pierson

The all-time greatest undiscovered album (especially for Raspberries/Eric Carmen fans) would have to be Van Duren's "Are You Serious" which was released in late 1977 on Big Sound records. It is finally available on CD as is his once unreleased 2nd LP, "Idiot Optimism" which at times sounds like lost Eric Carmen and Todd Rundgren treasures (i.e. "Bear With Me All The Way," "The Love That I Love"). other choices: Pagliaro- Pagliaro (big in Canada, but virtually unknown in US) Johan- Pergola This Perfect Day- C 60 Even Johansen- Even Johansen Tin Tin- Astral Taxi Kevin Tihista- Don't Breathe A Word Jon Brion- Meaningless Rialto- Rialto Nick Heyward- Tangled Duffy- I Love My Friends Nilsson- Pandemonium Shadowshow New Musik- Sanctuary Howie Beck

i hate lists like this 'cause it's impossible to choose--as you will see #11 was like a 99-way tie i only gave each artist one LP even though many deserved several... top 10 LPs (in no particular order) 1. Pernice Bros- Yours Mine & Ours 2. Van Duren- Are You Serious 3. Trash Can Sinatras- I've Seen Everything 4. Big Star- Radio City 5. Sex Pistols- Never Mind The Bollocks... 6. Rolling Stones- Exile On Main Street 7. New York Dolls- New York Dolls 8. Radiohead- The bends 9. Beatles- Revolver (UK & US) 10. David Bowie- Hunky Dory others: tied for #11 Raspberries: Fresh Todd Rundgren- Ballad Of Todd Prefab Sprout- 2 Wheels Good George Harrison- All Things Must Pass John Lennon- Imagine Paul McCartney- Ram Ivy- Apartment Life Marshall Crenshaw- Field Day Nick Drake- Bryter Layter Who- Sing My Generation Alice Cooper- Greatest hits Joni Mitchell- Court & Spark Badfinger- Straight Up 20/20- 20/20 Replacements- Tim Mott The Hoople- Mott Artful Dodger- Rave On Shoes- Present Tense Psychedelic Furs- Talk Talk Talk Sly & The Family Stone- There's A Riot Goin' On T Rex- The Slider Dramarama- Cinema Verite Ramones- Rocket To Russia Clash- London Calling Frank Sinatra- Sinatra & Jobim Nick Lowe- Jesus Of Cool/Pure Pop... Elvis Costello- Imperial Bedroom Jon Brion- Meaningless Dwight Twilley Band- Twilley Don't Mind Beach Boys- Pet Sounds Eno- Here Come The Warm Jets Elton John- Tumbleweed Connection Buzzcocks- Singles Going Steady Flying Burrito Bros- Gilded Palace Of Sin Elvis Presley- The Sun Sessions Little Richard- 18 Greatest Hits dBs- Repercussion REM- Chronic Town Pretenders- Pretenders XTC- Skylarking Even Johansen- Even Johansen Oasis- Definitely Maybe Pulp- Different Class Led Zeppelin- III Smiths- Louder Than Bombs Neil Young- After The Goldrush Nilsson- Nilsson Schmilsson Faces- Best of Bob Dylan- Highway 61 Revisited Television- Marquee Moon Aerosmith- Rocks/Get Your Wings Velvet Underground- Velvet Underground & Nico Roxy Music- Greatest Hits Slade- Sladest Stevie Wonder- Innervisions Cheap Trick- Cheap Trick Jesus & Mary Chain- Psychocandy Sugar- Copper Blue Nirvana- Nevermind Lemonheads- It's A Shame About Ray Johan- Pergola Simon & Garfunkel- Bookends Hamell On Trial- The Chord Is Mightier Than The Sword Flashcubes- Raw Power Pop (Live in Japan) Pixies- Trompe Le Monde Jellyfish- Bellybutton Posies- Dear 23 Syd Barret- Madcap Laughs Patti Smith- Radio Ethiopia Modern Lovers- Modern Lovers Suede- Coming Up Blur- The Great Escape Game Theory- Big SHot Chronicles Wilco- Being There Kinks- Kronikles The Church- Blurred Crusade The Jam- SOund Affects Tommy Keene- Songs From The Film Adorable- Against Perfection Zombies- Odyssey & Oracle Grant Lee Buffalo- Mighty Joe Moon Aimee Mann- I'm With Stupid Al Green- I'm Still In Love With You Dusrty Springfield- Dusty In Memphis Turtles- Best of Byrds- Mr Tambourine Man Hollies- History Of The Hollies

i meant "pipes of peace" the album (arguably Paul's weakest)-- I think "ebony & ivory" stands out as very bland song amongst the superior material on "tug of war"

