International Pop Overthrow "Vol. 13"

powerpopaholic
Once again, David Bash’s labor of love comes together on IPO Vol.13 featuring a mind numbing 66 songs dedicated to the newest and best power pop from around the globe. This being a 3 disc affair, I’ll try to highlight my favorites off of each disc. But overall this year’s crop is a considerable improvement from last year, where Mr. Bash has decidedly pushed the boundaries of what power pop sounds like. Including a solid representation by female power poppers.
Disc 1 features a pile of notable tracks, The Royalites “Bring It On” is a great riff-driven song and the Beatlesque track “Rain Parade” by Mayflower will have you humming along.  Deadbeat Poets contribute a stellar Kinks like track “People These Days” and The James Clark Institute contributes a jangle-filled “Splinter In The Soul.”

Disc 2 gets a bit heavier with a classic rock styled “What are We Gonna Do?” By the Stanleys and Rob Bonfiglio’s excellent “How To Mend A Heart.” A pair of energetic tracks are Popgun’s “All Messed Up” and “All Systems Go”by Smash Fashion. Tiny Volcano contributes a catchy piano melody with “Emily” and we are treated to Buddy Love’s greatest and newest single “Crying Town.”

Disc 3 starts with Zoe Scott’s “Hard Habit,” a radio worthy hit single that arguably deserves major media attention. Unconventional sounding rockers in “Gilded Frankenstein” by Hijinx and  “Please Operator” by Pounders are interesting, but a gorgeous mid-tempo “I Want It Anyway” by The Afternoons recalls Gerry and The Pacemakers. The driving tempo and guitars of The Wags “Just Keep Movin’ On” will encourage repeat listens. A few novelty tracks here and there (like Cosmo Topper’s “Hippy Christmas”) keep the mood playful between the “serious” tracks. Every year Mr. Bash discovers power pop gold nuggets throughout the IPO festivals and this year is no exception. Keep mining Dave, and we’ll keep our ears glued to the headphones. 

My Space | Not Lame Records | Amazon
power pop reviews, power pop and rock and roll opinions. Power pop and even more power pop and rock and roll.

Power Pop Music Legend Ray Davies’ Collaboration With The Killers: Dead On Arrival

powerpopaholic

Last October, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame had its 25th Anniversary
Concert in New York City. The highlight of the night for Power Pop
music fans was seeing Kinks frontman Ray Davies preform live with
Metallica. After the show, whilst mingling backstage, Davies began
putting together ideas for a collaboration project. The concept was to
recruit a stellar cast of musicians to collaborate on re-recording a
handful of the Kinks’ Power Pop masterpieces.

For almost a year now, rumors have been floating around the Power Pop music forums speculating on who will be joining Mr. Davies in the
studio and what Power Pop classics are going to be revamped on this
record. Some have been confirmed, some have been denied, and in the case of Vegas based quartet The Killers, confirmed and denied. Even the press has reported falsities on the topic.

Last February, numerous online music journals were reporting that
Power Pop music group The Killers were in the studio with Davies
collaborating on a track for the collection. Unfortunately, late last
week this report was retracted by several sources. Although the track
was recorded, it is not certain why the track will not end up on the
final product and once again rumors and speculation are floating
around on what lead to this track’s demise.

As of now, Davies’ collaborators consist of Bruce Springsteen, Billy
Corgan (The Smashing Pumpkins), Spoon, Frank Black (The Pixies),
Mumford & Sons, Amy MacDonald, Paloma Faith, and the late Power Pop music icon Alex Chilton (Big Star, Box Tops).

The release date of the Davies collaboration is still set for sometime
in 2010. A song list has yet to be confirmed and despite The Killers’
absence, this has become one of the most anticipated Power Pop music releases of the year.

About the author: James Mowery is a computer geek that writes about
technology and related topics. To read more blog posts by him, go to
led tv.

power pop reviews, power pop and rock and roll opinions. Power pop and even more power pop and rock and roll.

