Big Star being inarguably one of the most remarkable acts of the 1970s, it's not all that surprising then that their saga is almost equally riveting. Musical brilliance, madness, substance abuse, suicide, not to mention a total and undeserved lack of commercial success - it has it all, and is told in fascinating detail in Rob Jovanovic's book "Big Star - The Story of Rock's Forgotten Band".
Also well worth checking out is the recent, award-winning documentary "Nothing Can Hurt Me".
But apart from all that, it is the music that counts. During their all-too-short early to mid '70s heyday Big Star produced a trio of LP's, from "#1 Record" (1972) and "Radio City" (1973) to the flawed ramshackle of a masterpiece that is "Third/Sister Lovers" (Recorded during 1974/5 - released in 1978) - a "SMiLE" for the '70s - the music is, quite simply put, achingly beautiful and tortured. Big Star is the ultimate cult band.
It's been four years since founding members Andy Hummel and Alex Chilton left this world. It's been thirty six since Chris Bell did. Only drummer Jody Stephens is still around. Nonetheless, the legend of Big Star just continues to grow, and with a bloody good reason...
Big Star, recommended listening:
"Keep an Eye on the Sky" (4CD Box) (2009, Ardent/Rhino)
Big Star, recommended reading:
"Big Star - The Story of Rock's Forgotten Band" by Rob Jovanovic (Revised & updated edition, 2013 Outline Press/Jawbone Press - although the innumerable typo's are a pain in the rear).
Big Star, recommended viewing:
"Big Star - Nothing Can Hurt Me" (2012, September Films/Ardent)
,,Sid [Vicious] was a good singer, he was a great front man", pre-show Glen Matlock matter-of-factly informs a somewhat sceptical and puzzled yours truly about his clearly musically-challenged, albeit more (in)famous successor, in, arguably, the greatest Punk band of them all, the Sex Pistols. Understandably though, he isn't quite so kind when it comes to discussing Sid's bass-playing abilities, or lack thereof; Matlock, in spite of having left the Pistols, played bass on their seminal, sole masterpiece, "Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols" - without receiving the credit for doing so at the time. All the while - briefly - Vicious took the glory and the fame and became the face of Punk before succumbing to the life and, ultimately, death of a sad and pathetic heroin addict-cum-(most likely)murderer.
But that's an entirely different story altogether.
Meanwhile...
Spot, Kópavogur, Iceland, Thursday May 8th, 2014.
In between typically zealous sets from two locally-legendary Icelandic Punk acts Q4U and Fræbbblarnir, Glen Matlock, formerly of the Sex Pistols, and the Rich Kids, takes the stage delivering an impassioned acoustic gig to an overall indifferent and under appreciative audience, most of which clearly doesn't realize it is being treated to a performance by a living bloody legend. IMHO.
Taking in all the major signposts of his career, from the Pistols to some of his latter-day solo stuff, Matlock's repertoire is a diverse beast, to say the least.
From the underrated Rich Kids, the massively misunderstood Power Pop band he formed after he left the Pistols - featuring, amongst others, former Slik and future Ultravox singer Midge Ure - both "Burning Sounds" and the powerful title track of their only LP "The Ghosts of Princess in Towers" (Quite possibly the coolest album title of all time!) get an airing. And so does "Ambition", a song that was demoed by Rich Kids, but eventually recorded by Iggy Pop for his "Soldier" album in 1980, which featured Matlock as well.
A section of old faves and influences, including the Small Faces' "All or Nothing", The Kinks' "Dead End Street", and the Monkees'/Paul Revere & the Raiders' "(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone" (The latter was covered by the Sex Pistols) follow suit.
The audience momentarily shows life signs during solo song "Yeah, Right". Matlock's 1996 Creation Records solo set "Who's He Think He is When He's at Home?" (Quite possibly not the coolest album title of all time!), all simultaneously wall of noise, melody and guitars, is a lost treasure indeed.
A couple of the biggest canons from the Pistols arsenal - "God Save the Queen" and "Pretty Vacant" - get the crowd kinda going as well.