Kitsch manna: 1. Music to Watch Girls By- Bob Crewe 2. Twiggy Twiggy- Pizzicato 5 3. Venus- Tom Jones/Shocking Blue 4. Une Stylish Fille- Dimitri From Paris 5. Mrs. Robinson- Frank Sinatra 6. lotsa Stereo Total 7. Iron Man- Cardigans 8. Flip Flop & Fly- Johnnie ray 9. Dark Lady- Cher 10. All The Cats Join In- Peggy Lee 11. Mr Tambourine Man- William Shatner 12. Esquivel 13. Bonnie & Clyde- Serge Gainsbourg

Twee Manna: 1. Round & Round- Octavian 2. Summer Girl- Craig Rhuntke 3. The Rain, The Park & Other Things- Cowsills 4. Rose- Paul Williams 5. Let me Be The One- Carpenters 6. Guitar man- Bread 7. Masquerade- Edward bear 8. Get Up & Go- Pilot 9. I'd Love You To Want Me- Lobo 10. Is That The Way- Tin Tin 11. Run To Me- Bee Gees 12. It's Like Heaven- Shaun Cassidy 13. 100,00 Fireflies- Magnetic Fields 14. One Day of Your Life- Andy Williams 15. London- Alessi 16. Tell Someone You Love Them- Dino Desi & Billy 17. I Will Always Think About You- New Colony 6 18. Will You Be Staying After Sunday- Peppermint Rainbow 19. By The Time I Get To Phoenix- Glen Campbell 20. Who Do You Think You Are- Bo Donaldson 21. Fallin In Love- Hamilton Joe Frank & Reynolds 22. Dancing On A Saturday Night- Bond 23. So You Are A Star- Hudson Bros 24. You Know I've Found A Way- Sagittarius 25. There Is Nothing More To Say- The Millennium 26. O-h-h Child- 5 Stairsteps 27. Smile A Little Smile- Flying Machine 28. Love grows- Edison Lighthouse 29. Pretty Lady- Lighthouse 30. Back When My Hair Was Short- Gunhill Road 31. For The Peace Of All Mankind- Terry Sylvester 32. Precious & Few- Climax 33. You Were On My Mind- We Five 34. Sky High- Jigsaw 35. Come Saturday Morning- Sandpipers 36. Get Down- Gilbert O'Sullivan 37. When Will I See You Again- Three Degrees 38. Jimmy Loves Mary-Anne- Looking Glass 39. So Good Together- ANdy Kim 40. Don't Sleep In The Subway- Petula Clark 41. To Sir w/ Love- Lulu 42. Happy- Sunshine Company 43. Summer Days- Partridge Family 44. Indian Giver- 1910 Fruitgum Co 45. Gorilla- Defranco Family 46. More Today Than Yesterday- Spiral Staircase 47. Can't Find The Time To Tell You- Orpheus 48. Cherish- The Association 49. You Showed Me- Turtles 50. Tracy- Cuff Links 51. You Made Me Believe In Magic- Bay City Rollers 52. Hello & Welcome Home- Rollers 53. For The Love Of Him- Bobbi Martin 54. Reflections Of My Life- Marmalade 55. King Creosus- World of Oz 56. Randy- Blue Mink 57. Everlasting Love- The Love Affair 58. baby Now That I've Found You- Foundations

