Saturday, June 28, 2008

PEZBAND - Cover to Cover



Being from Chicago, I am always on the lookout not only for new local bands to follow, but also great acts that came out of the city in past decades. One of my favorites of the latter ilk is Pezband, a little-known power pop band that began in Oak Park, IL, in the early 1970s.

Shortly after I began this blog I wrote an overview post about Pezband, which you can find here. In short, the band released three LPs, Pezband (1977), Laughing in the Dark (1978) and Cover to Cover (1979).

While all three records are excellent, Pezband never achieved the widespread recognition they deserved. The self-titled release and Cover to Cover rank as two of my favorite power pop LPs ever, and it's hard to understand exactly why they didn't catch on.

Cover to Cover is a perfect example of how the band could write spot-on melodies in the vein of Shoes, but also blend those melodies perfectly with a hard-edged, unpolished sound a la early Cheap Trick.

Infectious yet rough-around-the-edges tracks such as the anthemic opener Stella Blue, Meika and Back in the Middle rock hard. In fact, there's not really a single song on the album that doesn't rock hard, except for maybe Didn't We (which is still great).

See for yourself:

Pezband - Cover to Cover (LP, 1979)

Track listing:
1 - Stella Blue
2 - Meika
3 - Back in the Middle
4 - Full Power
5 - Didn't We
6 - African Night
7 - Make Me Happy
8 - Cover to Cover
9 - Hero Hero
10 - Unexpected
11 - Don't Look Back

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

the 3 Pezband lps with artworks are also on the Powerpop Criminals blog !
Japanese cd reissue (for the 3) with bonus tracks on Air mail recordings !

shader said...

hey, Franko6677 ! You didn't add me to your list of blogs.
I'll add your link today on my blog. Please add me too.

Best Kept Secrets (http://best-keptsecrets.blogspot.com/)

The Ripple Effect said...

I loved the Pez band. Thanks. I dig your site. We have a music site also dedicated to spreading the word on new, unheralded and lost classic artists. Check us out and let's exchange links.

Racer
The Ripple Effect
www.ripplemusic.blogspot.com

Frank K said...

shader, sorry about the delay. have just been crazy busy here. you are now linked!

Frank K said...

ripple effect, very cool site. would love to trade links.