Irish Power Pop: Pugwash - Earworm 2003 (Flac)

Earworm

Pugwash look poised to finally reap some well-deserved rewards.

Having been picked up by the hip Australian label Karmic Hit, followed by a rave review in the Sydney Morning Herald and a top five playlisting on Triple J (Aussie Today FM) Pugwash look poised to finally reap some well-deserved rewards. This Australia-only release from the criminally ignored Dublin power-poppers combines the cream of their two albums to date –1999’s Almond Tea and last year’s Almanac – in a nifty digi-pak complete with enhanced video.

Chief Pugwasher Thomas Walsh constructs deceptively simple, gloriously melodic and harmony-laden songs, inspired by the classic pop of The Beatles, The Kinks and XTC with occasional nods to the psychedelic era. But despite the preponderance of Rickenbackers, Meletrons and strings, this is no retro indulgence fest, as evidenced by the bang-up-to-date textures of last year’s ‘Apples’ – surely one of the finest ever Irish singles and the equally sublime ‘Monorail’, a song the Eels would kill for.

Other gems well worth hearing again and again include the jangly ‘Keep Moving On’, ‘The Finer Things In Life’ and the Ray Davies -like ‘Emily Regardless’. The well-connected Jason Falkner (Beck, Air and Aimee Mann ally) lends a hand on several tracks on this ingeniously titled album, a record which demonstrates pretty conclusively why this outfit should (and no doubt will) be heard more widely in the future.

This is like nearly all albums by Pugwash a well working thing. The best stuff (but you can take all other songs) of the first two releases is compiled here. I don't know if the two conventional albums would released back then in Australia. This is an Australia only release. Never mind. Six stars of possible six!
Enjoy
          Frank                           Flac1 &   Flac2   You need both Flac links!    New mp3 link here!

Psychedelic Pop/Sunshine Pop: The Sundowners - Captain Nemo 1968 (2007 Rev-Ola) Flac & mp3

While pop/rockers the Sundowners never scored a hit during their career in the mid-'60s, for such a little-known band they managed to cast a long shadow, touring with some of the biggest acts of the day and appearing on television and in major motion pictures. Formed in Lake George, NY in 1959, the original lineup of the Sundowners consisted of Eddie Brick on lead vocals, Dominick DeMieri on lead guitar and vocals, Eddie Placidi on guitar and vocals, Bobby Dick on bass and vocals, and Kim Capli on drums. In 1965, after earning a loyal local following, the group cut a single for the Coed Records label, "Leave Me Never" backed with a cover of Chuck Berry's "Around and Around." In 1966, the Sundowners moved to Los Angeles in hopes of shifting their career into high gear, and cut a second single for Filmways Records featuring two original songs, "Ring out Wild Bells" b/w "When the Sun Goes Down."

In 1967, the Sundowners were playing an engagement at the famed Sunset Strip club Ciro's when Michael Nesmith of the Monkees saw the band perform; impressed, he invited them to join the group's summer concert tour as their opening act, and they also backed the Monkees for a show-closing medley of rock oldies. (The tour's openers also included Jimi Hendrix and Ike & Tina Turner, putting the Sundowners in excellent company.)

In 1967, they were signed to Decca Records, and released the Beatlesque single "Always You" b/w "Dear Undecided"; the A-side was written by Tony Asher and Roger Nichols, and the sessions were produced by studio legend Bones Howe. In 1968, the band released their only LP, Captain Nemo, which was produced by guitarist DeMieri. While the album would become a cult favorite with fans of sunshine pop and light psychedelia, it didn't sell well, and the group fared better as actors in the year of its release.

In February, the Sundowners guest starred as "The Raspberry Wristwatch" on "A Very Warm Reception," an episode of the espionage drama It Takes a Thief, while in September they appeared as "Sonny and the Sundowners" (with Paul Petersen playing their lead singer) on the "Song of Bertrille" episode of the comedy The Flying Nun. The Sundowners can also be seen and heard briefly in the movie Don't Make Waves, which starred Tony Curtis, Claudia Cardinale and Sharon Tate(allmusic.com)

Without words. I am a big lover of this kind of music and maybe you will
also enjoy!
                 Frank        Flac1   &  Flac2  You need both Flac links!     mp3@320

