Songs You May Have Missed #318

02 Feb 2013 1 Comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

shazam

The Shazam: “Squeeze the Day” (2002)

Nashville power pop band The Shazam is led by gifted guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Hans Rotenberry, whose stuff shows a love for classic melodic 70’s and 80’s rock, with a certain element of British-ness in the mix.

Unfortunately, the record sales have never been on the level of the critical acclaim for these guys. Their excellent Godspeed the Shazam and Tomorrow the World records had me waiting for the true classic album I believed they had in them.

With Rotenberry currently working on side projects, I’m wondering if that ship has now sailed.

Nevertheless, they carried the power pop torch as well as any band of their time.

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2012/02/11/songs-you-may-have-missed-10/

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2013/09/19/songs-you-may-have-missed-475/

Songs You May Have Missed #317

02 Feb 2013 1 Comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

donohue

Pat Donohue: “Would You Like to Play the Guitar?” (2011)

One of the world’s great finger picking guitarists relates a cautionary tale for would-be professional guitarists. As with the previous Donohue song I posted, this is a parody of decades-old song (“Swinging On a Star”, popularized by Bing Crosby).

Sadly, many younger listeners don’t know the older source music. In the case of parody, this means they might fail to fully appreciate the art of the parodying artist. In the case of sampling, it means they might fail to appreciate the lack of art in the sampling artist. (Jay-Z and Kanye are counting on it.)

I can’t resist Pat Donohue’s topical novelty songs, but if you want more of a taste of the kind of stuff he plays (and how he does it) check out the video below. It’s the kind of thing Steve Howe likes to do in his mid-Yes concert solo acoustic sets:

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2012/11/08/songs-you-may-have-missed-215/

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2013/08/21/songs-you-may-have-missed-466/

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2026/01/11/recommended-albums-105/

Songs You May Have Missed #316

01 Feb 2013 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Best of the Blog, Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

magic pie

Magic Pie: “Full Circle Poetry” (2005)

Reason number one to either love or hate prog rock: songs that don’t even get to the chorus for seven minutes. As much as I appreciate epic ambition, concept albums and the like, it’s a rare 14-minute song that I really enjoy. This is one.

These Norwegian proggers aren’t cutting edge innovators of the genre. Rather they tend to construct their epics from pieces nicked from classic-era bands such as Yes, Kansas and Gentle Giant.

Which is okay by me. Hardcore progressive rock fans are notoriously immoderate in their criticisms of derivative bands, concepts and sounds–as if the genre should reinvent itself every time a band releases an album. Sometimes it should be enough to simply appreciate an artist rearranging the existing pieces into something agreeable. The vocals, the musicianship and the song craft here are exemplary. It’s okay with me that I hear echoes of more original bands from a past era. In fact, it’s kind of comforting. Most of the time I don’t require music to challenge me, only to please me.

What a concept.

Songs You May Have Missed #315

31 Jan 2013 4 Comments

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

rosanne

Rosanne Cash: “Beautiful Pain” (2003)

A typical Rosanne Cash album can be counted on to contain a mix of her insightful, personal originals and well-chosen material from other writers that sounds as though she could have written it.

“Beautiful Pain”, penned by Craig Northey and featuring backing vocals from Sheryl Crow, leads off her excellent Rules of Travel album and perfectly sets the tone for her first release in roughly seven years, which is a typically soul-baring rumination on the nature of long-term committed love.

Rosanne’s husband John Leventhal produced the album with meticulous sonic detail. Given that he’s known to be a huge Beatles fan, I can’t help wondering if that accounts for the drum sounds in the instrumental break, which seem to mimic the sound Ringo got by slackening his drum heads for a deeper “thump”.

Songs You May Have Missed #314

30 Jan 2013 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

april smith

April Smith: “Can’t Say No” (2010)

To quote Amazon.com’s editorial review:

This Brooklyn singer-songwriter combines country and swing, making crackling songs that wink and smile and sway. She’s got a rich, plummy voice, and she lays it on thick over a taut guitar strum, making for music as long on charm as it is on melody”.

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2012/02/15/songs-you-may-have-missed-15/

Songs You May Have Missed #313

30 Jan 2013 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

hurley

Weezer: “Ruling Me” (2010)

 

Although Weezer fans’ patience is put to the test at times by their uneven output–not to mention confounding album art (such as titling an album “Hurley” after a character from TV show Lost)–Rivers Cuomo reminds us now and then that few in the business are his equal when it comes to the kind of glorious pop rock chorus that makes you want to crank it up and put the top down. (Even if you drive a minivan and not a convertible.)

To my ears this song shares DNA with the music of power pop founding fathers the Raspberries. With no disrespect to any current platinum-selling act, the fact that there’s no place on the current pop charts for this kind of pop speaks to our general musical impoverishment.

My favorite lines:

We first met/In the lunchroom/My ocular nerve went pop! zoom!

I’ve never observed such a beautiful face

Sweet lady/Don’t play me/If I am a knob don’t fade me

You can’t win the game if you pass the Ace

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2013/10/04/songs-you-may-have-missed-484/

See also: Recommended Albums #81 | Every Moment Has A Song (edcyphers.com)

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