I have always felt that LOUD guitars doesnt always equal Power Pop. I have
always felt that the origins of Power Pop began in the late 50's with Buddy
Holly (the grandfather of Power Pop - someone a couple years ago on the list
called him that) and The Everly Brothers (where Rock vocal harmony began). 

Along came Phil Spector and a cavalcade of Girl Groups, Brian Wilson's great
vocal arrangements (and huge productions after he stopped touring) along with
the Four Seasons, Motown's Pop-influenced R&B and Bacharach-David's amazing
songwriting in the early 60's. The Beatles were able to bring all those
influences together into a tight package that could be easily emulated. The
Hollies added powerful Everly influenced vocals and in-your-face arrangements,
the Searchers added the Jangle. The early Kinks, Small Faces and The Who added
guitar Power. Also the USA backlash of the Byrds, Raiders, Turtles, Lovin
Spoonful and so many Garage Bands added to the form.

To me Power Pop existed in the mid 60's rather than the usual explanation that
Power Pop started in the late 60's-early 70's with The Nazz, Badfinger,
Raspberries, and Big Star.

Thats why I chose an early Who, Hollies and a rare single from The New Colony
Six in my list of favorites. Its not the loudness of the guitars that count -
its also an urgancy - "emotional power" (as you called it) in the vocals and
also the way the song is arranged (get to that hook fast!) that tag a song as
Power Pop for me. 

Billy


At 08:56 AM 8/16/03 -0400, you wrote:
>
>On Saturday, August 16, 2003, at 01:36  AM, KEVIN MATHEWS wrote:
>
>> Single - Substitute *the Who*
>> Album - Beach Boys Today!
>
>See, this is what confuses the hell out of me about "powerpop". I would 
>think the Beach Boys, The Who, etc. to fall under the general 60's pop 
>category. Particularly with the Beach Boys -- who are probably my all 
>time favorite next to MAYBE the Beatles -- but I hear very little 
>"power" in their music. Definitely emotional power, but they aren't 
>churning out the guitar rock.
>
>Ryan
>  
Billy G. Spradlin
http://listen.to/jangleradio