Circe Link and The Cinnamon Fuzz

powerpopaholic

Circe Link and the Discount Candy Family Band “California Kid”
Although she has put out several albums under her own name I found very little information on Circe Link. Produced and assisted by Christian Nesmith (yes, son of The Monkees guitarist Michael) so you know this group has experience right out of the gate. Circe’s got a strong blues-pop vocal approach, much like Sheryl Crow or Natalie Imbruglia. This works great on the fantastic opener “Salvation” with it’s bar room piano melody. “Random Acts of Kindness” is a sweet mid-tempo song with country guitar flourishes and great lyrical message. Things get trippy fast on psychedelic “Getting High (On Your Own Supply).” Clearly the main influence on the majority of tracks is blues-rock like The Allman Brothers and Tom Petty. Lots of acoustic strumming pop with a slight country feel and the title track is a good example. The best track here is the easy going “Shangriladeeda Farm” with a tight beat and catchy chorus. Another standout is “Tiger Swami” with Circe’s beautiful multi-tracked vocal harmonies and guitar rhythm by Nesmith. A great roots rock album that definitely grows on you after a few listens.

My Space | CD Baby | Amazon

The Cinnamon Fuzz “Cruise of The Century”EP
Remember the 80’s? I lived through that era. This Boston band has passing musical resemblance to Duran Duran and Orchestral Maneuvers in The Dark on the first few tracks. But that’s just the start, as the band goes into power pop territory with heavy guitar riffs on “Now I Know” and the slinky Depeche Mode meets Bryan Scary styled “Strangers.” This EP is available at a “pay-what-you-like” price from Bandcamp. I would encourage the band to continue on the power pop path, as the production and musicianship is top notch and Jonah Burstein vocals remind me of both Dave Gahan (Depeche Mode) and Andrew Eldritch (Sisters of Mercy) simultaneously.

MySpace | Itunes | Bandcamp

power pop reviews, power pop and rock and roll opinions. Power pop and even more power pop and rock and roll.

Hosting with The Boogie Man and an exclusive!

powerpopaholic

Tonight (Sunday 8/29) I will co-host the a radio show with Dave The BoogieMan – Power Pop Plus Sunday radio show at 7:30pm East coast time. I will give a live review of the the new Paul Collins album, plus we’ll play several tracks from other artists I’ve reviewed recently.


And toward the end of the show, listen to my exclusive interview with Chrissie Hynde and JP Jones of JP, Chrissie and the Fairground Boys. The interview will also be posted in our interview archives next week, but you can hear it first here!



LISTEN LIVE HERE LINKS:   
click here or cut and past into your browser…
http://johnlightning.com/webcast/
http//johnlightning.com:8000/listen.pls – High speed link
http://johnlightning.com:8002/listen.pls  – Dial up link (slow speed)

If you miss it, then you can eventually download the show here: www.johnlightning.com/boogieman

power pop reviews, power pop and rock and roll opinions. Power pop and even more power pop and rock and roll.

Geoff Smith "That’s Gravity"

powerpopaholic

Nashville popster Geoff Smith has done it all musically from artist, musician, producer, actor to ringtone guru. Geoff has had some notable past releases (solo, and with The Tonewheels) but his latest album is a great potpourri of melodies that qualify him as the American version of Glenn Tilbrook (Squeeze).

The funk rhythm, horns and brass greet us on “I Wanna Dance” as Geoff gives us a solid party anthem. Then he breaks out the Beatlesque guitars for “A Little Rock and Roll” and the tinkling piano “Gravity” has a really wonderful vocal harmony with “bah, bah, bah” background vocals weaving in and out. The McCartney-like “This is The Song” is a heartwarming melody that builds to a sweet crescendo. The remaining tunes show off Geoff’s composition skills and it’s no accident he’s written commercial jingles. Another sweet rocker is “Foolin’ No One” that will make you pick up the air guitar for sure. A few tracks aren’t as good by comparison, but nothing here could be called filler. As sure as gravity exists, this album will put a smile on your face.

Geoff’s Site | CD Baby  | Amazon

power pop reviews, power pop and rock and roll opinions. Power pop and even more power pop and rock and roll.