Power Pop by Tommy Keene - In the Late Bright (2009) Flac & mp3

Tommy Keene is best known to smart pop obsessives for the superb songwriting that's dominated the handful of great albums he's released since 1984, including Songs from the Film, The Real Underground, and Ten Years After. But Keene has also established himself as a first-class guitarist, having toured as a sideman with the likes of Paul Westerberg and Robert Pollard, and on his 2009 album, In the Late Bright, Keene has given his guitar work a greater prominence than on many of his previous albums. No, In the Late Bright isn't dominated by ten-minute guitar workouts full of Eddie Van Halen style acrobatics (or even the manic soloing Keene used to close out his brilliant cover of Lou Reed's "Kill Your Sons"), but the five-minute instrumental "Elevated" demonstrates how much menace and atmosphere Keene can conjure with his instrument, and the soaring hard rock tone of "The Right Time to Fly" and "Goodbye Jane" find Keene allowing himself a little more room to swagger than usual.

And the great guitar work on In the Late Bright is, as usual, in the service of a stack of great songs; his melodies are both hooky and robust, capturing a broad range of deep tonal colors, and with Jon Richardson on drums, this album features some of the most satisfying rock & roll of Keene's long and distinguished career. The big guitars and forceful tone of In the Late Bright are hardly without precedent in Tommy Keene's career -- this is one popmeister who's always known how to rock out -- but the rich wallop of this disc's best moments make it clear that he isn't slowing down or mellowing with age, and after 2006's fine Crashing the Ether, this shows him continuing to move from strength to strength.

Godfather of Power Pop demonstrates his top notch guitar skills and his abilities of songwriting here.
Very good album with a fun factor of five strings of usual six.
Enjoy it
             Frank    

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Peruvian Beatles Pop: We All Together - Singles 1973-74 (2011) Flac & mp3

The Peruvian band We All Together, though unknown beyond a core cluster of cultists, was among the prime exponents of Beatlesque pop/rock in the early '70s. Led by singer and frequent composer Carlos Guerrero, who (along with some other members) had been in the Peruvian rock band Laghonia, they released two albums (singing in English) in the first half of the '70s

. These were fashioned after the lighter side of the late-'60s Beatles, particularly in the vocal harmonies, melodic tunes, and sophisticated arrangements blending keyboards, acoustic guitars, and electric guitars in a graceful manner. Although Lennon, McCartney, and for that matter, Harrison's influence, show up in We All Together's work, they had more of an affinity for McCartney's engaging melodicism, to the point of covering some obscure, early McCartney solo tunes.

On their second album, they also reached into some British progressive rock riffs, although the Beatles vibe remained dominant. With the exception of Badfinger, they may have been the best band of their time to play in an avowedly Beatlesque style. Their albums, once all but impossible to find in the Northern Hemisphere, were reissued in the U.S. in the late '90s.(allmusic.com)

This is a very fine collection of very beatlesque songs and i second what Mr Unterberger said: I think they were really the best band after Badfinger in this style. Here are some very very good songs on the album and i recommend to give it a listen if you don't know the band yet.

Three cheers to Lima and Liverpool
                                                          Frank

  Flac1  &  Flac2   You need both Flac links!          mp3@320

Australian Pop by Birtles & Springfield

Like fellow Aussies the Sherbs, Zoot never escaped teen-star status. But as Zoot Locker proves, they were certainly adapt at churning out clever pop tracks. Because of their time period, Zoot used every trick in the psychedelic book; but most songs maintain the three-minute mark, resulting in shrewd and skewered singles much like the Move delivered. Innocent innocuousness such as "Monty & Me" about walking the dog or "One Times Two Times Three Times Four" seems unfairly buried in the past. Of course, Beatles nods abound, such as the Lennon-isms of "Hey Pinky." With this smoking version of "Eleanor Rigby" the quartet attempted to jettison their early "pink" image, jumping aboard the bizarre "heavy covers" bandwagon with Vanilla Fudge and Rare Earth. The Hollies are another pervasive influence ("Flying" shares rhyme schemes with "Dear Eloise" over a "Helter Skelter" riff) while "Mr Songwriter" echoes the Byrds by way of Dylan. "Freak" foreshadows "Highway Star" and many Sweet moments. The informative liner notes guide the listener through this startlingly sterling posthumous collection, proving Zoot was much more than a mere launching pad for Rick Springfield and Little River Band.