DJs HAVE TO LIKE MUSIC--THAT'S THE RULEBOOK. DISCO, LIKE ALL GENRES HAS IT BAD AND GOOD SONGS. Bad Disco: Donna Summer's "Bad Girls" Good Disco: Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" (influenced by Kraftwerk, approved by Bowie)...sadly, its monotonous beat makes it more insufferable than most genres... With guilty pleasures and Bubblegum, there's stuff that either strikes a positive chord because it resonates with your childhood. Still, some stuff is awful. Bad disposable AM pop: Bo Donaldson & The Heywoods' "Billy Don't Be A Hero" Good disposable AM pop: Bo Donaldson & The Heywoods' "Who Do You Think You Are" Stuff I own that 'no one else should know about': too many Cowsills albums, Jethro Tull ("Cheap Day Return"), Tommy Roe, Orpheus, Edward Bear, Octavian, Sandler & Young, Carpenters, lotsa Hudson Bros, Cuff Links, Classix Nouveau, Johnny Rivers, Keith, etc.

shows you how lousy an indicator of quality the charts can be

Can you think of any 'hit songs' that strayed from the conventional? How about any 'berries songs? Most of these "folk" songs work on a stream-like sense... and even though there's a hook-line, there's not really a chorus per se...early r&r may just be one long chorus (i.e. 'heartbreak hotel' 'peggy sue') some are just a verse and refrain ("hard days night/'eleanore rigby')--there's loads of instrumental hits songs and soul songs that "stray" too, but i tried to keep it to pop/rock stuff.... "By The Time i Get To Phoenix"- Glen Campbell "Elusive Butterfly"- Bob Linde "Everybody's Talkin'"- Nilsson "I Guess The Lord Must Be in New York City"- Nilsson "Subterranean Homesick Blues"- Dylan "Mrs Robinson"- Simon & Garfunkel "The Dangling Conversation"- Simon & Garfunkel "For Emily Whenever I May Find Her"- Simon & Garfunkel "Family Affair"- Sly & The Family Stone "Shaft"- Isaac Hayes "Wild Thing"- Troggs "Ode To Billy Joe"- Bobby Gentry "Riders On The Storm"- Doors "Heroes"- Bowie "7 & 7 Is"- Love "Little Girl"- Syndicate Of SOund "Daydream"- Lovin Spoonful "Creque Alley"- Mamas & Papas "I'm A Man"- Yardbirds/Bo Diddley "Bo Diddley"- Bo Diddley "Heartbreak Hotel"- Elvis Presley "Be-Bop-A-Lula"- Gene Vincent "Peggy Sue"- Buddy Holly 'Trouble Man"- Marvin Gaye (& others) "Lady Madonna"- The Beatles "Hard Day's Night" (?) "Eleanor Rigby" (?) "Shattered"- Rolling Stones "Happy Jack"- The Who "My Generation"- The Who etc. RaspBerries "Cry" "Waiting"

The Guess Who's "Star baby" peaked at #39. other fave one-hit wonders: (this only covers '60-'76) Tin Tin- "Toast & Marmalade For Tea" Jonathan Edwards- "Sunshine" Flying Machine- "Smile A Little Smile For Me" Shocking Blue- "Venus" White Plains- "My Baby Loves Lovin'" Marmalade- "Reflections Of My Life" 5 Stairsteps- "O-h-h Child" Stories- "Brother Louie" Timmy THomas- "Why Can't We Live Together' William DeVaughn- "Be Thankful For Waht You've Got" Rivieras- "California Sun" Nashville Teens- "Tobacco Road" Knickerbockers- "Lies" Bob Lind- "Elusive Butterfly" Standells- "Dirty Water" Syndicate Of Sound- "Little Girl" Count Five- "Psychotic Reaction" Music Machine- "Talk Talk" Bob Crewe- "Music To Watch Girls By" Parade- "Sunshine Girl" Every Mother's Son- "Come On Down To My Boat" Undisputed Truth- "Smiling Faces Sometimes" Carol Douglas- "Doctor's Orders" Sunshine Company- "Back On The Street Again" Yellow Balloon- "Yellow Balloon" Ten Years After- "I'd Love To Change The World" Unit Four Plus Two- "Concrete & Clay" Starz- "Cherry Baby" Peppermint Rainbow- "Will You Be Staying After Sunday" Jefferson- "Baby Take Me In Your Arms" Max Frost & The Troopers- "Shapes Of Things To Come" Gunhill Road- "Back When My Hair Was Short" First Choice- "Armed & Extremely Dangerous" Clique- "Sugar On SUnday" Crabby Appleton- "Go Back" Christie- "Yellow River" Balloon Farm- "Question Of Temperature" Tornadoes- "Telstar" Chantays- "Pipeline" Surfaris- "Wipe Out" two-hit wonders: Crispin St Peters- "Pied Piper" (and "You were On My Mind") We Five- "You Were On My Mind" (and "Let's Get Together") Walker bros- "Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore"/ "Make It Easy On Yourself" Hamilton Joe Frank & Reynolds- "Don't Pull Your Love"/ "Fallin In Love" (they did have one other chart entry... "Winners & Losers") Dino Desi & Billy- "I'm A Fool" (& "Not The Lovin Kind") Cyrkle- "Red Rubber ball"/"Turn Down Day" The Critters- "Mr Diengly Sad"/ "Don't Let The Rain Fall Down On Me"

