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| From | Dave Seaman <seamand@upmc.edu> |
| Subject | Power pop contenders, part 2 |
| Date | Thu, 19 Jan 2006 12:54:51 -0500 |
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<<What non-power pop band could have, with some editing; different
production; and where applicable, reduced sex appeal, made a great power pop
band?>>
I think the defining question is, can their songs keep the same melodies,
chords, lyrics and hooks, but be presented with a power pop approach in
terms of performance, arrangement, adding sweet harmonies, trading some
guitar crunch for jangle, etc?
With that in mind, I think Van Halen and KISS have a handful of songs that
could be retooled as power pop, although IMO most of their material leans
too far to the "generic hard rock with minimal hooks" side. BOC might fare
a bit better -- I think practically all of the Agents of Fortune/Spectres
era material could work as power pop.
As for Yes, Gabriel-era Genesis and Fripp/Belew/Levin/Bruford era
King Crimson -- I wonder if most of their material is so proggy that songs
would have to rewritten, not just retooled?
Whereas I think Alice Cooper's Greatest Hits album from the 70s could be
redone as a power pop collection, no problem. Quite a lot of Queen's
material would work as power pop as well. Ditto David Bowie, Mott The
Hoople, and in fact most of the glam crowd - they were just one step away.
Many of Bruce Springsteen's work from the 70s and early 80s would make
terrific power pop - think Growin Up, Saint in the City, Rosalita, Born To
Run, Night, Jungleland, Prove It All Night, The Ties That Bind, No
Surrender, etc, etc- heck, these songs practically are power pop already.
Just strip away the sax, lighten up the wall of sound, trim any
instrumentals that run a bit long, and replace Bruce's vocals with the
prototypical power pop voice and harmonies -- and you're there. I'd pay
good money to hear that album. In fact, if I had the time and other
musicians so inclined, I'd do it myself!
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