For the release of Zoot's inaugural single, "You Better Get Going Now," the band draped themselves, as well as the gaudy Berties discotheque venue, in bright pink. Pushing the slogan "Think Pink -- Think Zoot," the band would later burn their pink suits and bare their backsides in an act of defiance that ultimately was unable to resurrect their forever pink-stained careers.
Forming in Adelaide, South Australia, in 1966 and calling themselves "Down the Line," a soon re-badged Zoot achieved local fame on the dance scene before moving to Melbourne in 1968. Shortly after their pink-fuelled launch, their second single, "One Times, Two Times, Three Times, Four," peaked at number 32 on the Melbourne charts and the band began playing the Melbourne TV show Uptight regularly. Their next single, "Monty and Me," hit number one in Brisbane and the band, along with local contemporaries the Valentines, the Flying Circus, and New Dream, developed a strong teen following with their blend of disposable pop. Replacing guitarist Roger Hicks with Rick Springfield saw the band's sound begin to mature, and they toured with the cream of Australian pop on the national Operation Starlift Tour in September 1969. They ended the year by being voted Top Australian Group in Go-Set magazine's Pop Poll.

Despite burning their former pink outfits for the cameras and baring their backsides for Go-Set, their next single, "Hey Pinky" (April 1970), failed to chart. Nevertheless, the band placed second to the Flying Circus in Hoadley's National Battle of the Sounds final in July 1970 and released their debut album, Just Zoot, the following month. The band achieved their biggest hit with their next single, a cover of the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby," which peaked at number four on the national charts in March 1971. The single later achieved gold status after being re-released by EMI in 1979 and Zoot formed a reputation for performing heavy covers of well-known songs. Zoot's next single, "The Freak," failed to achieve chart success and, still haunted by their former teen-star status, the group disbanded in May. Several of the bandmembers continued successful careers in music and film, including Rick Springfield, who went on to achieve international success as a singer and actor in the U.S.

Very good sixties pop.
Enjoy it!
               Frank     Flac1  & Flac2  You need both Flac links!     mp3@320

Hollywood Stars - Hollywood Stars (The official Arista Album 1977 by the Mark II band) Flac & mp3

Some weeks ago i posted '' Shine Like a Radio: The Great Lost 1974 Album '' by the band here which was from a reel to reel copy of a rough mix of the Columbia recordings.
This one now is the official released Arista album by the Mark II band from 1977 with different songs.

Have fun
               Frank     Flac1  &  Flac2  You need both Flac links!     mp3@320

Paul Westerberg - Eventually 1996 Flac & mp3

Paul Westerberg's second solo album, Eventually, delivered a full three years after his debut, 14 Songs, illustrates that he has problems telling the difference between maturity and stodginess. Eventually follows the same pattern as 14 Songs, as he balances up-tempo, Stonesy rockers with introspective, folky ballads. Generally, his slower numbers cut the deepest, like the affectionate Bob Stinson tribute, "Good Day" and the heart-tugging "MamaDaddyDid." When Westerberg rocks out, he sounds tired and mannered; neither his riffs nor his performance has the energy of vintage Replacements, or '70s and '80s Stones, for that matter. And the rockers demonstrate the major flaw of Eventually -- its carefully considered production. Though the production is clean and professional, its very slickness emphasizes the uneven quality of Westerberg's songwriting. There are some gems here -- in fact, there are even more this time around than on 14 Songs -- but Westerberg still sounds uncertain of what direction he wants to pursue and how to grow old gracefully.(allmusic.com)

Second solo album by Mr Westerberg and a really good one. $ and a half stars out of six for the album.
Two stars for the review.

Have fun
              Frank    Flac1  &   Flac2   You need both Flac links!      mp3@320

The Hollywood Years II: Psychedelic Easy Listening Pop: Mark Wirtz - Dreamer of Glass Beach; The Hollywood Years 1971-1982, Vol. 2 Flac

Here is the second album of the Hollywood Years 1971- 1982. It's called ''Dreamer Of Glass Beach''.
To me the first volume is the stronger compilation. I will post more Mark Wirtz stuff in the next few days.