YES.... CHECK OUT THEIR WEBSITE: TRASHCANSINATRAS.COM THERE'S LOTSA COOL DOWNLOADS AND NEWS ABOUT THEIR NEW (AND LONG OVERDUE) 4TH ALBUM, "WEIGHTLIFTING"-- THEY'RE PLAYING THE TROUBADOUR IN LA IN MARCH (IT'S ALREADY SOLD-OUT VIA WORD OF MOUTH) THEY ARE A GREAT BAND AND THEIR NEW STUFF IS AMAZING

here are mine on Pierson's comments: HERE ARE MY RESPONSES.... 1. "Love Is A Battlefield" - Pierson you give yourself away when you say you're not a fan of Pat, and that the song "had one of the worst videos ever..." WELL, I WOULD NEVER WANT TO SAY I AM A FAN... IT'S DEFINITELY FAIR TO CRITICIZE A BAND/SINGER YOU'RE NOT A FAN OF... EVEN IF YOU TAKE OUT THE VIDEO THE SONG IS ANNOYING... AND THE PRODUCTION IS AWFUL 2. "Cover Me" - very unfair to compare this song to "Born to Run", I DIDN'T COMPARE IT TO 'BORN TO RUN'--I STATED THAT IT WAS WRITTEN BY THE SAME GUY...A VERY DIFFERENT POINT... THE LEAD IS GOOD, BUT THE SONG AS A WHOLE LACKS SPRINGSTEEN'S BEST TRADEMARKS... 3. "Seperate Ways" - again you say "I'm not a Journey fan." You can't say you hate a song by prefacing it that way. YES, YOU SURE CAN... I HATE BARBARA STRIESAND BUT I CAN TELL YOU VERY CONFIDENTLY THAT "THE WAY WE WERE" IS A MUCH BETTER SONG THAN "WOMAN IN LOVE" 4. "All She Wants To Do Is Dance" - All I'll say about this song is that it COOKS live! THAT DOESN'T CHANGE THE FACT THAT THE RECORDED VERSION HAS THAT ATROCIOUS '80S PRODUCTION... AND I STILL CAN'T HANDLE THE LAME CHORUS 5. "Best of Times" - As Styx ballads go, I'll take "The First Time" over this song, so I'll agree with your opinion about it being "Schlocky", but one of the worse songs ever? YOU'RE RIGHT... 'MR. ROBOTO' IS A BIGGER CRIME 7. "Everything I Do I Do It For You" - In my opinion, as far as incredible hooks go, this one has one of the best Bridges EVER! A BRIDGE DOESN'T ERASE BAD LYRICS OR AN OVERWROUGHT SENTIMENT 8. "When A Man Loves A Woman" - If ever there was a sure thing as far as lighting up the dance floor goes, this one is it. JUDGING SONGS ON THEIR ABILITY TO LIGHT UP DANCE FLOORS OR BY HOW 'POPULAR' THEY WERE DOESN'T FLY WHEN SONGS LIKE "THE MACARENA" AND "DO YA THINK I'M SEXY" EXIST... 10. "You Can Call Me Al" - Have you ever tried to play this in a band? Killer horn charts and a bass line that's almost impossible. Who cares about the lyrics when you've got music this challenging. NOW THAT'S THE EXACT KIND OF THINKING THAT GETS EVERYBODY IN TROUBLE. IF WE APPLAUDED STUFF THAT WAS CHALLENGING IRREGARDLESS TO THE LYRICS THAN ALL THE PROG ROCK MADE BETWEEN 1969-1973 WOULD BE THE GREATEST STUFF EVER... EVERYTHING MUST WEIGH ACCORDING TO ITS PLACE AND ALL OF ITS ELEMENTS... A CHEESEY KEYBOARD SOLO CAN RUIN A GOOD SONG AND OVER-INDULGENT EGO-CRAZED GUITAR SOLO CAN DO THE SAME... THE RASPBERRIES WERE DEFINITIVE EXAMPLES OF STYLE AND TASTE AND PRACTICED THE ART OF BREVITY TO PERFECTION.. AND THEIR LYRICS NEVER STEPPED OVER THE LINE OF SCHMALTZ AND CHEESE... THEY LEARNED FROM THE '60S FOREFATHERS (BEACH BOYS, BEATLES, WHO, LEFT BANKE) AND KNEW WHERE THE DREADED SCHLOCK-LINE WAS... 11. "When It's Love" - I'm not the biggest Haggar fan around, but I'll still take his singing over David Lee anytime. SURE HE WAS A BETTER SINGER, BUT THE BAND LOST THEIR EDGE AND PERSONALITY 12. "3am" Matchbox 20 - I guess you figure this is "one of the worst lead vocal takes" because of "it's the over-ennunciating syndrome"?? I still think it's a catchy song. "WE BUILT THIS CITY" IS A CATCHY SONG BUT IT'S ALSO THE WORST SONG EVER WRITTEN...

