pierson

well.. you need to seek out artists like Dusty Springfield & Harry Nilsson to change that (and even 3 Dog Night, who made a career out of it)... it all depends on the artist... Harry's best Isolation (John Lennon) Snow (Randy Newman) Without You (Badfinger) Living Without You (Randy Newman) She's Leaving Home (Beatles) Dusty's best: I've Been Wrong Before (Randy Newman) Spooky (Classics IV) Close To You (Bacharach/David, pre-Carpenters) Sunny (?, originally a hit for Bobby Hebb) Magic Garden (Jimmy Webb, 5th Dimension) others: Nancy Sinatra Let Me Kiss You (Morrissey) William Shatner & Joe Jackson Common People (Pulp) Ramones Do You Wanna Dance (Bobby Freeman) California Sun (Rivieras) R.A.M.O.N.E.S. (Motorhead) I Don't Want To Grow Up (Tom Waits) Let's Dance (Chris Montez) Flashcubes Hello Susie (The Move) Cheap Trick Speak Now Or Forever Hold Your Peace (Terry Reid) Hollies Air That I Breathe (Albert Hammond) Jesus Was A Crossmaker (Judee Sill) Herman's Hermits Wings Of Love (Nirvana, the '60s UK psych pop band) Flo & Eddie Afterglow (Small Faces) The Jam Get Yourself Together (Small Faces) Pretenders I Go To Sleep & Stop Your Sobbing (Kinks) Windows Of The World (Bacharach/David) Everything But The Girl Kid (Pretenders) REM Superman (The Clique) Andy Kim Baby I Love You (Ronettes) Clash I Fought The Law (Sonny Curtis) Police On My Back (Equals) Sinead O'Connor All Apologies (Nirvana) Dream Academy It'll Never Happen Again (Tim Hardin) Rod Stewart Reason To Believe (Tim Hardin) Colin Blunstone Misty Roses (Tim Hardin) Magnet Lay Lady Lay (Bob Dylan) Dramarama Memo From Turner (Mick Jagger) You're So Rude (Faces) Candidate (Bowie) David Bowie White Light/White Heat (Velvet Underground) Cactus (Pixies) Mott The Hoople All The Young Dudes (Bowie)

fyi: i didn't label him Percy a one-hit wonder... i tried to put him in the context of "rock & roll" which is "marginal"... as an R&B artist he deserves all the praise & notoriety & i bet his catalog is strong enough to merit it...

Yes... BUT that shouldn't SLOW anyone down for a split second when they ponder the idea of Percy Sledge... Chuck Berry IS rock & roll... Percy is an r&b/pop sidebar... he's as marginal as they get.... Chuck Berry is basically the center of rock & roll... all the antecedents are just that: Antecedents and they do matter... but things always should be kept in perspective & Eric is right (although I would argue Procol Harum are on equal footing with The Lovin' Spoonful in my book). Kiss, Alice Cooper, Small Faces, New York Dolls all deserve induction before the lighter singer-songwriters and disco artists, as well as marginal R&B/pop singers with one song that never stops playing on the radio... P. Sludge indeed

ABSOLUTELY..... and this is where some people miss the point or try to exclude the forefathers because they weren't part of what many think was the beginning of power pop: the Raspberries/Big Star/Badfinger/Twilley era... but in essence The Who in 1965 were a power pop band.... as were The Beatles in late 1963 & most of 1964... The Kinks 1964-1965 and Small Faces 1966-1967... my list: (some were more important on record than live & vice versa) 1. Raspberries 2. The Who 1965 3. The Beatles 1964 4. Cheap Trick 5. Small Faces 1966 6. Tommy Keene 1985 7. The Flashcubes 8. The Kinks 1964-1965 9. Big Star 10. Dwight Twilley Band

these clips were taken from last week's show at The Paradise in Boston which I had the luck of filming for the band... guitarist Paul Armstrong posted these clips & they are amazing... the band was on fire & the sound was amazing... Tommy Allen rawked... Flashcubes- "No Promise," "Cherry's World" & "Hello Susie: (live 11/3/06 @ The Paradise, IPO, Boston, MA) "No Promise" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFo0TLF7lTY& "Cherry's World" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMjz1qOFtpA "Hello Susie" (cover of The Move song) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZudwOmKY4Y Originally posted by Eric Carmen: "As a personal fan of Tommy Allen's majestic drumming and 5000 megawatt smile, I highly recommend the Boston show. Flashcubes RAWK!" ec

i didn't check further on in the post, but Joe Cocker's first single in the UK back before he was over the top, was a great version of "I'll Cry Instead"... spot on re: Elton's version of LSD... I went years and years before i heard it again, which was recently and I though it sounded VERY stiff & lacking any of the grace and flow of The Beatles... not that it should sound like The Beatles, but it sounded forced...

it's a GREAT choice... a truly amazing UK female pop moment..... eclipses everything Bananarama did (which ain't that hard), except for maybe "Cheers Then"...

