Two powerpop/pop rock albums by John Dowler's The Zimmermen - Rivers Of Corn (1986)mp3@224 & Way To Casual (1989) Flac &mp3@320

A pun on Bob Dylan's real name, Robert Zimmermen, John Dowler's Australian country-rock outfit Zimmermen are best remembered for their standout hit "Don't Go to Sydney." After working with several bands during the late '70s and early '80s, John Dowler formed Zimmermen in June 1983. They found immediate success on the Melbourne pub-circuit where they supported such acts as the Hoodoo Gurus and the Sunnyboys.
By the end of 1984, bandmembers Steve Connolly and Michael Barclay had left to join the Paul Kelly Band (which became the Coloured Girls the following year). Guitarist Peter Tulloch and drummer Graeme Perry replaced them for the group's debut single, "Don't Go to Sydney," released in January 1985. It became one of the most successful Australian independent singles of 1986 and, after Neil Osborn joined the band as permanent drummer, the band released their debut album, Rivers of Corn, which contained the single "Ordinary Man."

The recording of their follow-up stalled in 1987 when Peter "Pedro" Bull was replaced by Alan Brooker and Neil Osborn by former drummer Graeme Perry. Unsatisfied with the recording by the former lineup, Dowler took the band back into the studio in November 1988. The single "What Really Hurts" was released in February 1989, followed by the album Way Too Casual in April. A final national tour followed before Zimmermen disbanded in 1990. Dowler went on to release a solo album in 1993 titled Low Society.(allmusic.com)

Some of you will know John Dowler from the fantastic band Young Modern. Here awaits you catchy pop songs with a feel of eighties power pop and fine pop rock.

Enjoy .
        Frank          Rivers Of Corn @224        &  Way To Casual Flac   -  Way To Casual@320

Teenage Fanclub - Grand Prix (1995 Creation Records) Flac & mp3@320

For all of the brilliance of records like Bandwagonesque and the underrated Thirteen, at times Teenage Fanclub seemed little more than a showcase for the laconic melodic genius of Norman Blake -- fairly or not, the songwriting contributions of bandmates Gerard Love and Raymond McGinley suffered mightily by comparison, mere filler when stacked alongside Blake-penned marvels like "The Concept" and "Norman 3."

That said, the superb Grand Prix is perhaps the truest group effort in the Fannies' catalog -- more than ever before, their democratic approach truly bears fruit, and it's indicative of the disc's uniform excellence that the first Blake composition, the lovely "Mellow Doubt," doesn't even surface until track three, by which time McGinley's "About You" and Love's harmony-rich "Sparky's Dream" have already firmly established the set's ragged-but-right tenor. While new drummer Paul Quinn fails to recreate the buoyantly reckless abandon of the sacked Brendan O'Hare, Grand Prix otherwise captures complete creative synergy -- in particular, "Don't Look Back" is Love's watershed moment, a gorgeously wistful love song highlighted by wittily lovelorn lyrics like "I'd steal a car to drive you home," as good a pick-up line as anything in the annals of rock & roll. Not everything works (McGinley's "Verisimilitude" goes nowhere fast) and Blake's contributions are still the highlights ("Neil Jung" and "I'll Make It Clear" are simply perfect pop songs), but Grand Prix is ultimately the product of a band at the peak of its collective powers, not as much a landmark as Bandwagonesque but every bit as good on its own terms.(allmusic.com)

A brilliant album from a brilliant band. And those of you who know the band also know it was not the only one brilliant album by the Teenage Fanclub. Just wonderful!

Enjoy
         Frank

Flac  &   mp3@320

 

At Request! The Sweet - First Recordings 1968 - 1971 (1991 Repertoire Records) Flac & mp3@320

Sweet's earliest recordings -- the clutch of 45s issued in the U.K. and Europe between 1968 and 1971 -- made it out in a variety of forms in the years following the band's initial breakthrough. Strangely, however, it was not until 1991 -- a full 20 years after "Funny Funny" gave them their long-awaited first hit -- that the entire canon was pulled together, as Repertoire raided the vaults not only of Fontana and Parlophone, the band's first two labels, but also visited some less-familiar directions as well. The bulk of First Recordings 1968-1971 -- tracks one through eight -- comprises all four original singles, a mixed bag that ran from the unadulterated pop of "Lollipop Man" and "Slow Motion" to the convincing harder rock of "The Juicer." None have much in common with anything that Sweet would become -- Andy Scott had still to join the band at this time, leaving guitar duties on the first three singles to predecessors Frank Torpey and Mick Stewart.

The enjoyably lightweight "Get on the Line," meanwhile, was the first band release on which Connolly's vocal was accompanied by sessionmen. Of course, it would not be the last. Of the remainder, the quintessentially late-'60s bubblegum pop of "The Spider," "I'm on My Way," and "My Little Girl From Kentucky" also feature Connolly alone, having been recorded as mere guide vocals for a now-forgotten band he met in the studio around 1968, while "Question" dates back to Connolly and Tucker's stint with Wainwright's Gentlemen and is most notable for its songwriting credits.

Connolly's predecessor in the band, Ian Gillan, composed the song with bandmate (and fellow future Deep Purple stalwart) Roger Glover (under the pseudonym R David). It's an intriguing collection, then, and a grand value for the committed Sweet collector. Less-specialized tastes, however, will probably find a lot more interesting collections to pick up before turning their attention to First Recordings 1968-1971.(allmusic.com)

Some really enjoyable stuff here if you like Bubbleglam.
Have fun
               Frank

                                         Flac    &   mp3@320