BLOODY RED BARON
NOVEMBER REVIEWS
by Mike Baron
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HERE COMES THE REIGN AGAIN: The Second British Invasion (Curry Cuts)
Following the success of DRINK A TOAST TO INNOCENCE: A Tribute to Lite Rock, impresario Andrew Curry calls on some of the same power pop players and many new ones to interpret these Brit songs of the eighties. Like Innocence, Reign forces you to consider these songs in a new light and for the most part they hold up well. The contributors read like a who’s who of modern power pop. Chris cllingwood’s “Life In a Northern Town” is a triumph as is Mike Viola’s “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.” Secret Friend: “West End Girls.” People onn Vacation: “Cruel Summer.” A casual listener might mistake these remakes for the original but you won’t think that about Kelly Jones’ Something About You.” She brings her own sound.
The Wellington’s “Only You” doesn’t really compare to their own work, and that’s the problem with a number of these songs. But they are in a minority. Tracy Bonham serves to remind us that “Sweet Dreams” is essentially a hookless, one-chord song. The Davenports shine on “Freedom,” as does Eric Barao on “Tainted Love.”
Highly recommended.
Four stars.
THE WELL WISHERS: A Shattering Sky
For over two decades and seven Well Wishers albums Jeff Shelton has plied his instantly identifiable power pop sound built around Shelton’s jangling guitar and a muscular rhythm section. Shelton knows how to build songs. Every song has a chorus and a hook but the basic sound hasn’t changed all that much since he began. “Vincennes” leaps from the speakers and “Sheila Shake” maintains momentum with a prodding harmonica. “I Believe” slows the pace with acoustic reflection but the bridge and hooks are intact. “Goodbye” has that Rickenbacker twelve string jangle and resumes where “Right Here At Last” leaves off.
A Shattering Sky represents an homogenous and un-variegated extension of the sound of the last six Well Wishers albums. It’s time to change it up a little.
Three and a half stars.
LUKE POTTER: So Sugar (LP Moon)
Luke Potter is a Brit power popper weaned on the Goo Goo Dolls and Fountains of Wayne, with a caramel tenor like Jason Falkner or Zac Anthony of the Wellingtons, and a supple dynamic similar to his idols. He wears his power pop heart on his record sleeve which features the matinee-idol Luke wangin’ on guitar in front of a wall of green trees, emblematic of his propulsive, optimistic pop rock.
“Crazy Enough,” which sounds like a George Martin production with strings, and “Possibility” are optimistic, yearning anthems like Stephen Stills or Janis Ian used to write. “Sadie” hits the sweet spot with a major/minor chord change that snaps you to attention. “We’re Alive” is a driving anthem with synth strings and Christian rock chords — major and un-ironic. The sound is exceptional as you would expect from Bleu, who produces and plays.
Four stars.
D.L. BYRON: Satori (zenarcher)
D.L. Byron is one of the great unsung heroes of power pop, writer of Pat Benatar’s hit “Shadows of the Night,” and creator of the astonishing 1980 masterpiece, This Day and Age. Byron is as reliable as your phone bill, producing at least one album of original music a year. Satori, his latest, is no disappointment, beginning with the harshly ironic/iconic “No. 1 God.” A master of the unexpected sweet hook, Byron puts them into “Everywhere I Go,” Don’t Forget About My Love,” “Paint by Numbers,” and “All Fall Down.”
“Rehearsing for the Future” starts out like Crosby, Stills and Nash before he smacks you with that sweet hook. “Lifeboat” is a rockin’ variation on sunken ship songs such as “Edmund Fitzgerald.” Byron sings in a tensile tenor with conversational asides. “One More Father’s Son” is a protest song with the muscular musicality of “One Tin Soldier.”
Four and a half stars.
THE SOLICITORS: Blank Check (popboomerang)
Cheeky quartet makes power pop in the Hindu Rodeo/Davenports/Fuzzbubble mode with elegant harmonies and lots of rave-up chords. They incorporate a sing-song chorus in “I Need You More” which always gets my vote. What is a sing-song chorus? It’s a passage that could have come out of a nursery rhyme like Sly Stone’s “Dance to the Music” or “Everyday People.” “Help Me Forget” is a fist-pumping anthem. “You Should See the Look” starts out with a Who-ish organ ripple but quickly slides into Fountains of Wayne territory.
Every song hits the bullseye.
Four stars.
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Mike Baron is the creator of comic books Badger and (along with Steve Rude) Nexus. His latest book is “A Brief History of Jazz Rock” – more on Amazon CLICK HERE.
He has written five novels in the last few years, all available on Amazon here:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1/184-5348781-8830168?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Mike%20Baron. Visit his website here: http://bloodyredbaron.net and on Wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Baron
