My Album of .... Power Pop!

 

Please note: I've excluded the likes of XTC & Squeeze from this category as they feature in Post Punk / New Wave music although the likes of Hourglass & Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead fit the bill. Likewise I've exclude Supergrass for similar reasons as they can fit under Brit-Pop. Plus it makes it easier to get down to 12 songs.

 

1. Paul McCartney - Monkberry Moon Delight - Taken from his excellent 1971 album Ram this is a perfect example of a genre of music that most critic attribute him to be responsible for due to its abundantly tunefulness, bouncy keyboards, drums/percussion & bass & guitar power chords.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjYK5ADwwhc

 

2. Badfinger - Meanwhile Back At The Ranch - Badfinger are/were the most criminally robbed band in musical history. Pete Ham was a musical genius, a fantastic songwriter, great vocalist & brilliant slide guitar player who committed suicide in 1975 after the band were legally in a state of incommunicado with all their royalties frozen (remember there most famous song Without You was the world's biggest selling single of 1972 by Harry Nilsson), their albums removed from the stores & the legally could not tour, due to their former record company Apple in litigation between the four former Beatles; then their American manager removed/embezzled a six figure advance out of an account. Just listen to this track taken from their final studio album with Pete Ham "Wish You Were Here" from 1974 to see why Paul McCartney called Coldplay "Just a third rate Badfinger" in 2001. Chris Thomas producer that album, and when featured in 2006's Radio 2's Record Producers series he cited this album as his favourite that he'd produced - this is the same Chris Thomas who mixed Dark Side of The Moon & produced Never Mind The Bollocks, Pulp's Different Class, Roxy Music's For Your Pleasure, INXS' Kick and many albums by Elton John & the Pretenders.

 

3. Raspberries - Overnight Sensation (#1 Hit Record) - The American equivalent of Badfinger in the early 1970s. They recorded 4 albums before Eric Carmen went on to have a patchy solo career with songs like "All By Myself" & "Hungry Eyes".

 

4. Todd Rundgren - Hello It's Me - Todd was the Beck of his day, a real maverick in every sense who went on to produce Meat Loaf's Bat Out Of Hell, as well as albums by XTC, Badfinger, Cheap Trick & the Tubes amongst others...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsezr0qiFIc

 

5. 10cc - I'm Mandy Fly Me - Manchester's 10cc were without doubt Britain's cleverest pop band of the 1970s. This was their final single made as a four piece before Godley & Creme left for a moderately successful pop career & more successful career as video directors, whilst Gouldman & Stewart continue to produce top 10 hits until Dreadlock Holiday in 1978. Personally this track is better, cleverer and makes more sense then the grotesquely overrated Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ANr-OXMork

 

6. ELO - Mr Blue Sky - Jeff Lynne was clearly a fan of the Beatles, as their run of hit singles in the second half of the 1970s & early 1980s proved. So it was no surprise that he would end up producing two of that band's solo albums, being part of a band with George & producing Free As A Bird & Real Love....

 

7. Supertramp - Breakfast In America - Fans of Gym Class Heroes & Fall Out Boy will recognise this track, but they were surprisingly successful in the late 1970s, especially in America thanks to tracks like this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHbPD_bXaOA

 

8. The Knack - My Sharona - Probably the most famous song of this genre of music. It might be over familiar to many, but it is easy to see why it was the biggest selling single in the USA in 1979. ... and it was revitalised due to its use in the excellent Reality Bites movie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoCrCl1YhsM

 

9. Bourgeois Tagg - I Don't Mind At All - It is hard to believe this only made USA#38 & UK#35 in 1988. Although it does sound like they are covering a McCartney Beatles song from a parallel universe or is that because it is a Todd Rundgren production.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5YGEA4dAu0

 

10. Jellyfish - New Mistake - Within the last couple of months a British music writer wrote that Spilt Milk (from which this track was taken) has become the best album of the 1990s in the light of the success of the latest albums by Scouting For Girls, Hoosiers & The Feeling. Having bought all of those albums I can indeed vouch that Spilt Milk is Revolver in comparison. Yet again this band split up due to lack of commercial success. This fantastic live performance proves that they were far, far more than a studio band, and could put 95% of bands to shame.

 

11. Aimee Mann - I Should've Known - This track features a few former members of Jellyfish. This track really should have been a big hit back in 1994. Taken from the fantastic Whatever album. This album also featured XTC's Dave Gregory, Elvis Costello & Squeeze's Difford & Tilbrook.

 

12. New Radicals - You Get What You Give - Gregg Alexander scored a big hit on both sides of the pond with this track, before splitting the band up and working as a songwriter producer in the 21st Century with Ronan Keating, Sophie Ellis-Bextor & Bowling For Soup (remember "1985") amongst others.

 

'power pop'?.. thats a new one to me m8, but i get the gist ! :)

 

some good tracks there, others are rather obscure.

 

wouldnt slade qualify?...

My Album of .... Power Pop!

 

1. Paul McCartney - Monkberry Moon Delight - Rough vocals on this track, not his best imo

 

2. Badfinger - Meanwhile Back At The Ranch - I loved Badfinger, some of the most melodic songs of the early 70's, and agreed its a shame they both ended up comitting suicide.

 

3. Raspberries - Overnight Sensation (#1 Hit Record) - I used to like this

 

4. Todd Rundgren - Hello It's Me - Great voice, can't say the same about his face though :) Preferred I saw the light

 

5. 10cc - I'm Mandy Fly Me - Always was a big 10CC fan and own all their albums , this one is one of their best

 

6. ELO - Mr Blue Sky - Love ELO got all their albums too :) Great choice

 

7. Supertramp - Breakfast In America -Excellent song :)

 

8. The Knack - My Sharona - Love this track,was quite different from the disco music that was out at the same time

 

9. Bourgeois Tagg - I Don't Mind At All - Don't really remember this one, but it reminds me of something else :D

 

10. Jellyfish - New Mistake - never heard this song before :unsure:

 

11. Aimee Mann - I Should've Known - Not heard this one either :unsure:

 

12. New Radicals - You Get What You Give - I liked this song, considering its not that old