As someone who was famously kicked out of the Pistols because he liked The Beatles (or so John Lydon maintains although Matlock himself insists he left the band), Glen Matlock is nonetheless a vital part of the Pistols' history and, therefore, legacy. Obviously, he had a hand in writing all of their key tracks. And let's just face it, after he left/was kicked out, they were pretty much over and done with...Never mind Malcolm McLaren. Plus the fact that Glen Matlock has been asked to join in all subsequent Sex Pistols reunions should lay the leather jacket wearing ghost of Sid Vicious to rest once and for all.
Glen Matlock recommended listening:
Sex Pistols/"Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols" (LP, Virgin Records, 1977)
Rich Kids/"Ghosts of Princes in Towers" (LP, EMI, 1978)
Glen Matlock/"Who's He Think He is When He's at Home?" (CD, Creation, 1996)
Recommended reading:
Glen Matlock with Peter Silverton/"I Was a Teenage Sex Pistol" (Rocket 88, 2012)
OK, these days when I'm not busy reading Åsa Larsson novels, I am listening to some music. So what else is new? Although, preferably, I like doing both at the same time. And lately it's been Brendan Benson's latest, "What Kind of World" (2012), which has been on repeat play over at mi casa.
I first became aware of Brendan sometime back in the late '90s when his first solo album, "One Mississippi" (1996), for some reason or the other came into my possession. Albeit briefly, since I didn't care too much for it at the time.
Therefore his sophomore effort, "Lapalco" (2002), completely and utterly passed me by. But I have since become appreciative of a brilliant track, "Folk Singer", from that exact album which makes a reappraisal a definitive possibility in the not-too-distant future.
But the Benson breakthrough, as far as I'm concerned, came in 2005 when I heard - and purchased...and loved - "The Alternative to Love" album. A minor Power Pop masterpiece which somehow, unusually, owed a lot less to the past as to the (then) present. If that makes any sense at all.
Next up was, yuk, "super group" side (Read: vanity) project The Raconteurs. Apparently Jack White, he of the White Stripes, was a fan and roped Benson in as a co-conspirator of said side/vanity project. And, somewhat surprisingly (OK, you can tell I'm not the biggest White Stripes/Jack White fan around), their first album, "Broken Boy Soldiers" (2006), was pretty good. Disappointingly, their second, "Consolers of the Lonely" (2008) was less so, though. An unfocused mess, truth be told.
Wisely, a year later, Benson was back on track with his fourth solo set, "My Old, Familiar Friend". Famous, overrated friends or not, it's always best to stick with what you know (and do) best.
And then last year (2012, to be precise and absolutely accurate here), Brendan Benson delivered his finest set of songs to date. "What Kind of World" is that rare and unusual breed of a record where every song possesses its own unique appeal, yet somehow makes so much sense as a piece of the whole puzzle...or the concept, if you will Think, for the lack of a better comparison, (Gasp!) "Pet Sounds" for the modern man. From the playful Power Pop of "Happy Most of the Time" to the haunting wistfulness of duet (With Ashley Monroe) "Pretty Baby", "What Kind of World" is a constant and satisfying surprise throughout. An absolute and uninterrupted joy!
So why - in all probability - haven't you heard anything about this album before reading this? And why didn't we see it on any of last year's "Best of" lists by the music critics of this world? Why, indeed? Could it be simply because Brendan Benson, in spite of - or perhaps because of - reaching his full maturity so "late" in the game, isn't exactly the new kid on the block anymore, and, therefore, consequently, is no longer considered to be one of the cool kids? The flavour of the month makes the world go around, eh? Well, fuck that! Never mind the snobs, it's a great record.
Brendan Benson is touring Europe right now. If I wasn't on the fringes, on the outskirts, of the region, I wouldn't miss that...
The Explorers Club/"Grand Hotel" (EC Records/Rock Ridge)
Although a fairly fine album, their 2008 debut "Freedom Wind" was at times almost uncomfortably derivative (of the Beach Boys' so-called mid period) and one didn't really expect anything of substantial originality from those guys after that. So, file under: Fondly Remembered, then...
