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

FLAMING HANDS - Wake Up Screaming (7" Single)

A while back I posted two 7" singles, It's Just That I Miss You and The Edge, from obscure Australian new wave pop band Flaming Hands. Here's another of their singles, Wake Up Screaming, from 1980.

Wake Up Screaming was produced by seminal Australian rock musician Lobby Loyde, and like the band's debut single, a cover of I Belong to Nobody by Soul Inc., it features an organic, 60s-inspired rock sound. It also boasts a memorable melody by guitarist and songwriter Jeff Sullivan, a very cool sax break and the pure-yet-powerful vocals of singer Julie Mostyn.

The B side, Sweet Revenge, finds Mostyn musing about taking emotional revenge on a lover who has betrayed her. Musically, the song has a similar vibe to the A side and is just as strong. It begins with a simple, sing-songy vocal intro with a girl-group melody and crescendos into a true pop confection highlighted by a sparkling piano solo and a more aggressive guitar sound as the song reaches its end.

Wake Up Screaming is one of my favorite singles, has never been reissued in any format and like everything else by the Flaming Hands, deserves to be discovered my more people.

Flaming Hands - Wake Up Screaming (7" single, 1980)

Track listing:
1 - Wake Up Screaming
2 - Sweet Revenge

FOR FANS OF:
The Dugites, The Tribe, Blondie, INXS, The Pretenders, The Sinceros, The Motels, Martha and the Muffins, The Tourists

Vinyl Returns to Retail?

On their way to the independent record store, some area's vinyl collectors can now stop at Fred Meyer (yes, Fred Meyer) to pick up new releases in 12" form. It might sound strange, but an AP article I came across this morning details how the West Coast retail chain, in addition to a handful of other large retailers, is bringing vinyl back. Here's an excerpt from the story:

This spring, an employee intending to order a special CD-DVD edition of R.E.M.'s latest release "Accelerate" inadvertently entered the "LP" code instead. Soon boxes of the big, vinyl discs showed up at several stores.

Some sent them back. But a handful put them on the shelves, and 20 LPs sold the first day.

The Portland-based company, owned by The Kroger Co., realized the error might not be so bad after all. Fred Meyer is now testing vinyl sales at 60 of its stores in Oregon, Washington and Alaska. The company says, based on the response so far, it plans to roll out vinyl in July in all its stores that sell music.

Other mainstream retailers are giving vinyl a spin too. Best Buy is testing sales at some stores. And online music giant Amazon.com, which has sold vinyl for most of the 13 years it has been in business online, created a special vinyl-only section last fall.

I think it speaks volumes to the timeless qualities of vinyl that in 2008, major retailers are beginning to once again stock a music format long considered by the mainstream to be obsolete. The CD has been on the market for over 25 years, and yet it still hasn't managed to obliterate a format that is undoubtedly much less convenient.

What do you think? Will vinyl come back in an even bigger way? Would you ever buy a new vinyl record at a retail chain instead of a CD?

THE SINCEROS - The Sound of Sunbathing

While I included a song from this record in my first Sinceros post as well as its complete follow-up LP, Pet Rock, in my second Sinceros post, I hadn't posted the band's first album, The Sound of Sunbathing from 1979.

So here it is - 10 tracks of fun with hints of Squeeze and various power pop bands of the era. The record includes The Sinceros' most well known single, the very new wave Take Me to Your Leader, as well as 60s-inspired pop gems such as So They Know, Quick, Quick Slow and My Little Letter.

The Sinceros - The Sound of Sunbathing (LP, 1979) UPDATE 6/09 - This record is now available on CD via Cherry Red Records. Go get it!

Track listing:
1 - Take Me to Your Leader
2 - Worlds Apart
3 - Little White Lie
4 - So They Know
5 - Hanging on Too Long
6 - I Still Miss You
7 - Quick, Quick Slow
8 - My Little Letter
9 - Break Her Heart
10 - Good Luck (To You)

ROBIN LANE AND THE CHARTBUSTERS - Self-Titled and Imitation Life

In the same recent vinyl haul that scored me records by Laurie and the Sighs, 3-D, Tom Dickie and the Desires and Sue Saad and the Next, I was able to grab the only two records released by Boston-based power pop group Robin Lane and the Chartbusters, 1980's self-titled release and its 1981 follow up, Imitation Life.

The band, led by husky-voiced singer-songwriter Robin Lane, specialized in melodic, guitar driven pop/rock, sometimes more straightforward along the lines of early Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and sometimes infused with the distinct new wave and power pop sounds of its time. While the material was definitely radio-ready, the Chartbusters didn't exactly live up to their name, and the two records remain quite obscure.


The self-titled debut starts off with the band's most well-known song, When Things Go Wrong, which is a mid-tempo, smoky atmosphered number that perfectly ushers in Lane's expressive, distinct vocal style. Although it and the album's second single, Why Do You Tell Lies? - another mid-tempo lite rocker - received extensive airplay, the debut garnered little commercial success. The music video for When Things Go Wrong, though, holds the distinction of being one of the videos played on MTV's first day on air. The video was the 11th shown on the channel on August 1, 1981.

Other highlights on the debut record include the manic, Sid Vicious-inspired I Don't Want to Know, the peppy Don't Cry and Kathy Lee, which plays an upbeat melody against downcast lyrics. The record stands out from many other power pop releases of its time in that it explores darker subject matter throughout without sacrificing hooks and melody.


1981's follow up, Imitation Life, is arguably even more interesting. Kicking off with Send Me an Angel, which sounds more than a bit like Patti Smith, the LP takes on more elements of early 80s new wave. While a few of the tracks on the debut sound very similar, each track on Imitation Life has its own personality. What the People are Doing is plodding and myterious, No Control is power pop on a sugar high and Idiot is a tongue-in-cheek nod to 60s pop. The crowning jewel on the record, though, is Solid Rock, a pop song of truly epic proportions. Its impeccable girl group melody, soaring vocals, chiming guitar and thoughtful lyrics mesh together to create sonic bliss. This is one of the best "lost" pop songs I've discovered.

Once again receiving limited commercial success, the Chartbusters called it a day in 1983, and Lane went on to release various recordings throughout the 80s and 90s.

The band reunited in 2001 and released a new CD, Piece of Mind, in 2003.

Only in recent years have the Chartbusters records been released outside of vinyl. The debut LP was reissued on CD by Collector's Choice, and is available to sample and purchase here. Imitation Life has yet to see a CD release, but is available digitally here. Both records are likely to be a pleasing discovery for any power pop fan.

ROBIN LANE & THE CHARTBUSTERS LINEUP:
- Robin Lane - Guitar and lead vocals
- Tim Jackson - Drums
- Leroy Radcliffe - Guitar
- Asa Brebner - Guitar
- Scott Baerenwald - Bass

KEY TRACKS:
When Things Go Wrong, Kathy Lee, Why Do You Tell Lies?, I Don't Want to Know, Solid Rock, Idiot

FOR FANS OF:
The Pretenders, The Byrds, early Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Dwight Twilley

I'm Not Dead

The thing about keeping up a blog is you feel guilty when you don't update it! For that reason I feel the need to justify my lack of updates over the past couple weeks. I usually try to do at least 2-3 posts per week, but a week away on vacation and a particularly busy time at work has translated to little time left for blogging.

Thanks to everyone who checks out this site on a regular basis. New posts coming soon!