First a memorial to those musicians who have made a lasting contribution to the power pop genre, who passed away this year:
Andrew Gold (1951-2011) If Alex Chilton was last years biggest star passing, then Andrew gets the honor this year. You can read some memorial quotes on his site: http://www.andrewgold.com/, but his biggest legacy is his music. Perennially under-rated as a talent, his first three solo albums are flawless and I highly recommend you get Andrew Gold (1975), What’s Wrong With This Picture? (1976), and All This And Heaven Too (1978). Although not all are easily accessible, I expect re-issues to come soon.
Other important passings include: Gerry Rafferty (Stealers Wheel), Rob Grill (The Grass Roots), Gary Moore (Thin Lizzy) and Moogy Klingman (Utopia)… R.I.P. — Rock in Peace. Yes, I know the list is incomplete. Please add your favorite in the comments.
This was also a year of comebacks, some successful.. others not so much:
Biggest comeback of the year is easy here as The Bangles made my top ten list with Sweetheart of The Sun. Although it didn’t make my top albums list The Smithereens – 2011 was a very respectable return to classic form. And if you wanted a band stuck in it’s era you could consider The Outfield – RePlay a successful effort. Other artists here deserve a critical kick in the pants, so here’s my biggest disappointments of 2011:
- Julian Lennon – Everything Changes
“Tired of this world…” Julian starts off in the opening lyrics and the depression continues throughout. What happened to Julian? A few decent ballads, some whining and that’s about it. Meh. - The Cars – Move Like This
A complete sell out that revives the classic Cars sound for “Blue Tip” and “Free.” But someone forgot to tell Ric Ocasek he was doing a full album. “Drag On Forever” sure is appropriate here, because that’s how I feel about this album. The lack of Benjamin Orr on the ballads really is noticeable too (he died in 2000). I never thought I’d miss Todd Rundgren here — but I do. - Paul Simon – So Beautiful So What?
Much better than Surprise (2006) and “Rewrite” is so good it makes you forget that most of this album sounds like leftover demos warmed over in the studio. Simon fanatics will like this, but most of the music loving public can pass on this. - Matthew Sweet – Modern Art
A very good album by any measure and Matthew should be allowed to experiment, but after listening to this I wanted to reach for my Jimi Hendrix collection instead of replay it. “She Walks The Night” is great and my review points out other good tracks. I miss the classic Sweet sound and a lack of memorable hooks make it a “base hit” instead of a “home run” to me.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
climbed the charts. The rock landscape is littered with self-destructive artists (
, 
, 
, etc.) but usually we got plenty of creative output from them before they’d passed on (
being a more recent entry).
– a brilliant singer/songwriter died of a heart attack at age 59. Gold was best known for his 1977 hit “
” and 1978’s “
“, but also sang on records or played live with three of the four Beatles, Paul McCartney, John Lennon and Ringo Starr. Power Pop fans were delighted in his Beatlesque alter-ego band 
‘ to hear Gary’s signature sound in all its glory.