocks hard. One of the album’s highlights “Rebel in You” is a Bowie-like throw back to the days of “We’re in it for The Money” with blusey guitar distortion and loud harmonies that sticks in your head all day. The next track is the “When I Needed You” with it’s Beatle-influenced bass line and great melody. Then on “Rough Knuckles” you have a funky bass lead and echoy chorus that drips with cool aloofness. Then the group fires on all cylinders, with all kinds of instrumentation contributing to a song like “Whiskey and Green Tea,” it’s similar to Queen or Sparks in technique, but the hooks get lost here. Overall the album just doesn’t have consistency of earlier efforts, and a few ho hum tracks are filled in here (“Outside”) although the last song “Butterfly” is a edgy classic and the anthemic chorus here almost redeems the album. Supergrass fans will want this for sure. Others will enjoy it too, if you like your alt power pop loud and proud. 

Supergrass web site | My Space


Performing “Rough Knuckles” in the studio.

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Scott’s Garage "Scott’s Garage"

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Scott’s Garage is a four-piece power pop band from Richmond, VA who’s debut came out just recently. A good mix of Beatlesque guitar and bass work open the song “She Mean’s Everything” from the self titled album. The laid back guitar solos a la George Harrison are a welcome sound on the follow up tune “Fading Away”. Bassist John Bollinger, vocalist and guitarist Gary Hankins, and multi-instrumentalist Greg Marrs joined drummer Scott Baird in his garage for jamming… and that’s how they got the name. These guys know their stuff too, the track “Girl” crackles with Southern style guitar energy, similar to bands like the dB’s and Don Dixon. “Some Day Some Way” sounds like a great lost Hudson Brothers single and my favorite here. Then the album veers a little more into country rock ballad mode with “Tell Me Why.” But the smooth choruses and rock guitar come back on “Simple Truth,” with a catchy riff and solo flourishes sure to please. “One Good Reason” even sounds a little like Badfinger, with Hankins vocal yearning desperation from a break-up. A very pleasant listen from beginning to end.

MySpace | CD Baby

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The Bon Mots "Forty Days and Forty Nights with The Bon Mots"

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Michigan based music vets The Bon Mots are one of indie rock’s best kept secrets. Opening with “Walk to California” it’s a hook filled mix of guitar jangle and sleepy organ. Leader Eric Chial has a great rock vocal, similar in cadence to Steve Winwood that evokes a blues soul and free spirit.  Mike Coy does vocals on the other half of the songs here and has a even gentler pop style, similar to Keane.”Past or Present” rely on the ambiance and bass lines of past jangle bands REM, The Church and even The La’s. You couldn’t get a better Byrds sounding opening lick than on “Oh Her Telephone.” The song is a mid-tempo ballad that flows through your ears with that lush Rickenbacker texture. The next tune, “Reasons, Dear” is truly beautiful pop and the ever changing chords and lyrical story to keep the listener interested. Almost every song here shines, including the very Zombies meets Donovan vibe on “Festival Girls” and it’s another amazing gem. The latter half of the album gets a bit softer and gentler, like in “Last Time” but is not likely to have you hit a forward on the player. The musicanship here is immpecable as well, the classic sound just works well for them and the harmonies and jazzy guitar jams in the choruses make it a perfect psychedelic pop mix that I haven’t heard since The Mother Hips. After hearing this you are more than likely to check out the earlier album on CD Baby. The fans of bands I mentioned here will love the Bon Mots, so get them and if you get a chance, see them live.

The Bon Mots web site | MySpace | CD Baby | Not Lame

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