Not so, though. Of course they still wear their influences firmly on their collective sleeve - we wouldn't really want it any other way - but this time around they happen to be a bit more varied. The Beach Boys have been joined by Messrs Bacharach and Mendes in The Explorers Club continuing pursuit of perfect pure pop past.
And it is an overall excellent and successful mission at that. Haunting instrumentals melt nicely with melodic and nostalgic homages to timeless summers of the past, such as (of course) "Summer Days, Summer Nights" and "Run, Run, Run".
Without a doubt, in my book at least, the album of the year. Nonetheless, another close contender just happens to be...
The Beach Boys/"That's Why God Made The Radio" (Brother Records/Capitol)
OK, when the news got out that the Beach Boys were celebrating their 50th anniversary with a reunion tour as well as a brand new studio album I don't think anyone was expecting their best LP for 35 friggin' years (Since 1977's "Love You"). As a matter of fact, I don't think anyone was expecting anything much at all. Oh, but how wrong we all were...
"TWGMTR" was THE surprise of the year, as far as I'm concerned. I played this CD to bits, aptly enough, during the summer. And the icing on the cake for me personally was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the boys live in concert in Berlin in early August. My favourite band in my favourite city - Yeah!
The "boys" may longer be exactly boys, but they sure did deliver the goods - with no small help from Brian's brilliant backing band of the previous 13 years. They probably couldn't have done it (the album AND the tour) without Mr. Foskett & Co. We thank you all.
But, needless to add, it didn't last. Probably because it wasn't meant to. Nonetheless, it was great while it lasted. Mike, Brian, Dennis, Al & David....universally loved...and unexpectedly, the live band of the year.
Graham Gouldman/"Love And Work" (Rosala Records/Absolute)
A massively successful songwriter in the '60s (Penning hits for Herman Hermits, The Hollies, as well as The Yardbirds), the '70s (As a member of 10 CC), the '80s (The duet Wax with his pal, the late Andrew Gold), and the '90s (Kirsty MacColl, Madness), Graham Gouldman has always known his way around a melody...to say the least.
Personally, I've also always loved his late '70s solo-should-have-been-a-hit, "Sunburn", from the Farrah Fawcett movie of the same name...
That being said, this new album was a surprise of some magnitude to me at least. The hooks are many and infectiously memorable to boot. And there's even an irresistible, instrumental Shadows (probably an early influence) tribute, "Black Gold", thrown in for a good measure.
The record is dedicated to the memory of his Wax-pal Andrew Gold, who died in 2011.
And please take the time to check out Graham Gouldman's official website. One of my main regrets of 2012 is that I let his 10 CC concert in Reykjavík slip by me...
Susanna Hoffs/"Someday" (Baroque Folk)
Oh, Susanna's still alive! And very much so, I must add. Following 2011's fine Bangles outing, "Sweetheart of the Sun", here comes Susanna's first proper solo LP (she has done some excellent - for the lack of a better word - "concept" duet albums with another power pop icon, Matthew Sweet, in the meantime....and more to come!) since the mid '90s. And, blimey, it's her best yet!
OK, so Mitchell Froom's production is somewhat understated and it doesn't pack as much punch - or power - as we're used to from the princess of power pop, but the tunes are still there in abundance...or so to speak; there's mere 10 of them. But what they lack in quantity they make up for in quality.
Sometime during 1981 I started to hear a song on the radio that was completely different from anything else going on at the time. Not that it was overly original or anything like that. Far from it. But it contained this impossibly catchy "Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah" built-up chorus to the "They don't write 'em like that anymore" main chorus. It was simple, to the point and irresistible.
Soon enough I found out that this song, "The Breakup Song (they Don't Write 'em)", was by the Greg Kihn Band. And, aptly enough, the album was called "RocKihnRoll" and I just had to have it.
But although the album didn't really live up to Breakup Song's enormous power pop potential, it was nonetheless a mix of originals and covers alike so gloriously and refreshingly out of sync with the primitive synth-pop and stale AOR stadium rock of the time that one couldn't help but getting caught up in it. Particularily, "When the Music Starts" became another instant and constant favourite...
