Major label reviews: PushPlay and Mayday Parade

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PushPlay “Found”
Time to see what talent the major labels are pushing through. Produced by Matt Squire (Panic at the Disco) Long Island natives Push Play would like you to toss your Jonas Brothers CDs in the trash and “Watch it Burn.” While the opening track is a nice buzz guitar pop song, it enters boy-band faux-soul with “Midnight Romeo.” Lead singer CJ Baran has a good lead vocal and the band plays well together as tight quartet. There is a bit of good pop funk here in “Taking It Back” and the mature lyric on “My Everything” takes the band out of the cliche department. In addition, “See My Soul” is a song that stands as an excellent example of a modern up tempo pop, and “Start Again” is a nice arena styled crowd pleaser to end off the album. Unfortunately too many songs here sound like cookie cutter pop fluff (“Covergirl” and “Barely Legal”) and the band needs a few more hooks in the material to make it memorable. On the other hand, if you’re an typical teen you’re welcome to ignore this review.

MySpace | Lala | Itunes | Amazon

Mayday Parade “Anywhere But Here”
It’s good to see the major labels cultivate talent, and this band has made steady progress from a rough punk pop outfit to a polished pop powerhouse along the lines of Green Day or Bowling for Soup. Fans of the older Mayday Parade may miss the dual vocal leads of the past, but this is the major leagues, kids. The band has matured with a nearly non-stop tour schedule, including co-headlining the Alternative Press’ tour “The Fall Ball ’09”. This is modern alternative pop with an accent on Derek Sanders powerful vocals and it’s chock full of solid melodies. The Tallahassee-based band stands out right away with a big hook in the chorus of “Kids In Love.” It follows with the earnest guitar lead “Bruised and Scarred” and most of the other tracks here have a solid song structures and excellent musicianship. The album suffers a little from a few middle of the road power ballads that don’t stick in your head too long. However, when these guys it crank up, like on “Center of Attention” and “The End” you will be glad to add this to your ipod playlist.

MySpace | Lala | Itunes | Amazon



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Get a freakin’ T-Shirt already.

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Okay here’s the pitch. I’ve got about 12 shirts left in stock and they gotta go. It’s a custom made silkscreened shirt – perfect for concert wearing and eating ice cream. Only a few extra large shirts left, and the rest are large. Only $12.00 + $5.00 shipping. Delivered through USPS – international buyers will be asked to pay additional shipping charges.

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The Emitt Rhodes revival

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One of my favorite under appreciated artists, the great Emitt Rhodes is the one of the few (Badfinger being another) who took up the Beatlesque musical legacy right where Lennon-McCartney left it after the fab four broke up. Billboard magazine called him “one of the finest artists on the music scene today” (4/3/71) and later referred to his debut as one of the “best albums of the decade” (11/23/96.) Alternative Press described it as “essential listening…a true pop gem…” (2/96) It’s a shame that to your average person-on-the-street today, the name Emitt Rhodes doesn’t mean much. From his days as a member of The Palace Guard, The Merry Go Round, and then his solo work – Emitt was one of pop’s brightest and most melodic musicians. After getting chewed up and spit out by the music business, Emitt as faded into obscurity until recently. The new box set: The Emitt Rhodes Recordings 1969-1973 is a superb primer for those who want to hear this genius at work. It contains all remastered tracks (no bonus tracks) of his work that’s been out of print for over 30 years. It’s available on Amazon.

Emitt Rhodes Site | Amazon

Listen to one of my favorite tracks “Somebody Made For Me”

The Emitt Rhodes film documentary, “The One Man Beatles”, will premiere at the Rome International Film Festival on October 21st & 22nd. The film, which is in the running for best documentary in the festival, includes several songs which will be on the forthcoming CD performed live in the studio by the new Emitt Rhodes Band. English narration is currently being put together for the release in the USA. Is it me, or does this theme of the unsung musician sound familiar?

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Brian Ray. The Powerpopaholic Interview

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One of the very first reviews on this blog, was for Brian Ray’s Mondo Magneto. This self described rock god, guitarist and bass player for Paul McCartney made some time to chat with me. His newest album This Way Up is scheduled for 2010 release. Brian has played with many other musical legends such as Bobby Pickett, Etta James, Smokey Robinson and, more recently, played on Chris Cornell’s solo album. If you’d like to read the interview it is posted on The Rock and Roll Report. Or you can listen here to the entire interview streaming (14 minutes).

Since he’s on the “new album” promo tour, he has put out a few YouTube videos which give you a few hints as to what it sounds like. Enjoy!

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Jim Duffy and Haxty

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Jim Duffy “Mood Lit”
It’s rare that I’ll review an instrumental album. But this one hit my sweet spot – and with Dennis Diken (Smithereens) on the drums, I figured it was worth looking into. Jim Duffy gathered a small jazz combo in Williamsburg, Brooklyn to put this lounge pop confection together. Included are Paul Page (bass) and Lance Doss (guitars) from Ian Hunter’s band. If you enjoy Burt Bacharach or The Vince Guaraldi Trio you will really love this album. The keyboards are where Jim shines on every track here. You’ll hear a bit of a Stevie Wonder styled melody on the tribute “Stevie Says.” Occasionally it takes a detour – “Memento Mori” is one of those songs where the horns take you on a journey, and you don’t miss vocals one bit here. Every song tends to flow in a different direction, so unlike other jazz pop albums I’ve heard it doesn’t get stylistically repetitive. Superior production and mixing work here balances out the players, so no one overshadows the other and the combo plays like a well oiled (organic) machine. Overall a very enjoyable album, and a big cut above your average instrumentals heard in Starbucks. So put down the coffee and enjoy a cocktail with Jim Duffy.

MySpace | CD Baby

Haxty “Haxty EP”
This is a bittersweet story from Philadelphia. A local band named Panel took a break from touring — but during that vacation the bass player, Greg Haxty was tragically killed in an auto accident. As a result, the band broke up. A few years later the band reconnects and reforms in the studio under the name Haxty. And after this debut, you’ll want to hear more from this band. Opening with the smooth guitar rhythm and a clean vocal of “Bones & Stars” it proves to be a muscular pop single. However, the next track “Signs” is a pure hook filled delight that comes across like a cross between The Rembrandts and REM and is the real keeper here. Another winner is “Revolution Song” with it’s bouncy lead and ascending chorus of “if it feels alright, I don’t mind anymore.” It’s a short 5 track EP, but it gets the point across. And it’s most definitely ipod worthy.

MySpace | E-Music | Itunes | Amazon

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