Marvin, i'd luv to hear that Chester song & whatever pre-1977 Canadian AM obscurities u can dig up... more... Emitt Rhodes- Fresh As A Daisy Todd Rundgren- Just One Victory Turtles- Can I Get To Know You Better Monkees- Look Out Here Comes Tomorrow Dusty Springfield- Just A Little Lovin Eric Carmen- My Girl/Sunrise Shelby Lynne- Killin Kind Edward Bear- Masquerade (only # 39 here in the US, i think) Poco- Good Feeling To Know Looking Glass- Jimmy Loves Mary Anne Alice Cooper- You & Me Dino Desi & Billy- Tell Someone You Love Them Bo Donaldson & The Heywoods- Who Do You Think You Are Flo & Eddie- Keep It Warm Flo & Eddie- Afterglow Flo & Eddie- Let Me Make Love To You April Wine- Like A Lover Like A Song Hollies- Jesus Was A Crossmaker Timebox- Beggin' Peggy Lee- Let's Love Hollies- Put Yourself In My Place

did we forget Octavian's "Round & Round"? oh that damn Seadog.... i do luv Creamcheeze Goodtime Band's "Living Without You"... very Lobo/Glen Campbell AM folk-pop tune which barely cracked the Canuck top 30.... i've never heard it played up there although... while we're at it.... in the true tradition of the thread: I think I found a quintessential choice... Pilot's "Get Up & Go" from 1977....

well than throw in:"Isn't Love Unkind"- A Foot In Cold Water Cum Hear The Band- April Wine Alright- Artful Dodger Sundown- Edgar Winter Group Do It- Neil Diamond Wings Of Love- Herman's Hermits You- George Harrison Is That The Way- Tin Tin I Can't Take It- Cheap Trick The Kids Are Alright- The Who David Watts- The Kinks Borstal Boys- Faces The River Is Wide- Grass Roots Run To Me- Bee Gees

YES!!! and Elliott Smith's cover of it on "American Beauty" soundtrack.... Hollies- Jesus Was A Crossmaker Everly Brothers- All I Have To Do Is Dream, Let It Be Me Mamas & Papas- 12:30 Paul McCartney- Dear Boy

funny... i go away & this is up here.... Wow... thanks for posting that Tommy... for 2006, there's a LOAD of great new releases... and as much as i luv My Chemical Romance... i think they're albums are tough to listen to all the way through... I DO think they're a genius singles band... although some of their best songs have not been singles... "Dead!" is an amazing MODERN power pop song with insane hooks and BIG production... hands down, the best thing on the new album... Like Bob Allen, I think the best album of 2006 is The Pernice Brothers' "Live A Little" which is the work of pure genius and is GREAT through & through... beyond that check out these new releases: The Fratellis- Costello Music (import) Ed Harcourt- The Beautiful Lie (import) Badly Drawn Boy- Born In The UK The Lemonheads- The Lemonheads (a great self-titled comeback) The Sleepy Jackson- Personality Lloyd Cole- Antidepressant there's also new CDs by Sean Lennon, Divine Comedy, Damien Rice that are worth checking out too.....

great thread Marvin..... sorry i took forever to check it out (been busy here in NJ) Bottom line is pretty simple... all of Rod's covers albums BLOW... and do a major disservice to the originals and Rod's legacy... even though I will always rate Rod & the Faces work between 1970-1974 as important as The Stones... just check out VH1 Classic's BBC series w/ The Faces for proof if Rod truly cared to be artistic and creative (and rediscovered his muse) he could make a great record... But these days he's sided w/ the Clive world (call it lowest common denominator crap for the masses).... he's doesn't have it in him to give a "F**K" about pushing the envelope or creating new songs that reconnect to the artist we grew up with... plain & simple: he's VERY LAZY And these days things aren't as bad as everyone's described, 'cause there is room for artists like Dylan & Neil Young to continue & create art on their own terms... just like any other respected artist in his or her field who won't yeild to bowing out or making poo for dummies... Also, it's not the idea of the Rod doing covers (instead of originals) that's offensive... it's the fact that his versions suck so bad and don't even rate with the standards we would usually give such a serious artist... Bryan Ferry did an album of standards (just before Rod turned the concept into a 21st century boom market) and it's stunning...

