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From Power Pop to Pub Rock
Tony Peyser
Mirror contributing writer
High atop the power pop heap next to Fountains Of Wayne is Bill Lloyd.
With Radney Foster, he was a successful country act but one could
argue his heart is in the songs of The Beatles, The Byrds and The
Beach Boys. While Nashville-based Lloyd can jangle and harmonize with
anybody, his lyrics may actually be a notch above everybody: “From a
Dom Perignon to a brown paper sack, it’s good to be back to even/From
a Jacqueline Susann to a Jack Kerouac, it’s good to be back to even.”
Anyone who can link together Valley Of The Dolls and On The Road is on
the right track and Back To Even backs up Lloyd’s talent even more.
Oklahoma-born Nancy K. Dillon has performed in various groups for
years in Seattle. Her solo debut, Just Let Me Dream, has a lot going
for it. I can’t recall the last time I singled out an album for being
so well-played. Resonator guitar, clawhammer banjo and mandolin are
used with particular grace. But it’s countrified folkie Dillon’s
welcoming voice that pulls the album together. The accordion-driven
“Play 1-4 Susie” sweetly describes the yearning folks who return to
clubs regularly and occasionally find what they’re looking for.
I sometimes wonder if CDs are secretly placed on my desk like Gideon
Bibles in hotel rooms. I don’t remember asking for Dave McCann and The
Ten Toed Frogs’ Country Medicine but this dose of alt-country from
Canada is just what the doctor ordered. It’s like being in a town
that’s very familiar but has its own particular local landmarks.
There’s a laid back vibe with a rusted charm. The Band (who McCann
reminds me of) made a splash with Music From Big Pink. Let’s just call
this Music From The Great White North.
I was also reminded of The Band on Cruel To Be Kind, a collection of
live BBC recordings by Brinsley Schwarz from the early 1970s. This
British group was never as big as it deserved to be but that’s a
downside of being ahead of your time. Named after one of the band
members, they were supreme pub rockers who also possessed a
country-rock flair that the music world embracing new wave and punk
wasn’t ready for. The plaintive “Don’t Lose Your Grip On Love” is like
a lost Robbie Robertson and Neil Young collaboration. It was written
by Nick Lowe who also penned “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love &
Understanding” and “The Beast In Me” which Lowe memorably sang on “The
Sopranos.” This isn’t the first time I’ve sung the praises of this
great band, nor will it be the last. May the Schwarz be with you.
Miles Of Music has Back To Even for $14.99, Just Let Me Dream for
$12.99, Country Medicine for $11.99 and Cruel To Be Kind for $17.49.
The Goofy Band Name Of The Week is an old bluegrass band of Jerry
Garcia’s … The Asphalt Jungle Mountain Boys. |
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