I don't want to confuse anyone, the previous post was my reply to Marvin's... it doesn't quite look like it when you read it. All the replies after the song titles are mine. p.s. If anyone likes Clint Holmes, my apologies. "Playground In My Mind" is still very cringe inducing. thanks pierson

in 1998 i published a list of what i thought were the 100 worst songs in my magazine, "Yeah Yeah Yeah." Bernie's list sorta reflects the correct mood... Still I'm surprised no one has mentioned what truly is the worst song ever: Starship's "We Built This City" which is a hands-down winner mainly because it's so unbelieably cheesey (Lyrics are as godawful as it gets--and Bernie Taupin lent a hand). And Starship were once a credible band. Most of what I included were either major letdowns by credible artists (i.e. Dylan, Mick Jagger, Don Henley, Van Halen) or just annoying songs. Other big winners/losers: "Final Countdown" Europe, "Everything Is Beautiful" Ray Stevens, "Tom Saywer" Rush, "Only Wanna Be With You" Hootie & Blowfish, "Spoon Man" Soundgarden, "We Don't Need Another Hero" Tina Turner, "Feelings" Morris Albert, "Love Is A Battlefield" Pat Benetar, "Danger Zone" Kenny Loggins, "Eye Of The Tiger" Survivor, "Cover Me," Bruce Springsteen, "Seperate Ways" Journey, "I'll Be There For You" Bon Jovi, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" Poison," "All She Wants To Do Is Dance" Don Henley, "The Heat Is On" Glenn Frey, "Let's Work" Mick Jagger, "Sunglasses At Night" Corey Hart, "If I Had A HAmmer" Peter Paul & Mary, "Flesh For Fantasy" Billy Idol, "St Elmo's Fire" Johnny Parr, "Caribbean Queen" Billy Ocean, "Best of Times" Styx, "Melody Of Love" Bobby Vinton, "Big Girls Don't Cry" Frankie Valli, "Who's Zoomin Who" Aretha Franklin, "You've Made Me So Very Happy" Blood Sweat & Tears, "Pretending" Eric Clapton, "Everything I Do I Do It For You" Bryan Adams, "All For Love" Sting Bryan Adamas & Rod Stewart, "When A Man Loves A Woman" by everyone, "Playground Of My Mind" Clint Holmes, "In The Navy" Village People, "Can't Smile Without You" Barry Manilow, "Lay Lady Lay" Bob Dylan, "Kokomo" Beach Boys, "Material Girl" Madonna, "Fernando" Abba, "You Can Call Me Al" Paul Simon, "Gloria" Laura Branigan, "5th Of Beethoven" Walter Murphy, "The Warrior" Scandal, "Sometimes When We Touch" Dan Hill, "She Works Hard For The Money" Donna Summer, "When It's Love" Van Halen, "Another One Bites The Dust" Queen, "Another Brick In The Wall" Pink Floyd, "Native New Yorker" Odyssey, "United We Stand" Brotherhood Of Man, "The Stroke" Billy Squier, "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" Neil Diamond, "It's Impossible" Perry Como, "Far From Over" Frank Stallone, "Batdance" Prince, "3am" Matchbox 20, "Convoy" CW McCall, "Sing" Carpenters....