"The Breakup Song" hit the Top 20 in the U.S. and a couple of years later the Greg Kihn Band even had a No. 2 hit in the territory with "Jeopardy" - a song which didn't even sound remotely like them!
By then though, Kihn, I believe, had lost the pop plot while I for one had lost interest...
Fast forward 20 years...
Vinyl was dirt-cheap, so life was good. And, as one does in such circumstances, I started checking out some old favourites. Greg Kihn (Band) amongst these. Especially the early titles on the brilliant Beserkley label ("The Home of the Hits"...as the tagline went. The fabulous Rubinoos, Jonathan Richman, Eartquake, and others also called it home although, unfairly, the actual hits were few and far between).
"Greg Kihn" (Beserkley, 1976)
A very impressive debut, indeed. From the get-go, the familiar approx. 7 to 3 mixture of originals and covers is firmly established.
Initially, upon hearing those early LP's, I felt the Matthew King Kaufman (Beserkley boss) and Glen Kolotkin production wasn't punchy enough. However, as I became more familiar with the material, I think its somewhat sparse production remains its main strength. Just take a listen to one of the key original tracks on this album...(Click on the link below)
OK, let's try to ignore the horribly un-PC album cover before we move on to the MUSIC itself...
Swiftly and firmly the triumphant debut was followed-up by this well-worthy and more band-oriented effort.
It kicks off with a fine Buddy Holly-cover, "Love's Made a Fool of Me", while the original "Real Big Man" is also, err, a real treat on Side 1.
However, Side 2 is a winner nearly all the way through. It starts off with the excellent Kihn composition "Hurts So Bad", and leads us through Springsteen's "For You" and climaxes with another excellent original, "Madison Avenue".
Kihn was one of the first artists to cover Bruce Springsteen. Check out his fine interpetation of "For You" below...
An altogether heavier affair than its predecessors, this eight-song selection is rather light on memorable hooks and choruses but not an unpleasant effort at all.
Including for the first and last time no covers, "Remember", with its Spanish flourishes, and "Sorry" are the obvious highlights here.
Also, Kihn's last credited solo LP for a while...
"With the Naked Eye" (Beserkley, 1979)
The first proper Greg Kihn BAND album, although these guys had been backing him for years.
Also, admittedly, my favourite Greg Kihn (Band) album of all time!
Chock-full of irresistable hooks and choruses, pop maestro Kenny Laguna had effectively been added to the production team of King Kaufman and Kolotkin by this point in time.
A lite Reggae-tinged "Moulin Rouge" (inexplicably, a flop 45), along with "Getting Away With Murder" and another great Springsteen cover, "Rendezvous", are the standouts here...
Issued the same year as Billy Joel's multi-million selling "Glass Houses" album, this very similarily entitled (but far more worthy) LP unfortunately fell between the cracks.
Not nearly as strong as its predecessor, it nonetheless contains one of Greg Kihn's greatest self-penned cuts ever, "Anna Belle Lee". How on earth this song failed to become the bona-fide classic it certainly deserves to be is anyone (else's) guess...
An odd and under-produced cover of Bacharach's & David's "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" (After all, how can you ever top Gene Pitney?) and Graham Gouldman's unremarkable Yardbirds hit "For Your Love" flesh-out an otherwise 'paint-by-numbers' set.
The following year's "RocKihnRoll", featuring the flawless "Breakup Song", was most certainly a step upwards.
But now we've come full circle.
Arguably, the best recods in my humble opinion remain Greg's first solo album, "Greg Kihn" (1976), and Greg Kihn Band's first album, "With the Naked Eye" (1979).
Today Greg Kihn is a popular radio show host.
His recorded legacy is poorly-served on CD. Although there is a fine, albeit unsatisfactory, "Anthology" CD out there, one can always dream about that elusive 4 CD box set. RocKihnRoll on!
Although I'm an avid vinyl lover, I feel that the Compact Disc - alias the CD - has reveived a somewhat bad rap recently.
