New readers start here!
After releasing Black Vinyl Shoes, our footwear band of choice travelled back in time to record their sophomore album [rockspeak advisory - Ed.] Bazooka. The stunt misfired, drawing opprobrium from the critics, who asked why they didn't take the opportunity to prevent James Taylor from releasing Gorilla.
Re-entering the space-time continuum, they waited until 1979 for Bomp! Records to release the swell single Tomorrow Night, and then sold their souls to Elektra to cut Present Tense, their first album to sound like it wasn't recorded in a five dollar motel room. Head of Elektra at that time was billionaire recluse Don Ho [this is bullshit - why don't you look them up on wiki and copy-paste like everyone else? - Ed.] who paid for the studio to be redecorated as a Zion motel "to make the boys feel at home" and flew in their moms to cook their favorite meals. The result was a brilliant album simply ewzing with chewns that should have made them global stars.Find out what happened in the next episode of It's A Shoe-In!
Power pop! It's arguable these guys invented it, although Blue Ash and Big Star were in there too. Whenever the term comes up, someone says the genre is inspired by The Beatles, but why short, hooky songs have to be Beatles-influenced isn't clear to me. The Shoes sound nothing like The Beatles. and their own sound was already completely developed on this, their first "proper" album. I suppose you don't have to like it, but you'll need to make the effort, and why bother?
ReplyDeletePower pop...it's a bit of a stew...I can hear the Hollies, the Byrds, the Searchers, the Who, the Move, the Nazz and the Kinks (and many more) in much of it.
DeleteNowadays, it's more easily defined. There's a definite power pop sound and these guys - da Shoes - seem to be closer than anyone to it who was around at the time.
The Shoes weren't, ahem, the sole inventors of Power Pop. Let's not forget The Raspberries.
ReplyDeleteOff Topic:
If anyone's interested in the official Rolling Stones ‘Live At The El Mocambo’, released today.
https://workupload.com/file/xufLq7dcU5A
Er ...
DeleteMany thanks for the Stones, Babs!
DeleteJust snagged this. Seems a good opportunity to share it.
DeleteVintage Rock magzine - Stones 60th Anniversary Special Edition - pdf.
https://workupload.com/file/VhejarxHf2e
Mick Taylor appears to have been "airbrushed" out.
DeleteWow! That's been rare. Thanks much.
DeleteThey've been airbrushing Bill Wyman out for years now
DeleteYes - and what about Kenny Toast? You never see anything about him. It's like he never existed.
DeleteWhen their rarities comp came out (the *ahem* Starbucks exclusive in the U.S. - how very rock'n'roll of them) Wyman was nowhere to be seen. It wasn't so much airbrushing as using pictures where Wyman was "unfortunately" cut off on the side somewhere. Man, for a band that has seen and done it all they sure are fickle...
DeleteCheck out reissues of "Some Girls", it's like Mr. Wyman never existed.
DeleteBadfinger beat them all.
ReplyDeleteWhoever you are, if you feel up to submitting Badfinger screed, I'm sure we'll be grateful. Or any of the 4/5g©.
DeleteTha Rasberries, though ...
Badfinger were great. The Raspberries are the kind of band where a well chosen Best of is largely sufficient. So. Much. Filler.
DeleteAnother band (The Shoes) that I was curious about, thank you... Let's not forget about the Mingus track "The Shoes of the Fisherman's Wife Are Some Jive-ass Slippers"...
ReplyDeleteAnother band around at the same time were sort of similar - 20/20.
ReplyDeleteBut these Shoes guys are far better.
Great stuff! (yes, I cheated and got the stuff elesewhere).
Our postbag has been overflowing with requests that we bring back the Old School Stealth Link©! Nathrhi Z. Iuzazhosz (Cowflap, IN) writes: "Dear Farquhar please please please bring back the Old School Stealth Link©s! Trying to find them drove my wife blind and she was hit by a truck!"
ReplyDeleteHappy to oblige, Nathrhi! There's one in this very comment!
Oh - and the loaddown includes a Luxury Bonus!
Not the shoes!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_z1K3n-NPE&ab_channel=T.Antoine
Dames! Watcha gonna do?
Delete(His hair though ... is this an outtake from Dynasty?)
A pompadour gone berserk.
DeleteJust listened to Present Tense, sounds great.
ReplyDeleteAlso goes to prove that a little polish goes a long way. I had a hard time getting into the records you posted in part one (when we didn't know it was an ongoing series!) with their distant, tinny and frankly unsatisfying sound.
Power pop, as far as I can see, demands a clean, punchy production.
That polish really helps. There's some very fine albums coming up from them.
DeleteSpeaking of power pop, I really like this young fella who calls himself Young Guv. He also makes Prince-style funk and synth pop music, and his newest songs have a country influence, but I think power pop is his forte.
ReplyDeleteThe link below is a Young Guv playlist that I made on a site called BNDCMPR, which is handy since Bandcamp itself doesn't support playlists.
https://bndcmpr.co/44974e7f
Big fan of his work - I have four (?) albums and was going to nail some screed to the wall.
DeleteCool! A talented guv -- er, guy. I like the pedal steel sound on the new ones (Young Guv III and IV). Would love to read your thoughts on his music.
Delete