The biggest hurdle facing such a thing happening for The Raspberries would be that VH1 and the show's producers caring about the band. Since the show was created by Richard Blade (whose concept of classic pop is Duran Duran and Depeche Mode) it's extremely doubtful they'd give toss for any band from the early '70s (i.e. Mott The Hoople) that are ripe for a one-off reformation.

Not so ironically, my most indelible drummer experience was witnessing Bob Allen's brother Tommy Allen in the spring of 1982 (then with Screen Test). This was the same night I saw The Police at The Carrier Dome which was a dreadful bore--The Synchronicity Tour, ugh. Needless to say, the great drumming of Stewart Copeland was lost amongst the bloated arena sound... Screen Test definitively displayed the true meaning and spirit of power pop and defined what was the "club experience." And during those peak years 1982-1984, Tommy Allen was the most exciting drummer I'd ever seen. Since then I've seen the legendary Clem Burke and even though Clem is in another league, he was, either a bit too show-offish or would often times play certain songs too fast. He still was a monster and one of the greatest. other great drummers: Doug Tull (w/ Tommy Keene), Peter Parker (Dirty Looks), Ray Kubian (True Love/Mars Needs Women), Chris Maggio (unknown kid from NJ who was in a band called Puggle, and is now in a band called Accobra), John Bonham, Buffin (Mott The Hoople)... Ringo Starr on: "Tomorrow Never Knows," "A Day In The Life," "Glass Onion," "Happiness Is A Warm Gun," "Money" "Roll Over Beethoven"

The Trash Can Sinatras have their own website: trashcansinatras.com and have loads of stuff available to purchase.... i recently picked up their b-sides/rarities comp, "On A B Road' which collects all of their amazing b-sides and numerous radio and live performances... The best place for people to start is to see if their regular CDs ("Cake," "I've Seen Everything" and "A Happy Pocket") are available on places like eBay... They just finished their long overdue 4th LP ("Weightlifting") and are set to release it in the spring. In many ways they're better now than they ever were. A recent live performance at NYC's Fez was absolutley breathtaking. They did a stunning version of Paul McCartney's "Junk." His (Frank Reader) once "drab" voice is now very strong and unique, and something quite incredible, albeit in a softer sense (i.e. Colin Blunstone).

