Pop That Goes Crunch!

Seven Decades Of Melodic Rock & Roll

Archive for the tag “Chris Richards and the Subtractions”

The Big Show #8: Good Rockin’ Today

The Big Show #8

This edition of The Big Show continues in the theme-less vein. It begins with three recently released tracks. “Haunted” by Sugar Stems sprinkles its Power Pop with a slight garage rock stomp. “(I’m) Telescoping” by The Hazey Janes has an irresistible swingin’ mid-60’s groove. “Call Me Out” by Chris Richards & The Subtractions will ring around in your ears for hours on end, and features some gorgeous harmonizing. “New” music is also represented by “Try Girl” by The Click Beetles and “The King Of The Sixties” by The Cleaners From Venus.

Tracks from a couple of long-players reviewed on these pages in recent months get a spin. “Warm Sun” by Gen Pop is about hope rising above the gloom. “Change The World” by Toxic Melons is a swirling piece of almost-orchestral pop featuring a great vocal by Linus of Hollywood.

The Clash did not do a whole lot of songs that fit the format of Pop That Goes Crunch radio, but “Stay Free,” from their much-maligned second record, Give ‘Em Enough Rope, is as close to Power Pop that they ever ventured. Its featured in a set with a couple of its contemporary songs from back in the early days of Punk Rock and New Wave: “To Be Someone” by The Jam and “Everywhere That I’m Not” by Translator.

So, why not give it a spin, and check out the main mix at Pop That Goes Crunch radio, streaming 24/7.

The complete track list appears after the embed.

 

Track List

1.  Sugar Stems, “Haunted”

2.  The Hazey Janes, “(I’m) Telescoping”

3.  Chris Richards & The Subtractions, “Call Me Out”

4.  Gen Pop, “Warm Sun”

5.  Toxic Melons, “Change The World”

6.  Tiny Volcano, “Loaded Gun”

7.  The Beach Boys, “Girl Don’t Tell Me”

8.  Greater California, “Five Senses”

9.  The Clientele, “Winter On Victoria Street”

10. The Clash, “Stay Free”

11. The Jam, “To Be Someone”

12. Translator, “Everywhere That I’m Not”

13. The Late Show, “Hey Sue”

14. The Click Beetles, “Try Girl”

15. Phenomenal Cat, “Letters Home From Nazi-Occupied France”

16. The Windbreakers, “Time Machine”

17. Daniel Wylie, “Make Love To The World”

18. Cliff Hillis, “Just One More”

19. Cotton Mather, “Camp Hill Rail Operator (Acoustic)

20. The Cleaners From Venus, “The King of The Sixties”

 

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Put The Needle On The Record: Bright And Shiny Power Pop

Put The Needle On The Record

The last two posts have discussed the AM rock and roll radio experience of the late-60s and early-70s. That kind of music — un-pretentious, hook-and-melody-laden and devoid of big statements and philosophizing — can still be found if you know where to look.

One of those places is right here, in this post. Embedded below is a playlist that I uploaded to 8 Tracks containing full-length versions of songs from my personal collection. The playlist has fourteen tracks, clocking in at about 46 minutes. That’s a reasonable approximation of the quantity of music contained on the LPs from days gone by. The title –“Put The Needle On The Record”– was chosen with that in mind.

Several of the acts represented — The Shazam, The Grip Weeds, Starbelly, Eytan Mirsky, Lannie Flowers, Sun Sawed in 1/2 — have been discussed in recent posts on this site. Many of the songs have that “Raspberries quality” — ringing guitars, simple declarations of romantic yearning, and that trademark “bright and shiny” sound — discussed in last week’s post. The best examples are the songs by Myracle Brah, Starbelly and Love Nut — each of which feature the incomparable Andy Bopp as either the principal artist or producer — and the tracks by Chris Richards and the Subtractions and  Blue Cartoon.

Here is the track list:

1.   “Talk To Me” — Myracle Brah

2.  “Calling Sydney” — The Shazam

3.  “Infinite Soul” — The Grip Weeds

4.  “She’s So Real” — Starbelly

5.  “Don’t Do Anything Tonight” — Chris Richards and the Subtractions

6.  “Another Week Or Two” — Eytan Mirsky

7.  “It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This” — Eugene Edwards

8.  “Give Me A Chance” — Lannie Flowers

9.  “You Should Have Known Better” — Blue Cartoon

10. “If You Go Away” — Love Nut

11. “I Love You Baby (But I Hate Your Friends)” — The Dahlmanns

12. “Janet Greene” — Sun Sawed in 1/2

13. “Valerie Loves Me” — Material Issue

14.  “Time Wraps Around You” — Velvet Crush

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