Basic Glee was recorded at Tabby Road Studio, the living room of Richard X. Heyman and his wife, Nancy Leigh.
The insert photo of the artist amidst his electronics, guitar,
keyboards, and cat on a chair is real "underground rock" imagery. The
liners state that the basics to more than double the songs on Basic Glee's 14 tracks were "cranked out at a 24-track studio over one blistering weekend...."
Heyman gives the world more of his over the top power pop on this outing, taking the majesty of a Flamin' Groovies "You Tore Me Down"-type tune and mixing it up with Roger McGuinn guitar chimes à la "Chestnut Mare," all intensified like a Beatles single sped up by George Martin -- with Heyman
appearing to do it in real time. All the songs are pretty much in the
three-and-a-half- to four-minute range, with only a couple straying from
the formula. "Everywhere She Goes" opens up with Beach Boy vocals and Pete Townshend windmill guitar strums while "Pauline" borrows heavily from the vibe of Nick Lowe's "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding." Like Emitt Rhodes projects outside of the Merry-Go-Round and McCartney's
first solo album, when artists shoulder projects of this complexity on
their own, the projects are stamped indelibly and have few flavors from
outside the artists' spheres.
For power pop, that's not necessarily a
bad thing -- it's sometimes too much of a good thing. There's lots of
frosting on "One Way Feeling" and "Let It Go," as well as lots of
energy. Could Eric Carmen
sustain this intensity releasing 14 tracks along the lines of "Hey,
Deanie"? One suspects not, and it is a lot to absorb in one sitting. The
upside is that any of these tunes could brighten up any radio show, so
picking a single is extra difficult. There are hooks galore, and jangly
guitars and vocals that really care. "When Evening Comes" might be a
ballad, less heavy than much of the disc, but the tempo is up there with
the rockers.
If you're sold on "Diminishing Her Return" and "Broken
Umbrella," you're going to like "What in the World" with its
irresistible chorus. That's not to say Basic Glee plays like a Ramones record; Heyman is much too clever to beat one riff into the ground. It's power pop heaven, especially on a slowed-up "Wishful Thinking." Heyman may want to consider teaming up with Joey Molland from Badfinger; they are both on the same wavelength with two albums that resonate with shimmering guitars and vocals: this CD and Molland's This Way Up.
"Waterline" is deliciously elegant and would make a wonderful single
backed with "What in the World." "My Lorraine Bow" is also nice with
waves of guitars and pretty melodies, all adding up to another
impressive effort from Richard X. Heyman.
Richard X. Heyman is an outstanding musician and in the pop/power pop field he enjoys an excellent reputation. And he earned that for every note he had ever played.
I put these two albums together because : "Rightovers" is, basically, "Basic Glee Part II". All right Mr Heyman!
Don't miss it. Grab it
Cheers
Frank
Basic Glee
Rightovers
Moon were a sort of second-tier supergroup in the late 1960s, led by pianist and songwriter Matthew Moore, drummer and producer Larry Brown (late of the Bel-Aires and Davie Allan & the Arrows), and ex-Beach Boy David Marks on guitar, with Andy "Drew" Bennett on bass (Bennett was replaced by the time of the group's second album by David Dawson, formerly of Hearts & Flowers). For all that pedigree, though, Moon received little support from their label, Imperial Records, and the group's two albums, 1968's Without Earth and 1969's Moon,
went virtually unheard when they were released. Fans of period pop
psychedelia found the albums irresistible, however, and the group has
enjoyed a kind of low-key cult status ever since, leading to Rev-Ola's
reissue of both albums on one CD, along with a handful of bonus tracks
that include a couple of mono 45 mixes and three tracks from Moore's pre-Moon band, Matthew Moore Plus 4. Sounding a bit like a low rent version of the Zombies or the Left Banke, it is easy to see why fans of baroque-'60s pop are so enamored of Moon, but like many bands from the era who fell under the influence of the Beatles,
the absence of strong songs and melodies all too often renders the
heavily phased and string-laden arrangements forgettable as soon as the
next track begins. Not that the group doesn't get close to |pop-psych
heaven here with songs like "Someday Girl," the goofy, sitar-laced
"Brother Lou's Love Colony," or the ultra-Beatlesque "Give Me More" (all from Without Earth),
it's just that the swirl of the arrangements can't hide the fact that
none of these songs are particularly front line. The songs from the
second album, Moon, fare better, as Brown (both albums were recorded at his Continental Sounds studio) cuts back a bit on the orchestration and Moore simply delivers better material, like the haunting, beautiful "Lebanon" or the intriguing "Life Is a Season," which has Moore
singing lines like "comprehension wields the sword that kills the fear"
with agile, melodic ease. Also worth mentioning is the reincarnation
revenge song "Pirate," which has a plot line so bizarre that it can't
help but be memorable. When all is said and done, one wishes Moon
had gotten a crack at a third album, since they were clearly inching
toward the kind of uniqueness that might have allowed them to rise above
their influences.