OK, so it's too (excuse the poor pun) compact, too plastic, too disposable...and obviously, the myth of it sounding better than vinyl has long since been retracted. Nonetheless, a LOT of vinyl - especially much of the vinyl made during and after the late '70s, when it got noticeably thinner and less substantial due to the oil crisis, while all the alledged "advances in sound recording" were apparently no help at all! - sounds like s#*t as well.
Initially - and ultimately - what I've always liked about CD's, though, is the fact that they have a lot more SPACE for the MUSIC itself! And music's the main point...right?
Now, I have in my collection a couple of thousand LP's, as well as a similar amount of CD's. Once, a fellow vinyl enthusiast visited me and his first words were, literally and ever so distainfully, 'I had NO IDEA you had so many CD's!'
Hmm.
And it is exactly because of such sorry-ass snobbery that I feel the urge to sing the praises of certain exceptionally well-put together and satisfying CD comps...
Tommy James & The Shondells/"Anthology" (EMI-Roulette, 1990)
From the late '70s until the late '80s, Tommy James & the Shondells' - a '60s bubblegum/psych-pop group - three biggest hits were very widely covered. "Mony Mony" (Billy Idol, Amazulu), "Crimson & Clover" (Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Keith Marshall) and "I Think We're Alone Now" (Lene Lovich, The Rubinoos, Tiffany) all became sizeable hits again on numerous occasions, which ensured the Shondells' name popping-up every now and again through the years.
After years (and decades) of merely single disc/LP collections being (barely) available on the market, in 1990 the time seemed ripe to compile the Shondells properly for the relatively recent CD format. And so EMI unleashed this 27 track pop (near) perfection. Only the routine "Louie Louie"-like dumbness of debut single "Hanky Panky" fails to please. Otherwise it's an uninterrupted heavenly pop bliss all the way!
I propably haven't played any other CD - or record! - in my collection as much as I played this one during the early '90s when the rest of the world seemed preoccupied with something a lot less memorable and melodic (in my book) out of Seattle, WA.
"Sugar on Sunday" (covered by The Clique), "I Think We're Alone Now", "Crystal Blue Persuasion", "Sweet Cherry Wine", "Crimson & Clover", et al - I sallute you! Bubblegum isn't a dirty word.
The Rubionoos/"Everything You Always Wanted to Know About The Rubinoos But Were Afraid to Ask" (Sanctuary-Castle, 2007)(3CD)
In my humble opinion Californians The Rubinoos (still going strong, by the way) are one of the most underappreciated pop groups of all time! A bold statement, I know, but one listen to this two disc (disc three is a live disc from 1978) anthology might be just enough to convince the sternest of music snobs of the Rubes' overall excellence.
The group came together as teenagers in the mid-'70s and quickly got signed to the eclectic roster of Matthew King Kaufman's burgeoning Beserkley Records label.
The appeal at first was strictly teen-age, but the boys' superb musical and vocalizing ability, as well as effortless Monkee/Beatle-like charisma was rather uncommon amongst other teenybop acts of the era.
An excellent 1977 cover of Tommy James & the Shondells' "I Think We're Alone Now" got them into the lower regions of the Billboard singles charts - as well as on Dick Clark's legendary long-running American Bandstand T.V. show. The following year's "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend", although now a bona-fide Power Pop classic, in 1978 it went practically nowhere.
Beserkley's limited distrubutional and promotional abilities was always the Rubinoos' main obstacle for major league success, and when they finally - reduced to a two-some in the early '80s - scored a recording deal with Warner Bros., their time had long since come and gone.
By 2007, when this little gem of a CD set came along, they had been undeservedly anthologized on CD, so it was about bloody time!
Always with a keen eye for a good pop song - no matter what the source - the Rubinoos also always wore their influences on their collective sleeve. From debut single "Gorilla" (a DeFranco Family original!) to the Eurythmics' "Thorn in My Side", via the Raspberries' "Drivin' Music" and the Beach Boys' "Heroes and Villains" - it's pure pop class all the way.
Their self-penned originals ain't half bad either. In a perfect world, "Leave My Heart Alone" and "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" - to name but two - should've been mega hits.