Originally posted by Bob Allen: Candy...a few more names that Tommy and I cannot -- and do not -- live without -- all of whom have released 'desert island' records: Big Star, Dwight Twilley, Artful Dodger, Badfinger (naturally), NY Dolls, Scruffs, the Pernice Bros, Chamber Strings, Pezband. The list can go on. Since the brothers Allen (Bob & Tommy) are indirectly responsible for my Raspberries fix, I must extend on their choices...and go (to quote Pezband) on & on In Raspberries mode (mostly singles/songs here): Edgar Winter Group's one insane power pop gem "Sundown"--Tommy Allen says: "A-B it with "I Can Hardly Believe Your Mine", Flo & Eddie's version of Small Faces' "Afterglow," Piper's "Who's Your Boyfriend" and "Can't Wait," Prix's "Saturday's Gone," Gary Charlson's Live EP which featured covers of "Hey Deanie" and "Tonight" not to mention an amazing version of Vance or Towers' "Do Whatever We Want," Vandalias' "Get To Know You," The Pop's "You Oughta Know," Enuff Z'Nuff's "New Thing," Flashcubes' "No Promise," Off Broadway's "Bad Indication" and "Stay In Time," Bad Boy's "Thinking Of You," Van Duren's masterpiece debut solo album "Are You Serious," Slade's "When The Lights Are Out" and "Do We Still Do It," Thundermug's "Orbit," Grand Funk's "Bad Time," Starz's "Cherry Baby," Crabby Appleton's "Go Back" (it pre-dates the 'Berries), Bay City Rollers' "R&R Love Letter," "Wouldn't You Like It" AM pop/soft pop: Hudson Bros, Emitt Rhodes, Mortimer, Bread, Choi Choi, Hawks, Octavian, Pilot, Sleepy Hallow, Tin Tin, Vance Or Towers, Craig Rhuntke, Pagliaro, Paul Williams, April Wine (their ballads), Edward Bear, Abba, Stealer's Wheel, America (i.e. "She's Gonna Let You Down," "I Need You"), Slik, Lobo, Blue, Andy Kim, Bee Gees, Shaun Cassidy's "It's Like Heaven." Thunderclap Newman... '60s pop: Hollies, Dusty Springfiled, Clique, Beach Boys, The Critters, Dino Desi & Billy, Herman's Hermits, Sagittarius/Millennium, Left Banke, New Colony Six, Cowsills, Sunshine Company, Turtles, Zombies, Paul Revere & Raiders, Monkees, late '70s-'80s; Marshall Crenshaw, Tommy Keene, Dancing Hoods, 20/20, Joey Wilson, Shoes, The Beat, Plimsouls, Rubinoos, Records, Spongetones, Romantics (1st LP), dBs, Bill Lloyd, Game Theory, Phil Seymour, Nick Lowe, etc: TODD RUNDGREN, Harry Nilsson, Bowie, T Rex, Alice Cooper, Sweet, Mott The Hoople, Kinks, Small Faces, Faces, Donovan, Easybeats, Creation, Move, Byrds, Cheap Trick, Who (64-67), A Foot In Cold Water, 10cc, Jon Brion, McGuinness Flint, Nasty Pop, Creamcheeze Goodtime band (1972's "Livin w/out You"), McCartney, Splinter, Jellyfish, Posies, Material Issue, Rooney, Tommy James, Nazz, The Boys (UK & US), Rich Kids, Eddie & The Hot Rods, Outlets, Mood Six, Riff Doctors, Syd Barrett, Numbers (Canadian), Jam, Secret Affair, Act, Lambrettas, Ramones, Shake Appeal, True Love, Wondermints, World Of Oz, George Harrison, Sneetches, Rabbit, Radio Stars, Roxy Music, Andy Williams, REM, Rain Parade, Split Enz, Crowded House, Sparks, Velvet Underground, Tommy Roe, We Five, Mrs. Miller

The Pernice Brothers are highly recommended to fans of Elliott Smith, Nick Drake, Zombies, and Big Star. I actually think their latest, "Yours Mine & Ours" is the best album of the century, if not the best since 1996. I did go back to "The World Won't End" which, like their debut, "Overcome By Happiness" is an amazing effort. On "YM&O" they've upped the energy a little and the melodies are just to die for, not to mention Pernice's Blunstone-esque vocals which are always striking. Like most memorable underground pop bands The Pernice Bros are existing in a good amount of obscurity but have a fanbase that allows them to tour the world over. Other significant artists working the Pernice territory: Howie Beck (new album due out soon), Even Johansen (2001's "Quiet & Still" is a gorgeous masterwork), Chamber Strings, Johan, David Poe, Trash Can Sinatras (new LP, "Weightlifting" due out in spring--absolutely brilliant). All artists are worth seeking out on the net, especially the Trash Cans..

The Pernice Brothers are highly recommended to fans of Elliott Smith, Nick Drake, Zombies, and Big Star. I actually think their latest, "Yours Mine & Ours" is the best album of the century, if not the best since 1996. I did go back to "The World Won't End" which, like their debut, "Overcome By Happiness" is an amazing effort. On "YM&O" they've upped the energy a little and the melodies are just to die for, not to mention Pernice's Blunstone-esque vocals which are always striking. Like most memorable underground pop bands The Pernice Bros are existing in a good amount of obscurity but have a fanbase that allows them to tour the world over. Other significant artists working the Pernice territory: Howie Beck (new album due out soon), Even Johansen (2001's "Quiet & Still" is a gorgeous masterwork), Chamber Strings, Johan, David Poe, Trash Can Sinatras (new LP, "Weightlifting" due out in spring--absolutely brilliant). All artists are worth seeking out on the net, especially the Trash Cans..

