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| From | "Harris, Will" <wharris1@bcharrispub.com> |
| Subject | Re: Lists... |
| Date | Fri, 15 Aug 2003 10:59:19 -0400 |
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Top Power Pop Single: the Rubinoos, "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend." If memory
serves (and it may not), the first time I heard this song was on a Rhino
Records cassette entitled "Chartbusters: Best Of Beserkley 1975-1978." (The
reason I say that memory may not serve is that, according to AllMusic.com,
"Back To The Drawing Board," the album featuring "I Wanna Be Your
Boyfriend," didn't come out until 1979.) Once I discovered the song, I
immediately found myself in love with the eternal "H" triad: hooks,
harmonies, and, of course, handclaps. I don't believe I've really looked
back since. The next stop was to pick up a copy of "Yellow Pills, Vol. 1,"
and the rest is history...
Favorite Power Pop Record: the Greenberry Woods, "Rapple Dapple." As I
started to write about this record, I was trying to remember the name of the
Warner Brothers label rep who introduced me to the band lo these many years
ago...and I was thinking, "Hmmm...I want to say it was Carla Mercer, but I'm
not sure." So I typed her name into Yahoo!, and not only did her name pop
up...but it popped up in a rather startling place: in the lead paragraph of
the review of the album that I wrote upon its initial release. What's so
startling is that this review was never online via the magazine, which means
that someone A) obtained a hard copy of the magazine and B) took the time to
type it up and put it on the 'net. Very, very surreal. FYI, here's the
review:
I'd like to dedicate this review to Carla Mercer of Warner Brothers,
who, despite being the Queen of Hype on occasion (not only an asset but a
legitimate requirement when working in the publicity department), has yet to
steer me wrong when actually coming right out and saying, "I think you'll
like this one." Once again, Carla, you're right.
Get ready for pure listening satisfaction in the form of fourteen
pop nuggets as you're bid welcome to the Greenberry Woods. Harmonies, hooks,
and choruses abound, so obviously, it's the sort of thing I adore...in other
words, a sure bet.
The styles of almost every pop group known to man is borrowed over
the course of the group's debut album, Rapple Dapple. From Badfinger to the
Bee Gees to the Byrds to Big Star to the Beach Boys to the Beatles (a lot of
B's, but not really that far a trip from any of those bands to another),
bits of all the classics are definitely utilized in the group's work. It's
hard to say who else has influenced them, but echoes of Jellfish, Shoes, The
Sighs, Phil Keaggy, Material Issue, XTC, and Squeeze are all over the album.
(It's no real suprise that Squeeze had the band as one of two openers on
their recent tour.)
Half the fun is picking out which bands influence which songs. The
album's second track, "#37 (Feels So Strange)," has traces of the Beatles'
"And Your Bird Can Sing," with a background vocal toward the end that
positively reeks of Jellyfish. "Sentimental Role" has quite a bit of Beach
Boys feel to it, not terribly suprising when you consider that Andy Paley
produced Brian Wilson's solo album.
To borrow one of my own headlines, which in turn, paraphases a Nick
Lowe album title, this is "pure pop for then and now people." The Greenberry
Woods are already a contender for Best Newcomer of the Year ('95), and it's
barely February.
Reviewer: Wiliam Harris, courtesy of Flash Magazine
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