Manic Street Preachers/"National Treasures - The Complete Singles" (Sony-Columbia, 2011)
Love 'em or loathe 'em but the Manics are arguably one of the most reliable singles acts of the past twenty years. And here are all thirty-eight of their singles lovingly compiled over 2-CD's. The deluxe edition comes with a DVD containig all the promo videos as well as some alternate versions. Needless to add perhaps, this package renders the patchy previous Greatest Hits collection "Forever Delayed" from 2002 completely and utterly redundant...not to mention several of their weaker long-players.
"Everything Must Go" (1996) and "Send Away the Tigers" (2007) will always be essential, though.
Nick Lowe/"Jesus of Cool" (1978/2008, Proper Records CD, CHOSEN1)
In March 1978 Nick Lowe's long-awaited first solo LP, "Jesus of Cool" appeared in British records stores. Already hailed as the hottest "new wave" producer around with debut albums by Elvis Costello and The Damned among others under his belt, this former pub rock stalwarth apparently could do no wrong. Accompanying single "(I Love the Sound of) Breaking Glass" immediately became a Top 10 hit in its own right and remains his biggest U.K. solo hit to date.
Even though the album was chock-full of sure fire hit single worthy material such as "Little Hitler", "Tonight", "Marie Provost", "So it Goes" - his first proper solo single in 1976 - and a live version of its B-side "Heart of the City", "Breaking Glass" nonetheless became the sole charting single culled from the album.
In the U.S. the album's title was not surprisingly deemed a tad too risky, so with a couple of adjustments to the tracklisting (a studio version of "Heart of the City" replaced its live counterpart and Lowe's hilarious spot-on Bay City Rollers piss-take "Rollers Show" was also added) and a different title in the unforgettable "Pure Pop for Now People", the album was issued on Columbia Records also in March 1978.
Then in 2008 Proper Records collected both versions of the album onto one CD and beefed it up with single-only releases, B-sides and other rarities from the era, creating in the process a 21 track extravaganza no pure pop fan should be without.
Among the extra curios we have the original demo version of "Cruel to Be Kind" by his previous band Brinzley Schwarz (re-recorded for his next album, it became a sizeable worldwide hit for Nick Lowe in 1979) and faithful covers of such classics as Goffin/King's "Halfway to Paradise" and Sandy Posey's pre-feminist "Born a Woman", not to mention the little known gem which is "I Love My Label" - undoubtly inspired by his spat with his and Brinzley's old record company United Artists (Reportedly, another earlier and more blatant Rollers "tribute", "Bay City Rollers We Love You", got him kicked off said label):
,,They always ask for lots of songs of no more than 3:50 long, so I write them some.
They never talk behind my back and are always playing my new track when I come along"
A power pop classic!
The Rest:
The Romantics/"Super Hits" (1998/2007, Sony BMG CD, A 705482)
Okay, I first heard those guys back in 1979 and truth be told, was none-too impressed. The album was "The Romantics" with the band wearing RED LEATHER SUITS on the cover! In the era of back-to-basics punk and '60s inspired new wave, how utterly ludicrous and over the top they were!
But never judge a book by its cover since, thankfully, the music was an altogether different matter.
Although I must say I've never been overly fond of their best known - and most durable - track "What I Like About You". But, admittedly, it has grown on me. A gazillion movies, TV shows and commercials have served their purpose well...
Nope, the song which I fell for from that album with the silly cover was "When I Look in Your Eyes". "Tell it to Carrie" wasn't half bad either.
Musically mere inches from another overrated American - or so I thought at the time - act, The Knack, it was back to the British Invasion of the mid '60s for those guys. With The Beatles' sense of melody and The Kinks' sense of energy firmly in the foreground.
However, as far as I am concerned The Romantics have never been anything but a half decent singles band and therefore I can not recommend anything more than this 10 track "Super Hits" compilation CD. It includes pretty much everything they're best known for.
And although, at the time, "What I Like About You" never became a big chart hit (it barely scraped the U.S. Top 50), their sole Top 5 hit "Talking in Your Sleep" (1983) and the following year's Top 40 entry "One in a Million" both sort of cement the "Super Hits" status. Sort of...