that looseness is true perfection.... And not so easy to "nail"... in other words... it's pure magic... and the overall SOUND quality was as amazing as any rock and roll band ever sounded... it's the peak of rock gear and recording technique... that BBC performance by the Faces was one of those very rare moments... and they'd had a LOT of practice leading up to that point... their ability to ebb and flow with such attitude and confidence was the payoff of years as rough mods... Ronnie Lain is amazing too!! I really hope Eric caught it... it re-airs next week (on the 28th, I think)

not a ripoff, but quite obviously influenced by Eric & the 'Berries... especially the way Mimi Betinis sings...

a lot of Spin's list makes sense: Turbonegro My Chemical Romance ... great live band Radiohead ... definitley My Morning Jacket ...saw them on Conan & they were amazing amazing Mars Volta Green Day Queens Of Stone Age Arcade Fire ...maybe Hives ...overhyped, 'cause the singer can't cut it live, vocally, that is and of course: U2 Prince Stooges bad or questionable: AFI ...maybe "good" live but their music is dreadfully overwrought... Art Brut ...are a novelty punk band LCD Soundsystem ...are alright White Stripes ...? Flaming Lips ...good records, decent live show Yeah Yeah Yeahs ...i'd get bored pretty quick, despite liking them Red Hot Chili Peppers ...luckiest band on earth the rest i don't know.... if the 'Berries were a band that toured the whole country, I'd list them... everytime i saw Oasis i was bored, even at Maxwell's in Hoboken '94... I've never seen any live footage of Dylan after 1966 that was all that good or exciting... Springsteen should be #1 over U2, he's that much more powerful... and I actually don't like him that much other big omissions: Dictators ... but they've stopped playing live Marjorie Fair ... a personal fave Cheap Trick ... definitely Jesse Malin ... just saw this week... incredible Jon Brion Trashcan Sinatras Pernice Brothers ... only in small venues 200 & under Prefab Sprout ... their 2000 Fleadj fest footage on youtube made me wish i flew there to see them... Flashcubes ... always godhead live!!!! Tommy Allen rules

After doing a recent run & search and bounce around on Youtube for a load of hours, I found what might be the greatest live power pop vocal performance, although if someone posts Eric doing "I Don't Know What I Want" from BB Kings 7.24.05, it might get a run for its money... the live performance I'm talking about is a VERY rare performance of the Todd Rundgren-penned gem "Heaven's Falling" from 1983... Robin Zander uses every ounce of his god given talent to hit all the out of this universe notes (as well as the very difficult to hold low notes in the intro!).... on top of that Bun E Carlos never sounded more in the zone and Rick Neilson plays a lead for the ages... and they also have the "man behind the curtain" handling the "over dubs"!!! just go on to youtube & type in "cheap trick heaven's falling" and u should be able to find it

Eric, Happy Birthday.... and I know this is a tough order, but I hope this one is as enjoyable as your 23rd (which was one week shy of when "Go All The Way" peaked)... can't wait to see ya hit the road/stage again and tear the roof off!! Pat