Have fun
               Frank     NEW LINK FLAC
                                     

Psychedelic Easy Listening Pop: Mark Wirtz - ''Kitschinsync - The Hollywood Years Vol 1'' 1971-1982 (1991 RPM) Flac

"Easy listening" isn't really an appropriate classification for Mark Wirtz; "instrumental pop" may suit him better. An EMI staff producer in the late '60s, Wirtz's most enduring contributions to contemporary music were as producer of Tomorrow, one of the finest overlooked British psychedelic groups (featuring guitarist Steve Howe in his pre-Yes days). (It's also been reported that Wirtz turned down a chance to work with Pink Floyd in the Syd Barrett days.) Wirtz also made some "mood music" albums on his own, the most ambitious of which was a "Teenage Opera" song cycle of sorts that he began working on in 1967. Tomorrow lead singer Keith West was enlisted as lyricist, and one piece developed into West's 1967 "Excerpt from a Teenage Opera" single. A grandiose, multi-part orchestrated narrative, it became an unexpectedly huge (number two) hit in Britain in the summer of 1967.

This led to reports that an entire "Teenage Opera" was in the works, and indeed West did record a marginally successful follow-up ("Sam") in the same vein. The entire opera, however, never appeared, partly because West wasn't entirely keen on the project, and was far more eager to continue playing underground psychedelic rock with Tomorrow (which would break up in 1968 anyway) than to sing far more pop-oriented material as a solo act. Wirtz continued to work as a producer and issue more rock-influenced easy listening albums; dribs and drabs of songs that may have been earmarked for the "Teenage Opera" project would appear under the names of both himself and non-entities like Sweetshop and Zion de Gallier. While the "Teenage Opera" and "Sam" singles sound as much like kiddie rock as grand concepts in the making, it's possible that their suite-like construction influenced the Who's Tommy and the Pretty Things' S.F. Sorrow, both of which are usually referred to as the first full-blown rock concept albums that followed a storyline. In 1996, a mock-up of what the "Teenage Opera" album may have sounded like was built from tracks by Wirtz, West, Tomorrow, and others, and issued on the RPM label.(allmusic.com)

 Mark Wirtz have done a lot of different music and it's really hard to give it the right name. But it's not instrumental pop. To me his work always (also in later works) had a particular popsike sixties feeling. I think the best description for his music is ''Pop''. And Wirtz is a musician who shows the wide range of pop music. But he was always criminally underrated. I often thought how the one or another Beatles album had sound with his production.
Okay give it a try or not
but enjoy your day or eve
                              Frank       New Flac Link

Pinkerton's Assorted Colours - Flight Recorder: From Pinkertons Assorted Colours To The Flying Machine (1965-71) (Castle 2004) Flac & mp3

Formed in Rugby in 1964, the first line-up of this band -- originally known as The Liberators -- was Samuel ("Pinkerton") Kemp on autoharp and vocals, Tony Newman on rhythm guitar, Tom Long on lead guitar, Barrie Bernard playing bass, and John Wallbank on the drums. Following a brief hook-up with producer Shel Talmy, which resulted in one single, Wallbank exited the line-up, to be replaced by Dave Holland.

The quartet were seen and signed by Reg Calvert, the manager of the Fortunes, after which they changed their name to Pinkerton's Assorted Colours and adopted brightly colored costumes for their stage act. Their sound was an amalgam of folk and pop, highlighted by the use of an electric autoharp, which the band used in a manner somewhat similar to that of the Lovin' Spoonful. In late 1965, Pinkerton's Assorted Colours were signed to Decca Records, and they cut their debut single that year with future Moody Blues producer Tony Clarke.

That record, "Mirror, Mirror," a band original written by Tony Newman, became a No. 8 British hit in 1966. They had one more minor chart entry, "Don't Stop Loving Me Baby," later in the year, but that was their last hit and after the failure of "Magic Rocking Horse," they left Decca to sign with Pye Records, and even a name change to "Pinkerton's Colours" didn't make their records more appealing. Ian Coleman later replaced Barrie Bernard (who joined Jigsaw) on the bass, but the group's days were numbered, and they faded away as the 1960's wore on. In 1968, after their failure with the Pye single "Kentucky Woman," Pinkerton's Colours -- with Steve James

now on lead guitar -- transformed themselves into Pinkertons, and finally turned into Flying Machine, who released one album in a pop-psychedelic mode, in 1970.(allmusic.com)

I love this album and maybe you will do it, too.
Have fun
               Frank     New Flac 1   &  New Flac 2  You need both links!
                            mp3@320   &  mp3link 2

