Pop Rock/Psychedelic/Sunshine Pop Orpheus - The Best Of Orpheus (1995 Big Beat)

 This double-CD compilation includes almost all of the tracks from their first three albums, as well as a couple from the one they did in 1971 for Bell (by which time Bruce Arnold was the only remaining original member). Over the course of two discs the group is given a more comprehensive and respectful retrospective than they deserve; the lushness turns to mushiness for all but the most rabid sunshine pop fans.

Despite the volume of material, the packaging isn't so hot either. Stray tracks are missing from the first two LPs, and although some of the material is apparently rare and unreleased (as it doesn't appear on the albums), details are not given in the extensive, typically self-aggrandizing liner notes by producer Alan Lorber; in fact, a few tracks are identified as coming from specific albums when in fact they did not appear on those discs. Those tracks include an alternate version of "Can't Find the Time to Tell You"; the peculiar "Anatomy of I've Never Seen Love Like This" (in which Lorber and Arnold, with narration, illustrate how they layered and produced an Orpheus track); and a live version of "Just a Little Bit" (redone on the second LP) by the Villagers, the pre-Orpheus folk duo that included future Orpheusmembers Bruce Arnold and Jack McKenes. The booklet manages to include a lot of information about the band without coming close to conveying a cohesive chronological history.(R. Unterberger, allmusic.com)

Very good two disc set of the nearly five years work of Orpheus. In my ears they had a very own style of pop rock/psychedelic/sunshine pop. Hope you will enjoy

Have fun
               Frank

                                               Flac part1   &  Flac part2     -  mp3@320

Australia Power Pop: Dom Mariani - Rewind And Play 2009 (Liberation Blue)

The former Go Starts/Stems/Someloves singer-songwriter is a walking repository of American garage bands, power pop, R&B, British invasion and classic US ballads. Here he's given himself the opportunity to break out of the mop-top, paisley print, cool guitar mould and let his songs and voice stand up for themselves.He's dusted off 12 of his early glories and overlooked gems and re-imagined them in a warm acoustic light. "With this album," he says, "it's not about styling a band around a certain thing any more." Helped out by keyboard player Nunzio Mondia, DM3's Pascal Bartolone and Majestic Kelp's Stu Loasby, the slower, stripped-back acoustic approach shines a new light on such stalwarts as When It Ends and the swinging 60s flirtation Just Like Nancy. 

Maybe Irish band Them's classic Here Comes the Night could have had a touch more menace but the Someloves' lustrous pop concoctions Melt and Know You Now make lovely sounds. No matter how pure his intentions, Mariani is like a Dalmatian when it hears a fire bell. He can't hold his impulses in check on Sunshine Glove, which is given the full Spanish Stroll/Willy DeVille feel. The same with the Stems hit At First Sight, which is stripped of its retro psychedelia but still chimes with a Byrds-like 12-string. Rewind & Play is ample proof that at the end of the day it comes down to the songs - and Mariani has them in abundance.(Ray Purvis, thewest.com)

Dom Mariani, a seasoned songwriter and singer for seminal Aussie psych-pop legends The Stems, steps forward in the midst of his second age to recount his songwriting career with a collection of stripped-back versions of songs from his catalogue. Normally alarm bells would ring here – aging rocker goes acoustic for a greatest hits play-list – but this is different. Firstly, it should be pointed out that Mariani wrote some genuinely great songs – songs that shine through as true pop statements, regardless of the format in which they’re played. And Mariani has not decided to opt for a super-clean, adult contemporary approach to performing these semi-acoustic numbers.

Instead he’s recruited a band of close friends and perform the songs in a relaxed, rough-hewn way that feels at keel with the garage leanings of the Stems. Highlights here are Melt, a particularly weary and bittersweet rendition of the Them classic Here Comes The Night, and of course, the 12-string-laden power-pop heart-breaker At First Sight, which, like Big Star’s September Gurls, never fails to raise a flutter in the chest. Great stuff.(Aidan Roberts, altmedia.net.au)

For Power Pop fans. Of course!

Enjoy!  Frank

                                                         Flac   &  mp3@320