Thanks for the feedback. I think that the discussion/debate is valid and I understand why people think Big Star/Alex Chilton are overrated and that Raspberries/Eric Carmen often times get a raw deal--Issue 937 of Rolling Stone (500 Greatest Albums Of All Time) being the most recent glaring example. It is rediculous that "Starting Over," "Fresh" or their "Best of" was not included. The same injustice was served to The Dwight Twilley Band, whose "Sincerely" and "Twilley Don't Mind" albums are of prominent stature. Also, I would like to note that after Big Star, Alex Chilton's solo material was of virtually no use and was far more dissapointing than Eric's. Despite Eric's slickness, there were alaways glimmers of the pop genius coming through his work. Chilton lost it completely and never looked back, despite "reforming" and doing reunion shows. I think Bernie asked if there were any GREAT bands whose albums were not issued in the US on CD. I think the Raspberries stand tallest amongst such a disgrace. Of the "GREAT"s (i.e. Badfinger, Big Star, Dwight Twilley Band, Artful Dodger, Todd Rundgren) all of them had their albums reissued here. Artful Dodger is missing one or two and have no "Best of" available. Just recently the Lovin' Spoonful had their catalog reissued. The Hollies catalog was always issued in a cryptic nature and up until recently (with the new 6-CD box set) has not been given proper exposure. Over the years Rhino, Varese Sarabande or Sundazed has usually taken care of such disservices (i.e. Flo & Eddie and The Turtles, Emitt Rhodes etc.) but has found it easier to handle the obscurities (i.e Hudson Bros, Sagittarius/Millennium, Montage, Dino Desi & Billy) rather than those with more than one top 40 hit like Bread, The Sweet or The Raspberries. As far as UK bands are concerned, I'm not sure if all the Slade albums were reissued on CD. T. Rex, in one form or another has always gotten a good deal. Bands like Mud, Cockney Rebel, Pilot etc. are usually relegated to the Japanese labels or Eurupean market. I know Bob Allen and I want to see Tin Tin's catalog on CD. (Their one top 20 hit, "Toast & Marmalade For Tea" is available on Rhino's "Have A Nice Day" series--Vol. 16). I would like to see Blue's 1973 self-titled debut (originally on RSO) released.

Sad to hear Raspberries fans not digging Big Star. Both bands represent quintessential American pop/rock from 72-74 that was trying to recapture the spirit of 64-67 British Invasion and west coast pop. Both bands distinctly created phenomal music for a period sorely lacking such pop vision. Both bands cut roughly the same amount of material (Big Star: 38 songs/Raspberries: 39 songs) and had a creative arc of sorts. Big Star peaked with "Radio City" and The Berries (arguably) with "Starting Over." Bernie's statement about Big Star being "punk" is just incorrect. Even The Berries showed more venom on songs like "Ecstacy" and "I Don't Know What I Want"--bands like The Dead Boys and The Dictators cited them as inspiration. Big Star was a mix of Byrds, Kinks, and Beatles that sounded like folk-pop meets 1966 mod rock, all with a fresh lyrical perspective. Unlike The Berries, their lyrics were more abstract and they always had a sense of mystery which The Berries eschewed. The Raspberries were, however, the definitive power pop band with the singles "Go All The Way," "Tonight" and "I Wanna Be With You." Big Star did rise to such heights with "September Gurls," "In The Street" and "Back Of A Car" but the sense of urgency was different. Despite both bands focusing in on similar teenage topics, The Raspberries had an inherant positive attitude ("hold me tight/my love could live forever after tonight/if you believe in what we're doing is right/close your eyes and be still")-- Big Star were less up front about it and were confused ("sitting in the back of a car/music so loud can't tell a thing/thinking 'bout what to say/and i can't find the lines"). Big Star's music is more cerebral and self-conscious, and thusly, something which resonates deeper with modern critics who have trouble dealing with straight ahead stuff. The Raspberries are much more immediate and easy to figure out. Only on "Fresh" and "Starting Over" did they show signs of reaching into darker areas. Despite people's reservations about Big Star's "3rd" album, they proved they could explore depths equal to The Beatles at their most daring with songs like "Blue Moon," "Nightime," "Big Black Car," and "Holocaust." It definitely wasn't power pop, but it wasn't nearly as offensive as following Clive Davis' lead to imitate Barry Manilow.