Peter Holsapple & Chris Stamey - Mavericks 1991 Flac & mp3

As a fan initially attracted to the dB’s for that band’s nervous energy as much as its irresistible lovelorn pop-craft, I initially was rather coolish toward Mavericks, the ’91 reunion disc by Peter Holsapple & Chris Stamey. In comparison to the NC band’s addictive jangle, the two dB’s song-crafters went for a less assertive sound on their nineties collaboration — lo-fi folk-pop more than power-pop.
Perhaps this approach was just a little too unassuming. When the disc was first released on Rhino’s RNA label, it quickly slipped into the cut-out bins, barely attracting the cult audience that had once made dB’s albums steady sellers in the 80’s import racks. At the time, I wasn’t all that bothered by this fact, but listening to Collector’s Choice Music’s recent reissue, Mavericks proves to be more than just a musical footnote. Years removed from its New Wave-y associations, it’s a sweet set of well-wrought pop-rock.

Primarily recorded by Holsapple and Stamey – with an assist on the drums and bass by a variety of musician friends – the disc is a smartly low-key set of acoustic-focused pop-tracks. If the early dB’s records were the sounds of transplanted southerners in the Big City, looking at and appropriating every slick pop sound they came across, the duo’s set proves less self-consciously over-clever. Though several of the cuts (“I Want to Break Your Heart,” the Fab Four-y “Geometry,” Stamey’s engagingly woozy “Close Your Eyes”) wouldn’t sound out of place on a dB’s disc, they also fit within Mavericks‘ cozier parameters.
With one exception (a harmonic cover of Gene Clark’s “Here Without You,” which was first heard on the Byrds’ classic Mr. Tambourine Man), the material in Mavericks is all original. Only the country-rocking opener “Angels” is credited as a collaborative effort, with the remaining ten tracks on the disc evenly divided ‘tween Holsapple and Stamey. In the dB’s, Holsapple was typically the more openly poppish, yet on this disc, it’s Stamey who contributes the most straight-ahead cuts. This mild switch of personas results in some surprising moments – Holsapple’s quietly folkish “She Was the One,” in particular. But, in the end, both singers’ direct vocals and deceptively easy way with a pop hook are what carry the record. I was a dope for largely ignoring this album when it first came out, but I can take small comfort in the fact that I wasn’t the only one. And thanks to the folks at CCM, we’ve all been given a chance to rediscover this guitar pop gem. CCM’s reissue contains the usual “bonus tracks,” the only unfamiliar song being the most overtly countrified cut to emerge from the session, “Hollywood Waltz,” which if nothing else deserves props for rhyming “waltz” with “balls.” At the very end of the bonus section, though, the two throw in the opening lines to the Beatles’ “Do You Want to Know A Secret?” just before fading out into a decade of cultish solo projects. It’s the kind of throwaway moment that practically provides this disc’s own tagline: for far too long, Mavericks has been an unjustly kept pop secret.(blogcritics.org)

This is just a fantastic album. I think not only for us listeners, but for the both musicians, too.
And i don't want to make blablabla about this wonderful work. If you don't have ever listen to it i can it only absolute recommend. 6 striped wizard hats from 6 possible dotted wizard hats.
Enjoy!
          Frank   Flac1  &  Flac2    You need both Flac links!    mp3@320

Pugwash - Eleven Modern Antiquities 2008 Flac & mp3

If Jollity was Pugwash's Skylarking then 11 Modern Antiquities is Oranges and Lemons. There's more of a sheen and swagger to up-tempo tracks Take Me Away, You're Friend and Its So Fine. Fans of the bands more whimsical tunes will adore the Andy Partridge co-writes My Genius and At The Sea and anyone with a taste for accessible psychedelia will lap up the Micheal Penn assisted Limerance. Another fine album from a criminally overlooked band.(reader review allmusic.com)

Everyone compares the band with XTC and it's hard don't do it, i know. But the band just can lose this comparisons. And to compare 11 Modern Antiquities with Oranges And Lemons from XTC is like compare apples and oranges, lol. Wanna say it's a little bit like compare XTC with the Beatles. It's flattering but have nothing to do with the reality. Reality is that the Beatles and XTC are favourite bands of me. And reality is 11 Modern Antiquities is a quite good album that sometimes remembers to XTC and often to the Beatles...or to apples?

Enjoy!
           Frank     Flac 1  &  Flac 2   You need both Flac links!     mp3@320

SORRY NO ART!