someone previously alluded to the lyrics of 1910 Fruitgum Co's "Indian Giver"-- and I would use that song as an example of a great bubblegum single and something that shows that the genre had more depth than everyone else here is giving it credit... AND i betcha it'd sound amazing done as a slow ballad... also the "Tra La La" song by The Banana Splits is a great precursor to so many of our fave glam hits & Ramones songs.... i think too many here have a negative opinion on bubblegum... it's a little beyond "Sugar Sugar" & "Yummy Yummy Yummy" at times... and i swear Bob Allen was being sarcastic w/ that quote about Tommy James... if songs like "Mony Mony," "I Think We're Alone Now," "One Two Three & I Fell," and "Mirage" don't fall into the bubblegum category than let's just say it all sounds like Metallica... also there are a few more similarities to PR & Raiders & The Monkees, especially after their chart topping days faded... between 1968-1970 they cut some very decent sunshine pop tunes that were akin to stuff by Sagittarius & The Millennium... FYI: here's the lyrical output... exhibit a Raspberries "I Wanna Be With You" If we were older we wouldn't have to be worried tonight Baby, Oh I wanna Be With you so bad, I wanna be with you oh baby, I wanna be with you oh yeah, I wanna be with you well tonight's the night we always knew it would feel so right so come on baby, i just wanna be with you someday's a long time and we've been waiting so long to be here Baby, Oh I wanna Be With you so bad, I wanna be with you oh baby, I wanna be with you oh yeah, I wanna be with you well tonight's the night we always knew it would feel so right so come on baby, i just wanna be with you Hold me tight my love could live forever after tonight if you believe in what we're doing is right close your eyes & be still Baby, Oh I wanna Be With you so bad, I wanna be with you oh baby, I wanna be with you oh yeah, I wanna be with you well tonight's the night we always knew it would feel so right so come on baby, i just wanna be with you Oh, I wanna Be With you so bad, I wanna be with you oh baby, I wanna be with you oh yeah, I wanna be with you exhibit B 1910 Fruitgum Co "Indian Giver" I can still remember It wasn't long ago Things you used to tell me You said I had to know Told me that you loved me And that you always would Then I said I loved you You said that that was good Girl, you made a promise Said you'd never want me to go Oh no Indian giver, Indian giver You took your love away from me Indian giver, Indian giver Took back the love you gave to me Baby, I was feeling The way I want to feel You had me believing The love we had was real Things we did together You said they'd never end Now until forever Yeah, that was what you said Girl, when I was down, I knew you'd always be there Oh, yeah Indian giver, Indian giver You took your love away from me Indian giver, Indian giver Took back the love you gave to me Indian giver, Indian giver You took your love away from me Indian giver, Indian giver Took back the love you gave to me

i don't equate the monkees w/ the partridge family either... but i think, musically, there's a lot of similarities between the Monkees & Paul Revere & The Raiders...

i know they weren't manufactured.... but their success was heavily influenced by "Where The Action Is"...

true... but like you said, the Kasenetz-Katz roster is indeed all bubblegum acts... bubblegum really is Ohio Express, 1910 Fruitgum Co, Archies, Banana Splits, Bugaloos... the TV bands who were manufactured as such, including The Monkees & Paul Revere & The Raiders are part of the picture too, but a lot of their music expanded beyond the realm/genre... the same goes for Tommy James & The Shondells... and everyone should understand what kind of a stance a band like RASPBERRIES took in 1972 by releasing two albums: one with a scratch & sniff sticker & the other where they're wearing matching suits... It was almost "punk" in its attitude towards the major prevailing trends (i.e. country rock, prog rock, heavy metal, post Woodstock boogie & acid rock & folk rock)... it was like saying "F" off to the rock bands who don't want to write catchy 3 minute pop songs that sound good on AM radio... and who don't want to write songs about teenage angst... and who act like they're 20 years older than they actually are... of course such a move backfired because a lot of idiots failed to take them seriously and hear that what they were doing was beyond catchy disposable pop, AND was indeed as important as Beatles '65, Beach Boys Today, & Who Sings My Generation...

fyi: to anyone who cares to understand & not be so offended by the term Bubblegum, there's a great book about the term & the music... Raspberries appear 5 times amongst the numerous essays & stories... "Bubblegum Music Is The Naked Truth: The Dark History Of Prepubescent Pop, from the Banana Splits to Britney Spears" edited by Kim Cooper & David Smay

it's much closer to being bubblegum than being country rock, hard rock/heavy metal, progressive rock, folk rock, singer-songwriter rock, boogie rock, psychedelic rock, hippie rock, acid rock, jazz rock, fusion, be bop, polka... by the way i never said it was "bubblegum," but is close (i.e. like the Monkees)

well, i said it comes close... and i do think it does (if your idea of bubblegum includes punchy power pop songs with lyrics about teen romance)-- it does transcend it obviously, because of EC's songwriting (great bridge)... but from a production point of view, and it's chorus, it's definitely something that could be perceived as bubblegum & THAT'S A GOOD THING... Way much cooler than being perceived as Boogie rock